Frequently Asked Questions About Vicwood

General / Engineered Veneer / Engineered Veneer Lumber / Flooring

General Questions about Vicwood

How old is Vicwood Group?
Where is Vicwood's mill located?
What is Vicwood's annual production capacity?
How many employees does Vicwood have?
Where does Vicwood get its raw material from?
How many countries does Vicwood sell its products to?
Where are Vicwood's distributors located?
May we visit Vicwood's mill in China?
Does Vicwood have an office in North America?
Has Vicwood introduced any new products into the world markets recently?

Questions about Vicwood Engineered Veneer

Is Vicwood Engineered Veneer made from real wood?
How is Vicwood Engineered Veneer made?
Why manufacture Engineered Veneer?
What are the advantages of Vicwood Engineered Veneer over natural veneer?
What are the available dimensions of Vicwood Engineered Veneer?
How many designs of Engineered Veneer does Vicwood manufacture?
Can Vicwood Engineered Veneer be varnished and painted like natural wood?
Does Vicwood have a minimum order policy?
Is there a limit on the number of designs I can order in a 20-foot container?
Why this restriction?
What volume of veneer can I load into a 20 foot container?
Can I buy Vicwood Engineered Veneer with different kinds of backing?
What are the exact contents of Vicwood Engineered Veneer?
Is Vicwood Engineered Veneer CARB certified?
And what are its properties?
Do you offer flame-retardant material?
How does one care for a fire-retardant board?

Questions about Vicwood's Engineered Veneer Lumber

What is this product exactly?
What are its advantages over natural wood lumber?
What dimensions does Vicwood's Engineered Veneer Lumber come in?

Questions about Vicwood's Flooring

How many types of flooring does Vicwood manufacture?
Does Vicwood produce any natural wood flooring?
What dimensions of flooring does Vicwood produce?
What is Vicwood's reconstituted veneer flooring?
What kind of coating does Vicwood put on its flooring products?
What are the properties of Vicwood's flooring?
How many square meters of Vicwood's 18mm thick solid pre-finished flooring will fit into a 40-foot container?
And how many square meters of Vicwood's engineered flooring will fit into a 40-foot container?
How can I install Vicwood's flooring?
Where can I find more information about Vicwood's flooring?
Where can I see Vicwood's flooring products?

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General Questions about Vicwood

How old is Vicwood Group?

Vicwood Group was founded in 1963.

Where is Vicwood's mill located?

Vicwood's 11 mills are located in a complex measuring 1.7 square kilometers in the city of Suzhou in Jiangsu Province, China. Suzhou is roughly a two-and-a-half-hour drive from the Pudong airport in Shanghai, China.

What is Vicwood's annual production capacity?

With 10 peeling lines and 40 slicers, Vicwood has the capacity to produce 200,000 m3 of veneer, plywood, lumber and flooring combined annually.

How many employees does Vicwood have?

Vicwood has about 6,000 (six thousand) employees around the world, the majority of which work in its mills in China and in its forestry and sawmill operations in Africa.

Where does Vicwood get its raw material from?

Vicwood has its own source of logs supply from its forestry concessions in Cameroon, Congo and Central African Republic. Vicwood Group's forestry concessions cover a total area of 3 million hectares - about the size of Taiwan. There are also 5 sawmills in Africa belonging to the group. Vicwood ships logs and lumber from these concessions not only to its factories in China but also to customers around the world. Please see our Vicwood Africa page for a list of log and lumber species that we are currently offering. Vicwood also sources North American and European logs from its network of suppliers. If you are interested in quoting us for logs or becoming part of our supplier network, please e-mail us.

How many countries does Vicwood sell its products to?

Currently, Vicwood is selling its products in over 65 (sixty-five) countries around the world.

Where are Vicwood's distributors located?

We have distributors all over the world and more joining us every month. We have a policy of non-exclusivity so if you are interested in becoming an importer/distributor we would be pleased to hear from you. Simply e-mail us.

May we visit Vicwood's mill in China?

Of course. We are happy to have our customers visit in order to understand our production and our products better. Please drop us a line and let us know when you plan to visit and we will arrange for a tour accordingly.

Does Vicwood have an office in North America?

