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Weyerhaeuser will launch a Lyptus® single strip engineered flooring line in Spring 2008. With a 1/8" Lyptus wear-layer, this product offers the look of solid strip flooring with the added benefit of engineered versatility.  It will be available in 3-1/4" and 5" widths, and six prefinished colors – natural, fire, stone, earth, garnet and wheat.  “It’s just what our customers have been asking for, and we are pleased to be able to provide it by early next year” said Mark Hayes, Weyerhaeuser’s Flooring Business Manager.  “While the market for exotics is growing, consumers are also demanding these products be environmentally sound.  With Lyptus, we’re able to provide both – an exotic that’s also green.”

The new engineered flooring line will be a good accompaniment to the Lyptus solid flooring line, which has already established a niche in the marketplace as an elegant, readily available, exotic hardwood that comes from an environmentally responsible source.   The solid flooring line comes in the same six pre-finished colors and in 2-1/4",  3" and 4" widths.

Both Lyptus solid and engineered flooring show off the wood’s beautiful grain patterns and warm good looks, which are often favorably compared to Mahogany or Cherry. And another reason that Lyptus products are piquing the interest of homeowners, remodelers and builders is the fact they are available in lumber, plywood and veneer.  This is a significant benefit because it offers the ability to obtain matching stairs, millwork and cabinetry.  While not unusual with a domestic hardwood, this versatility is more unique for an exotic species, especially one with Lyptus’ positive environmental story.

Lyptus hardwood products are made from trees grown on plantations that are certified to Brazil’s national sustainable forestry standard, CERFLOR. This standard is one that has been mutually recognized by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC), an international organization headquartered in the UK, that endorses credible sustainable forestry programs. No native forests have been converted to create these plantations.  They are on reclaimed agricultural and grazing lands. And, to sustain the ecosystem, a minimum of 20% of all Lyptus plantation lands are managed in areas permanently set aside and maintained as a natural habitat, including near rivers and streams. Original species that thrived in the area more than 100 years ago are being reintroduced into this ecosystem.

Eucalyptus trees grow quickly and can be harvested within 14-16 years of planting. Many of the plantation grown trees are manually pruned during their growing years, so logs coming into the mill are more uniform and have fewer knots than those that grow naturally. This results in a high conversion rate of logs to clear lumber. Like Weyerhaeuser mills in the United States, the Lyptus mill uses virtually every portion of the log, converting it not only to lumber and by-products but using residuals as bio-energy to fuel the mill.  More information about Lyptus hardwood products can be found at www.lyptus.com.