Poplar is the future

We love the Poplar tree because of all the wonderful things it can do, its natural beauty, and its typical stance, so dear to Italian landscape enthusiasts.  We love it most of all because it is precisely the poplar, that ensures the planet of a sustainable future, starting now. In this sense it is unrivalled! 

This site is about this hero, the tree which we in the Panguaneta company have always appreciated, cultivated and transformed since1960, with our factory and all its workforce, and with the woods that have so profoundly characterised the banks of the Po River. Many of these woods grow right outside our doorstep, in Sabbioneta.

The Poplar is a really special tree, that already today  creates our “green” future, one that is sustainable in terms of the environment and production

A prized tree
that conveys
sustainability

THE SPOTLIGHT IS ON POPLARS

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN (FAO), to be able to ensure global and sustainable development, industrial woods will have to come from plantations. The same organisation also forecasted that by 2050, 75% of raw material will be taken from “short rotation forestry,” founded on fast growing species, precisely like the poplar.

NATURAL FUNDAMENT

Renewable forests, cultivated according to the criteria of protection of ecosystems and biodiversity, are a fundamental option also in Europe. Due to its rapid growth and positive contribution to the natural habitat, in terms of environmental sustainability the poplar tree is unrivalled. One of its characteristic properties is the capacity to act as a carbon sink, which makes the poplar tree and its plywood, an ideal system within a policy of countering climate change.

GREAT PERFORMANCE

The technical characteristics of the poplar make it an extremely interesting item in terms of industrial uses: its rapid growth favours a real economic convenience, and the uniformity of the raw material corresponds to a high quality standard, ideal for a multitude of applications.

HI-TECH MATERIAL

The poplar, especially in the selections made available by research (e.g. the I-214 clone), offers objective commodity-related benefits: pure and homogeneous fibres that are also beautiful, flexible, light, and easy to process. Its transformation into plywood increases mechanical characteristics such as elasticity and resistance to cuts, pulling, bending and compression.

BEAUTIFUL AT ALL TIMES

Thanks to its aesthetic features, the whiteness of the wood paste, high uniformity of the surfaces with the slightest veins and perfect homogeneity, the Panguaneta poplar is a success in all its various applications, from furnishing to production of automotive and caravan parts, and from sports to toys and the construction industry.

COMMITMENT FOR ALWAYS

Panguaneta is committed to supporting the cultivation and above all, the “culture” of the poplar tree aimed at a sustainable development, from positive spinoffs at local, European and world levels. The company has achieved an exemplary programme that established its leading role in the 100% “Made in Italy” Poplar label (the very first 100% Poplar certification bears the Panguaneta trademark!) of the world organisation, “Pro-Populus,” for the promotion and environmental safeguard of poplar trees, and that of the Forest Stewardship Council®, the international non-government organization which establishes the standards for good forestry management; and participation in the PEFC™.

To make a better world, we need a poplar

The European Council had already proposed in 2000, a strategy to make the economy of its Member States more dynamic and competitive, without foregoing its commitment to sustainable development. Panguaneta is part of this strategy since the raw material it offers to industries comes exclusively from renewable poplar forests, managed in a responsible and sustainable manner.

But how does the Panguaneta poplar live? Why is its life cycle so important? Poplar cultivations are not only beneficial to development and the markets, but give rise to an incredibly rich and vital habitat.

What can the poplar do?
What are its good qualities?
It is hard working, and uses its time to help the rivers, the embankments, the earth, the air… and man

It depurates rivers and the air, making the soil fertile and absorbs CO2. And it is a vital part of our home.

  • The soil of the river banks breathes and starts up a great biological exchange between land and water. The birds find their refuge in it. The embankments feed birds and mammals. Along with a great number of tree species, poplars are the outstanding features of this fascinating habitat.

fluvial
Habitat

  • The poplar tree is able to depurate the air and remove from the atmosphere about 70 to 140 litres of carbon dioxide per hour, releasing an equal amount of oxygen. The carbon storage or carbon sink phenomenon is not delimited to the field but continues even after the cutting and transformation into plywood. Also when it has become part of furniture, it continues to carry out this important function.

Inborn qualities

  • The poplar tree has a remarkable capacity to distil water from the subsoil, with the benefit of returning pure water particles through transpiration. Its roots favour microbial activity of soil denitrification, an important modern farming characteristic. In short, the poplar is an efficient natural depurator.

Soil restoration

  • From the viewpoint of ecology, a hectare of poplar trees absorbs 20 tons of CO2 yearly; in the span of a ten-year cycle, the same hectare depurates about 40,000 cu. m of water.  In addition to the positive outcome in terms of carbon absorption, the poplar also combines a powerful filtration/depuration activity.