We have an office in Washington State but our colleagues there deal mainly with property development and are not involved in the timber business. We also have a representative in Vancouver, BC, Canada, Angela Fairbank, M.A, who would be pleased to answer your enquiries. Please do not hesitate to contact her via e-mail.

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Questions about Vicwood Engineered Veneer

Is Vicwood Engineered Veneer made from real wood?

Yes, it is made from natural white woods from Africa and therefore has all the characteristics of natural wood.

How is Vicwood Engineered Veneer made?

Basically we take white woods from our African concessions, peel the logs, bleach them, dye them and laminate them together into a block, sometimes fitting them into moulds, if the pattern so requires. Then we slice the blocks horizontally to produce veneer. Thus we are changing the grain pattern and the colour to make them resemble natural woods.

Why manufacture Engineered Veneer?

The number of prized natural species such as Maple, Cherry, Walnut, Oak etc. not to mention the more exotic species such as Ebony, Zebrawood, Wenge, etc. is gradually diminishing and the qualities and sizes that are left in the forests are decreasing. When you buy a container of natural veneer you are obliged to buy B and C grade together with A grade. The widths of natural veneers are also narrow from cutting out defects and to make a 2 foot (640mm) by 8 foot (2500mm) sheet or even a 4 foot (1220mm) by 8 foot (2500mm) sheet you have first to select the veneers to be able to match them properly, then you have to splice a number of the veneers together. This adds to your labour costs and to your time. Our sheets are whole, the patterns, grains and colours are consistent and they are all A-grade quality. What is perhaps even more important is the fact that our engineered veneer is defect-free.

What are the advantages of Vicwood Engineered Veneer over natural veneer?

Its main advantage compared to natural wood is consistency in grain, pattern, colour, quality and dimensions.

What are the available dimensions of Vicwood Engineered Veneer?

Vicwood Engineered Veneer is regularly produced in sheets of 2 feet (640mm) wide by 8 foot (2500mm) long. We slice it in thicknesses of 0.2mm to 4mm but our regular production is around 0.5mm, 0.55mm or 0.6mm. We can also joint (splice) the sheets to make 4 foot (1220mm) widths.

How many designs of Engineered Veneer does Vicwood manufacture?

We currently manufacture over 500 different designs of which about 400 can be found on our pages Designs A-L and Designs M-Z.

Can Vicwood Engineered Veneer be varnished and painted like natural wood?

Absolutely. However, we advise that if you stain them with too dark a colour you may lose sight of the grain pattern. We suggest, if you are planning on staining our products, that you have a look at our many darker patterns as well. We might just have the hue and grain you are looking for in other patterns of our Engineered Veneer. And that will save you the cost and time of staining some of our lighter patterns.

Does Vicwood have a minimum order policy?

Yes. As Vicwood is a mass producer, our minimum order is a 20-foot container load. However, knowing that this is difficult for some customers just starting with us, we also offer the possibilities of partial container loads or air freight shipments. Moreover, at certain times of the year, we sell off inventory in lots. Should you be interested in buying inventory at discount prices, please contact us. Also why not consult our Promotions page for our regular production items if you have a rush order.

Is there a limit on the number of designs I can order in a 20-foot container?

Yes, our policy on regualr orders is a maximum of 3 designs per 20-foot container or 6 patterns per 40-foot container. However, if you are making orders of multiple containers with multiple patterns, we can ship material as soon as it is produced so as to expedite material to you more quickly. This means that you don't have to wait for this three-pattern/one container type shipment.

Why this restriction?

It is a matter of production in our mill. A production batch consists of 6 blocks or crates and we can fit 18 blocks or crates into a 20-foot container.

What volume of veneer can I fit into a 20 foot container?

It depends on the thickness of the veneers you are ordering and will vary from roughly 25,000m2 to 30,000m2 (roughly 250,000 sq. ft. to 300,000 sq. ft.). Below is a more exact breakdown:

• 0.7mm x 640mm x 2500mm = 23,904m2
• 0.6mm x 640mm x 2500mm = 27,648m2
• 0.55mm x 640mm x 2500mm = 28,800m2
• 0.5mm x 640mm x 2500mm = 30,240m2

Can I buy Vicwood Engineered Veneer with different kinds of backing?

