Decades of research support thermal modification, but product-specific testing is essential. Western is testing thermally modified Hem-Fir to verify performance, support future product data sheets, and provide reliable technical information for customers, specifiers, and wood product professionals.
Understanding how Hem-Fir responds to thermal modification starts with careful testing and reliable performance data, helping us confirm how the material can be used in real-world applications.
Thermal modification is a well-established technology backed by decades of research and commercial use. Studies show the process can improve dimensional stability, reduce moisture uptake, and enhance wood durability.
So why is Western investing in extensive thermally modified Hem-Fir testing?
Because research tells us what thermal modification can achieve. Product-specific testing confirms how Western’s thermally modified Hem-Fir performs using our fibre, manufacturing process, and production conditions.
Wood is a natural material, and performance can vary depending on species, fibre characteristics, treatment schedules, and manufacturing controls. Our goal is not to prove that thermal modification works. The science already exists. Our goal is to verify the performance of Western’s thermally modified Hem-Fir and provide reliable data that customers can trust
Thermally modified Hem-Fir samples prepared for testing
Building the performance data behind the product.
Western’s thermal modification testing program is designed to generate the data needed to support future product data sheets, specifications, and other technical documentation.
Samples from our trials are being evaluated for key physical and mechanical properties, including:
- Modulus of elasticity
- Modulus of rupture
- Density
- Janka hardness
- Fastener withdrawal
- Dimensional stability
- Accelerated weathering
- Thermal conductivity
Together, these results will provide a detailed picture of thermally modified wood performance and help establish the information needed to specify thermally modified Hem-Fir for different applications.
Testing also allows us to move beyond general assumptions or marketing claims. Instead, Western’s future product documentation can be built around independently measured performance data.
From production trials to independent wood testing.
To accelerate Hem-Fir product testing, Western Forest Products is partnering with ThermalWood Canada in Bathurst, New Brunswick. Their smaller-scale Jartek thermal modification kiln lets us produce trial material efficiently and start generating data sooner.
Thermally modified Hem-Fir samples prepared for testing
Samples from these trials are being evaluated by the University of New Brunswick’s Wood Science and Technology Centre and SEREX to develop the performance data needed for future product documentation.
Entwicklungs- und Prüflabor Holztechnologie GmbH in Dresden (Entwicklungs- und Prüflabor Holztechnologie GmbH ), Germany, is evaluating biological durability separately. Wood durability testing is one of the longest parts of the program because it requires extended exposure periods, with results expected in approximately nine months.
Western is also participating in long-term field exposure testing through the National Hardwood Lumber Association. These trials will provide insight into how thermally modified wood performs under real-world exposure conditions over time and contribute to a broader understanding of thermally modified wood in North America.
Universal Testing Machine (left) and Xenon Weather-Ometer (right), Wood Science and Technology Centre (WSTC), The University of New Brunswick
Looking beyond a single test result.
This work supports a broader effort to build a strong technical foundation for thermally modified Hem-Fir. The results will support future product launches and provide the evidence needed for product data sheets and technical wood specifications.
They may also contribute to future ThermoWood® Handbook documentation and help establish a basis for recognizing thermally modified Hem-Fir as a new species within established technical guidance.
For Western, validating the thermal modification process is an important step in moving from research and trial production to a product that can be specified with confidence.
““Research provides the foundation. Testing provides the verification. Together, they provide the data needed to specify thermally modified Hem-Fir with confidence.”
-Sepideh Nourian, Product Developer, Western Forest Products
