A few comments, meanderings and observations over the last few weeks that might be of interest to the industry…

Question: What is Green about Nylon Decking or faux beams made out of Styrofoam? I have no idea, but these manufacturers and numerous other companies showcased dubious “green products” at the West Coast Green show in San Francisco this past week.

It may be the continued weak economy, or that green washing has become an accepted practice for residential building product manufacturers and suppliers, but this show seemed to have an over abundance of products that had questionable claims to being sustainable.

For example, I spoke to a couple of exhibitors as to the sustainable nature of their products. The responses, while entertaining, were not overly surprising. The Nylon Deck Company showcased a new line of decking and fencing materials. The person I spoke to commented that “We have 15% post consumer waste in our decking” meaning old carpet and pop bottles, and more importantly he continued “we’re not cutting down the forests”. Unfortunately, another exhibitor that showcased faux beams had an even worse answer for the sustainable nature of his products, “Styrofoam is an environmentally friendly product… they use it all the time in the agricultural business as it is mixed in with topsoil.”

As for the show itself, organizers suggest that 12,000 attendees participated in the three day event which in my opinion seemed a tad high. Along with residential building product suppliers, the show had a large number of government and green focused groups and associations. These groups included: Forest Stewardship Council, the US Green Building Council, and the California Straw Building Association. In speaking with exhibitors, the majority of attendees were home owners, architects, interior designers, residential builders and those interested in green building products and related technologies. One exhibitor, who has participated in the past 3 West Coast Green shows, estimated that traffic by his booth was down by at least 1/3 compared to previous events.

Regardless of the event, “Green Washing” remains alive and well in today’s building product sector. The BC industry, along with manufacturers need to continue to educate and promote the sustainable nature of our wood products to buyers in the United States.

As always, for more information on this or any other market in the United States, please feel free to contact me at dfarley@bcwood.com

A one-day seminar on issues related to exporting for first time exporters and those who are currently exporting but wish to expand their knowledge in this area.  This bootcamp is designed for value added companies with little or no exporting experience.  Topics covered will include; shipping, customs, insurance, financing, planning, and legal aspects of international trade.

Dates & Locations: October 27, 2010 – Surrey, BC;  November 10, 2010 – Kelowna, BC

Time: 8:30am-4:30pm

Click here for more information or to register

Learn about the latest techniques and technologies used for reducing interior wood finishing costs in cabinet and millwork shops.

What to Expect

• Maintaining wood manufacturing equipment
• Maximizing your high-quality abrasives
• Setting up adequate lighting
• Maintaining finishing equipment
• Applying spray only stains
• Applying high solids coatings
• Checking your coatings
• Creating a well-defined finishing process
• Improving the flow to maximize productivity
• Using “green” finishing with high solids, water-borne and UV Cure coatings

Added Feature:
We will have special guest experts from the coatings and equipment industry to answer your questions.

Date: November 23, 2010
Time: 9:00am to 3:00pm
Location: Holiday Inn Express & Suites, Langley, BC

Click here for more information and to register

The Business Innovation Partnership in association with Sandler Training and Trainwest Management & Consulting presents a 1 day seminar on sales techniques presented by Randy Hnatko.

This 9 module sales workshop will provide you with the concept, knowledge and understanding of sales techniques. Through appropriate exercises, you will refine your sales-development plan, practice strategies and techniques in a safe environment, and develop your skills, before interacting with prospects and customers.

Date: Thursday, September 30, 2010
Time: 9:00am-5:00pm
Location: Coast Capri Hotel, Kelowna, BC

For more information on this workshop, please click here.

British Columbia’s largest wood products show selling a lot more than 2x4s

LANGLEY, BC – BC’s forest industry ‘ain’t what it used to be.’ That’s clear from British Columbia’s largest wood products trade show –– the Global Buyers’ Mission –– which begins next week at Whistler’s Conference Centre, says Brian Hawrysh, CEO of BC Wood, which is hosting the event.

The Sept. 9-11 show’s product focus will be value-added wood products, not commodity lumber, he said.

“This province’s forest industry is changing. We’re no longer just hewers of 2x4s for the USA,” said Hawrysh. “Buyers from around the world are coming here next week because they want to find out about British Columbia’s vibrant value-added wood industry.”

“BC’s forest industry has been pummeled over the past several years. But the real news is that our value-added industry is adapting and thriving through the difficult economic times, by creating niche products and finding diversified markets around the world.”

“Consequently, it is the value-added sector that will provide the future growth in British Columbia’s forest industry,” Hawrysh said. He added that the upcoming Global Buyers Mission has attracted a broad range of international participants and sold out for the third year in a row.

Canada’s largest event dedicated to value-added wood producers, the show will host international buyers, architects and representatives of local wood products manufacturers.

Pre-qualified buyers will attend from China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Taiwan, Australia, Mexico, the United States, Ireland, the Czech Republic, Germany, the United Kingdom, Belgium and Austria.

Buyers will also tour production facilities and visit construction sites around BC to see how value-added products are produced and used. Besides helping buyers immediately source high quality, innovative and competitively priced wood products, tours help build future business relationships by familiarizing potential customers with BC’s wood species, value-added wood producers and up-to-date construction technologies.

Products to be sold at the 2010 GBM include log and timber frame homes, pre-fabricated structures, engineered wood products, specialty lumber, windows, doors, cabinets, moldings, flooring, and other value-added wood building products.

The 2010 GBM is supported with funds from participating value-added wood companies and in part by British Columbia’s Forestry Innovation Investment Ltd., Natural Resources Canada, Forest Products Association of Canada, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the Cedar Shake and Shingle Bureau, Industry Canada and the Department of Foreign Affairs & International Trade.