Certainly. We have various backings available such as fleece back, paper back, wood back (wood-on-wood), etc.

What are the exact contents of Vicwood Engineered Veneer?

It consists of 92-94% natural wood, 0-2% dye and 4-6% glue.

Is Vicwood Engineered Veneer CARB certified?

CARB certification, on which you can find more information at http://www.carbrule.org, applies for the moment to the state of California, USA so other countries or states are not currently affected by this ruling. Moreover, it concerns the regulation of formaldehyde emission from composite wood panels, i.e. particleboard, MDF and hardwood plywood. Technically, therefore, Vicwood Engineered Veneer is not affected by the rule. However, as it is made of various sheets of veneer glued together into a block, different levels of formaldehyde emission are possible. Generally speaking, Vicwood uses an E-1 level formaldehyde-emission glue and this has been an accepted standard in Europe for the past several years. The level is tested in our mill via a dessicator and our levels consistently match those imposed by these European standards, i.e. less than or equal to 1.5mg/L. However, some of our customers - in Europe and Japan, for instance - order our engineered veneer with E-0 standard, which provides for a formaldehyde emission of less than or equal to 0.5mg/L. If you require low formaldehyde emission veneer, we can offer a formaldehyde emission in the 0.5mg/L to 0.8mg/L range, depending on the testing conditions. Prices for our engineered veneer with this range of formaldehyde emission will increase accordingly but certainly Vicwood can attain levels that are very close to 0 mg/L formaldehyde emission but not exactly 0, since wood itself naturally contains some formaldehyde.

What are its properties?

It has a specific gravity of 450-700kg/m3 at 18% moisture content, though its regular moisture content varies from 8-20%. As mentioned above, our regular production engineered veneer meets E-1 international formaldehyde emission standards. It has also passed the National Type II immersion standards. Its sunlight fastness is equivalent to natural timbers. A UV absorbency agent can be added to enhance the fastness performance at the customer's request.

Do you offer flame-retardant material?

Yes. Our fire-retardant board is manufactured by pressing our engineered veneer together with resin-impregnated paper. It is heat resistant, water-proof and stainless, has a good anti-wearing and anti-impact performance, and is economical and environmentally friendly.

How does one care for a fire-retardant board?

Avoid scratching directly on the surface, keep it out of direct sunlight and high-humidity areas and do not put objects hotter than 130 degrees on the surface for a long time as it could lead to gloss discoloration. If the fire-retardant board becomes stained, use a mild detergent to remove the stain and wipe it off using a non-abrasive fiber, such as cotton or silk. Then flush it with fresh water.

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Questions about Vicwood's Engineered Veneer Lumber

What is this product exactly?

It is lumber made out of the blocks we have prepared in the same way that we produce blocks for our Engineered Veneer. So it is potentially available in any of the over 400 patterns we make in the Engineered Veneer.

What are its advantages over natural wood lumber?

The advantages are the same as those for our Engineered Veneer with regard to colour, grain, quality and pattern consistency. But more importantly, the Engineered Veneer lumber can be used in the production of finished products to match our Engineered Veneer. For instance, it can be used to make the legs for a table on which you have a table top using our Engineered Veneer; for ceiling or wall mouldings and wainscoting to match the ceiling tiles, wall panels or furniture using our Engineered Veneer; in door jambs and frames for Vicwood Engineered Veneered doors; in engineered (floating) or solid flooring...the uses are limitless.

What dimensions does Vicwood's Engineered Veneer Lumber come in?

Lengths of 7 feet (2.2 meters) or 8 feet (2.5 meters), thicknesses of 2 inches (50mm) and widths from 4 inches (100mm) up to 2 feet (24 inches).

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Questions about Vicwood's Flooring

How many types of flooring does Vicwood manufacture?

We manufacture engineered (floating) flooring - multi-layer on a plywood base - and solid flooring.

Does Vicwood produce any natural wood flooring?

Yes, we have a range of Red Oaks in various stains and we also have Hard Maple, Russian Oak, Russian Birch, Russian Maple, Cherry and Bamboo, both natural and carbonized. Moreover, we produce natural African wood flooring in 13 different species: Afrormosia, Anigré, Bossé, Bubinga, Douka, Iroko, Moabi, Okan, Padouk, Sapelli, Tali, Wenge and Zebrawood. Pictures of a number of these species can be found on our Flooring page.

