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WHO’S WHO IN SOFTWOODS
The Softwood Forest Products Buyer
Speakers Announced For EWTA
Employee Recruitment Seminar
For more APA news and information, log onto www.apawood.org
John F. Benjamin III
John F.
Benjamin III
recently moved
into lumber sales
for Robbins
Lumber Inc.,
based in
Searsmont,
Maine. A 15-year
veteran of the
company,
Lester Gray Fred Erlich Stephani Jarvis
Lester Gray, Fred Erlich is Stephani
the president vice president of Jarvis joined
and owner of sales and operations
C o l l i n s
Gray Lumber
for Devon Companies in
Co. in Modesto, Lumber Co., Scottsdale, Ariz.,
Ill., handles the located in in April as
majority of the Dorchester, Southwest
firm’s purchasing
Mass.
Region Sales
and over-
sees the day-today
operations.
Devon Lumber
Co. carries a full
range of building
Representative.
She handles the
sale of TruWood
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Stacey Wagner, managing director of
the Center for Workforce Success, the
training and education affiliate of the
Manufacturing Institute, National
Association of Manufacturers, will deliver
the opening remarks at a half-day
seminar on employee recruitment and
retention to be held June 21 in Atlanta
as part of the Southern Forest Products
Association’s Machinery & Equipment
Exposition.
The seminar, sponsored by the
Engineered Wood Technology
Association (EWTA), an APA related
organization, will cover the three R’s of
employee recruitment, retention and
replenishing.
Other speakers will be Paul Winistorfer,
professor and head of the Dept. of Wood
Science and Forest Products at Virginia
Tech; Jerry Pettibone, former head football
coach at Oregon State University
and now director of college and university
relations at Jeld-Wen Windows and
Doors; Derrick Harris, managing principal
at The Human Resource
Department Ltd., an HR consulting and
services firm; Henry Brown, human
resources director for manufacturing at
Plum Creek; Ray Peters, vice president
of human resources at Roy O. Martin
Lumber Co.; Phillip Blount, president of
Phillip Blount & Associates, an HR consulting
company; and Tim Hartnett,
human resource manager at Louisiana-
Pacific Corp. The seminar will be moderated
by APA Chairman Jonathan
Martin, chairman and chief executive
officer of Roy O. Martin Lumber
Company, LLC.
Complete information, including registration
details, can be found at website
www.engineeredwood.org.
APA, Taiwanese Research
Institute Join Forces
APA and a Ministry of Interior Research
Continued on page 24
British Columbia Business Trends
Frank A. Johnston Mark Lorber Thomas Meadows
Frank Allen Mark Lorber T h o m a s
Johnston serves
on the board of
coordinates purchases
of all lumber
Meadows holds
the position of
directors for
boards for purchaser and
North Pacific, Gilcrest/Jewett manager for Ace
headquartered in Lumber Co. in Hardware and
Portland, Ore., Waukee, Iowa, B u i l d i n g
and is the senior as well as plywood
Center, located
vice president
and deck-
in Blue Ridge,
and manager of ing.
Ga.
the company’s Gilcrest/Jewett’s Ace offers a
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Group Lobbies For Wood
Based Fuels
The Southeastern Lumber
Manufacturers Assoc. Inc. (SLMA)
recently joined the Cellulosic Biofuels
Working Group, whose mission it is to
establish itself as the voice for federal
policies that promote the rapid commercialization
of cellulosic fuels. Other
founding members include Plum Creek,
Waste Management and several technology
companies. This group was of
interest to SLMA due to its focus, which
is closely aligned with the interests of
SLMA, noted an association report.
SLMA has noted that enabling biomass
legislation may emerge from the 2007
Farm Bill. The association has stated
that there are a number of biomass and
energy-related bills in addition to the
Farm Bill intact and the group speculates
that more legislation will emerge.
SLMA has gone on record endorsing
Chambliss Bill, S. 386, which includes a
set-aside to help commercialize cellulosic
ethanol quicker than under current
law.
Larry Petree
Larry Petree
recently joined
Lazy S Lumber,
located in
Beavercreek,
Ore., as the
resource manager.
Lazy S Lumber
specializes in
Tight Knot
The
Washington
Scene
Judge Tosses Environmental Case
According to a report released by the
American Forest Resources Center, a
U.S. District Judge Garr King dismissed
a case levied by the Northwest
Environmental Defense Center claiming
the State of Oregon, as well as numerous
private timber companies, were
required to obtain Clean Water Act
(CWA) permits in order to use forest
roads.
