The Association’s work in bringing together industry professionals resulted in a very informative evening in Atlanta, GA on August 23rd, 2016. Over 50 members and guests from the deck building industry gathered to hear and question the three leading preservative manufacturers about the modifications to the AWPA treated wood standards, and answer questions about treated wood. The panel included NADRA Members: Steve Shields from Lonza, Todd Greer from Koppers Performance Chemicals (KPC), and Chris Kollwitz from Viance – Wood Treatment Solutions.

Like all NADRA meetings, we started things off with the reading of the anti trust statement, read by Kirk Hammond, NADRA’s President.

Mike Beaudry, NADRA’s Executive Vice President introduced NADRA’s Southeast regions advisory committee: Mike Reason, Kevin Waters, Joel Mooneyhan, Joey Matthews, James Gunning and Keith Compton.

All meeting attendees stood and introduced themselves.  It was a fun way to get to see who was in the room and how they were involved in the industry. We were particularly excited to introduce NADRA’s newest Bronze Level Member, Avery Chua of dassoXTR.

The meeting included a discussion of the recent AWPA standard modifications, the differences between AWPA standardized products vs. alternative acceptance criteria and paths to code compliance; like the ESR’s, the M4 standard requirement for coating cut ends, and a lively discussion on the dissemination of information and the liabilities the industry faces for the use of different treated wood materials over the past 10 years.

Todd Greer, Koppers Performance Chemicals, Director, North American Sales and Service says: “It was great to meet and speak directly with NADRA members at the Atlanta meeting. We look forward to working with the organization, and encouraging communication within our industry. Koppers believes it is important to provide a unified source of information for deck building professionals to learn more about the use of treated wood products and technologies.” To hear more from Todd, check out his write-up here.

Chris Kollwitz from Viance – Wood Treatment Solutions says: “As beautiful custom wood framed decks and outdoor projects are constructed by NADRA members, they should be guided by the latest, most accurate information available. Despite what some in the industry are communicating, there is NO requirement to use Ground Contact materials for ALL Above Ground decks.” To hear more from Chris Kollwitz from Viance, check out Chris’s write-up here.

Steve Shields stated: “I appreciated the opportunity to participate in the treated wood panel discussion at the recent NADRA meeting in Atlanta.  It provided an opportunity to discuss recent changes to standards that have impacted not only how treated wood is recommended to be used, but have also encouraged more retailers to stock ground contact treated wood so that users can be less concerned about potential misapplication.  Just as important was the opportunity for me to hear comments directly from builders on shortcomings of the treated wood that they have experienced.  I believe that increased involvement of NADRA and other organizations representing retailers and users of treated wood in AWPA can result in continued improvement of standards and better treated wood products for users.”  To hear from Steve, check out his write-up here.

If you have questions, comments or concerns regarding this topic, please contact NADRA by filling out the online form found HERE.

Please visit www.NADRA.org to learn more about your Association, it’s mission, education and services that it provides to industry professionals and consumers.

ABOUT NADRA

NADRA is made up of deck builders, inspectors, manufacturers, dealers/distributors, wholesalers, retailers, lumberyards, outdoor living professionals and service providers to the deck and railing industry. By working together, we can be one voice for the industry and deliver a clear message to the consumer and the code development bodies. NADRA serves as a trade association with emphasis on safe building practices, and deck safety.

Copyright 2016,  The North American Deck and Railing Association, NADRA.  This material may not be rewritten or redistributed without following these instructions: If you would like to use this information, please request permission first by emailing Info@NADRA.org. Thank you!