New process brings decorative high-performance wood into series production
Koster AG Holzwelten has developed marble wood in collaboration with the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa). The wood is characterised by a pattern of black lines caused by a fungus. It is now being marketed under the name Myrai.
The Koster AG Holzwelten joinery, a family business based in Gossau, has developed what is known as marble wood in collaboration with Empa. Marble wood is characterised by a pattern of fine black lines caused by a fungus. This unique wood, once a rare chance find, is now produced in an annexe of the carpentry workshop using stainless steel containers, laboratories and climate and vacuum chambers. According to a press release, the product is now being marketed under the name Myrai.
As part of a joint Innosuisse project, the carpentry workshop and Empa developed a standardised, scalable process for the targeted production of marbled wood. In a vacuum chamber, boards made from native hardwoods such as maple, beech or ash are brought to the correct moisture content, sterilised and inoculated with the fungus. They then spend several weeks in a climate chamber to allow the fungus to grow and the resulting patterns to develop. Finally, the wood is dried in a technical process and the fungus dies.
“The special thing about this fungus is that it does not break down the highly lignified areas of the cell wall, so the wood retains a high degree of bending stiffness,” says Empa researcher and fungus expert Francis Schwarze, who works for the Cellulose & Wood Materials Laboratory in St. Gallen, quoted in the press release.
The resulting marbled wood is particularly suitable for decorative applications such as furniture, interior design and musical instruments. As part of the project, the carpentry workshop has developed expertise in controlling and refining the appearance of the wood. Jakob Koster, former CEO of Koster AG Holzwelten, will now focus on the sale and further innovation of marbled wood. According to Koster, demand is already high. The carpentry workshop and Empa also already have new ideas for further collaboration.