When Falcon Shopfitters in Johannesburg needed to make up 450 timber louvres for installation at a Sun International Casino on the outskirts of Santiago, Chile, they knew that the choice of materials would be vital in getting the job done on time. As these units would be sent via air freight from South Africa to Chile, weight was a huge consideration. Falcon Shopfitters chose to use Xanita’s X-Board Plus (XB+) panels for the job.

XB+ comprises Xanita’s lightweight X-Core sheeting, pressed with rigid laminates to form a high strength-to-weight ratio composite board. The centre core of all XB+ panels boasts a compressive strength of 9kg/cm², and is entirely eco-friendly. These panels were pressed by Mitre Veneering and were then cut to size, edged and veneered to Falcon’s requirements.

Ian Falconer, Managing Director of Falcon Shopfitters provided some interesting statistics about the project: “Using XB+ allowed us to reduce the weight of each frame by 42%, from 24kg to less than 14kg. This gave us a total weight saving on the project of 4,500kg. Considering that these units were air freighted to South America, you can imagine the impact on the delivered cost!”

The impact didn’t end there. “These louvres are being installed into four large canopy areas in the casino, suspended from a concrete slab. The reduction in weight is such that each canopy is lighter by more than 1 ton each. This offers significant savings to our client at the point of installation,” says Falconer.

As a result of the massive reduction in weight, Falcon was also able to improve processing and handling times in their factory. “This is definitely the way this kind of work will be done in the future” said Keith Davidson, Falcon Shopfitters’  Production Director. “The strength and rigidity of the XB+ panels meant we could reduce weight without any compromise on the structural integrity of the frames.”

X-Board Plus (XB+) is offered in a wide range of board thicknesses. XB+ can be cut and machined using conventional woodworking equipment and can be edged directly on standard edge banding equipment. XB+ is being used increasingly in projects where “thick and chunky” designs also call for lightweight and eco-friendly materials. For more information, please visit:  http://www.xanita.com/site/about/x-board-plus.html