Ecologically
speaking

  • With filtration, the roots also forestall the eutrophication of the waters, with positive impact on the habitat and biodiversity of the embankment. In essence, using poplar veneers instead of other wood essences, thus increases poplar cultivation surfaces and enhances in an exponential way, the restoring of benefits to the ecosystem.  

Natural
phytoremediation

  • The major demand for poplar-based products has slowed down the danger of deforestation campaigns and given impetus to a positive expansion of forests, including the equatorial, exotic wood forests

More Panguaneta,
More plantations

  • In the poplar community

    In the poplar community

    As the European Commission affirmed in a document of 2004 (DG Enterprise), "the forestry products play an important role in mitigating climate change, favouring the removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere."

    Cultivating poplars is certainly an ideal system for greenhouse gas reduction. However, there are poplars and poplars, as there are cultivations and cultivations. So discover the Panguaneta woods.

    What are clones? What plantation layout systems are used?
    From research labs to the little poplar shoots: a specialised silviculturein constant expansion.

  • Better poplars

    Better poplars

    “We work in order to improve,” our farmer partners say, “and to improve future expectations,” we add, given that we directly follow every experimental phase in the field. In our territory, before the planting season, it is not unusual to see hundreds of poplar shoots immersed in the canal waters to enhance successive uprooting. This is the start of a quality programme that pursues objectives of excellence, sharing… and prosperity. Seeing a healthy Panguaneta plantation is quite impressive!
     
  • The industrial clones

    The industrial clones

    The poplar clone is chosen according to the final use designated, the pedoclimatic features of the planting station and possible other natural environment obligations. Panguaneta’s “laboratory” spreads out over 300 ha, directly run by its own “Rosa Anna and Rosa Luigia” Farm, certified according to FSC standards.
     
  • Ten-year growth

    Ten-year growth

    The constitution of new plants was done exclusively with genetic-sanitary certified nursery material. The vegetative cycle, ensured by the best selected clones and good farming practices applied within our river-front territory between the Po and Oglio Rivers, is calibrated over a ten-year period. We learned by experience that it is the best period which ensures excellent quality of wood without exaggerating in intensive cultivations.
     
  • Plantation setup

    Plantation setup

    The strategic spacing out of the poplar grove is fundamental for the correct growth of the plant and is done by taking into consideration the characteristics of the area and the clone. The number of plants per hectare may vary by a minimum of 200 (50 m2/plant) to a maximum of 280 (42 m2/plant). The preferable plant density is that it does not exceed the 250-280 plants per hectare and rectangular layouts of the plantation (6x7). Besides favouring good diametrical growth, this enables the reduction of ovalisation to the minimum in the bending of the trunks.
     
  • Treatment and tests

    Treatment and tests

    The growth and quality of the poplars are determined also by the proper treatment cycles that go from pruning to obtain trunks that have knot-free layers, the right supply of water, working the soil for careful control of parasite attacks as well as preventive action through correct clonal diversification.
     
  • Exemplary objectives

    Exemplary objectives

    Panguaneta is a drive engine for Italian poplar cultivation and
    - ensures continuity through time, of the poplar groves conceived for industrial use, with the guarantee of an adequate turnover;
    - achieving a positive environmental impact of the poplar groves on neighbouring and involved areas;
    - using trees coming from plantations and not from natural forests.
     

Custodians of a coordinated supply chain

Panguaneta’s flagship activity is based on a solid bond with farming, giving rise to the raw material and landscape heritage around us.

Our agricultural techniques and forestry management follow the principles of environmental sustainability and biodiversity. Year after year, one certification after the other, we became responsible custodians

The desire to compete in excellence, while respecting the territory and environment, is testified to by a responsible “chain of custody” - the heart of Panguaneta traceability

This is our story, a modern tale about the nurturing and tracing of a sustainable supply chain

EXPERT PARTNERS, SHORT SUPPLY CHAIN

The sharing of farming know-how and techniques comes about especially among the historical suppliers who are the more fertile and accredited members of the company’s partnership. The Panguaneta poplar supply chain is one of the few “zero miles” activities in the area: the entire cycle, from sowing to cultivation and from cutting to industrial processing, comes about in the geographical context of the Po Valley. Panguaneta’s poplar plywood is thus an authentic specialty of the “Made in Italy” label.

FORESTRY CERTIFICATES

For the supplies of its raw material, Panguaneta adopts the most renowned international forestry certifications: FSC® (Forest Stewardship Council) and PEFC™ (Programme for Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes).

FSC® - MANAGEMENT STANDARDS

FSC® is the international non-government organisation that established 10 principles and 58 standards, the current and recognised standards of good forest management. The certification safeguards not only the environmental and management procedures, but also the rights of local populations, occupational safety and socio-economic wellbeing. Panguaneta has been a convinced and through the Rosa Farm an active member of the Forest Stewardship Council since 2006.

