Leading chemical company BASF, and SAIB, one of Italy’s biggest derived timber manufacturers, have entered a joint project to develop a lightweight particleboard.

The new wood based material, based on the Kaurit Light system, will be at least 20% lighter than conventional particleboard and will be launched in 2011.

“The lightweight panel fulfills all regulations for particleboards and can be used as a conventional
board”, explains Wolfgang Gutting, vice president, glues and impregnating resins at BASF.