|
LYPTUS®HARDWOOD PRODUCTS
Lyptus®is a trademark name for hardwood lumber,flooring and plywood products manufactured from selected
Eucalyptus species. Planted and grown on well-managed plantations in Brazil,Lyptus®hardwood products are an excellent option when selecting an exotic species grown to sustainable certification standards.
THE ENVIRONMENTAL STORY
The Lyptus®trademark more accurately describes a system of growing, manufacturing and marketing Eucalyptus with the goal of providing a sustainable harvest of quickly maturing trees and producing high performance hard- wood lumber and plywood suitable for cabinetry, millwork, furniture and flooring.
The Eucalyptus trees are grown on plantations certified to Brazil’s national sustainable forestry standard, CER-
FLOR. These plantations were once agricultural and grazing lands. Over 25% of these plantations are managed in permanent set asides where sensitive slopes and areas near water are maintained in natural habitat. Original species native to the area over 100 years ago have been reintroduced into this ecosystem.
The CERFLOR sustainable forestry standard has international recognition. It has been mutually recognized by the
Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC), an international organization that endorses credi-
ble sustainable forestry programs. In addition, the national agency IBAMA has issued Aracruz a certificate for the management of their forests; IBAMA, along with Greenpeace, placed a ban on the export of Brazilian Mahogany.
Eucalyptus trees grow very quickly and may be harvested within 14-16 years of planting. Because plantation trees are manually pruned during their growing years, logs coming into the mill are more uniform and have fewer knots than those which grow naturally. This results in a high conversion rate of logs to clear lumber. Like Weyerhaeuser mills in the United States, the Brazil mill uses virtually every portion of the log, converting it not only to lumber and by-products but using residuals as bio-energy to fuel the mill.
Lyptus®hardwood is an excellent choice among a variety of Weyerhaeuser hardwood species, such as oak, maple, cherry and alder, which are also grown and harvested to sustainable certification standards.
|