PEFC™ - SUSTAINABILITY STANDARDS

The PEFC™ is an international initiative based on an extensive agreement between the parties interested in the implementation of sustainable forest management. To be highlighted among its objectives is the improvement of the image of silviculture and the forest-wood supply chain, furnishing a market tool that allows the marketing of wood and forestry products derived from woods and systems managed in a sustainable manner.

SUSTAINABLE FORESTATION

The correct management and sustainable usage ratio of forest soils, allow for the maintenance of biodiversity, productivity, the capacity to renew and the vitality of the entire system. This implies the commitment to fulfil the relevant ecological, economic and social functions at local, national and global levels without damaging other ecosystems.

CHAIN OF CUSTODY

One of the most outstanding aspects of the FSC® and PEFC™ standards is the "Chain of custody," which is the traceability certification that attests to the origin of every wood product.
Through the tracking mechanism Panguaneta shows the sustainable origin of the raw materials it provides its clientele, who may thus procure their wood-based material responsibly, and make these certified products their preferred choice.

AN EXTRA GUARANTEE

Panguaneta refers to both the international forestry certifications to prove that the entire supply of processed raw material assures the final consumer that its products consist in wood from certified forests and do not derive from illegal cutting of trees and that these are managed at their origin in a correct way.

  • Very harmonic landscapes

    Very harmonic landscapes

    Care for the environment and the landscape is for Panguaneta an absolute value to be pursued with determination. The growing focus of the community on environmental issues goes hand in hand with the pleasure of tracing a territory of excellence, with the satisfaction of having set up the best business practices within the environmental management framework.

    Panguaneta is fully aware of the fact that its activities, products or services may impact on or interfere with nature’s ecological equilibrium. Due to this, it recognises protection of the environment and the landscape as its own strategic targets.

    The beauty of the landscape implies an underlying care for the environment.
    Running an industry thus becomes a way of taking pride in our harmonious bond with nature and the surrounding territory.

  • A green heart

    A green heart

    The direct ownership of various and important farms dedicated to cultivation and experimentation confirms Panguaneta’s “green” heart. The certifications obtained, especially regarding forestry, are a sign of respect for our past and testify to the trust we place in the future and the territory which hosts us.

  • Great prestige

    Great prestige

    The presence of poplars in the Po Valley landscape is a strong identity value which connotes the beauty of the landscape. Also the ecological use of the poplar grove as a buffer belt (acting as windbreaker, phytodepurator, anti-erosion…) is ulterior data that testifies to the great prestige poplar farming has gained for the entire agro-environment of the Po Valley.

  • Relational values

    Relational values

    Through its poplar supply chain, Panguaneta enhances the sustainable development of local economy, promoting professional training and employment, factories and cultivations. Our poplars, in contributing decisively to the maintenance of the local landscape, allow for the enjoyment of a highly fascinating, natural, touristic and relational heritage which is a worthy match to the beauty of Sabbioneta.

  • Environmental certifications

    Environmental certifications

    The Environmental Certification IS014001 awarded to Panguaneta was an important event, a recognition of its endeavours, and the objectives pursued by the company upon expanding its own activities, protecting the environment and investing increasingly more resources in the sustainability of its own production cycles.

  • Responsible duties

    Responsible duties

    The company’s environmental policy is defined in the Environmental Management System. Panguaneta undertakes to support the conservation of resources with actions aimed at an efficient and effective use of energy, and compliance with the FSC and PEFC standards. It furthermore undertakes to limit its waste production, adopt tools and resources for the prevention of emergencies, reduce environmental impact with the adoption of innovative technologies and management tools, and apply surveillance and monitoring procedures.

  • Transparency

    Transparency

    In maintaining an Environmental System that complies with the requisites of UNI EN ISO 14001, Panguaneta also confirms its own responsible behaviour towards its stakeholders, from suppliers to clients, and to the employees of the Sabbioneta community. In particular, technological and managerial innovation will focus on the main points of reduced environmental impact, and the adoption of specific development programmes.

Contact

Panguaneta Spa
Via Solazzi, 6-19 | 46018 Sabbioneta (MN), Italy
Tel. (+39) 0375.223411

Italian Sales Division
E-mail: commerciale@panguaneta.com

Export Sales Division
E-mail: sales@panguaneta.com

Human Resources Department
E-mail: risorseumane@panguaneta.com

Marketing Department
E-mail: marketing@panguaneta.com

Administration Department
E-mail: amministrazione@panguaneta.com

Purchase Department
E-mail: acquisti@panguaneta.com

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