Substitutes Scantlings

Some industries depend greatly on scantlings for shipping

Industries like steel, aluminium and heavy engineering use a great deal of wood scantlings and
pallets for shipping the manufactured goods.

Demand for scantlings: The example of the steel industry

A rapidly growing steel industry…

Today, India is the third largest producer of steel, with a target of 120 MT for the year 2011. Steel transportation
uses timber of thousands of trees annually for packaging. Wood scantlings and pallet sare crucial for packaging
plates, sheets, and coils to prevent damage during transport. Production grow this highest for plates, sheets,
and coils. This means timber demand for packaging is increasing as well.

…Scantling supply can’t keep pace with steel production

Many sections point out that continued use of timber for packaging will not be viable in the future. The limited supply of timber that is suitable for scantlings and pallets will be fully exploited as demand grows with Indian steel production. Procurement managers state that it has become more expensive and difficult to secure a steady supply of scantlings and pallets. According to the World Wildlife Foundation, “…India is likely to face a severe shortage of supply of timber to meet its requirements by 2020…”.

Scantlings and their environmental impact

Deforestation is a growing concern in India. Industries face an increasing amount of pressure to find and
use sustainable alternatives. Some state governments, such as Jharkhand, have implemented regulations
to prevent further logging.

Bamboo: a good starting point for an alternative

Bamboo grows faster, yields more and is replenishable. This makes bamboo the most suitable material to answer the supply question and also address the environmental concerns. Bamboo forests mature in 4 – 6 years as compared to 30 – 50 years for trees. Bamboo is a fast growing grass that yields 20 times the amount of material as trees grown on the same land yield. According to the Environmental Bamboo Foundation, “…Bamboo is the fastest growing woody plant on this planet. It grows one third faster than the fastest growing trees…”. Importantly, India has over 10.03 million hectares of bamboo forests and these offer a readily available supply of bamboo. The Indian government too has actively encourages the use of bamboo over wood.

For these reasons, bamboo is the timber of the future – both readily available and replenishable.

Coir Atlas: A bamboo-based alternative to substitute scantlings

In response to the scantling-related shipping problems that the steel industry faced, the Coir Atlas product range has been developed – leveraging the unique attributes of bamboo and jute to address the performance needs and ecological concerns.