When Sandviken municipality, in central Sweden, took the decision to spend SEK 260 million, more than EUR 23 million, on a new state-of-the-art sports facility with an arena, sustainability was a keyword.
“Consideration for the environment is extremely important. We only purchase from suppliers who have an approved environmental assessment for their products,” says Örjan Persson, one of the site managers from the turnkey contractor SEHED Bygg Gävleborg.
The building contractor requires that each product is carefully logged in for registration with an approved building/environmental product declaration, which all of the WISA plywood panelling and boards have. And the Swedish workplace environment requirements are strict. WISA-Wall Ergo’s ergonomic features – which include low weight, convenient size and ease of assembly – may have played a decisive role in the choice.
“We listened to our employees when we decided on using “ergo-plyfa” which is easy to work with and easily assembled. We also use lightweight gypsum. In the long term, sickness absenteeism should be less frequent since employees feel more valued. It’s fantastic that the products are evolving, becoming even lighter,” says Örjan Persson, adding that he himself certainly didn’t work with such fantastic materials when he worked as a carpenter some fifteen years ago.
“If the old 1200 mm boards were to be used today, half of the staff would hand in their notice.”
The 900 mm panels, which are now standard and still most common in Sweden, weigh 13.5 kilograms, while a WISA-Wall Ergo panel of the same thickness (12 mm) weighs only 8 kilograms. Five kilogrammes less weight means considerably less strain on construction workers’ shoulders on a day-to-day basis.