Membership Policy

The following types of membership of the Federation are available: 

a. Full Member 

Any sole trader or partnership whose principal place of business is situated within the United Kingdom, or a company or limited liability partnership incorporated within the United Kingdom engaged in the timber trade.

b. Associate Member 

Any sole trader, partnership, company or limited liability partnership whose principal place of business or place of incorporation is outside the United Kingdom, or any business or firm engaged in activities ancillary to or providing services for the trade but not actively engaged in the trade may apply to become an Associate Member.

1. To abide by the Memorandum and Articles of Association Timber Development UK and the Code of Conduct.

2. All Members are required to provide, annually, evidence of a robust due diligence system as outlined in the Sustainability Code of Practice.  Failure to do so may lead to expulsion from the Federation.  Should expulsion take place, the Member shall also remain liable for their membership fee for that year.

3. All Members shall submit a report to Timber Development UK on which their fee will be assessed based on their timber transactions.  Such report should relate to the most recent trading year.  In this context, ‘Timber’ shall mean any softwood or hardwood (including sleepers, poles, pitwood), veneer, plywood (including battenboard, blockboard, laminboard and similar laminated wood products), particleboard (including chipboard, flaxboard, OSB, waferboard and other related panels) and fibreboard, whether in their raw state or further processed.  For the purposes of this definition ‘further processed’ shall include, but not be restricted to, timber that has been debarked, hewn, sawn, chipped, riven, incised, cleft, cross-cut, trimmed, peeled, sliced, turned, dried, seasoned, soaked, steamed, impregnated, preserved, planed, machined (including beaded and/or moulded) sanded, finger or otherwise jointed, laminated, bonded, veneered or overlayed on faces and/or edges with any material painted, lacquered, varnished or stained and shall include engineered products, such as I-beams.

4. All Members shall submit a Director’s Statement and pay their membership fee either within 30 days of the invoice date or shall have submitted a Direct Debit instruction on which payments can be drawn. Failing to do so shall leave them liable to suspension followed by expulsion.

5. Any Members wishing to withdraw from membership shall give written notice thereof to the Chief Executive at least three calendar months before their membership renewal date and, in default thereof, shall be liable for the annual fee for the following year.

6. In the case of a Group, all companies within the Group that are engaged in the timber trade shall also be Members of Timber Development UK.  In this respect, any resignation shall also apply to the whole of the Group.  Governing Board shall have the discretion to treat companies within a group as companies in their own right where appropriate.

a. An applicant for membership shall apply to the Federation on the appropriate electronic form.

b. In the case of an application for full membership the application shall be supplied with a proposer and seconder, who should themselves be members of the Federation of at least two years standing.

c. All applicants shall agree to be bound by the Code of Conduct and pay the appropriate subscription as determined from time to time by the Governing Board.

d. No applicant shall officially become a Member of the Federation until payment of the appropriate subscription and then, and only then, upon receipt of evidence of a robust due diligence system.

e. In considering an application for membership, an applicant will be expected to have demonstrated conduct and behaviour consistent with the aims and objectives of the Federation as set out in its Code of Conduct and the Codes of Practice contained therein.  Applicants that were previously members of the Federation within the five years prior to an application being received will be expected to demonstrate a greater degree of compliance with the aims and objectives of the federation as set out in its Code of Conduct and the Codes of Practice contained therein.

f. Any final decision in respect of membership shall rest with the Governing Board and, without prejudice to the above; the Governing Board shall have the right to refuse an application for membership in accordance with the Memorandum and Articles of Timber Development UK.

There is a Regional Associations structure covering the United Kingdom.  The following are approved Regional Associations: 

• East Anglian Timber Trade Association 
• London & South East Timber Trade Association 
• North East Timber Trade Association 
• North West Timber Trade Association 
• Southern Region Timber Trade Association 
• Western Timber Trade Association 

a. All regional associations are bound by a Common Set of Rules as agreed by Governing Board.

b. Ultimately, all full members of regional associations must be members of the Federation. Regional associations may accept new company members for a 24–month introductory period, after which the company is required to become a Full or Associate TDUK Member. Full TDUK membership then provides full access to the website and reports where applicable. Companies not taking up TDUK membership after the 24-month introduction period will not be able to continue in regional membership.

