Revolution looms after non-toxic invention

Rotorua research has paid off with a major business deal that may revolutionise the timber industry.
Scion has just signed off on a big deal to sell a large part of its break-through technology to a United Kingdom-based timber company.
The acetylation technology, developed by two of the top scientists at the Rotorua-based Crown research institute, is a process that protects wood from rot by making it inedible to most micro-organisms and insects. Unlike conventional treatments, it does not make the wood toxic.
The technology was sold for an "undisclosed six-figure sum" to Titan Wood, which aims to used it in its plant in Arnhem in the Netherlands within the next few months.
It is not yet known how soon New Zealand timber processing companies will be able to get the new treatment technology and they may only be able to do so by purchasing a licence from Titan Wood.
Scion communications manager Jacky James said the UK company was the only organisation in the world able to process commercial quantities of timber using the new method. However, because the process was specifically suited to New Zealand's radiata pine timber, it was possible Titan Wood could soon be making a substantial investment in this country, she said. The exclusive agreement between Scion and Titan Wood includes an ongoing research and development programme, which Scion will deliver through Ensis, the joint venture deal with its Australian counterpart CSIRO.
The two scientists involved in the treatment technology, Dr Kourosh Nasheri and Dr Gavin Durbin will oversee developments at the Arnhem plant as well as leading the research team in Rotorua to improve and broaden the technology.
Scion chief executive Tom Richardson said the sale was the "natural next step" in the technology development process.
"Uptake of this technology could open a new market for New Zealand pine in Europe and other countries," he said. The processed wood was ideal for building outdoor structures and objects, which were usually the preserve of scarce and expensive tropical hardwoods and environmentally unfriendly artificial alternatives to wood.