Innovations in wood treatment: BIGonDRY and thermomodification

BIGonDRY is an Italian company founded in 2001 that develops advanced technologies for drying, sterilizing, steaming and thermo-modification of wood. With more than 35 years of experience in the field, BIGonDRY offers customized engineering solutions tailored to customers' needs, with a focus on optimizing the performance and energy efficiency of the machines.

A key concern of the company is wood thermo-modification, a completely natural process using only steam and heat to significantly improve the technical characteristics of the wood material. The process involves physico-chemical changes inside the wood without using any chemical agents. The result is a more durable, dimensionally stable and biologically resistant wood.

Thermomodified wood thus takes on outdoor applications previously reserved for expensive exotic species such as teak. Swimming pool decking is a prime example - through thermo-modification, indigenous woods such as beech or ash can successfully replace teak, offering the same durability and great aesthetics at much lower cost and minimal environmental impact due to short transportation distances.

Research carried out by BIGonDRY together with leading universities in Europe has demonstrated the superiority of the company's thermomodification process, with excellent results even on species considered as "poor" such as poplar. Outdoor resistance increased from a few months to over 50 years in thermomodified poplar.

It should be noted that both beech and poplar are class 5 species according to EN 350, with the lowest resistance to decay and considered perishable. The natural outdoor resistance of these species is less than one year.

BIGonDRY is represented in Romania by Wood Process.

For more details about the revolutionary BIGonDRY technology, we invite you to watch the interview with Michele Bigon, CEO of BIGonDRY, at Xylexpo 2024.