The use of renewable raw materials has great significance in a sustainable economy. Plastics made from renewable raw materials play an important role in this. With Lignostone®, for over 100 years we have been producing a laminated densified wood consisting of renewable European beech veneers (Fagus sylvatica) which are joined together with thermosetting synthetic resins under pressure and heat.
For Lignostone® we only use selected European beech veneers of the highest quality. The peeled veneers used for Lignostone® come exclusively from trees from certified, sustainable forestry in Europe and thus ensure the continual rejuvenation of European forests.
Thanks to the excellent growing conditions in Western Europe for European beeches with a growth time of around 120 years, the product offers optimal homogeneity depending on the position and height of the trunk. In this way, the material meets the highest levels of electrical stress. In addition to electrical strength, the material offers unsurpassed mechanical strength due to the intact wooden capillaries with continuous load-bearing fibres depending on the layer direction and compression level.
With these properties, Lignostone® is used around the world as a high-performance insulation material in high-voltage transformers under the brand name Lignostone® Transformerwood®. Transformers with insulating components made of Lignostone® can be operated for over 30 years without any problems and thus conserve valuable resources.
Under the brand name Lignostone® cryogenic, our laminated densified wood is used worldwide due to its special thermal and mechanical properties as approved material for thermal insulation in LNG and LPG gas tankers and for fuel tanks in modern LNG engines.
Lignostone® is also suitable for mechanical applications such as exercise equipment, gear wheels, CNC system machining tables and particularly heavy-duty work surfaces due to its excellent strength and easy machinability.
We only purchase the peeled veneers for Lignostone® from suppliers who have been certified according to the rules of the FSC® Chain of Custody of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), based in Bonn, is an international non-profit organisation that promotes the environmentally friendly and economically viable management of forests. To this end, it has developed standards according to which companies can be certified.
The FSC® Chain of Custody certification ensures that the products of the certified companies are made with raw materials that come from responsible sources. To be certified, companies must align their processes and procedures in such a way that the traceability of the raw materials used is ensured and clear information can be given regarding the raw materials used in the product.
We have over 100 years of experience in the processing of Lignostone®. It was the very first synthetic material that Röchling ever manufactured and processed. It forms the starting point for the development and great plastics know-how that characterise our company today. The foundation was laid in 1915 when two engineers managed to compress wood and transform it into a material with remarkable properties. They invented a so-called laminated densified wood, which they called Lignostone®.
We would be happy to inform you about our Lignostone® products in greater detail.