"Biotrans makes rotten woodpoles a thing of the past - Field Liners save forests"

Biotrans was originally founded in 1993 by environmental biotechnologists and wood preservation microbiologists who had tired of seeing "preserved" poles rotting long before their expected service lives had elapsed. Biotrans sympathises strongly with the decay problems encountered by end-users around the world. The installation and maintenance of woodpole inventories becomes a costly exercise in financial and environmental terms when the poles begin to rot and need to be replaced. The search for a permanent solution to pole decay was always guided by the knowledge that woodpoles would remain the best alternatives to steel, fibreglass or concrete in cost, performance and environmental terms - if only they did not rot.

There has always been a strong in-house research and development base at Biotrans (see "Literature"), and by working over the years with utility companies and research organisations to conduct performance and feasibility trials in Africa, North America, Europe and Australasia, Biotrans perfected the Field Liner solution to woodpole decay.

"We at Biotrans are driven by our vision of making rotten woodpoles a thing of the past. By doing that, woodpole service lives are increased and their replacement rates from plantations are reduced. The company slogan of "Field Liners save Forests" reflects only one of the many positive environmental spin-offs that have arisen from our vision."


In our mission to make rotten woodpoles a thing of the past, Biotrans remains determined to employ means that not only reduce pole costs, but which also improve the environmental aspects of pole ownership. That encompasses the major ideals that this company is dedicated to -
 
 
In turn
thus
 (i) extending pole service lives
(ii) by using technology that also eliminates soil pollution from preservatives coming out of rotten woodpoles.
(iii) plantation timber is rendered available for other uses,
(iv) easing pressure on natural indigenous forests around the world.
In these respects Biotrans works with companies that own large pole inventories, such as utility companies and agricultural operations, where direct cost savings and environmental benefits are significant. Vertical integration with other stakeholders in the supply line of poles from forests to endusers has also resulted in working with pole treaters and forest owners. The Field Liner technologies developed for pole owners were therefore derived from a gradual, holistic, amalgamation of environmental science, biotechnology, materials science and mechanical engineering science over the years.

BIOTRANS SITE MAP

Biotrans Home Page: After a decade of research and development, Biotrans scientists produced a patented method of pole preservation which is both technologically sound and meets international environmental requirements. The Biotrans Field Liner is a unique product which protects the pole, without doing harm to the environment. The Field Liner is manufactured in such a way that chemicals with an insecticide or fungicide action and confined within the Field Liner to proect the pole and lengthen pole service life without these chemicals leaching to the soil around the pole. The Biotrans Field Liner is patented in several countried around the world and manufactured under licence.

Biotrans Products - the Field Liner: The Biotrans Field Liner can be used by Utility companies for electricity and telephone distribution, in the Agricultural sector, especially where wooden poles are used in the production of export crops. Field liners can also be used on wooden poles used to construct fences, verandahs and pergolas. The preservation of poles by the use of a Biotrans Field Liner results in a saving in the cost of pole replacement and creates a 'superpole' which can be re-sold at the end of its service life.

Field Liners can be fitted manually in a matter of minutes, or by machine. In the USA, engineers designed an automatic heat-shrink machine to fit Biotrans Field Liners to wooden poles for an electrical distribution line. Fitting the Field Liners manually requires no special skills or technical knowledge.

In countries where the use of Creosote is still allowed under environmental regulations, the Biotrans Field Liner prevents any leaching of the preservative into the ground around the wooden pole. In many countries, medical research has found components of preservatives used in wood to be carcinogenic

About Biotrans: Biotrans International's vision and mission statements are based on a firm belief by the company's founders that woodpoles would remain the best alternative to steel, fibreglass or concrete in cost, performance and environmental terms.

Biotrans International environmental biotechnologists and wood preservation microbiologists were driven to find a permanent solution to the problem of so-called 'preserved' poles rotting long before their service lives had elapsed.

With a strong in-house research and development base, and by working with utility companies and research organisations to conduct scientific feasibility tests in Africa, North America, Europe and Australasia, Biotrans perfected the Field Liner solution to woodpole decay.

Costs & Savings using the Biotrans Field Liner: In a case study for a Biotrans customer which was undertaken by UNISA MBA students, the annual costs of pole replacement was significantly reduced on poles fitted with the Biotrans Field Liners. In addition, annual and accumulated savings were considerable using these Biotrans Field Liners.

Biotrans Field Liner Literature: Over the past decade, the founders of Biotrans, AA Baecker and MR Behr have produced research papers which have been presented at various conferences around the world, and published in Industry and Environmental journals in South Africa and overseas.

Biotrans Field Liner - Frequently Asked Questions: Among the questions asked and answered, the most queries are related to the life of poles fitted with the Biotrans Field Liner; the cost of the Field Liner; where immediate cost savings can be effected and questions relating to the technical process of fitting the Biotrans Field Liner either by the Pole Treater in the Pole Yard or by the End User on site. Questions regarding the presence of phthalates (often found in plastics) was answered decisively as all elements in the Biotrans Field Liner are approved as 'Food Grade'.