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nelsonic / standing-desk

Sitting is the new smoking. Lets fix that. :seedling:
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Plywood Supplier in Portugal? ("Plan B") #16

Open nelsonic opened 6 years ago

nelsonic commented 6 years ago

Ideally I would like to manufacture all of the furniture from Bamboo because it's arguably more environmentally sustainable than Hardwood Ply see: nelsonic/nelsonic.github.io#15

However, if the shipping & import costs (from China to PT) end up being "prohibitive", an alternative is to get Birch Plywood from a "local" supplier. There are quite a few companies that sell Plywood (obviously; it's a popular building material!) The ("big box") "retail" stores are not "cheap" and none of the B2B suppliers list their prices!!

Aki (the equivalent of "Home Depot" in EU/Portugal) sells Plywood (no detail on what type of wood it is!) for €51.99 per 1220 x 2440 x 12 mm sheet. https://www.aki.pt/madeiras-e-construcao/paineis-madeira/paineis-madeira-para-corte/osb/Paineldecontraplacadoparainterior/exterior122x244cm-12mm-P58876.aspx image I used AKI plywood in projects (e.g. tables, desks, chairs, bookshelves, etc) when I lived in PT, the quality is "standard", but the price is expensive per sheet.

Similarly, Leroy Merlin (akin to "Lowes") sells Plywood for €59.99 per 1220 x 2440 x 18 mm sheet (which would be a good thickness to use for our project ...) http://www.leroymerlin.pt/Site/Produtos/Madeiras/Paineis/18896794.aspx image However ... "Tipo de madeira: Okoumé" (the type of wood is okoumé) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aucoumea_klaineana image Native to equatorial west Africa in Gabon and the Republic of the Congo, so unlikely to be "FSC" ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forest_Stewardship_Council (if it's not explicitly stated it's a pretty safe "bet" that it's **not FSC-certified...) 😕 Additionally it is classified as "vulnerable" on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/33213/0 image So I would rather not use it if we can avoid it ... 🌳 😞

There is a "counter argument" that "supporting" the West African Wood industry through trade helps the local economy to develop, however I do not "buy" it because - from both research and personal experience (speaking to west-African farmers in our "Fair Trade" days..._) - I know that much of the wood being logged in the region is unsustainable: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deforestation_in_the_Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo and http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/deforestation/deforestation_fronts/deforestation_in_the_congo_basin Interactive Map that shows the scale of world deforestation: http://www.globalforestwatch.org image The latest "FAO" (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) report for West and Central Africa is: http://www.fao.org/forestry/45021-04023cd52f4619cd28fe747b7e42c167f.pdf

The B2B supplier with the best SERP for the query: "comprar contraplacado portugal" https://www.google.pt/search?q=comprar+contraplacado+portugal ("buy plywood Portugal") is: http://www.multiplacas.pt/pt/produtos/2/multibirch (at the time of writing ...) image I've sent them a "pedido" (quote request) via their contact form because obviously they don't have any prices (or a price list) on their site! image image multiplacas-pedido-de-info

Alternative suppliers:

I plan to email each of them to get quotes.

nelsonic commented 6 years ago

Got a reply from "Multiplacas": image 10,97€ per m2 (roughly €33+VAT per board) >> €40.59 per board Given that we are likely to use 100 of these boards, this is a lot cheaper. 🎉

nelsonic commented 6 years ago

This is a great article: https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/a-history-of-plywood-in-ten-objects image

I'm so pumped to start making things on/with the Maslow! https://github.com/nelsonic/learn-cad-cam-cnc/issues/71 Once I'm making products using Plywood I want to research and invest directly in Plywood manufacturer. Timeframe: 3-5 years.