Import/Export Wood Purchasing News - August/September 2022

Tropical Forest Products Goes All-In For Quality
Mississauga, Ontario—Tropical Forest Products
(TFP), a hardwood distributor based here, demonstrates
its commitment to quality in a number of ways.
Established in 2017, this company not only handles
exotic wood from many parts of the world, but also
sources domestic hardwoods and softwoods along
with providing two initiatives that strive to make
sure the company is taking good care of its customers.
The first initiative is the establishment of their
new premium Black Label line of lumber and related
products. The second is asking for and listening to
customers’ feedback on how well TFP is meeting
their needs.
TFP recently announced the launch of its new
Black Label brand of curated, certified-sustainable
tropical hardwoods graded to the highest quality
standards in the industry. Black Label’s signature
species includes a selection of the finest Ipe, Cumaru,
Jatoba, Garapa, Bulletwood (also known as
Massaranduba), and Tigerwood in the world, according
to a company press release. Exceeding industry
standards, Black Label lumber is carefully and
100-percent legally sourced from South America.
“The Black Label brand is a handpicked selection
of the finest lumber nature has to offer,” said Kris
Kanagenthran, President and Chief Executive Officer
of TFP. “Each piece of lumber must meet our uncompromising
quality and sustainability certification
standards as we do our part to protect our planet.”
TFP maintains that for customers, it truly represents
their guiding principle of quality hardwoods for the
architectural millwork and decking market sectors.
All Black Label products are certified as sustainable
by either the Forest Stewardship Council
(155777) or Legal Lumber, which is TFP’s internal
Due Care Chain of Custody environmental compliance
program. Created to set stringent criteria for
the highest sustainability standards in the lumber
industry, Legal Lumber is designed to support global
forest initiatives and promote environmental benefits.
“Delivering strength and performance in every product,
the Black Label brand continues to push the industry forward,
raising the bar in quality and sustainability,” said
Kris Kanagenthran, President and CEO of Tropical Forest
Products.
Tropical Forest Products’ new 50,000 square foot facility in Charleston, South Carolina is seen from above.
According to TFP, “When you buy certified wood,
you are doing your part to protect our planet. That’s
because the trees used to produce legal lumber are
carefully selected, taking into account age, size and
productive wellbeing of the forest, providing extra
space needed for young and healthy trees to grow,
collecting and storing more carbon.”
Ideal for a variety of applications – including
decking, cladding, deck tiles and soffits as well as
architectural millwork – Black Label wood provides
dealers, architects and homeowners with a comprehensive
selection of tropical hardwood solutions that
realizes any vision, TFP stated. Black Label wood
species come in a broad range of grains, colors and
profiles, along with a variety of professional-grade
accessories for building, maintaining and preserving
the natural beauty of decks, cladding and other wood
projects.
“Delivering strength and performance in every
product, the Black Label brand continues to push
“The importance of
partnerships between Tropical
Forest Products, our suppliers
as well as our customers cannot
be overstated. This company
has a growing reputation
associated with not only
meeting customers’ current
needs but finding solutions to
exceed those needs of both
customers and our vendors,
whatever they may be. At
Tropical, we make it of great
importance to execute those
solutions with superior quality
products and a value-added
mandate.”
– Kris Kanagenthran, President and
CEO of Tropical Forest Products
the industry forward, raising the bar in quality and
sustainability,” Kanagenthran noted. “Each board
must be of Premium Architectural Grade or higher
to be sold under the Black Label brand, and every accessory
from screws to clips offers the same standard
of quality, providing architects and homeowners the
best in premium lumber available.”
In another initiative – to gather information that
can help TFP improve – the company is using a variety
of means to get feedback from customers. “Our
goal is to provide world-class customer service,”
Kanagenthran emphasized. “It became very evident
early on that we need constant feedback from our
customers to ensure we are not only meeting, but
exceeding, their expectations.”
Recently, TFP launched an aggressive multi-faceted,
customer feedback campaign, one that is believed
to be the first in the forest products industry, the
company stated. TFP is using all its sales, marketing,
CRM and digital online efforts for this informa-
Brian Lotz is the General Manager, U.S. Operations for
Tropical Forest Products.
Tropical Forest
Products
tion-gathering project.
TFP was founded on the belief that acquiring lumber of
superior quality should be easy and ethical. Its team is made
up of dedicated professionals who are passionate about forests
and their survival, the company states. Guided by four main
principles, TFP strives to meet every client’s need with quality
lumber, to deliver products on time, to maintain a commitment
to client service and to maintain the best prices in the market.
According to Jordan Dery, Vice President of Sales, “Tropical
Forest Products imports and distributes a comprehensive pallet
of both tropical and domestic forest species. A significant portion
of the company’s efforts focus on the markets for naturally
durable wood products for exterior applications.”
In addition to its Black Label line, TFP sells other exotic
woods including African Mahogany, Afromosia, Aniegre,
Bloodwood, Bubinga, Caribbean Walnut, Iroko, Santos Mahogany,
Sapele, Teak, Zebrawood and others. TFP’s line of
domestic hardwoods include rift-and-quartered White Oak,
Alder, Basswood, Beech, Birch,
Cherry, Hickory, Hard and Soft
Maple to name a few, as well as
softwood offerings of Aromatic
Cedar, Douglas Fir, Western Red
Cedar and White Pine. The company
purchases its lumber from a
multitude of sawmills around the
world.
TFP offers other products, including
truck and trailer decking, cross
ties, heavy timbers, post beams,
fenders and sheet piling.
At TFP, being flexible to react to
the most unusual customer request
is their specialty. Currently, TFP is
supplying a contract for a 4-inch
by 12-inch trapezoidal handrail in
Ipe for the Port of Los Angeles,
pre-fabricating custom removable
dock panels in Ipe for the Charleston
City Marina and delivering
165,000 lineal feet of custom Black
Label Kebony decking for a project
in Austin, Texas.
“The importance of partnerships
between Tropical Forest Products,
our suppliers as well as our customers
cannot be overstated. This
company has a growing reputation
associated with not only meeting
customers’ current needs but
finding solutions to exceed those
needs of both customers and our
vendors, whatever they may be. At
Tropical, we make it of great importance
to execute those solutions
with superior quality products and
a value-added mandate,” said Kris
Kanagenthran, President and CEO
of Tropical Forest Products.
TFP operates throughout the
United States as well as Canada,
and due to TFP experiencing a rapid
sales expansion, trending triple
digit growth annually, the company
has expanded into new facilities in
both Canada and the U.S over the
last year with over 250,000 square
Continued on page 24
There is an extensive stock of Black Label wood at the Tropical Forest Products’ warehouse.
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