Norbord’s Sterling OSB is helping Scotland’s leading supplier of equestrian buildings remain competitive while maintaining a sustainable, low-carbon profile.

Saltire Stables of Cupar, Fife, began using Sterling OSB in 1992 when it first started developing its range of stabling, loose boxes and field shelters. Now, some 17 years later, Sterling OSB is a vital component of the company’s products thanks to its strength, versatility and environmental credentials.

The company uses Sterling OSB in its stable doors and kick-boards as well as for flooring, where requested. It is also used with a vapour barrier as sheeting, where a heavier cladding is required, or as a sarking deck.

“We also use it structurally in our trusses to span chords and when creating a box section to support the cantilever of the stable overhang” says Saltire Stables’ managing director John Morrow.

Highly versatile and strong, SterlingOSB (Oriented Strand Board), is a timber product which is made from layering strands of wood in specific orientations and then bonding the layers with a resin.

The board’s strength and durability makes it ideal for use as interior cladding or kick-boards, says Mr Morrow. “We use two thicknesses: 11 mm and 18 mm. For extra strength, we can close up the stud centres to reduce the spans to, say, 300mm centres below the dwangs. This uses more studding, but with OSB it still costs less than plywood.”

The 11mm kickboards are suitable for lighter horses and ponies. “They will occasionally get the odd hole kicked in them so we advise customers to upgrade or programme replacement every five years” explains Mr Morrow. “However, the 18mm OSB is just about indestructible and should not need any replacement.”

If a kickboard is damaged, OSB, unlike plywood, has the advantage of fracturing safely, says Mr Morrow: “If a horse kicks the 11mm OSB, you get a perfect hoofprint and no long splinters that could get driven under the hoof and cause infection.”

Sterling OSB also fits in with Saltire Stables’ environmental policy, says Mr Morrow. Made at Norbord’s Inverness factory from sustainable FSC-certified Scottish timber, Sterling OSB is a home-grown product that doesn’t rack up thousands of carbon-miles to reach its UK customers.

“From day one, we have been a low carbon, renewable company so OSB Sterling Board has always appealed to us” says Mr Morrow. “It’s just about our only UK-sourced bulk material, it’s a fully renewable resource with a traceable chain of custody, and the range of thicknesses and sizes available minimises our waste factor”.

“Another advantage is that Sterling OSB is widely available which means we can source it anywhere away from base. It is also consistently cheaper than plywood while being technically superior”, comments Mr Morrow. “We typically use six pallets per month of 11mm and two or three pallets of 18mm.”