Our collaborative partnership with industry has created an innovative building product that tackles the global demand for timber and the ever-increasing number of used tyres.
Chandan Kumar is part of our Forest Product Innovation team—the largest group of its kind in Australia, who solve timber industry challenges at our Salisbury Research Facility.
Chandan’s arsenal of specialised know-how ranges from timber drying to computational modelling, through to non-destructive testing and characterisation of forest resource.
“Basically, we develop and optimise wood products to make them more reliable and durable. We work with efficient processing technologies to help industry make the most of timber resources, right across the supply chain,” Chandan said.
After completing a PhD in engineering and following an academic career path in Brisbane, Chandan wanted to make real-world impact in the industry.
“Timber is a renewable and sustainable material that presents exciting challenges. Working with the DPI Forest Product Innovation team, I'm seeing that vision come to life. I get to work on projects that benefit both people and the environment.”
Chandan and his team work with forest growers and processors, manufacturers and the construction industry. At least, that was the case up until they came across an out-of-the-ordinary puzzle to solve for the Australian rubber industry.
Two industry challenges
Australia generates around 537,000 used tyres a year. Around 34% of them are not recovered. They’re disposed of in all kinds of ways, including in landfill, buried in mine sites or stockpiled.
One way Australia’s tyre recyclers are combatting this is through a steady supply of crumb rubber (which looks and feels like it sounds) to the building industry.
Crumb rubber is a high-quality material used for a diverse range of applications, from building playgrounds and roads to making sports mats and insulation.
But there is more crumb rubber available than there are ways to use it, and the tyre industry is seeking ways to put it to good use.
Meanwhile, the opposite is true for the Australian particle board industry.
“There is a big market for particle board, and an enormous amount of timber is needed to keep up with consumer demand. It’s a big industry, but its capacity is limited by timber resource availability,” Chandan said.
One innovative solution
Chandan and his team began to assess whether crumb rubber and wood particles could be mixed together to create a new and sustainable particle board panel. They explored its possible uses.
“We calculated that if even 50% of the particle board consumed in Australia included 20% rubber, the wood panel industry would demand an estimated 82,500 tonnes of crumb rubber a year. That’s a huge sustainability win for both industries,” Chandan said.
They also studied whether this combination would enhance moisture and termite resistance, improve vibration dampening and acoustic performance. And it does!
The end-of-life tyre glut turned out to be a perfect solution to the particle board industry’s timber consumption problem.
Collaboration for an Australian-made innovation
Chandan and his fellow researchers worked for over two years with industry leaders to develop a sustainable particle board using rubber crumbs from old tyres.
Chip Tyre and Tyrecycle contributed crumb rubber derived from end-of-life tyres, Laminex provided the wood particles and Hexion supplied the adhesives. Tyre Stewardship Australia provided financial support and advice.
A team of industry partners came together to oversee the project and optimise the product, including our team, Responsible Wood, Engineered Wood Products Association of Australasia (EWPAA), Hyne Timber, Tyre Stewardship Australia (TSA) and Chip Tyre.
The result is an Australian-made timber panel product that’s more resistant to moisture and termites, and better at absorbing sound and vibration.
“The product offers many commercial opportunities across industries and sectors. Architects, designers, building manufacturers and suppliers, home furniture manufacturers, retailers and many others could benefit from adopting this product,” Chandan said.
Now the team is seeking prospective partners and opportunities to bring their innovation to market.
Contact
Email DPIAgTech@dpi.qld.gov.au
Last updated: 12 Oct 2026