Noble wood from Moravia

In November 2013, the trucks set off from the Czech Republic for the long road along the Rhine to reach their destination located 30 km east of Basel, specifically in the village of Kaisten in the Swiss canton of Aargau. There they were impatiently expected by the carpenter Oliver Bucher because the trucks brought the shell construction of his future home. The delivery consisted of walls and ceilings made of laminated panels, rib elements and roofs. The packed panels were adorned with the Novatop logo. Everything was perfectly prepared for the construction and because the weather cooperated as well, the shell construction of the house was completed in just four days.

The supplier of the solid wood elements was the company Agrop Nova. The fact that the customer opted for the products of one of the largest manufacturers of CLT (cross laminated timber) was no coincidence. The Swiss customer is a trained carpenter who knows good quality solid wood products from the Czech Republic. Mr Bucher himself distributed these panels in Switzerland. Therefore, he knows that customers, especially in Switzerland, appreciate superior surface quality of panels. For the customers of Mr Bucher, as well as for himself, the price was important, too.

However, the quality of housing is comes first. "It was clear to me that I wanted to live in an ecological house," explains Mr Bucher. This requirement is guaranteed specifically by Novatop panels certified with Natureplus.

Mr Bucher is sceptical about half-timbered buildings: "When I want to drive in a nail, I also want it to hold." The walls inside the house are to be plastered. The ceilings will remain with the visual quality of spruce. Mr Bucher is absolutely satisfied with the perfectly machined beautiful wood. Wood "without joints" is the greatest advantage of Novatop panels, which the manufacturer not only promises, but also observes. How they achieve this was demonstrated by a visit to the company headquarters in Ptení. Here we met the sales manager, Mr Vladimir Crhonek, and we learned about the technology that does not have to fear comparison with West European manufacturers. The company's beginning dates back to 1992 when a company for production of three-layer panels was founded in Ptení. In 2001, the company Agrop Nova followed in this tradition; "Today we are one of the largest and most advanced manufacturers of large format multi-layer solid panels," says Mr Crhonek with confidence. As well as almost all of the sales staff, he is fluent in German and English.

The sales manager emphasizes that the company Agrop Nova established itself as a reputable and reliable partner also in German-speaking wood-processing companies. But this advertisement for its own products seems to be unnecessary. The excellent reputation of the company is demonstrated by the fact that the largest retailer of wood in Central Europe, Frischeis, relies on the quality and deliveries made by the company Agrop Nova.

More than one million cubic metres a year

Agrop Nova has two sites in the Czech Republic. In Ptení, there is the production. 8 km south of Ptení, in Plumlov, there are the warehouses and the timber drying kilns. Both sites are busy. Every year more than 60,000 m³ of timber are processed. Out of which, more than 1.3 million square metres are multi-layer panels and 7,000 m³ of laminated wood is produced. Products packaged in distinctive red with the Novatop logo are intended mainly for export. Besides the German-speaking countries, France and Italy are large customers as well.

Sustainability and ecology are the sign of not only the product range, but also the philosophy of the company. The wooden waste is processed at both sites and made into wood briquettes; up to 800 tonnes of briquettes is produced a month. The production halls are heated by a biomass boiler plant.

Solid, acoustic, beautiful

Until recently, the basis of the portfolio were multilayer panels made of coniferous trees. As the popularity of wooden buildings has increased, especially in the Alps, new solutions had to come to the market. "A major role was played by experts from Switzerland. Together with them, we racked our brains, trying to create hollow rib elements from our three-layer solid panels. Soon came the idea to create a complex building system based on solid laminated wood. This is how the brand Novatop came into existence", remembers Jirí Oslizlo, the Chairman of the Board.

This brings us back to buildings. According to Crhonek, Novatop can handle family homes as well as reconstructions or extensions and additions. Companies constructing wooden buildings order mostly completely prepared elements. The basis of the construction is a project in CAD. Using a CNC machine tool, millimetre-precision machining is made. Panels machined this way are delivered directly to building companies.

Laminated wood without cracks

Today's home of Mr Oliver Bucher was recently made in the Czech Republic. Its biggest part is made by wall panels Novatop SOLID based on laminated wood. When we asked Mr Crhonek to tell us one feature that distinguishes their products from the others, he says without hesitation: "wood without cracks." Cracks are really the biggest problem with these large-format wood materials. The company Agrop Nova dries the input timber only to 8% and uses 9 millimetre thin surface lamellas. The adhesive conforms to the European standard on the permitted amount of polyurethane. "This ensures high stability of the elements and prevents cracks from coming into existence," says Crhonek. Panels of up to 12 x 2.95 metres large are manufactured exactly to size.The machining centre Hundegger, that formats the panels, also cuts openings for windows and doors and mills openings of various shapes and sizes according to the project requirements. The whole process is digitally controlled. This is a highly advanced machine tool that was put into operation in 2012. At the beginning of 2013, a Fankhauser vacuum press was introduced into the production in order to press large formats up to 12 x 3 m. "Our technology guarantees top quality. Thanks to it, we succeed even in markets with high demands, such as Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Italy and France," says Crhonek and adds: "In 2013, we also built the first model home in South Africa."

Export requires strict monitoring. Agrop Nova must therefore comply with regulations and standards such as ETA, BAZ - construction and technical certificates, CE, PEFC, ISPM and as the first Czech manufacturer it was certified with Natureplus.

Advantages of solid wood

Quality Certificates are for customers-builders, like Mr Bucher is, important: PEFC guarantees that the wood comes from sustainable and legal sources. Natureplus guarantees that the multilayer panels are not only ecological, but also suitable for housing.

Now we have to "satisfy" the builders: Agrop Nova has created a reliable team and a well-functioning network of dealers. Fully machined panels are delivered directly to the building site and significantly shorten the construction phase itself. "The assembly is precise, quick and easy. One floor is a question of a few hours", adds Mr Crhonek at the end.

Agrop Nova – Facts & Figures

Established: 1992
Managing Director: Jirí Oslizlo, Pavel Stuchlík
Employees: 200
Locations: Ptení/CZ (production), Plumlov/CZ (warehouse)
Production: 1.3 million m²/yr mulitlayer-solidwood panels, 7,000 m³ CLT