by Holly Chapman | 16 Jun 25 | News, Supplier News
A survey, conducted by MEDITE SMARTPLY and the Structural Timber Association has revealed major pain points within the building sector.
The report; framing the future: The state of timber frame construction, was conducted using responses from 80 timber frame manufacturers working across residential, social housing and education.
73% of those asked reported labour shortages across the workforce, and 43% ranked fire performance as their number one challenge.
The report found that while there is a clear desire to meet higher performance standards, there is also a disconnect between policy ambition and practical realities of delivery.
UK law requires net zero emissions by 2050, which has added to the complexity for the building sector, according to the report.
Roly Ward, head of business development at MEDITE SMARTPLY comments:
“We’re hearing a clear message from the sector: manufacturers are being asked to move fast without clear footing. That’s not sustainable.”
The full report is available to download here.
by The Pro Landscaper Team | 15 Apr 25 | Partner Content
Unrivalled durability and design flexibility with MEDITE TRICOYA EXTREME
In the world of outdoor applications and landscaping design, choosing the right material can make all the difference. Whether you’re working on a statement garden shed, a decorative bandstand, outdoor lighting installations, custom planters or a fully equipped outdoor kitchen, durability, design flexibility and sustainability are at the top of the agenda. Increasingly, landscape designers and contractors are turning to engineered wood solutions that meet these evolving demands. MEDITE TRICOYA EXTREME is leading the way.
Meeting the demands of modern outdoor spaces
Credit: MTX garden room, Bakers Timber Building
Designing for exterior applications comes with its challenges. Weather conditions vary, environments are increasingly exposed, and today’s clients are looking for bespoke designs that combine function with premium aesthetics. Traditional materials like hardwoods, concrete, metals, PVC and other plastics are still commonly used across landscaping projects, but each presents trade-offs.
Hardwoods offer a beautiful, natural finish but demand frequent maintenance and can be sourced from less sustainable supply chains. PVC and other plastics bring weather resistance and low upkeep, yet their appearance can feel less premium, and their environmental impact is hard to ignore.
Concrete can offer structural stability and weather resistance, but its weight, inflexibility and high carbon footprint often make it a less desirable option for landscape features. Metals and alloys may provide longevity and structural strength, but design flexibility is limited, particularly when it comes to detailed or curved elements.
This is where MEDITE TRICOYA EXTREME changes the game. As a wood-based panel engineered for exterior use, it offers the machinability and creativity provided by traditional MDF panels, but with a 50-year guarantee above ground and 25 years in-ground. It delivers both the performance and aesthetic qualities demanded by modern landscaping.
Durability and design freedom in one panel
Credit: MTX garden kitchen, Paul Newman Landscapes
One of MEDITE TRICOYA EXTREME’s greatest strengths is its ability to merge durability with total design freedom. Manufactured with acetylated wood fibre using advanced technology, it is more resistant to swelling, shrinking and warping, even in the most challenging conditions. Independent BRE testing confirms a service life of up to 60 years for exterior use. It is also perfect for coating as the improved stability enhances the service life of the coating. Damaged coating will not affect the core. This makes it ideal for outdoor furniture, bespoke seating, garden screens and even structural installations such as pergolas or outdoor kitchens.
For landscapers, this means creative potential without compromise. Like traditional wood panels, MEDITE TRICOYA EXTREME can be cut, shaped and joined with ease, with the added benefit of its perfectly smooth surface, free of knots and voids, allowing for fine detailing and intricate designs. It can be finished to a premium standard, painted in any colour and installed with minimal need for retreatment over time.
Sustainability built in
Sustainability is no longer a nice-to-have; it’s a necessity. MEDITE TRICOYA EXTREME panels are manufactured from fast-growing softwoods sourced from FSC-certified forests. In addition to being wood based, they are produced with a high-performance resin containing no added formaldehyde, meeting E1 and CARB2 standards. Throughout its lifecycle, MEDITE TRICOYA EXTREME continues to store carbon, contributing to a more carbon-efficient approach in the sector.
This commitment to sustainable practices was brought to life at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2022. MEDITE SMARTPLY headlined the show with the ‘Building the Future’ garden, created in partnership with acclaimed garden designer Sarah Eberle. The centrepiece structure, made entirely from MEDITE TRICOYA EXTREME, was inspired by natural rock strata and demonstrated both the aesthetic potential and outdoor durability of MEDITE TRICOYA EXTREME. The installation went on to win two prestigious awards: Gold and Best Construction (show garden).
