Alan Gorham_ Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 Just seen announcements on both the SLEC and Balsa Cabin websites regarding their balsa mill being taken over and the output being diverted to wind turbine blade manufacture in China. Both companies are advising that they are yet to secure alternative supplies while SLEC are mentioning that there is a possibility of 150% price rises. Both are also advising of depleted stocks and are requesting patience as they try to fulfill orders. Balsa Cabin statement here: **LINK** SLEC here: **LINK** That is not encouraging news for builders going into autumn....Let's hope for an encouraging update from both suppliers soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 Without being greedy I did stock up a bit the other day.Just enough for my current design on the board and a couple more future designs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J D 8 Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 Not good for ARTF makers either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff S Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 Posted by J D 8 on 20/09/2020 14:33:10: Not good for ARTF makers either. ... or kit manufacturers. In fact just about all builders except perhaps those, like Simon, who love Depron and foamies will be relatively a lot cheaper. It would be nice to hear some good news for a change Geoff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Gray Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 A return to foam veneered wings, turtle decks etc? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart C Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 China has PNG over a barrel, having refinanced their national debt and given zero tariff trade links. PNG raw materials will only go where the paymaster allows them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken anderson. Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 off topic....we had a mushroom farm nearby who supplied all of the Chinese take aways and restaurants...overnight they found a new supplier and left on mass...the farm went bankrupt and was auctioned off.. ken anderson...ne..1. suppliers dept. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GONZO Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 sorry, double post Edited By GONZO on 20/09/2020 17:28:59 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GONZO Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 An 'on and off topic' comment. It doesn't take long for the leading edge of the blades to be irrepairably damaged by rain/ice/sand/grit etc. They are not recyclable and are therefore buried in giant 'graves'. The resin and fibre coating of the blades does not degrade in the ground. Search around and you'll find pictures. That's just one aspect of the so called 'green energy'! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo565 Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 This is not good news,just have to wait and see what happens. JIm Carss NE23----- wait and see dept. Hope you have plenty in stock Ken and I know where you live !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo565 Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 could not agree more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kc Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 What attitudes are you referring to? Is there something wrong with building your own models from balsa? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McG 6969 Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 ... another 'toilet rolls hoarding' syndrome here??? ... Just be patient and wait for the market to stabilize. ... and if balsa wood gets 150% more expensive, so it be. You're not supposed to take your assets with you when you're crossing The River, are you? Cheers, but stay safe all Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Gorham_ Posted September 20, 2020 Author Share Posted September 20, 2020 Not sure you fully appreciate the significance here Mcg.... SLEC and Balsa Cabin are the two biggest suppliers of Balsa in the UK. SLEC do their own processing of the wood into sheet, strip and shaped lengths and I think that Balsa Cabin may do this too (they certainly used to). The market appears to be stabilising in favour of balsa plantations sending their best wood in large quantities for wind turbine blades. Without those two suppliers I think I'm right in saying that UK modellers are left dependent on imports of finished balsa which may well mean less choice of strips and shapes, thicknesses of sheets and variations in grade. It may well be that business ends up not being viable for SLEC and Balsa Cabin. You may have a relaxed attitude to that fact in Belgium but I for one am not full of confidence tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin b Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 Posted by McG 6969 on 20/09/2020 19:45:46: ... another 'toilet rolls hoarding' syndrome here??? ... Just be patient and wait for the market to stabilize. ... and if balsa wood gets 150% more expensive, so it be. You're not supposed to take your assets with you when you're crossing The River, are you? Cheers, but stay safe all Chris Maybe it will deter some of those who build ridiculously large 60% + scale models. Not that I don't mind large models, but if it is big enough to get in and fly, then it should be built to do so. Large scale replicas are great, but why would you want to fly them from the ground with all the associated extra risk ? I can see a potential increase in the number of small club models being seen at the flying fields. It will be the 1970's all over again (but without the hair). Maybe we will see next the Chinese keeping