The Wood Protection Association (WPA) has launched its 2026 Wood Protection Awards, annual dinner and conference, which will take place at the Oulton Hall Hotel in Leeds.
The annual dinner and awards presentation will be held on the evening of Wednesday 6 May, followed by a half-day ‘Preserving Confidence in Wood’ conference on Thursday 7 May discussing the challenges and opportunities for the treated wood sector.
“The WPA Awards were established in 2015 and are a showcase for all that’s best about the wood protection industry and the people and businesses that work in it,” says WPA Chairman, Steve Young. He continued: “It’s a unique opportunity to meet and talk about industry standards, good practice and regulatory compliance and hear the latest news about WPA’s strategy to grow demand for treated wood.”
The 2026 WPA Awards will include:
Project of the Year
This Award is open to any project in the UK or overseas that uses wood industrially pre-treated with a preservative, a flame retardant or wood modification process. The project can be of any size, in progress or completed in the past two years.
Treated Wood Champion
This Award is presented to an individual in recognition of their outstanding commitment to personal development and contribution to the advancement of treated wood knowledge in their place of work and/or with customers.
WPA Benchmark Wood Treater of the Year
This award is conferred by the WPA Benchmark quality scheme’s audit team to showcase and recognise those WPA Benchmark treated wood quality scheme members that go above and beyond mere compliance with WPA-approved product standards and whose treatment plant, quality systems, staff skills and commitment to fitness for purpose are exceptional.
Best Kept Treatment Plant
This award recognises the unsung heroes of the preservative pre-treated wood industry – the treatment plant operator. It applies to every accreditation category of WPA Benchmark quality assurance schemes and looks at standards of cleanliness, safety, efficiency and record keeping.
Non-WPA members can submit nominations for the Project of the Year and Treated Wood Champion awards.
Steve said it would be impossible for the WPA to stage its annual events without sponsorship funding, saying: “These are challenging times for our industry, which is why we are delighted to announce that our 2026 events will be staged thanks to the support of four main sponsors –Arxada, Bridewell Associates, Koppers Performance Chemicals and Sika Wolman.”
Bond Timber is sponsoring the WPA’s 2026 golf competition, while BSW is sponsoring the wine and cheese tasting challenge. Fencing News magazine is also a sponsor of the Preserving Confidence in Wood conference.
