Wood for the Masses

There is hope for those long-suffering designers who have fought, and lost, the never-ending battle to bring more natural products into mainstream vehicle interiors.

Novem Car Interior Design says it has developed a unique process that makes wood available for pennies more than the cost of faux finishes. That's real wood, from bubinga to walnut, says Novem Sales Manager Andrea Long.

Hence Novem's brand name for the resulting product: TruWood.

“We're really trying to bring wood to the masses,” Long tells Ward's. “Not just for premium brands.”

The process, which takes just hours instead of the weeks required to craft wood parts associated with luxury-brand interiors, creates a veneer shell backed by a plastic carrier. The veneer is then finished with a thin but durable coat of lacquer that allows the grain to retain its tactile appeal.

Using conventional manufacturing methods, a piece of wood door trim would cost about $15, Long says. Using film to lend a wood-like appearance to the same piece would reduce the cost to about $4.50.

Meanwhile, TruWood trim likely would cost $5. And the product's formability enables unique applications.

Says Long: “Maybe there's something that's plastic and you never thought of putting wood on it — overhead consoles, seat backs, whatever. There are limitless opportunities for it.”

But TruWood will not replace Novem's premium-wood products, which benefit from more hand-finishing and multiple coats of lacquer.

Based in Germany with 10 locations in seven countries, including China, Novem supplies interior wood, metal and plastic to auto makers ranging from Skoda Auto a.s. to Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Ltd. Novem's global sales are in the range of E290 million ($405.5 million).

Long, who is based in Michigan, says Novem hopes TruWood will help contribute an additional $25 million in sales to its North American operations over the next five years.

“We saw in North America that there was a large market of vehicles with fake wood,” she says.

Wood accents are a staple in vehicle interiors. So much so that consumers can't see the forest for the trees.

Pat Schiavone, Ford Motor Co. design director-trucks and SUVs., tells Ward's: “People want it — even when we tell them it's fake.”

So Novem is targeting Detroit auto makers with TruWood.

“Designers always want real wood, but they've never been able to afford it,” Long says. “We've come up with a way for them to afford real wood without making their program managers upset.”

TruWood also has appeal that extends beyond the aesthetic, Novem claims. “You can market it as real wood,” says Long, noting auto makers currently struggle with euphemisms for film such as “wood look” and “wood grain.”

Long says Novem is unfazed by the recent proliferation of metallic accents in vehicle interiors, a trend embraced even by storied brands such as Jaguar, which is renowned for its wood-trimmed interiors.

Novem will source North America with TruWood from its manufacturing site in Honduras.

While available in grains such as oak and maple for a “traditional look,” Long says there are alternatives.

“But we also have colors and stains,” she adds, pointing to TruWood trim pieces in bright yellow and blue.

Novem's Honduras site is prepared to deliver TruWood by the fall of 2009.