But the story didn’t end there. True to MEDITE SMARTPLY’s circular values, all wood panels from the garden were carefully dismantled and reused by an environmental charity. The garden’s carbon footprint was assessed by circular ecology, which confirmed that reusing plants and trees helped extend carbon storage benefits, making the installation carbon negative. This year, MTX will once again take part in the Chelsea Flower Show, featured in several major projects.
Responding to industry trends
MEDITE TRICOYA EXTREME is uniquely positioned to meet the key trends shaping landscaping today:
- Design flexibility: Clients increasingly expect outdoor features that are tailor-made, from curved set-ups to intricate details. MEDITE TRICOYA EXTREME supports creative freedom without compromising performance over time.
- Long-term performance: In harsh environments; coastal, high rainfall, or high UV exposure, materials need to hold their form and finish. MEDITE TRICOYA EXTREME resists all of the above.
- Sustainability: Specifiers and clients alike are placing greater emphasis on responsible sourcing and low-impact materials. MEDITE TRICOYA EXTREME delivers on both.
- Premium aesthetics: Whether part of a commercial project or private garden, materials must reflect quality and craftsmanship. MEDITE TRICOYA EXTREME’s smooth, knot-free surface and paint-ready finish support this perfectly.
Ready to future-proof your next outdoor project?
From practical planters and stylish sheds to statement lighting installations and outdoor entertaining areas, MEDITE TRICOYA EXTREME gives landscaping professionals the confidence to deliver designs that last, and stand out.
To learn more about MEDITE TRICOYA EXTREME and explore its potential in your next project, visit https://mdfosb.com/en/products/medite-tricoya-extreme.
About MEDITE SMARTPLY
MEDITE SMARTPLY is part of Coillte, an innovative, FSC certified Irish forestry and forest products manufacturer. Based in Clonmel and Waterford, Ireland, MEDITE SMARTPLY produces a versatile range of Medium Density Fibreboard (MDF) and Oriented Strand Board (OSB) building products.
Written by Jack Scanlan, Product Manager, MEDITE SMARTPLY.
by The Pro Landscaper Team | 11 Dec 23 | Partner Content
With climate change high on the agenda, it’s important to choose the right materials for landscaping projects that not only allows for greater creative freedom, but also meets your sustainability goals. If it’s sustainably sourced from responsibly managed forests, wood is one of the most sustainable materials on the market because it’s a natural, renewable resource. It’s also an easy material to work with.
MEDITE SMARTPLY is renowned for adapting products and services to suit end users’ needs whilst maintaining a consistent stance on sustainability and creating environmentally conscious products that add value throughout the supply chain. All the products manufactured by MEDITE SMARTPLY use legally sourced, sustainable wood and are fully FSC certified. This offers greater peace of mind to those working towards more sustainable projects. One such panel that offers landscapers and gardeners great versatility and peace of mind is the ground-breaking MEDITE TRICOYA EXTREME (MTX).
MTX is a revolutionary panel that provides the ideal solution for a wide range of outdoor applications. It’s a high performance engineered wood panel that demonstrates outstanding durability and dimensional stability. This allows it to be used in applications once limited to products such as concrete, plastics or metals.
This innovative panel has a guarantee of up to 50 years above ground and 25 years in ground, making it an ideal product for long-lasting, creative designs.
Additionally, its resistance to rot and fungal decay allows it to be used in external applications such as planters, garden buildings and decorative fixtures, which makes it a popular product for outdoor projects. It’s particularly beneficial in environments where humidity and weather are usually concerns – ideal for landscapers.
Photo by Timberbox Ltd – garden building
One of the most elaborate examples of its use was at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2022. MTX was used to create the incredible centrepiece of the award winning MEDITE SMARTPLY Building the Future garden, which was inspired by natural vertical rock strata, and was designed by the show’s most decorated designer, Sarah Eberle.
For more information on MEDITE TRICOYA EXTREME, visit https://mdfosb.com/en/products/medite-tricoya-extreme.
Lots of inspiration can be found on the exclusive MEDITE MDF community site www.meditemakesitreal.com. Landscapers and garden designers who join can share work, gain inspiration, and win prizes that will enable the user to build bigger and better with MDF. Sign up and receive a free gift.
by Nina Mason | 04 May 23 | Domestic Landscaping, Garden Design, Long Reads, Promotion, Topics, Website Exclusive
Every year, there is a garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show that gets people talking. It could be an unexpected planting scheme, a wild take on a theme – or, in the case of Sarah Eberle’s garden last year, an extraordinary material used in dramatic ways.
