Amazing, versatile Paulownia

The timber blades of our hugely popular Sirocco ceiling fan range are made from Paulownia, a deciduous hardwood species native to China, other parts of South East Asia and Australasia.

Being a fast grower, Paulownia is light in weight but nevertheless has amongst the highest strength to weight ratios of any wood in the world.

It is beautifully evenly grained with silky, satin appearance and the wood dries to a light honey to blond colour. Being low in resins and free of volatile oils, it is easily sanded, worked and moulded and is tolerant to staining, painting or polishing.

In addition to being light and strong, Paulownia has great sound absorption qualities as well as buoyancy, making it a favourite for the manufacture of surfboards, musical instruments and for marine construction.

The timber used in our blades is made from 5 ply laminated boards of Paulownia with each ply being 15mm thick giving an overall 75mm thickness. The blades are cut and fashioned by hand from these solid laminated boards. The result is an incredibly strong and durable solid timber blade which will not warp or crack.

The technique of lamination is universally applied when working with timber in order to increase strength and stability. Our Paulownia is sourced from plantation growers and grown in accordance with ecological principles of sustainability and resource utilisation.