About us

Introduction

The NZTPC licences timber treaters to the WOODmark® programme and undertakes regular inspections, sampling and testing of treatment plants to ensure compliance with quality requirements and standards.

The NZTPC’s goal is to ensure that timber treatment quality is maintained at the highest levels and to ensure that the timber treatment industry complies with health and safety and environmental protection standards.

The role of the Timber Preservation Council (TPC)

There are always a myriad of issues affecting the treatment industry which require a united, single voice. The TPC has always provided this single voice on behalf of the treatment industry.

Standards – TPC representatives sit on New Zealand & Australian committees that consider issues relating to timber treatments.

Apart from managing the WOODmark® quality assurance programme the TPC advocates for the timber treatment industry and also provides compliance services. Recent examples of these have included the conducting of workshops to enable licensees’ employees to qualify as approved handlers or for licensees’ plants to be certified as required in the Hazardous Substances & New Organisms Act. The TPC has recently revised and updated two core documents, the Timber Preservation Quality Manual and the Best Practice Guideline for Safe Use of Timber Preservatives and Antisapstains.

Promotion of the WOODmark®

TPC undertakes promotion of treated timber and the WOODmark® through conferences, education seminars and information publications.

Management of the numbered licensing system

The TPC ensures, through a plant registration numbering system, that treatment plants are readily identified for the benefit of consumers, regulators and industry participants. This system is managed in conjunction with State Forests of New South Wales.

History

The New Zealand Timber Preservation Council (NZTPC) was established in 1987 as an industry organisation to manage and operate a quality assurance programme for treated timber known as WOODmark®.

The NZTPC succeeded the Timber Preservation Authority, a government body which had been charged with ensuring timber was preservative treated in accordance with government regulation.

The advent of the NZTPC following the disestablishment of the Authority heralded the introduction of an ISO9000 based quality assurance programme to replace a prescriptive system of inspection of treated timber operations.   

Base documents to the WOODmark® programme are NZS3640:2003 Chemical Preservation of Round and Sawn Timber and the NZTPC Timber Preservation Quality Manual.   NZS 3640:2003 sets out the various hazard classes for treated timber and the degree of treatment required to achieve those hazard classes and also specifies how treated timber is to be branded.  The Manual sets out the operational procedures to be followed by timber treaters in order to achieve the requirements of the WOODmark® programme.

In addition to managing the WOODmark® programme the NZTPC is concerned to ensure that the timber treatment industry adheres to health and safety and environmental protection standards and legislative requirements.   The NZTPC has therefore published its “Best Practice Guideline for the Safe Use of Timber Preservatives and Antisapstains”.    This guideline sets out means of complying with the Health and Safety in Employment Act and the Hazardous Substances & New Organisms (HSNO) Act.

The Board

Alan Tanner (Chairman)

Howard Tonge
Ahead Lumber Ltd

Stephen Coyle
Ngahere Sawmilling Co Ltd

John Duncan
McAlpines Ltd

Technical Committee

Contact details

Phone: +64 4 473 5200
Fax: +64 4 473 6536
Email: inquiries@nztpc.co.nz

Postal address
New Zealand Timber Preservation Council
PO Box 308
Wellington
New Zealand

Delivery (physical) address
New Zealand Timber Preservation Council
Level 5,
99-105 Customhouse Quay
Wellington
New Zealand