At the show last year, Eberle – Chelsea’s most decorated designer – created the MEDITE SMARTPLY Building the Future Garden, with an impressive waterfall cascading over a building down into a pool below. Not only did it earn Eberle her 20th Gold medal, but it also scooped the Best Construction Award, having been built by prolific contractor Landform Consultants.
Sarah Eberle. Photo credit: Ollie Dixon
The material which arguably stole the show is from the garden’s sponsor, MEDITE SMARTPLY. The large main avenue garden used its wood-based panels to create an edge-of-forest setting, with wild and damp-loving plant species surrounding the building and pool, and tree specimens drawn from a PEFC- and FSC-certified forest (which itself is owned by parent company Coillte) in County Carlow, Ireland where MEDITE SMARTPLY sources its timber. It was inspired by a natural vertical rock strata and designed to showcase the sustainability of the products used but also their versatility outdoors.
“We wanted to have a garden at Chelsea to help us reach a wider audience, to reach the landscaping industry, which is really important for us,” says Rebecca Goldsmith, product manager for MEDITE SMARTPLY, who says the garden ended up being the largest at the show last year. “It was a good way for us to reach those audiences and showcase the product. People wouldn’t necessarily think to use a wood-based panel outdoors and perhaps didn’t know the possibilities of how it could be used.”
We wanted to have a garden at Chelsea to help us reach a wider audience, to reach the landscaping industry, which is really important for us
Goldsmith calls MEDITE TRICOYA EXTREME – the main product applied throughout the garden – a “landscaper’s dream”. The high performance engineered panels were used to clad the feature building and line the pool. Made of OSB, SMARTPLY STRONGDECK was used for the roof of the building due to its structural properties and SMARTLY SITEPROTECT, a coated site hoarding panel, created a border around the garden.
Photo credit: Ollie Dixon
In a three-part video series documenting the creation of the Chelsea garden, Eberle says imagination would be the only thing holding you back when using MEDITE SMARTPLY.“It’s innovative, there are so many things that it could be used for.” Sculptors Alex and Emma Devereux, who created the features for the garden, had both worked with MEDITE TRICOYA EXTREME “an awful lot”, saying its versatility “makes it a really good product to use, especially for
a design like this.” SMARTPLY SITEPROTECT enabled them to use different finishes and to easily paint the surfaces, whilst SMARTPLY STRONGDECK was the “perfect product” to form the roof section.
Eberle was also already an “advocate”
of MEDITE products prior to working with them for Chelsea, says Goldsmith. The brand was eager to work with her, though, because of her “dedication to sustainability”. “Sustainability is always at the forefront
of her mind in what she’s doing, and that worked well with the message we wanted to send. We wanted to showcase our products being used in applications that people think it may not usually be used, but also with the sustainable benefits of using them,” explains Goldsmith. The wood panel sequesters carbon from the atmosphere and this carbon remains locked in the MEDITE SMARTPLY panels through their lifespan, explains Goldsmith.
We wanted to showcase our products being used in applications that people think it may not usually be used, but also with the sustainable benefits of using them,”
Speaking ahead of the garden being built, Eberle said: “I’m most
excited about using
MEDITE TRICOYA EXTREME…it has
a guarantee of 50 years [above ground], even 25 years below ground; that’s incredibly important that you’re not constantly repairing features in your garden or
furniture or fences. The wood-based panels
actually hold the
carbon, which
is a really
important factor
when you’re
looking at
mainstream
building materials.
Actually using a new
product, one that’s core
is about sustainability and
the environment, is really close to my heart.”
MEDITE SMARTPLY Building the Future Garden. Photo credit: George Graham
Alongside promoting MEDITE SMARTPLY’s uses and benefits, the
show garden was also created to support the brand’s legacy campaign, which encouraged those using the products to be part of an online community. “The MEDITE Makes It Real campaign for 2022 was to showcase the innovation via MEDITE TRICOYA EXTREME as well as our speciality and our MEDITE range of speciality and
technical products,” says Goldsmith.“It is designed to bring people together to show off their projects. We also run competitions for people to win quarterly prizes.”
Goldsmith encourages those who are unsure about using a wood-based panel to get in touch with MEDITE SMARTPLY to talk through the application and receive support
in the installation. Mark Gregory, managing director of Landform Consultants, called the material a “game changer” in a garden setting on completion of the build last year, and it’s easy to see why; the versatility and green credentials of MEDITE SMARTPLY speak for themselves and Chelsea is likely just the start of the creative ways in which it will be used outside.
Watch the three-part film series of the MEDITE SMARTPLY Building the Future Garden being brought to life here.
