Beyond fastening: Beyond the conceivable

In this issue of Sustainability Today, we are delighted to select Beck as our Fastening & Solutions Manufacturing Company of the Month

The Ancient Chinese philosophers believed that the Earth and life force (qi) contained five elements: wood, fire, earth, metal and water. Wood and metal are considered highly incompatible elements, with metal often destroying beautiful carved, wooden furniture.

This Chinese philosophy extends to the building trade, where we are now seeing the effects of decades of metal nails in timber walls.

LIGNOLOC® is an exclusive, pioneering collated nail system from Beck made of renewable central European beech wood. It is the perfect sustainable alternative to metal nails across the timber construction industry. It is the world’s first ‘shootable wooden nail’ – designed to be shot directly into wood without pre-drilling, using the FASCO® LIGNOLOC® pneumatic nailer. LIGNOLOC® contains 66% less CO2 emissions compared to more traditional systems and is at the forefront of the circular economy.

Johannes Haas is a skilled forester and wanted to build his family home using LIGNOLOC® rather than metal nails. After years of working in the trade, he has seen the devastating impact of using metal nails in timber walls and concluded, “Metal and wood do not get on well with each other.”

He wanted to future-proof his family home with fully recyclable materials, so that later down the line, his grandchildren or great-grandchildren weren’t left with hazardous waste residues. He was highly impressed with the quality of the LIGNOLOC® nail system and would wholeheartedly recommend it to builders across the construction trade.

See the video featuring Johannes Haas here: www.linkedin.com/posts/beck-fastening_esfunktioniert-klares-fazit-zum-themaactivity-7087378036660068352-X3Pf?utm_ source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

The LIGNOLOC® wooden nail system has been used for many projects yet and can be used for a wide variety of applications such as:

• Construction (timber frame construction, massive timber constructions (LCLT, CLT & NLT)

• Cladding: wooden exterior façades and interior wood cladding

• Flooring: OSB & real wood flooring

• Manufacturing: CNC applications

• Bespoke furniture and reclaimed wood designs

• Leisure: sauna designs to sailing boat features

• Funeral: wooden coffins

• Shipping & transportation: pallets and cratesLIGNOLOC® wooden nails and system packaging from Axxum has redefined sustainability with wooden boxes.

This year, BECK, and project partner KEHRATEC, presented a robot-assisted system for the fully or partially automated implementation of timber construction projects, particularly by preassembling completely glue-free and metal-free wall elements. Small and medium-sized timber construction companies and carpenters throughout Europe should be able to manufacture metal and glue-free mass timber wall elements themselves.

Beck was founded in 1904, by Karl Beck as a printing shop in Wildstein/Eger, in present-day Czech Republic. The family-owned company, now in its fourth generation, with Karl Beck’s greatgrandson Christian Beck as CEO, has grown to become one of the world’s leading premium manufacturers of fastening systems and solutions and continues to drive the original pioneering idea forward.

The dynamic company is a multi-award-winning global powerhouse: with customers across more than 50 countries across the world and eight companies across six locations, including the company headquarters in Mauerkirchen, Upper Austria. Beck has won gold in The German Innovation Award (2022), first place in the ‘process’ category in The MaterialPREIS Award 2022, winner of The German Design Award in 2020 and many other awards.

The Beck brand goes ‘Beyond Fastening’ with its comprehensive range of products around the world such as:

• LIGNOLOC® – collated wooden nails- applicable to timber cladding, wooden furniture, exterior façades and production of cross-laminated timber/solid wood wall systems.

• FASCO® – extensive range of fasteners and tools: staples, pins, collated nails and pneumatic tools.

• SCRAIL® – highly innovative nail screw fasteners

• ET&F® – fastening systems for the light gauge steel construction sector. The special nails with ballistic points can perforate even the hardest substrates.

• CLIP SYSTEMS – designed specifically for the meat processing sector, with an extensive range of aluminium clips, manual and semiautomatic, fully automatic clippers and accessories.

• MAGA® – cuttingedge meat press allows precision meat plating in quality catering and gastronomy: perfect presentation every time.

We spoke to Michaela Beck, Marketing Director, to find out more about what makes Beck so special, “Since 1904, we have offered our customers the highest quality as well as perfect, customised solutions for complex challenges, both as idea providers and implementers.

“We never stand still and continue to develop our work because we love what we do. Every day, we strive to be even better and develop ideas that create excellent connections. When developing fastening systems, we think things from the ‘ground up.’ By leaving the status quo behind, we push boundaries and willingly taking unconventional paths. Only those who can also imagine a world without metal, can reinvent a nail made of wood and open up completely new perspectives for their customers.

“Our pioneering LIGNOLOC® wooden nails offer unparalleled benefits over more traditional metal nails. These include: corrosion and chemical-resistant, enhanced fire-resistance, patented technology, reworking without tool wear, precision-designed and aesthetically beautiful, saves time as no pre-drilling required and most importantly, the most sustainable product on the market, with 66% less CO2 emissions.

“Moving forward, we are delighted that we have now obtained the official ETA (European Technical Assessment) code approval for all our LIGNOLOC® wooden nails. This means that the products can be used throughout the EU in the building sector.

“We will be launching our ‘ETA nails with head’ (and ring shaft) in September (the underlying EAD is pending for citation in the Official Journal of EU/ OJEU). The ETA covers nails with diameter 4.7mm and a length range from 52 to 100mm. We plan to launch 78mm as the next length, alongside the existing available 58mm nails. Inch by inch, we are moving forward towards greener, cleaner and better construction.”

Beck was the first company in the world to receive the Circular Globe Label for Circular Economy from Quality Austria/Swiss SQS for its company-wide culture of recyclability through products such as LIGNOLOC®. General Manager and CEO, Christian Beck, was delighted with the sustainability impact and pledged to continue working in this direction, “As a pioneer in fastening technology, we are particularly pleased to be taking bold steps in the field of circular economy and serving as a benchmark in our industry in the field of sustainable management,” adds Michaela.

The company is steadfastly committed to a greener future; from the continuous expansion of the sustainable product portfolio to a sustainable transformation of the entire company (transition to e-fleet, agenda for energy self-sufficiency, etc).

“Our clear mission is the 360° ecologisation of the timber construction industry, with advanced fastening technology. We are helping builders understand that they can complete projects using sustainable/recyclable fastening systems,” concludes Michaela.

For more information on Beck, see the website below:
T +43 7724 2111-0
marketing@beck-fastening.com
www.beck-fastening.com/en