Anisa Gjoka is the
Anisa Gjoka is the operations manager at King City Northway Forwarding in Montreal, Quebec. King City Northway Forwarding exports lumber overseas, mainly to Asia, Europe and Mediterranean countries from any North Anisa Gjoka American port and rail, they also import from anywhere in the world. They send 20,000 containers per year to these regions. They can handle all aspects of a customer’s export shipment, including trucking, Who’s Who in Import/Exports Continued on page 24 Brian Gibson works in sales for Cole Hardwood, a concentration yard based in Logansport, Indiana. Gibson oversees the West Coast and Southwest territories along with international sales. Cole Hardwood sells Red and White Oak, Brian Gibson Ash, Cherry, Walnut, Hard and Soft Maple, Hickory, Poplar and Beech in 4/4 through 8/4 thicknesses. The company also can dry up to 12/4 thickness in such species as Poplar and Soft Maple. Continued on page 24 Joseph Draper is a lumber salesman for Clark Lumber Company in Red Boiling Springs, Tennessee, having worked for this firm for eight years. Clark Lumber Company has six sawmills producing 48 million board feet of Appalachian Hardwoods Joseph Draper annually in 4/4 to 8/4 thicknesses. The company manufactures Red and White Oak, Poplar, Hickory, Hard Maple, Cherry and Walnut. Clark Lumber Company has 900,000 board feet of kiln drying capacity and 3 million board feet of covered air-drying capacity. Draper’s first job in the forest products industry was pulling cable for his father’s logging business. So, Draper is a second-generation lumberman. He decided to attend college and earned a bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems from Tennessee Tech University. After graduation, Draper took a job selling insurance. He ran into Brandon Clark, vice president of Clark Lumber Company, at church, and Clark invited Draper to a job interview. Draper was hired on at Clark Lumber Company and has been selling lumber for the firm domestically and in exports ever since. Draper and his wife of nine years, Amber Draper, have four children: a daughter Noa, 7; a daughter Ada, 5; a son Josiah 4; and a daughter, Lyla, 2. In his free time, Draper likes to deer hunt and spend time with his family. “We play with the kids quite a bit,” he said. For more information, go to www.clarklumbercompany.com. n Table of Contents FEATURES: Lumber Shippers View Their Work Realistically and Optimistically............................... 1 2023 AHEV Events and Pavillions...................................... 1 Merrick Hardwoods..................... 4 Keiver-Willard Lumber Corp....... 5 DEPARTMENTS: Who's Who in Import/Exports.... 2 IWPA Column............................... 3 Washington Scene...................... 6 Business Trends USA................. 8 Canadian Trends....................... 12 Stock Exchange....................25-26 Business Trends Abroad...........29 Newswires...................................30 Index of Advertisers...................34 IMPORT/EXPORT A Bi-Monthly Newspaper Serving the International Wood Trade. Published by International Wood Trade Publications, Inc. P. O. Box 34908 Memphis, TN 38184 Tel. (901) 372-8280 FAX (901) 373-6180 Web Site: www.woodpurchasingnews.com E-Mail Addresses: Advertising: wpn@millerwoodtradepub.com Editorial: editor@millerwoodtradepub.com Subscriptions: circ@millerwoodtradepub.com Paul Miller, Jr. - President/Editor Terry Miller - Vice President/Associate Editor - Secretary/Treasurer Zach Miller - Vice President Sue Putnam - Editorial Director Matthew Fite - Staff Writer Cadance Hanson - Staff Writer Rachael Stokes - Graphic Artist Apryll Cosby - Advertising Manager Lisa Carpenter - Circulation Manager U.S. Correspondents: Chicago, Ill., Grand Rapids, Mich., High Point, N.C., Los Angeles, Calif., Portland, Ore., Memphis, Tenn. Canadian Correspondents: Toronto Foreign Correspondents: Brazil, Philippines, Malaysia, Chile, Bangkok, Thailand, Singapore, New Zealand. The Import/Export Wood Purchasing News is the product of a company and its affiliates that have been in the publishing business for over 94 years. Other publications edited for specialized markets and distributed worldwide include: Forest Products Export Directory • Hardwood Purchasing Handbook • National Hardwood Magazine • Green Book’s Hardwood Marketing Directory • Green Book’s Softwood Marketing Directory • The Softwood Forest Products Buyer By Ashley Amidon Executive Director International Wood Products Association (703)820-7807 (c) www.iwpawood.org New Year, Same Commitment A new year is always a popular time to make a resolution – start a new diet, exercise more, maybe finally pick up that copy of War & Peace you bought three years ago when you promised to read more and watch Netflix less. Yet study after study shows that New Year’s resolutions falter the most by the two-month mark; February is when the excitement has faded and the drudgery of the day-to-day has fully set in. To ensure that a resolution lasts, it has to be iterative, building on work already being done. It’s the supercharging of a habit or behavior already in place that really builds success. And while I have never been one for personal New Year’s Resolutions, I’ve always thought that a new year is a great inflection point for any organization, to look at all that has been accomplished in the past year and to determine what work to build on for the upcoming one. For associations, it’s less of a resolution and more of a commitment to excellence. For IWPA, that means a little bit of elbow grease and a little bit of crystal ball gazing. The elbow grease comes in the form of the work IWPA is doing to ensure the industry has the information it needs. In case your calendar was not already marked, grab your planner and save March 29th through 31st for IWPA’s 67th Annual World of Wood Convention, taking place at the Hyatt Regency in Savannah, Georgia. We all know how challenging it is to do business these days, so IWPA is gathering a wide variety of speakers and sessions for WoW 2023 to help you succeed. We’ve invited government officials to share what agencies are doing on topics as varied as shipping challenges, trade policies, and CoP19 CITES enforcement. We also have exciting presentations covering GSP, a Continued on page 24 Annual subscription rates - 6 bi-monthly issues U.S. - 1 year; - 2 years; 0 - 3 years; Canadian & Foreign orders Must be paid by check drawn on U.S. Bank, Credit Card, or by wire Transfer Canada (U.S. dollars) - 1 year; 5 - 2 years; 0- 3 years; Foreign (airmail) 0 - 1 year; 4 - 2 years (U.S. dollars) Send address changes to: Import/Export Wood Purchasing News P.O. Box 34908, Memphis, TN 38184-0908 The Publisher reserves the right to accept or reject editorial content and Advertisements at the staff ’s discretion. 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