All TDUK Members dealing in softwood and associated products are required to adopt and comply with this Code of Practice for use as a public and promotional document forming an integral part of TDUK Code of Conduct.

Its aim is to assist Members in the promotion of their company’s efforts to correctly supply accurately marked and labelled products and to ensure the exposure of those known to be breaching the Code as a result of wilful product mislabelling or mismarking.

This Code will apply to all softwood products of any dimension and is binding to all TDUK Members dealing in such goods.

1. Every effort will be made to ensure that products supplied will be correctly marked. Pack markings must correctly and accurately represent the timber which they contain, in terms of quality, dimension or structural grade. End stamps where they are applied should reflect the shippers normal published marking scheme.

2. Structural grade stamps where applied must comply with the marking requirements of BS EN 14081. This should include the application of a Wet or Dry mark to correctly represent the moisture content at the time when the Strength Grading took place, and the stamp was applied. These requirements shall be incorporated in all supply contracts.

3. Where products are offered as made to BS or BS EN standards, or the recognised standards of other producing nations, Members will ensure that all the specification requirements of these standards are adhered to. In instances where no contractual reference is made to any specified standard, or specific agreement between the parties, the dimensional tolerances of the product will be as per BS EN 336 for Structural Softwood, BS EN 1313, Part 1, for Sawn and Processed Softwoods, and BS 1297 for Tongue and Groove Softwood Flooring.

4. Furthermore, where preservative treatments are required, Members shall adhere to the guidance provided within the Code of Practice BS 8417 for the choice, use and application of wood preservatives.

A. Preservative treated wood is being accurately and unambiguously specified/purchased, for use or resale, and is clearly identified at all points of the chain (on orders, internal stock movement records and sales records) as fit for the intended purpose.

As a minimum this will require identification of the product as suitable for either:
• Interior Use only – Use Class 2
• Exterior use above ground – Use Class 3U
• Ground Contact – Use Class 4

(Point A. To be implemented by all TDUK members by 31st March 2021)

B. Customers purchasing treated products from TDUK members are provided with adequate information and, where appropriate, the training materials developed by TDUK / WPA to be able to use and install those products safely and effectively.

(Point B. To be implemented by all TDUK members by 31st March 2021)

C. Preservative treated wood is being produced by or purchased, directly or indirectly, from a treatment provider whose operation has been assessed and approved under an independent and reputable accreditation scheme (e.g. WPA Benchmark in the UK, the Nordic NTR scheme or other similar).

(Point C. To be implemented by all TDUK members by 30th June 2022)

5. No Member shall require any producer or seller to supply any productdeliberately mis-marked or unmarked, which may give a false impression of the
grade, dimension, structural grade or origin of the goods in question.

6. No Member will mis-describe any softwood product offered for sale, in terms of dimension, quality or structural grade. This includes where structural timber is supplied that all reasonable efforts are made to identify constructional end uses and to ensure in such circumstances the material supplied complies with the moisture content requirements laid down in BS 4978 for Visual Strength Grading and BS EN 14081.

7. No Member will alter or deface any manufacturer’s product or packing marks with the intention of misrepresenting the product’s grade or description. Where Members receive goods that they have reason to believe have been altered or defaced they undertake to inform the National Softwood Division (“NSD”) of the supplier involved via the TDUK Code of Conduct Disciplinary Procedure.

8. In cases where Members believe a breach of the Code has been committed as a result of product misrepresentation it is agreed that this must be reported to the appropriate government or legal authorities. They also undertake to inform the TDUK via the TDUK Code of Conduct Disciplinary Procedure of the allegation, and to co-operate fully in any subsequent investigation and any resulting disciplinary proceedings.

9. Members undertake to ensure that all relevant personnel employed by them will be conversant with and abide by the appropriate Codes of Practice and
their implications.

10. Members having ownership of stock undertake to carry out random consignment inspections in respect of both imported and locally purchased products in order to verify that all product markings and descriptions accord with the requirements of the Code of Practice.

