Tulipwood, but not as you know it

James Latham launches HORIZON® quarter sawn Tulipwood – helping to make its customers’ lives easier

James Latham, one of the UK’s leading independent timber and panel distributors, has collaborated with long-term sawmill partner, Pennsylvania-based HORIZON®, to introduce a pioneering new timber product: quarter sawn Tulipwood.

An industry first, the product is the only quarter-sawn tulipwood currently available on the UK market. Exclusive to James Latham, it has been developed in response to specifier and contractor calls for a superior, stable, and sustainable material for a range of specific interior joinery purposes, including kitchen doors and cabinetry.

A game-changer for cabinet makers and joiners, one of its standout benefits lies in its inherent ability to minimise movement during processing and active use. Whilst regular Tulipwood is already commonplace within the UK market, changing the way the log is cut (quarter sawn) dramatically reduces the tension within the timber, resulting in straighter grain, greater stability, reduced movement, and therefore increased yield.  In addition, to enhance the timber’s unique properties, HORIZON® selects the largest Tulipwood logs possible, subjecting them to a kilning cycle lasting up to four weeks, which is four times longer than the industry standard.

Manufactured to full 34mm thickness, quarter sawn Tulipwood is precision cut, resulting in an extremely clean and flat surface. This all results in a plank of generous width, delivering significant cost savings in the form of less wastage, lower processing costs, and fewer snagging issues. Creamy white in appearance, with very little colour variation and mineral streak, it can help achieve a clean, consistent look in application.

The product is also a carbon-neutral/low-carbon material. Sourced from the responsibly managed and certificated Allegheny Forest region in Northwestern Pennsylvania, it is also manufactured in a sustainable way using the latest ‘smart’ production processes.

These credentials are further reinforced when measured through James Latham’s Carbon Calculator,[1] a tool that provides third-party verification for suppliers’ green claims.  This gives customers the added assurance that they’re selecting a high-quality product at every level.

Commenting on the introduction of this new product to James Latham’s portfolio, James White, Depot Director at James Latham says, “This heralds a new chapter in Tulipwood production, offering our customers a standalone product which directly responds to their calls for a reliable, stable, and ecofriendly product, suitable for cabinetry and kitchen manufacturing. Not only that, the launch of HORIZON® quarter sawn Tulipwood exemplifies our ongoing commitment to working with supply chain partners to champion the latest timber innovations and aspiring to meet our audience’s evolving tastes and requirements.”

Available in the UK and Ireland, the quarter-sawn tulipwood is stocked in various lengths and widths, ranging from 2.1m to 4m planks. The standard thickness is 34mm, which can be machined down to 27mm if required.

For more information about the Tulipwood range click here.

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For more information contact:

Meg Duncombe, The Think Tank, [email protected] T: +44 203 831 2225

Notes to Editor

About James Latham:

James Latham is one of the UK’s largest independent distributors of timber, panels and decorative surfaces. It supplies products to a broad range of customers, from contractors and merchants, through to designers and makers.

With a history reaching back over 260 years, Lathams have always been innovators. The brand consistently pushes the boundaries of materials selection, from its origins in timber products, panels and doors, through to the modern day, where it sits as one of the sectors’ most recognised suppliers of cutting-edge materials technologies, including decorative laminates, veneers, thermoplastics and acrylics.

Its most recent innovation is a Carbon calculator that enables architects, designers, specifiers and material users to understand the carbon impact of products they select. Both carbon footprint and biogenic carbon content shown on key documentation such as quotations, delivery notes and invoices, meaning users can fully understand the carbon impact of the products they choose.

Its people are as important as our product ranges. Experienced industry professionals teamed with specialist product managers mean James Latham can offer solutions and advice in the most challenging of applications.

Operating from twelve branches throughout the UK and Ireland, James Latham works with construction professionals, designers, architects and more, enabling the most demanding designs and construction projects to become reality.

With this knowledge, experience and product range at our disposal, James Latham is the all-round answer to your construction and design needs.