Plaintiffs alleged roads, ditches and
culverts were sources for discharge of
storm water, which is commonly regarded
as a pollutant. King found that forest
roads are not such point sources
because the alleged discharges fall
under the silvicultural regulations for the
CWA.
Finding Funds For Timber
Industry Communities
Rural schools and roads in Alaska
recently came under threat of losing millions
of dollars in government funds in a
confrontation between the White House
and congressional Democrats over withdrawing
U.S. troops from Iraq.
Alaska senators have sought extensive
For more Information regarding BC Wood Specialities Group, visit
www.bcwood.com
Recent articles on trends in the British
Columbia wood products industry have
generally dealt with lumber shipments
and what was going on in the primary
sector in regard to production and sales.
As a new contributor, BC Wood
Specialties Group will vary the focus of
this column and try to bring you the latest
on what’s happening in the primary
sector and how these trends are affecting
B.C.’s secondary manufacturing
industry.
Many issues have plagued the forest
products industry for the past couple of
years including the Softwood
lumber dispute, the ravaging
mountain pine beetle epidemic,
the shortage of raw materials, the
consolidation of mills (particularly
in the interior of B.C.), the political
concerns over the environment
and the shortage of labor, to
name a few.
Most of these issues or concerns are
cyclical but cannot be ignored or
brushed aside by simply stating the
obvious. They are real and at the time,
affect the communities, job security and
livelihood of many B.C. residents.
The primary wood products industry is
a huge contributor to B.C.’s GDP – and
as such, will always be an important and
valuable sector worth sustaining. The
B.C. government is proud of the fact that
it holds one of the best records in the
world for ecological and sustainable
management of its forest and timberlands,
ensuring many eras of productive
industry and employment for this sector.
In fact, B.C. logs less than 1 percent of
its forests annually from an area twice
as big as all of the New England states
and New York state combined.
As evident in many other jurisdictions,
B.C. can no longer readily expand forest
sector production and employment by
drawing on additional timber reserves,
so it is seeking to expand secondary
(value-added) manufacturing in forest
products.
Fundamentals in the forest sector are
increasingly challenging commodity
grade products. With access to timber
often decreasing, the cost of access
increasing, technology shifting demand
to competing factors of production, substitute
products driving down demand
and reducing margins and the public’s
demand for sustainability create investment
uncertainty. These conditions,
among others, have fostered a strong
interest in creating conditions that
encourage secondary manufacturing.
This interest is typical to most jurisdictions,
including those with an indigenous
timber base, but also to those limited to
imported timber.
The Secondary Wood Products
Industry in B.C.
In many jurisdictions worldwide there is
a commitment to increasing direct
employment from the timber that is
being harvested. Secondary manufacturing
provides such additional economic
activity from a given harvest volume.
BC Wood Specialties Group is a notfor-profit
trade association offering marketing
assistance and program development
for the value-added wood products
industry in B.C. Along with Federal &
Provincial government partners, their
goal is to assist the industry in developing
export market opportunities outside
of Canada and has offices and staff in
Europe, Japan, China, Korea and the
U.S. Headquartered in Langley, B.C.,
the organization represents the following
secondary manufacturing sectors:
Cabinets, Furniture, Engineered Wood
Products, Millwork, Remanufactured
Products, Pre-built Structures and the
Log Home & Timber Frame industry.
Already an almost $3 billion a year
industry employing over 14,000 workers
in B.C., the province’s goal is to grow
sales in these sectors to $4 billion by
2010.
From indications in a study underway
of the secondary wood products industry
in B.C., the number one concern for secondary
manufacturers is finding a continuous
source of quality fibre. “Since
the industry survey has literally taken
place over the past couple of months, it
is likely that the current situation of wood
shortage has had an impact on the survey
responses” said Brian Hawrysh,
CEO, BC Wood. That said, 58% of the
firms taking part in the study are planning
to expand their business and
increase their capacity between 2007 –
2009.
Mergers and acquisitions over the past
few years, particularly in the reman and
engineered wood products sectors, indicate
that there are now fewer companies
in the province, but suggest little
change in employment numbers.
The study also verified that B.C.’s secondary
manufacturers sell about 45% of
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