11. Where Members knowingly contravene any part of the Code of Practice, the NSD will invoke the TDUK Code of Conduct Disciplinary Procedure. All Members agree to abide by the current TDUK Code of Conduct Disciplinary Procedure.

All Timber Trade Federation (TTF) members dealing in hardwood and associated products are required to adopt and comply with this Code of Practice for use as a public and promotional document forming an integral part of the TTF Code of Conduct.

Its aim is to assist members in the promotion of their company’s efforts to correctly supply accurately marked and labelled products and to ensure the exposure of those known to be breaching the Code as a result of wilful product mis-labelling or mismarking.

This Code will apply to all hardwood products of any dimension and is binding on all TTF Members dealing in such goods.

1. No Member will deliberately misrepresent any hardwood product offered for sale in terms of species, quality, grade, dimension, measure, moisture content or any other aspect.

2. Where appropriate, every effort will be made to ensure that products supplied will be correctly marked. Any pack or board markings where present must correctly and accurately represent the timber which they refer to in terms of species, quality, dimension and whether or not kiln dried.

3. Where products are offered as made to BS or BS EN standards, or the recognised standards of producing nations, Members will ensure that all the specification requirements of these standards are adhered to. In instances where no contractual reference is made to any specified standard, or specific agreement between the parties, the dimensional tolerances for sawn and processed hardwood will be as per BS EN 1313, Part 2.

4. The conversion to metric measure of hardwood purchased in imperialdimension for sale in the United Kingdom will take account of the requirements given in the Hardwood Annex 1 – National Hardwood Division Metrication Code.

5. No Member shall require any producer or seller to supply any product deliberately mis-marked or unmarked, which may give a false impression of the grade, origin, whether or not kiln dried, or structural grade of the goods in question.

6. No Member will alter or deface any manufacturer’s product or packing marks with the intention of misrepresenting the product’s grade or description.

7. Structural grade stamps where applied must comply with the marking requirements of BS 5756 or BS 16737 for tropical hardwoods.

8. In cases where Members believe a breach of the Code of Practice has been committed as a result of product misrepresentation, or where any Member knowingly contravenes any part of the Code it is agreed that the allegation must be reported to the TTF via the TTF Code of Conduct Disciplinary Procedure, and where appropriate to legal or government authorities. Members will also co-operate fully in any subsequent investigation and any resulting disciplinary proceedings, and abide by its findings.

9. Members undertake to ensure that all relevant personnel employed by them will be conversant with and abide by the appropriate Codes of Practice and their implications.

10. Members undertake to carry out random consignment inspections in respect of both imported and locally purchased products in order to verify that all product markings and descriptions accord with the requirements of the Code of practice.

All TDUK Members dealing in panel products are required to adopt and comply with this Code of Practice for use as a public and promotional document forming an integral part of the TDUK Code of Conduct.

Its aim is to assist Members in the promotion of their company’s efforts to correctly supply accurately marked and labelled panel products and to ensure the exposure of those known to be breaching the Code as a result of wilful product mis-labelling or mismarking.

This Code will apply to all wood-based panel products of any thickness and is binding to all TDUK Members dealing in panel products.

1. All plywood packaging must be correctly and legibly marked with correct bond type, visual grade by face quality, nominal board thickness, manufacturer’s mark and specific country of origin. This information on Pack marking must correspond to information contained in the Declaration of Performance where the product is covered by the Construction Products Regulation (CPR). These marking requirements must also apply to all individual panels where practicable. These requirements shall be incorporated in all supply contracts and documentation, including sales invoices.

2. In addition, pack marking on plywood from China should identify the species within the core using the following descriptions:

• Poplar
• Eucalyptus
• Combination of Poplar & Eucalyptus (Combi Core)
• If other species are used, these should be correctly and specifically identified.

Species of face and back veneers should also be clearly identified.

Terms such as ‘as per invoice’ and “MLH” do not adequately describe the product and are not acceptable.

3. Where products are offered as made to BS or BS EN standards, or the recognised standards of other producing nations, Members will seek to ensure that all the specification requirements of these standards are adhered to. For plywood products only, where no contractual reference is made to any of the above types of standards, nominal thickness tolerances and glue bond descriptions specified in the latest available versions of relevant standard(s) to be adhered to – refer to Panel Products Code of Practice ‘Supplementary Guidelines – The Construction Products Regulation And Wood-Based Panels’.

