On 28 May 2021 a new wood acetylation reactor was successfully set into place at the Accsys production facility for Accoya® wood in Arnhem, the Netherlands.
‘Reactor 4’ will increase annual production capacity of Accoya® wood by one third: from ~60,000m3 to ~80,000m3 per year, and is expected to begin production by the end of first quarter of the 2022 calendar year, as previously announced. This will enable the company to provide more of its unique, high performance wood to its markets and customers, with demand exceeding supply in recent months and years.
Accsys’ Accoya® wood production facility in Arnhem, Netherlands 
The fourth reactor, weighing around 65 tonnes being set into place at the plant 
The fourth reactor arrives on-site, where it will bring annual production capacity up from 60,000 to 80,000 cubic metres per year
Weighing around 65 tonnes, and stretching over 14 metres in length, the reactor is a feat of modern high precision engineering. With Accsys’ Arnhem facility designed to accommodate this expansion, work to prepare the site has progressed well, with the company also taking on five additional process operators to support the planning for commissioning and increased Accoya® wood production ahead.
The addition of a fourth reactor to the Arnhem site is part of Accsys’ ‘5x by 2025’ growth plan, which aims to increase production capacity fivefold from 40,000m3 per annum in 2018 to 200,000m3 a year in 2025. Other steps in the growth strategy include deploying new technology with the world’s first wood chip acetylation plant in Hull which will produce Tricoya® wood elements, and, through the joint venture with Eastman Chemical Company, the proposed ‘copy’ of the successful Arnhem Accoya® plant into the USA.
Accsys’ growth plan is driven by our purpose of ‘changing wood to change the world’, supported by our strategic priorities, and fully aligned to our core values: to be ambitious, to respect and value all stakeholders, and to be committed to safety, quality and sustainability. We continue to work safely and with pace to increase our positive impact on the world by providing more of our high-performance, sustainable products to the global construction market, and meeting the requirements, desires and demand from customers as the world seeks to build back better.