Hives made of solid panels. Choice of adhesive

We are among the countries with the highest honey production in the European Community. The demand for honey is growing every year and this gives many people the courage to start a honey business. To make honey you need hives, and to make honey production a business, the hives have to be of good quality. That's how hive factories came into being, where the focus is on quality so that the hives can withstand the harsh outdoor conditions as well as possible and for as long as possible. Not for the first time when I tell you about hives. In the meantime, however, I have learned more about beekeeping in Europe and worldwide, and I want to share this information with you.

World honey production in figures

The largest producer of honey in the world is China, with a production of more than 500,000 t/year. It is followed by the European Union with over 200,000 t/year and Turkey with over 100,000 t/year. There are 600,000 registered beekeepers and over 17 million hives in the European Union. The data are official and you can read themhere.

Of the EU Member States, only 4 countries produce more than 20,000 t/year, and our country is among them. The other countries we compete with are Spain, Hungary and Germany. Between 2013 and 2015 Romania ranked first in Europe in honey production. Although in 2017 Romania's honey production reached more than 30,000 t/year (higher than in 2015 - 27,000 t/year), our country lost the first place to Germany.

Despite this increase in honey production, the European Community is far from meeting the EU's demand for honey. In 2016, for example, more than 200,000 tonnes of honey were imported from China. For this reason, the development of business in the sector is supported, with Romania attracting 10% of the total allocated funds in 2013-2015. If I tell you that funds are allocated according to the number of hives on the territory, then you will also understand how this industry has flourished. And the demand for hives is not limited to Romania, as producers export hives produced in our factories to Hungary, Spain and Germany.

Hive factories in Romania

Last year I attended a seminar organised by Felder Gruppe on Start-Up Nation. One of the 2017 beneficiaries of the programme, Marius Mihalca (Triple Wood company) from Tulcea, was also invited. His project - accepted into the programme - was a beehive factory and he had applied to buy wood processing machinery.

He had been invited to share his personal experience of project preparation, funding, obstacles encountered, time taken to receive the money and other such problems he had faced during that period. But I was interested in how he came up with the idea and why the hives. I spoke to him at the end of the meeting when we were all huddled together in our little churches, trying to find out what I hadn't asked before.

He told me that he chose to make hives realizing that the demand was very high. There were a lot of beekeepers in the area complaining about the lack of quality products. He had also learned that there was demand for export. In fact, much of the production was already going abroad. I asked him if he had customers for how much he produced. He told me he could sell double, even triple, but he had no people to produce with.

Why did I tell all this? Because I am convinced that it is an area with a lot of potential and I think it can be a good business idea for some of you.

Advantages of solid panel hives

But back to the hives. As I said at the beginning, this is the period when the hive factories are working at full capacity. February, March and April are peak months, when it is possible to work in shifts.

In order to obtain quality products that can withstand outdoor conditions as well as frequent handling and transport, the hives are made of solid wood panels. Sometimes these panels are layered so that there is not the slightest problem of deformation or dimensional variation. A manufacturer from Oradea even says that the wood used to make beehives is similar to that used to make windows and exterior doors.

The main advantage of using these panels is that any defects in the wood are removed, eliminating the risk of cracking or warping on the outside. There are no gaps between the elements because they are glued together. The construction is sound and strong and can be transported safely. Even if more aggressive actions are required, such as detaching the honey supers from the rest of the hive, which is done with a chisel, the hive will hold up very well.

Hives are produced from wider wooden elements (10-12 cm) that are no longer joined together nut and feder as in the past but are pasted in the press. For safety the adhesive must be D4. Before being glued together, the elements are extended, being joined in the teeth. And this time you have to use D4 outdoor resistant adhesive. If necessary the panels are laminated to eliminate any risk of dimensional variation over time.

TISZABOND adhesives - the choice of many hive manufacturers for the Romanian and European market

The quality of the adhesive is very important when assembling the panels for hives. Company Szolvegy in Targu Mures has been working for years with hive companies that export to Hungary and other EU countries. Long experience allows him to recommend the best options with which the producer will certainly not fail.

The recommendation is to use D 4 adhesives from the TISZABOND range, both mono and bicomponent. They are very high quality adhesives with very good resistance to moisture and outdoor conditions. Because they contain no filler they are much more elastic. Reactive groups inside the adhesive allow advanced cross-linking which gives the resulting film much better strength. By following the indications in the product data sheet, very strong glues are obtained. The hive can thus withstand repeated moves from one place to another, as well as rain, snow, wind and other problems faced by an object that stays outside most of the year. From what some beekeepers have told me, there are hives that even stay outside only.

I hope this time I have come up with new, interesting and useful information for you. You can share if you think the information can help others. And if you have any questions or comments, please leave them in the space below.