1November 2012 | www.timberdesignandtechnology.com
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A N A L Y S I S | I N T E R V I E W S | D E S I G N | S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y | T E C H N O L O G Y
Issue 05 | November 2012
DNA testing of wood to help curb illegal logging
World’s tallest timber building ‘tops out’ in Melbourne
‘Out of the Woods - Adventures of 12 Hardwood Chairs’
Illegal logging nets organized crime up to USD 100 billion dollars every year
Miro Forestry aims for leadership within the sustainable plantation forestry industry in West Africa
PLUS Timber industry news, new products, exhibition previews and more
3November 2012 | www.timberdesignandtechnology.com
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Publisher’scomment
Issue 05 | NOVeMBeR 2012
Timber Design & Technology Magazine
PublisherAndy MacGregorpublisher citrusmediagroup.net+971 55 9199 783
Marketing Managereric Hammondmarketing citrusmediagroup.net+971 4 455 8400
editorTony smitheditor timberdesignandtechnology.com
International RepresentativesRabia AlgaAntexpo Org. | Turkey+90 216 541 0390rabia antexpo.net
Timber Design & Technology is published 6 times a year
by Citrus Media Group (powered by WillyMac Associates FZ LLC)Level 14, Boulevard Plaza - Tower One, emaar Boulevard, Downtown Dubai, PO Box 334155, Dubai, uAe
and is printed by Masar Printing Press Great care is taken to ensure the accuracy of the contents of Timber Design & Technology but the publishers accept no responsibility for any errors or omissions. All contents are © 2012 Citrus Media Group and may not be reproduced in any form without prior consent.
Letters and readers’ contributions may be edited at our discretion.
1
November 2012 | www.timberdesignandtechnology.com
www.timberdesignandtechnology.com
A N A L Y S I S | I N T E R V I E W S | D E S I G N | S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y | T E C H N O L O G Y
Issue 05 | November 2012
DNA testing of wood to help curb illegal logging
World’s tallest timber building ‘tops out’ in Melbourne
‘Out of the Woods - Adventures of 12 Hardwood Chairs’
Illegal logging nets organized crime up to USD 100
billion dollars every year
Miro Forestry aims for leadership within the sustainable
plantation forestry industry in West Africa
PLUS Timber industry news, new products,
exhibition previews and more
Cover photo:‘Out of the Woods ‘ display
This is the final issue of the magazine for 2012 and the end of our first year of publishing. It
has been quite a steep learning curve for me, but I have met a good number of seasoned wood
industry professionals who have helped me get a grasp of the industry both here in the region
and internationally. Recently I was delighted to be the first representative from the Middle East to
attend the annual meeting of the Woodworking and Furniture Suppliers Magazine Association in
Istanbul. This is a group of 28 publishers from every corner of the globe from Argentina to Taiwan
with a total distribution to over 250,000 industry professionals. We will now have access to the
best possible wood industry news and trends and we plan to share some of this information in our
forthcoming issues.
In this issue, we have covered a range of interesting topics including a feature on how DNA
testing of wood can help combat illegal logging and trade in illegal timber. This has been pioneered
by a company based in Singapore - DoubleHelix - and we were able to track down Jonathan Geach,
Executive Director at the company to learn more about this unique service. Sticking with the same
theme, we have covered a recent report from INTERPOL-UNEP, which estimates the global economic
value of illegal timber trade to be in the region of USD 30 - 100 billion annually. The report focuses
at length on the different methods employed by those involved with illegal logging and outlines key
recommendations to counter this global problem.
As always we invite readers and industry professionals to share their thoughts with us and in
this issue we have featured articles submitted by Dovetail Partners and Broadleaf Consulting. The
former looks at the current state of certification within the timber industry and what next whilst the
latter focuses on the Turkish economy and the market for hardwoods in the country. For those of
you who have been with us from the start, you might remember that in our first issue, we introduced
Cross Laminated Timber and the world’s tallest building - the Stadthaus in London - made from CLT.
Recently, the world’s tallest building made from timber (CLT again) has topped out in Melbourne and
we take a closer look at this structure in this issue.
Looking ahead, we plan to publish five issues of the publication again in 2013 starting in February
and then our Dubai WoodShow special issue in April. We will also be expanding our online activity
with updated news, features, exhibition information and technology developments. Do log on to the
website - www.timberdesignandtechnology.com - for the latest updates and please get in touch if you
have any suggestions for subjects we should consider covering.
Best Wishes,
America’s favourite timber.
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5November 2012 | www.timberdesignandtechnology.com
IN THIS ISSUE
ContentS
PLUS
p7 Latest news
p46 Showtime
P12
P16
P30
12 SUSTAINABILITYDNA testing of wood to help
curb illegal logging DoubleHelix pioneers testing that
can pinpoint timber species and origin
16 MARKET REPORTIllegal logging nets organized crime up
to USD 100 billion dollars every yearINTeRPOL-uNeP release ‘Green Carbon: Black Trade’
report on illegal timber trade
20 ANALYSISBeyond Certification
Understanding the challenges of certification and identifying opportunities to both improve on existing
programs and develop new approaches
27 ANALYSISTalking Turkey
An assessment of the Turkish market for hardwoods
30 DESIGN & DéCOR‘Out of the Woods - Adventures of 12
Hardwood Chairs’ Ground breaking LCA research helps RCA students
generate full environmental profiles for each of their designs
36 FEATUREWorld’s tallest timber building ‘tops
out’ in MelbourneConstruction innovation heralds new era for
building industry
40 PROFILEMiro Forestry
Company aims for leadership within the sustainable plantation forestry industry in West Africa
43 TECHNOLOGYHOMAG Group hosts the 20th edition of its annual ‘Treff’ expo in SchopflochVisitors experience an unprecedented array of smart
solutions for the production of furniture, windows, floors, staircases and doors at landmark event
46 SHOWTIMEPreview of the upcoming exhibitions
FARLIN GROUP OF COMPANIES ARE VERTICALLY INTEGRATED WITH AN ESTABLISHED PRESENCE WORLDWIDE IN TIMBER LOGS, SAWN TIMBER, PLYWOOD, PANEL PRODUCTS AND COAL FOR ENERGY SECTORS.