all their Lithium. We might have a resurgence of diesel and small glow engines ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Edwards 2 Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 Well said Alan. I desperately hope SLEC & Balsa Cabin find an alternative supplier, they're both fabulous companies that have supported the hobby for decades. If balsa goes up, then so do ARTF's, laser cut kits and boxed kits. Wooden ARTF's have already almost disappeared, this could be the death knell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McG 6969 Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 Posted by Alan Gorham_ on 20/09/2020 19:54:02: Not sure you fully appreciate the significance here Mcg.... It may well be that business ends up not being viable for SLEC and Balsa Cabin. You may have a relaxed attitude to that fact in Belgium but I for one am not full of confidence tonight. Alan, I'm a very regular overseas customer of SLEC and I always receive very fast answers from Tina regarding my daft enquiries... Regarding your "not full of confidence TONIGHT", I fully agree and that's why I wrote "to wait" before installing some kind of 'panic situation' as we all had not farther than a few months ago for very different and a lot more important reasons. Cheers, young man Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Gorham_ Posted September 20, 2020 Author Share Posted September 20, 2020 If the loss of the supply of raw material to the UK model building community is not a potential reason to panic then I'm not sure what is. At risk of repeating myself: both SLEC and Balsa Cabin are low on stock and have no alternative supply. If they cease to be viable as balsa suppliers that could well mean the loss of all the ancillary components they supply such as engine mounts, control horns and linkages, hinges etc. The list is huge. The UK used to have Solarbo (readers of a certain age will remember that name) and one of their great claims was that they owned their own balsa plantation. Thus while building from plans was so popular, then the UK had security of supply. Eventually that disappeared as building declined in popularity and modellers are now at the end of a queue for balsa. It cant be a coincidence that SLEC say they were trying to buy their wood supplier for the last few years. They must have had concerns about future supplies. I've been building models and buying sheets of balsa for nearly 40 years and I really, truly do not want to give that up so perhaps you can see why some if us are not relaxed about this news. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McG 6969 Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 Alan, It's really not about being 'relaxed about this news' or not. The point simply is 'YOU CAN'T HAVE AN INFLUENCE' on this matter. So, no point of having 'sad' or 'worried' feelings/concerns about it right now. SLEC, the boss, their staff and Tina know a lot better what are their possible actions than you even after 40 years of buying wood and building toy models... please... wait for their actions/decisions to be communicated... Cheers Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Colbourne Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 I'm sure when SLEC first started sourcing their balsa from Papua New Guinea they made a big thing about it being from 'their own plantation'; clearly that isn't the case. With balsa being a fast growing wood, just how long would it take another country to establish a plantation and get it to the point of being able to deliver mature wood? The SIG site suggests a tree is felled at from 6 to 10 years old, however they are referring to forest grown trees in South America. Balsa Wood Facts - From SIG Mfg Maybe 'end of life' wind turbine blades will be our new source of wood? Although I rather suspect the end grain wood is used in fairly short lengths, if glider wings are anything to go by. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel R Posted September 21, 2020 Share Posted September 21, 2020 A bit less than the 6 or 10 years needed for trees in the thick of virgin rainforest, i assume? I thought all our wood was plantation grown these days? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattyB Posted September 21, 2020 Share Posted September 21, 2020 I am slightly surprised it has taken this long for this situation to occur; shortages in balsa supply were predicted due consumption in wind turbines at least 2-3 years ago. However it sounds like the C-19 lockdown in Equador has forced Chinese manufacturers to look elsewhere and caused the current situation. It may not be quite as bad as it looks on the surface though - the industry as a whole is apparently moving away from balsa to PET, so if the Chinese manufacturers can’t get enough balsa they will be forced to change material. Short term though (2, maybe 3 years) we and shops like SLEC and Balsa Cabin will probably have to accept much higher prices. Edited By MattyB on 21/09/2020 08:58:18 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul d Posted September 21, 2020 Share Posted September 21, 2020 For sale: 1 sheet of 1/8th balsa, as new, £20...No offers! Seriously though I heard about a potential shortage of balsa a while back, very worrying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken anderson. Posted September 21, 2020 Share Posted September 21, 2020 JIm Carss NE23----- wait and see dept. Hope you have plenty in stock Ken and I know where you live !!! fear not JC,am your man,we have the turbine testing place not far from me,sure they wont miss a blade or two... ken anderson...ne...1...keep J Carrs building dept. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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