At Ply Online, we care a lot about where our materials come from - because when you’re working with plywood every day, you can feel the difference between average and excellent. That’s why we're proud to be the Australian representatives of Garnica, a top-tier Spanish plywood manufacturer who shares our passion for quality, reliability, and doing things the right way.
We recently had the pleasure of speaking with Adrià González, Chief Representative APAC at Garnica, who gave us a deeper look into the company’s mission, values, and approach to plywood manufacturing.
What are the key product lines Garnica supplies to the Australian market, and how are these tailored to local industry needs such as caravan interiors, etc?
At Garnica, the core of what sets us apart. We use plantation-grown European poplar, sustainably managed and fully traceable, to create plywood that is exceptionally lightweight, easy to machine, and environmentally friendly.
These properties make our panels ideal for demanding applications in the Australian market—particularly for architecture projects, furniture design, and outdoor use.
Our most distinctive product lines are high-value solutions built on a foundation of sustainability and innovation:
- Ultralight: with a super-light poplar and XPS core, perfect for weight-sensitive applications like RVs.
- Fireshield: fire-retardant panels for added safety in bushfire-prone areas.
- Duraply: engineered for outdoor durability and moisture resistance.
- Naturbind: made with a bio-based adhesive and no added formaldehyde—ideal for sustainable design.
- Laminated panels: featuring the perfect poplar core for clean finishes and dimensional stability.
Garnica’s Tasmanian Oak Lightweight Plywood is a favourite among campervan builders - lightweight and easy to handle, it’s perfect for getting the look and function you want in a small space.
Australia’s construction sector faces extreme environmental conditions—high UV, humidity variations, bushfire risks. How does Garnica adapt its plywood solutions in terms of durability, fire-resistance, or surface treatment for these demands?
Garnica’s treatments are among the most effective and durable in the industry, applied throughout 100% of the panel—not just on the surface or edges. This ensures the panel maintains its fire performance even after sanding, cutting or machining.
Our fire-retardant treatment, used in Garnica Fireshield, meets the highest fire resistance rating available for wood, making it ideal for interior applications in fire-sensitive areas.
Similarly, Duraply panels undergo a unique outdoor wood protection process, offering long-lasting resistance to moisture, fungi, and delamination. So effective is the treatment that Duraply comes with a 15-year warranty for outdoor use.
What advancements has Garnica made in the development of lightweight or hybrid plywood panels?
Garnica has been a pioneer in developing lightweight plywood panels, thanks to our exclusive use of sustainably grown European poplar as a core. This species offers an excellent strength-to-weight ratio, ideal for industries where weight matters.
We’ve also engineered hybrid panel solutions that combine poplar with other species or materials—such as XPS in our Ultralight line—to achieve optimal rigidity, insulation, and even lighter weight.
Can you speak about any proprietary treatments or processes—such as fire-retardant or moisture-resistant coatings—that distinguish Garnica panels from competitors’?
While we don’t disclose full technical details, our proprietary treatments are among the most effective in the market. They are applied throughout the entire panel, ensuring consistent performance even after machining or surface sanding.
Fireshield meets the highest fire resistance rating for wood, and Duraply is protected against moisture and fungal decay with a 15-year warranty for outdoor use. These innovations make Garnica panels both durable and reliable in demanding environments.
How is digitalization transforming your manufacturing plants? Have you adopted any Industry technologies?
Digital transformation is a key focus at Garnica. We’re progressively integrating Industry 4.0 technologies across our plants to enhance efficiency, quality, and traceability.
This includes IoT sensors, automated quality controls, and real-time data analysis. We’re also advancing in digital traceability, allowing us to track materials from forest to final product—essential for regulatory and sustainability compliance.
Garnica sources poplar and other species from European plantations. Can you elaborate on your traceability protocols and how they align with EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) requirements?
All of Garnica’s wood comes from sustainably managed plantations, primarily European poplar—a fast-growing, renewable species ideal for circular manufacturing.
We have long maintained strict traceability protocols across our supply chain, including documentation of origin, harvesting methods, and supplier compliance. With the introduction of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), we’ve further strengthened these systems to ensure full alignment—from forest to final product.
Plywood manufacturing is energy-intensive. What innovations has Garnica adopted to decarbonize its operations—particularly in thermal energy and emissions management?
100% of the thermal energy used in our production comes from renewable sources, primarily biomass generated from our own wood waste. This circular approach drastically reduces fossil fuel consumption and supports our zero-waste strategy.
We’ve also invested in high-efficiency boilers, residual heat recovery systems, and advanced energy monitoring technologies, all of which help to minimize emissions and optimize energy use.
What are the emerging trends you see in engineered wood products, especially for modular construction or circular design in furniture?
One of the strongest forces shaping the industry today is the shift towards modular construction and circular design—driven by the need for speed, sustainability, and flexibility in both architecture and interiors.
Materials are expected to be lightweight, high-performing, and easy to disassemble or repurpose, while also meeting increasingly strict environmental and safety standards.
In that sense, certification is no longer just a trend—it’s a basic requirement. At Garnica, our Quality and Innovation department works to ensure compliance with all major certification schemes worldwide, regardless of the application.
We see growing interest in:
- Fireshield, for safe, certified fire-retardant solutions in modular and large-scale construction.
- Duraply, for outdoor or humid environments that demand durability and guaranteed resistance.
- Naturbind, ideal for circular and health-conscious design, thanks to its bio-based adhesive and no added formaldehyde.
As the market evolves, engineered wood products must combine performance, traceability, and sustainability—and that’s exactly where we focus our innovation.
Where do you see the future of plywood heading in the next 5–10 years in Europe?
In the coming years, plywood in Europe will continue to evolve from a basic structural material to a high-performance, certified and design-driven solution.
Several trends are already reshaping the market:
- Fire-resistant and waterproof plywood is in growing demand, especially in Europe’s increasingly strict regulatory context.
- Traceability and certification are essential. Customers and regulators expect full transparency of origin, legality and sustainability.
- There’s increasing interest in bio-based treatments and materials with low embodied carbon, aligned with circular economy goals.
- And in design, plywood is now embraced as a visible, expressive material—not just a hidden layer, but part of the finished look.
At Garnica, we’re fully aligned with this evolution. We focus on certified, high-performance panels like Fireshield and Duraply, invest in digital traceability, and develop innovations like Naturbind to meet the future of construction and sustainable design.
