Import:Export Wood Purchasing News - June/July
IMPORT/EXPORT www.woodpurchasingnews.com www.woodpurchasingnews.com Vol. 43 No.6 Serving Forest Products Buyers Worldwide JUNE/JULY 2017 61st IWPA World Of Wood Sees Third Straight Year Of Record Attendance (1st row, from left) Patricia Antono, International Wood Products Inc., Apex, NC; Sarah Shrider, Dawn Engle and Jen McGuire, Robert Weed Plywood Corp., Bristol, IN; (2nd row, from left) Kurniawan Antono, International Wood Products Inc.; and Will Weed, David Weed and Mark Fiquett, Robert Weed Plywood Corp.; (3rd row, from left) Makmur Buniadi, APKINDO-Indonesian Wood Panel Association, Jakarta, Indonesia; and (4th row, from left) Kenny MacMaster, Ryan MacMaster and Robert MacMaster, Argo Fine Imports Inc., Mandeville, LA; and Bryan Courtney, Robert Weed Plywood Corp. American Hardwoods Shine At China’s Leading Furniture Industry Show Demon Yan, Yong Jie Xu, Lee Wang, Tony Fu and Dean Alanko, Allegheny Wood Products, Petersburg, WV Guangzhou, China–With multiple U.S. lumber export companies in the Materials Hall 15.1 of the Canton Fair Complex at the recent Interzum Guangzhou 2017, American hardwoods represented the dominant wood material on offer to the furniture industry in China. China is the leading global importer of U.S. hardwood lumber, now accounting for about 55 percent of all export shipments. Therefore, committed exporters rallied around the American hardwood and U.S. pavilions to present all American species to a market keen to expand its business with U.S. producers. Also at the show were individual hardwood exporters from Canada, Europe Photos By Paul Miller Jr. San Francisco, California–As President Bronson Newburger, of Clarke Veneers and Plywood, passed the gavel to Incoming President JoAnn Gillebaard-Keller, of Holland Southwest International, the International Wood Products Association (IWPA), headquartered in Alexandria, VA, celebrated the end of the 61st World of Wood Convention, which was held here at Hotel Nikko. IWPA saw a 9 percent growth in attendance over last year’s record-setting convention in Austin. The organization welcomed a diverse group of attendees from more than two dozen countries involved in the global wood products trade: overseas suppliers, importers, trade facilitators, service providers, non-governmental organizations and government partners. “I am honored to be the next president of IWPA and plan to continue our membership growth, build our due diligence training program even more, provide resources to members as they tackle the political landscape, and reach out to organizations so Additional photos on page 8 &10 Continued on page 11 By Michael Buckley Jimmy Liu and Derek Wheeland, Wheeland Lumber Co. Inc., Liberty, PA Additional photos on page 12 Continued on page 11 VIFA Fair Deemed Most Successful Vietnam Show By Michael Buckley PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID NASHVILLE, TN PERMIT NO. 781 Address Service Requested The Import/Export Wood Purchasing News P.O. Box 34908 Memphis, TN 38184-0908 Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam–By all accounts the 2017 Vietnam International Furniture and Home Accessories Fair (VIFA), held here recently at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center, was deemed the most successful furniture fair in Vietnam in terms of presentation, participation and products - compared to any held previously. It was larger, more energetic and representative of Vietnam’s industry than previous shows. Vietnam is the American hard- Continued on page 13 Additional photos on page 13 & 14 Thu and Thao Nguyen, Thompson Hardwoods Inc., Hazlehurst, GA.
