emBRACING sustainable alternatives

Native rainforests in Indonesia and Malaysia are being torn down at an alarming rate. According to Greenpeace, Indonesia loses forest the equivalent of 300 soccer pitches in area, every hour. Much of this timber is used in building products and much of this deforestation is avoidable. Hyne, one of Australia’s largest structural timber producers, is redressing the imbalance by importing structural timber bracing from Germany, made from farm-grown, sustainable softwood timber stocks.

Hyne OS’Brace is a high quality, sustainable structural bracing panel manufactured specifically for the Australian construction industry. Its impressive environmental credentials are only one of the factors that differentiate this product from others in the market. Lightweight and simple to install, Hyne OS’Brace has a clean, fresh timber appearance and doesn’t suffer from any of the defects typically found in veneer plywood such as holes, knots and splits.

Engineered as a three-layered, flat-pressed Oriented Strand Board (OSB) panel, Hyne OS’Brace is made from micro-veneers bonded with synthetic resin. It resists distortion, splitting, delamination and buckling, and is suitable for use anywhere in Australia, from the humid north to the cooler climes in the south. High moisture tolerance also means that Hyne OS’Brace provides long-term performance, excellent stability and consistent structural qualities from one panel to the next.

The strength of Hyne OS’Brace lies not only in its limited impact on the environment but its easy installation. This is a highly engineered bracing product where separate processing takes place on the micro-veneer strands in the core of the board and on the surface layers. Made by The Egger Group in Germany, special strand geometry is employed to ensure a tough fibre orientation, optimising Hyne OS’Brace’s structural performance. This low-emitting product fulfils the most stringent European E1 regulations, as well as all the performance requirements of the Building Code of Australia.

Egger’s OSB has been used for Hyne I Beams for over five years, so the decision to become a supplier for the new Hyne OS’Brace product wasn’t a difficult one. OSB has fast become the world’s most popular engineered panel, with 7 out of 10 new homes in North America using it for roof, wall and floor sheathing. Hyne OS’Brace does not rely on the use of decreasingly available tropical hardwoods and offers Australian builders and environmentally acceptable bracing alternative at no additional cost.

Peter Hyne, Hyne’s General Manager Wholesale, says that, “Hyne OS’Brace has so much going for it we believe it will become the product of choice for bracing systems in the Australia building industry in a very short space of time.” And Mr. Hyne says the company is prepared for this popularity. “We’ve stocked up all our Hyne Wholesale outlets to meet the demand,” he notes.

Hyne has a reputation as one of Australia’s oldest and most prominent timber suppliers. Established in Queensland in 1882 by Richard Matthews Hyne, the company has been supporting Australian construction for 125 years, making them an enviable and trusted name in the building industry.

Hyne has been supplying Hyne OS’Brace to Australia since March, and its continued success will ensure not just a top quality product for local builders, but the reduction of damage to the sensitive ecological environs of South East Asia.

"With the growing emphasis by Australian society toward environmentally friendly building materials, Hyne OS’Brace stands out as the bracing system of the future. Hyne is proud to be a major distributor of this new, innovative and environmentally sustainable product," Mr Hyne stated.

or more information go to Hyne OS’Brace on this website or call Hyne on 1300 304 963.