3.1. Wood-based panels for construction, as defined within the Construction Products Regulation will meet the specific requirements set out in the Designated UK Standard EN 13986 for the relevant area of application.

3.2. Marine Plywood supplied by Members will meet the requirements of BS 1088 (Marine Plywood), Part 1 (Requirements) and Part 2 (Determination Of Bonding Quality Using Knife Test). TDUK requires all members placing marine plywood on the market to show evidence of third party quality assurance certification demonstrating full compliance with BS 1088.

3.3. The term ‘WBP’ plywood is obsolete and Members should not use it.The correct terminology is plywood with an EN 314, Class 3 Glue Bond.

3.4. In accordance with the requirements of the CPR all members trading in plywood shall provide:

• A copy of the Declaration of Performance (D.O.P)
• A copy of the Initial Type Testing (ITT) certificate used to produce the D.O.P
• A copy or copies of the glue bond testing undertaken during production of this batch of plywood. [Standard EN:13986, table 12 states that there should be at least one test per eight-hour shift – i.e. one test per day]

3.5. From January 1st 2018 members trading in plywood from non-EU countries, shall provide evidence of regular, independent third party testing to confirm the glue bond performance claims contained in the product D.O.P.

3.6. As part of routine RPP Due Diligence processes, members must demonstrate evidence of regular species testing for plywood from high risk
supply chains outside of the EU.

3.7. Plywood claiming to meet the higher performance level of EN 636, Class III should, in addition to demonstrating an EN 314, Class 3 Glue Bond, also provide evidence that all veneers used in its construction were sufficiently durable for exterior use which, on the basis of the recommendation in ENV 1099, would be species listed in EN 350 as Class 3 Moderately Durable and Better, which excludes the use of sapwood. Where evidence is not available that the veneers meet this durability requirement, then written advice must be provided that a trader further down the supply-chain or end-user would have to preservative treat or seal-treat the board in order for it to be sufficiently durable for normal exterior use.

3.8. Where products make CE or Chain of Custody claims, Members must ensure these are reproduced clearly as part of the pack marking. Where necessary this requirement is in addition to the marking requirements of these schemes.

3.9. BS EN 13986 states that where formaldehyde-containing materials, particularly aminoplastic resins, have been added to the product as part of the production process, the product shall be tested and classified into one of two classes: E1 or E2. All members should now trade in product that meets
the classification of E1.

4. No Member shall require any manufacturer or shipper to supply any product in an unmarked or mis-marked condition.

5. No Member will incorrectly describe any panel product offered for sale.

6. No Member will alter or deface any manufacturer’s product or packing marks with the intention of misrepresenting the product’s grade or description. Where Members receive goods that they have reason to believe have been altered or defaced they undertake to inform the National Panel Products Division (“NPPD”) of the supplier involved via the TDUK Code of Conduct Disciplinary Procedure.

7. In cases where Members believe a breach of the Code has been committed as a result of product misrepresentation it is agreed that this must be reported to the appropriate authorities. They also undertake to inform the TDUK via the TDUK Code of Conduct Disciplinary Procedure of the allegation and to co-operate in any subsequent investigation and any resulting disciplinary proceedings.

8. Members undertake to ensure that all relevant personnel employed by them will be conversant with and abide by the Code of Practice and its implications.

9. Members having ownership of stock, undertake to carry out random consignment inspections in respect of both imported and locally purchased products in order to verify that all product markings and descriptions accord with the requirements of the Code of Practice.

10. Where Members knowingly contravene any part of the Code of Practice, the NPPD will invoke the TDUK Code of Conduct Disciplinary Procedure. All Members agree to abide by the current TDUK Code of Conduct Disciplinary Procedure.

11. For specific clarification on adherence to the Panel Products Code of Practice, please refer to Plywood Annex 1 – ‘Supplementary Guidelines – The Construction Products Regulation and Wood-Based Panels’ at the end of this code, otherwise please contact the Timber Development UK.