Incorporated in 2006, Welley Timber Industries Sdn. Bhd. in northern Peninsular Malaysia is a growing manufacturer of hardwood plywood with a total investment of over US$15 million. A factory of six acres is operated by 500 well-trained, experienced employees and is equipped with state-of-the-art semi as well as fully automatic machines. Its team can produce annually at least 60,000 m2 of high quality hardwood plywood annually on top of 3 million m2 of flooring.

Welley uses some of the most sophisticated semi and fully-automated wood-processing machinery from Japan and Germany to ensure the quality of its products at each step of the manufacturing:

1. 1. FULLY AUTOMATIC GERMAN HOWA DEBARKER MACHINE This machine is used to remove the bark outermost layer of logs. By using this high-tech machine, the wood is not affected as the bark is neatly and accurately peeled off.
   2. FULLY AUTOMATIC JAPANESE MEINAN LATHE VENEER MACHINE This Lathe Veneer Machine is able to cut timber of any thickness. Each sheet has a difference of only 0.02mm in thickness only. As this machine is operated at high speed, it produces neat and precisely cut sheets of wood.
   3. SEMI AUTOMATIC TAIWANESE ROLLING DRYING MACHINE The distinctive design capability of this machine can ensure every sheet of wood achieves a specific consistency in moisture content, normally 8-12% MC.
   4. FULLY AUTOMATIC JAPANESE 90 DEGREE CUTTING MEINAN CORE BUILDER This sophisticated machine is used to join two sheets of the thin wood together at a precise angle to avoid them from overlapping each other, producing 99% in equal thickness.
   5. FULLY AUTOMATIC JAPAN PACIFIC HOT PRESS MACHINE This press is equipped with fine quality metal, granting optimum control of the heat pressure used to compress the layers of wood into flooring boards. With controlled temperature, flooring boards are more solid and stable.

COMMERCIAL PLYWOOD SPECIFICATIONS
Product Standard: BS EN 13986, BS EN 6566
Species: Malaysia Tropical Hardwood
Size: 1220mm x 2440mm
Thicknesses: 5.2/9/12/15/18/25mm
Glue: MR, WBP
Grade: BB/CC or BB/BB

Welley’s main product is commercial plywood. Other products include 4mm, 6mm, 9mm, 12mm, 15mm,18mm multi-layered marine ‘A’ plywood and waterproof floorboards, 15mm multilayer floorboards without t & g, 8mm film-faced plywood, 2mm – 12mm flexi-ply, decking and ceiling boards. All products meet BS1088, BS6566, BS1455 and BS314 standards. All basic plywood is produced from 100% Malaysian MTCS/PEFC-certified logs, peeled at the Penang plant, mainly with mixed light hardwood cores and Kembang Semangkok (KSK) faces. The company is committed to environmental responsibility and says “only trees that are harvested legally are used and all these timbers are endorsed under the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC).”   For decorative faces local Nyatoh and Merbau are used as well as American Oak and Black Walnut.

Welley’s main flooring product is engineered flooring. Motivation for this expansion of the company’s plywood range was in an effort to develop engineered flooring as a more resource-efficient product than solid flooring. This required a new investment in different machinery such as T&G profiler, new cutters and coating lines as well as a new cold press – mainly all manufactured in Germany. Such a diversification into flooring required complete re-training of staff in technical and processing issues and the appropriate quality control disciplines. Marketing challenges also faced the company with so many competitors and other products on offer globally.

MULTILAYER SOLID WOOD ENGINEERED FLOORING BOARD SPECIFICATION
Composition : Tropical Medium Hardwood
Size : 15mm x 142mm x 1220mm
Materials : Kempas, Nyatoh, Merbau, Mengkulang, Meranti, Kembang Semangkuk, Sapotaceae, Penarahan, Sepetir & Rengas
Weight : 1.50-2.50kg/pc
Damp-proof : JAS Standard, Substandard T1
Moisture Content : 6-8%
Air Dry Density : 550-800kg/m3
Veneer Thickness : 2.0mm
Overall Layer : 7 Layer
Thickness Difference : ±0.15mm
Width Difference : ±1.5mm
Anti Termite : Effective
Scratch Resistance Grade : 3H
Surface Finishing : 11 Undercoat, 2 Finish Coat
Formaldehyde Emission Class : E0 (0.1mg/l)

Its location gives the company an added advantage because there are plenty of vast forest lands, where unrestricted space allows trees to grow without much competition for sunlight, water and air, thus resulting in healthier trees as the photosynthesis process is not interrupted. Rainforests in that region is also an abundant resource for excellent minerals. According to CEO Martin Beh “It is not difficult to get natural forest logs in Peninsular Malaysia, because it is sustainable; added to which we are able to buy PEFC certified logs.”

Welley makes sure its raw material is as fresh as possible to avoid the use of chemicals in processing and preserving it, as one approach to assure the quality of products. To further satisfy the market’s demand, Welley cooperates with the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM) to conduct intensive studies on numerous tropical wood species in the hope of coming up with various different products of distinct quality.

Around 80% of plywood production is exported. Markets are diverse with Australia as a key market, but the list of others is long: New Zealand, USA, UK, Korea, Taiwan, China, India, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Singapore, Thailand, the Middle East and Afghanistan are all in the company’s sight. Markets for flooring are diverse with China and Indonesia already well established, and Australia now a key target. In Europe, Welley is also focusing on Denmark, the Netherlands and France. Vital to most of these markets is Oak which is the predominant species for real hardwood flooring in all European and American markets and rapidly expanding in Asia, especially China. The company is increasingly buying American Oak for flooring “because it stains well and is stable,” according to Business Development Manager Dustin Tay.

 Welley has also developed its Ion Wood product range. This has yet to find wide, market acceptance but one that may well find a place in health-conscious markets. Ion Wood incorporates a substance that reduces positive (+) ions in the air by introducing negative (-) ions, which are being produced by mixing natural mineral – germanium and turmoline – in their product, which in turn pumps the air with natural vitamins – the negative (-) ions in the air. Welley exhibited at the Domotex Shanghai flooring show in 2014 to introduce its Ion Wood flooring and panelling, in a courageous effort to start the long haul towards achieving wider market acceptance. Dustin says “We believe in innovation and are willing to invest to bring new flooring products to the market from Malaysia.”