Established in 1989, BC Wood is a not-for-profit industry association that represents British Columbia’s value-added wood products industry. Its mission is to help British Columbian wood product manufacturers achieve global competitiveness by providing marketing and business services necessary to capitalize on new market opportunities.

BC’s value-added industry employs 19,600, generates $4.85 billion in exports and uses approximately 25 million cubic meters of round wood equivalent annually. For more information, please visit www.BCWood.com.

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The Business Innovation Partnership (BIP) and the CKCA will be presenting a 2 day Cabinet Symposium. BIP will present their “Staying Focused” seminar series which will include a group of experts to speak about marketing, interior design trends, and manufacturing.  The CKCA will hold their regional meeting the following day to highlight their expanded services, as well as, conduct a series of tours and presentations.

Speakers:
Randy Hnatko (Sandler Training)
Alain Albert (FPInnovations)
Kelly Deck (Kelly Deck Designs)
Richard Lipman (Wood Manufacturing Council)
Helen Goodland (Light House)
Norm Smith (FPInnovations)

Date & Time: September 21, 2010, 9:00am-5:00pm, September 22, 2010, 7:30am-8:30pm
Location: Sheraton – Guildford Hotel, Surrey

For more information, please contact David Pao at dpao@bcwood.com

Click here to register

Event: CAWP Open House
Date: Thursday, October 7, 2010
Time: 1:00pm – 5:00pm

Event: Co-op Presentation Evening (same location)
Date: Thursday, October 7, 2010
Time: 6:00pm-9:00pm

The Centre for Advanced Wood Processing will be holding an Open House on Thursday, October 7th from 1pm to 5pm, followed by the Co-op Presentation Evening from 6pm to 9pm.  Anyone connected with or interested in the wood products sector is warmly invited to attend these events.

The Open House will run from 1pm to 5pm with various short technical seminars and hands-on demonstrations to inform you about new developments in machinery, software, equipment, and supplies related to wood products manufacturing.  They will be providing productivity tips and sharing information that will help manufacturers increase competitiveness.   They will also have information on training and technical assistance programs available to the industry. Tours of CAWP will be run on the half-hour, led by student volunteers, and we will be showcasing some of the research and industry projects that are carried out in the building.

In the evening, they will be holding their Co-op Presentation Evening from 6pm to 9pm. This is a great opportunity to find out about the projects that students from our B.SC. Wood Products Processing program carried out during their summer co-op work terms and what they could do for your organization. The evening includes a networking opportunity to meet their current co-op students in all years of the program and is always popular with industry visitors who may be considering hiring a student or graduate for either short-term work placements or permanent positions.

There is no charge to attend either the Open House or Co-op Presentations, and a light buffet meal will be available at 5pm. A complete schedule for the Open House event will be announced at the beginning of September. To RSVP or request more information, please contact cawp@cawp.ubc.ca. Please mention in the RSVP whether you will attend the Open House (afternoon) session, the Co-op (evening) session, or both.

At the Salt Spring Wood Works Gallery a new show, “Summer Lights”, lights up the night! From July 1st through the summer, the Gallery will be open on Friday and Saturday nights from 9 p.m. to midnight for attendees to view a collection of fantastic illuminated sculptures by artists Judson Beaumont, Brent Comber, and Peter Pierobon.

A Gallery press release described ‘Summer Lights’ as “featuring works of ‘art in environment, ‘artifice in nature;’ outdoor public art that is visible in the dark, viewable from distances, from infinite perspectives, reflecting and illuminating the trails and the towering trees. They transform the ordinary extraordinary landscape into something unimagined, something startling and new, playful and beautiful, and they change and evolve on site in different lights; and they surprise, engage and initiate thought.”

The towering 8′ Squiddy Guards that currently stand at the “Summer Lights” show at the Salt Spring Wood Works Gallery are the most recent, not to mention most impressive, incarnation of Judson’s creepy sculptural “Squiddy” series. The Night Gallery setting really allows the Squiddy Guards to shine!  A ghostly White Guard will greet you right at the entrance to the gallery grounds, while its black counterpart can be found farther in. As you wander through this beautiful outdoor exhibition, you can even take a seat on the illuminated Squiddy Guard Bench that encircles one of the trees. Don’t worry, it hasn’t bitten anyone… yet.

“Strung up in the big firs around the gallery is Brent Comber’s ‘Chandelier’ — an illuminated multi-trunk cedar lantern. Also his new light-emitting ‘Shattered Spheres’ will be nestled in woodchips, looking for all the world like alien eggs about to hatch! Peter Pierobon has created a fibreoptic lamp and large, delicate hanging lanterns that turn with the air and emit changing and flowing patterns of light.

They’re dazzling, like nothing else you’ve ever seen. Summer Lights is a rare experience of astounding original art in nature.”

The Business Innovation Partnership in association with Sandler Training and Trainwest Management & Consulting presents a 1 day seminar on sales techniques presented by Randy Hnatko.

This 9 module sales workshop will provide you with the concept, knowledge and understanding of sales techniques. Through appropriate exercises, you will refine your sales-development plan, practice strategies and techniques in a safe environment, and develop your skills, before interacting with prospects and customers.

Date: Thursday, June 17, 2010

Time: 9:00am-4:30pm

Location: Sheraton – Guildford Hotel: 15269 104th Ave, Surrey, BC

Please click here for more information and registration.

The Business Innovation Partnership presents a half-day seminar on issues related to sustainable forest management certification for the value-added wood products industry.

The presenter will compare and contrast the differences between sustainable forest management certification, chain of custody and environmental management Certification. An overview of the various certification brands will be provided. Participants in this workshop will gain a better understanding of the chain of custody process including system requirements and external audits.

Date: Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Time: 8:30am-1:00pm

Location: Coast Capri Hotel, Kelowna

Please click here for more information and registration.