Fine Hardwood Furniture ~ Now Eco-friendly and Sustainable

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The Hevea tree is grown primarily for the natural rubber it produces. It is usually grown in tropical regions of Asia, Africa and America, often on managed tree farms or plantations.

The rubber latex is obtained from a thin layer behind the bark - rubber is not contained in the heartwood. These trees are tapped much like a maple tree for syrup, and the sap is used as the main source for most of the world's latex rubber production.

The economic life of the Hevea tree is approximately 30 years. After being tapped this long, trees stop producing sufficient sap to remain commercially viable. Historically, after their productive life, the trees were cut down and burned, or used as firewood to fuel brick-making and tobacco-curing operations.

A Plentiful and High-Yield Resource
Using these discarded trees for furniture production is a great sustainability practice, making good use of a valuable and plentiful resource. Hevea is grown in densities of approximately 90 trees per acre, and reach maturity in 15 years. In the wilderness, Hevea trees can grow to heights of as much as 140 ft., however in plantations, trees are kept to about 75 feet in height, and a diameter of around 3 feet. Given their large size and straight trunk, a single Hevea tree may have a high yield of over 2,200 board feet of timber.

Optimized Sustainability
Hevea wood is considered to be one of the most environmentally-friendly woods with only end-of-life cycle trees being processed. The utilization of Hevea trees for lumber keeps the carbon stores in the wood, thereby avoiding an increase to the carbon load in the atmosphere. Since new plantings replace felled trees, carbon is stored as the new trees grow and are harvested for their rubber, and then harvested for their wood when the rubber production is "tapped" out.

Hevea wood does not contain rubber, and it is not soft. Rather, Hevea wood is strong, flexible and resistant to fungus, bacteria and mold. It has a beautiful grain structure suitable for quality furniture manufacturing. It is often compared to maple wood in color and hardness. It is easy to saw, machine, plane, turn and bore. The wood is a pale cream to light yellow brown color, and is easy to stain and to get deeper colors.

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