Nordic Inspiration, Material Innovation
Woodio® seamlessly merges the rich heritage of Nordic design traditions with pioneering bio-material innovation. All washroom products are meticulously crafted using Woodio®, the world's first 100% waterproof wood composite, through a low carbon manufacturing process in Finland. As Woodio®’s sole UK partner, we are offering the wonders of this unique material in a collection of washbasins and WCs set to revolutionise commercial interior design.
What goes into Woodio?
“Our products amaze people. Wood is light, sustainable, and easy to create different colours with. Wood is also a well-known and much appreciated material to Finns, as we have a long history in the forest industry, utilising wood, and creating innovations out of it.” – Terja Koskenoja, CEO, Woodio®.
Nordic Inspiration, Material Innovation
Woodio® seamlessly merges the rich heritage of Nordic design traditions with pioneering bio-material innovation. All washroom products are meticulously crafted using Woodio®, the world's first 100% waterproof wood composite, through a low carbon manufacturing process in Finland. As Woodio®’s sole UK partner, we are offering the wonders of this unique material in a collection of washbasins and WCs set to revolutionise commercial interior design.
What goes into Woodio?
“Our products amaze people. Wood is light, sustainable, and easy to create different colours with. Wood is also a well-known and much appreciated material to Finns, as we have a long history in the forest industry, utilising wood, and creating innovations out of it.” – Terja Koskenoja, CEO, Woodio®.
Made in Finland
Woodio®'s commitment to crafting beautiful and timeless designs is an intrinsic part of its identity, reflecting a deep-rooted appreciation for all things sustainable, including the form follows function approach to design – ideal to suit the needs of contemporary UK commercial interior projects.
The Story
The Woodio® journey began with a bold, unconventional idea between people who saw the world differently. Here, Terja Koskenoja, CEO, Woodio®, tells the story in their own words…
Woodio® was created almost by accident. And it all started with a glass of wine at a Christmas party…
“Woodio®’s founders, Petro Lahtinen and Antti Pärssinen, worked as colleagues at the Chemistry Laboratory of Helsinki University, both doing their Doctoral Thesis. Antti was focusing on polymers, and Petro on wood. During a Christmas party, over a glass of red wine, they decided to mix their work – adding polymers to wood. The day after, coming back to the laboratory, they saw something exciting - a completely new material that was formed by the cured mixture.”
And so, Woodio® was born - the world’s first ever 100% waterproof wood biomaterial.
The Material
You may be wondering, wood…for washrooms – does that really work?
“We want our products to look beautiful, and amaze people. Wood is light, sustainable, and easy to create different colours with. Wood is also a well-known and much appreciated material to Finns, as we have a long history in the forest industry, utilising wood and creating innovations out of it.”
Waste not
The Process
The manufacturing process has sustainability at its core – with almost no water, low energy consumption, and minimal waste involved.
“The manufacturing process in the Helsinki factory is very sustainable. It consumes basically no water and has no energy intensive phases. The process also creates minimal waste - our success rate is over 95%.
“Our carbon footprint is significantly lower than traditional players – even up to 80% lower (depending on the end product). But we still aim higher: we are targeting carbon negativity by 2025. This will be achieved by significantly increasing the level of bio-content in the resin-based adhesive currently used to create the waterproof composite, and by taking care of the end use of our material, which we already have solutions for.
“The main tools for the manufacturing process are the moulds. We create the products by adding the wood chip and resin into a mould and letting them cure. After opening the moulds and taking the products out, we finish them by sanding and polishing. As no oven-temperature heat is involved in the manufacturing, carbon output is dramatically lower.
“During the manufacturing process, the quality of each product is checked three times, making sure that only the highest quality is delivered to you, our customer.”
The Design
Woodio® wears its organic inspiration on its sleeve. From the unique textural aesthetic created by the wood chip material mix to the natural and jewelled colour palette.
“We have developed a sustainable material and a colour palette that is inspired by the wild Nordic nature, from the colourful forest floor to the snow that covers it in wintertime.”