What dimensions of flooring does Vicwood produce?

Engineered flooring:
Thickness: from 8mm (5/16”) to 18mm (3/4”)
Width: from 57mm (2 1/4”) to 127mm (5”) for natural species and from 57mm (2 1/4”) to 189mm (7 2/5”) for reconstituted veneer designs.
Length: from 305mm to 1,230mm (1' to 4') for natural species and from 305mm to 2,500mm (1' - 8') for reconstituted veneer designs.

Solid flooring:
Thickness: 18mm (3/4”)
Width: from 102mm (4”) to 189mm (7 2/5”)
Length: from 305mm to 2,500mm (1' - 8')

What is Vicwood's reconstituted veneer flooring?

This is multi-laminate flooring where the top layer is made from our Engineered Veneer. We also make a solid flooring product in a select range of our Engineered Veneer designs.

What kind of coating does Vicwood put on its flooring products?

Vicwood Group provides quality coatings for its multi-layer natural wood floorings, such as super anti-wear and anti-scratch UV coatings imported from overseas. Multi-layer coating gives Vicwood's multi-layer natural wood floorboard a smooth surface, good adhesion, good formation and meets the anti-wear test to a degree of 8,000-10,000 rotations, thus prolonging floorboard life expectancy.

What are the properties of Vicwood's flooring?

Vicwood's flooring has high strength, good flexibility, stability and anti-wearing properties and is easily installed. Another great feature is that special glue, developed solely by Vicwood, has a superior waterproof and environmental protection performance. The emission of formaldehyde is only 0.04mg/m3 whereas the international standard of E1 allows up to 0.12mg/m3. Moreover, multi-layer natural wood flooring replaces the decreasing supply of rare natural timbers world-wide. This not only saves the natural forests, but also is in alignment with China's sustainability strategies. It is really a green, safe, healthy and environmentally-friendly product.

How many square meters of Vicwood's 18mm thick solid pre-finished flooring will fit into a 40-foot container?

We can load about 1,458 m2 into a 40-foot container. This is the maximum allowed due to the weight of the flooring material.

And how many square meters of Vicwood's engineered flooring will fit into a 40-foot container?

Depending on the thickness, we can load about 2,000 m2 to 3,000 m2 into a 40-foot container.

How can I install Vicwood's flooring?

Vicwood's flooring can be glued down onto sub-flooring such as concrete or 3/4-inch (18mm) plywood. You should allow for a 16-hour curing time of the adhesive before exposing the flooring to heavy traffic. Otherwise, you can staple or nail Vicwood's flooring onto either 1) 3/4 inch (18mm) exterior plywood; 2) 1 inch (25mm) by 4 inch (100mm) to 6 inch (150mm)-wide, square-edged, kiln dried coniferous lumber laid out diagonally over 16-inch (400mm) center wooden joists, or 3) 3/4-inch (18mm) OSB (Oriented Strand Board) on a 19.2-inch (490mm) center-floor joist system that is properly nailed. In general the sub-floor in either method should not exceed 14% moisture content. Otherwise there should be no greater than a 4% moisture content difference between Vicwood's flooring and the sub-floor. For more installation instructions, please e-mail us, or refer to the National Wood Flooring Association for more installation tips.

Where can I find more information about Vicwood's flooring?

More information about our flooring, including species, dimensions and images of some of our designs, can be found on our Flooring page. We can also supply you with unfinished flooring blanks so that you can tongue-and-groove and coat them yourself.

Where can I see Vicwood's flooring products?

Please join us at one or more of the exhibitions where we will be displaying our products. You will find a list of these on our News page.


Has Vicwood introduced any new products into the world markets recently?

Yes, Vicwood Group is constantly innovating and is happy to introduce to the world markets the newest members of its family of products, as ever made to its own high quality standards. These include door skins, wood window blinds and components, and wood stair treads. Products launched in 2009 include, Vicwood Eco-Energy Panels and Vicwood finger-joint lumber and lumber board. In 2010 Vicwood CARB-certified mineral board and innovative plywood. Still to come: HPL, window and door frames, among others. Stay tuned.