Manufactured Wood Saves Trees, Costs Less – and Stops Bullets

Manufactured Wood Product Use is Growing Rapidly

Natural wood from trees has been used for thousands of years in everything from wagons and tools to houses and buildings. Trees are cut in almost every country to provide wood for a plethora of products.

In recent decades, though, manufactured wood products have evolved rapidly. Whereas solid wood products are made from timber from trees, manufactured wood is produced with a variety of components and benefits. While the up-front cost is higher, the longer-term cost of manufactured wood can be lower because it lasts longer and needs less maintenance. It contains wood or other agricultural waste, so trees do not need to be cut for production and the product is more environmentally sustainable.

Manufactured wood may combine wood fibre, chips or sawdust with adhesives and compress them under high heat and pressure, General Kinematics explained. The production process creates a durable material that looks like natural wood and is often less expensive, lighter and more durable.

There is already a range of manufactured wood products, the BBC said. Glulam, for instance, involves making glue-laminated timber layers of wood that are glued together to make strong, moisture-resistant beams. Cross-laminated timber involves stacking layers of wood to make panels for walls and floors.

More recently, wood-plastic composites use plastic and wood or rice waste to produce blends that offer a durable, weather-resistant and low-maintenance product. It resists fading, warping, moisture, mould and insect damage, according to Hardscapes.

Natural timber is not always strong enough for certain applications, the BBC noted, and it can degrade when exposed to moisture or wood-gobbling insects. Manufactured wood products promise to be more resilient and can even be strong enough to form the structural frames of skyscrapers. The production processes compress it to reduce its volume by around 80 percent, and additional hydrogen bonds significantly strengthen it despite its thinness. A key advantage is that it still looks like wood from trees.

That’s not to say that manufactured wood doesn’t have disadvantages. Some manufactured wood products may contain chemicals that emit organic compounds that can pose health risks, and they may chip or dent more than solid wood.

For investors, a key opportunity can be startups that are creating innovative new methods or materials to produce wood-plastic products. While there are many existing producers, new regulatory requirements and a shift away from China to increase resilience means that producers in Southeast Asia or other regions may have newfound opportunities. Cutting-edge innovation, proprietary methods and lower costs in Asia can give these startups an advantage.

The Market is Massive

The worldwide market for natural and manufactured wood products is massive and growing, which gives new producers more opportunities for sales.

While estimates of market size vary, studies by Grand View Research estimate the global wood and timber products market at close to US$1 trillion. FDM estimates that the manufactured wood market, a part of the overall market, will increase from about $476 billion in 2025 to $490 billion in 2026. The estimates include timber harvesting, sawing, milling, furniture and cabinetry production, manufactured wood products, machinery manufacturing and interior millwork.

China remains a significant exporter of wood products, FDM said. Its manufacturing ecosystem continues to scale both traditional woodworking and advanced automated production. Recently, though, companies in North America, Europe, and parts of Asia are bringing production closer to consumption markets to reduce lead times, hedge against shipping disruptions and respond to differences in local market preferences.

Startups have a Niche

While companies in China and North America or Europe dominate the market for wood-plastic products, new players are jumping in to create products to take advantage of the growing market.

One of the largest existing producers is Hosung in China, which designs and produces products ranging from decking and fencing to pergolas. Made from more than 50 percent wood powder, rice husks, straw, and other plant fibres combined with plastics, it is produced through extrusion, moulding, and injection moulding techniques.

A number of companies in Southeast Asia also produce wood-plastic composites. In Thailand, for instance, Artowood was set up in 2000 and says it is the biggest producer of wood-plastic products in the country. It uses recycled plastic pellets and waste wood pulp to create a highly resilient product. In Vietnam, companies such as Eurostark and Eurowood that were established over the past dozen years offer a variety of composite manufactured wood products.

Startups are also developing wood-plastic composites that can be even stronger, lighter and more durable than existing composites.

InventWood in the US has developed Superwood, for instance, which it says is produced through molecular restructuring and densification that is 10 times stronger than steel and 6 times lighter. TechCrunch said the invention was created in 2018, and laboratory tests show that it can even stop bullets.

Zenwood in Vietnam uses 80 percent recycled materials to produce its composite wood products. It says its products are designed to be durable and environmentally friendly.

In Indonesia, Plana combines rice husks, single-use plastics and a proprietary binding material to create PlanaWood. The Plana team took five years to develop its sustainable wood alternative, the Business Times said, creating a product that is durable, mouldable, waterproof and fireproof, and resilient to termites, rot and extreme weather.

These companies illustrate how solutions that give investors opportunities are emerging around the world and in Southeast Asia in particular to turn waste streams into sustainable new products.

While natural wood has dominated the market for centuries, wood-plastic composites are competing strongly. Investors who find startups make the newer products efficiently could have good opportunities for growth.