UPM's WISA plywood products have quite a reputation in China - a reputation quite literally build on the foundations of some of the country's most iconic skyscrapers, including the world's second tallest building, Shanghai Tower.
The strenght and consistent performance of 21 mm WISA-Form Birch is crucial in multi billion dollar construcion works like this because they must stay on schedule, even when weather conditions are difficult.
Guancang Hua, leader of the Shanghai Construction Group No 1 project formwork team, says the high number of re-uses and long service life of UPM WISA-Form Birch in critical weather conditions on the same site for several years are key issues when choosing products. The visible saving of materials and labour is around USD 80,000 and 20 days in construction time.
UPM's WISA has a strong brand name in the Chinese construction market and WISA panels have been used in most of the skyscrapers all over China.
The Tower, which uses 43 sustainable technologies and state of the art conservation practices will achieve LEED Gold certification and a China Green Building Three Star rating.
The Griffin magazine 3/2013, text Jane Garner