Tel: 04 8809 889 | Fax: 04 8809 779 | www.far l indubai.com
farlin_ad_A4.indd 1 25/03/2012 12:01
In OctOber 2012 FarlIn GrOup OFFlOaded One OF the bIGGest ever lOads OF FIlm Faced plywOOd, cOmmercIal plywOOd, mdF and Other panel prOducts at KhalId pOrt In sharjah and dOha pOrt In Qatar. the tOtal sIze OF the carGO was 36,000cbm. mOre vessels lIKe thIs have already been planned tO meet the GrOwInG demand OF Our valuable custOmers FrOm acrOss the Gcc. please cOntact Our sales team tOday FOr ImmedIate servIce.
7November 2012 | www.timberdesignandtechnology.com
NEWS
neWSOne of the few remaining European countries with a significant share of
private forest owners yet without a national forest certification system,
Hungary, has launched the process to develop a PEFC-compliant system.
Representatives from various sectors met for a multi-stakeholder workshop
in Sopron on the Austrian Border at the invitation of the University of West
Hungary, to learn about the benefits of PEFC’s unique bottom-up approach.
PEFC, the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification, requires
countries to develop their own national forest certification standards, in
line with international requirements, and to manage all aspects related to
forest certification independently at national level.
Speakers from PEFC organizations in Austria, Germany, Slovakia
and Slovenia introduced the distinct features of their respective
systems within the context of their specific forest ecosystems, legal
and administrative frameworks, and socio-economic factors. These
experiences provided the backdrop for engaged discussions among
representatives from governments, the forest sector, companies,
research organizations and NGOs concerning how PEFC might work
in practice in Hungary and how the country could benefit from the
lessons learnt in other countries, specifically concerning the needs of
smallholders: at present about 45 percent of the total forest area of
Hungary to Develop National Forest Certification System
Wood must be at the heart of the green economy, say scientists
A green economy must be based on natural, environmentally sound
and sustainable materials and goods. For this, wood is surely the
ideal candidate. It’s a renewable material, and products made from it
store carbon. Through forest products, forests, as well as sequestering
carbon, also play a crucial role in storing carbon and in replacing fossil
fuel, concrete and steel, which have higher carbon emissions and a
significantly larger ecological footprint. At present, the general public,
most policymakers and even the construction industry often see
wood as a ‘traditional’ material, with little or no relevance to modern
technologies and current environmental concerns. However, UNECE
wants to change this perception and has therefore turned to science.
Over 100 experts and scientists gathered in Geneva in October to
discuss Life Cycle Analysis (LCA), and how this methodology can highlight
wood and its qualities as a sustainable material with an increasing
number of innovative uses. LCA can be applied to evaluate the total
environmental impacts of a material or a product throughout its life.
The experts and scientists drew up a set of recommendations for
action by governments, the private sector and UNECE. When discussed
and approved by the UNECE Timber Committee, the recommendations
will help better communicate the benefits of LCA to a larger public so
that consumers can make the right choices when selecting materials
and products.
Paola Deda, Chief of the UNECE/FAO Forestry and Timber Section,
said: “As consumers, we need to be sure we’re not basing our choices
on erroneous beliefs and perceptions. LCA provides us with a scientific
method to assess the ecological footprint of a material or product from
cradle to grave so that we can make informed choices.”
LCA can compare the efficiency and sustainability of wood with that
of other materials for use in different products and purposes. It thus
helps to identify in which instances wood use is the best choice. The
sustainability of using wood for energy, for instance, depends very
much on the life cycle and related impact of the woody material that is
used, as well as on the scale of its use.
The ‘cascaded’ use of wood helps to make the best use of wood and
its ability to store carbon and replace other, less ecologically friendly
materials. In this instance, ‘cascaded’ means where wood is used in
one product and then, at the end of that product’s life recycled into
another. And this process is repeated many times before the ‘final’
wood product is used for energy.
about two million hectares is estimated to be privately owned, with
the vast majority of properties being smaller than one hectare. Only 4
percent of owners have forest properties larger than five hectares.
Participants agreed that there is great potential for advancing
forest certification in Hungary through the development of a national
forest certification system in line with PEFC requirements, which are
specifically designed to cater to the needs of smallholders. Private forest
owners, contractors, and forest professionals have been showing an
increasing interest in PEFC certification in the past few years. A recent
study by the University of Western Hungary concerning the feasibility
of PEFC certification in Hungary has resulted in renewed momentum
with a number of stakeholders showing increasing interest in the
benefits that PEFC can provide.
Building on this momentum, ERFARET, a research and development
organization founded by the University of West Hungary, has started the
process of developing a national forest certification system in line with
PEFC requirements with the support of the 2012 PEFC Collaboration
Fund. This project is also supported by MEGOSZ, the Association of
Hungarian Private Forest Owners, FAGOSZ, the Hungarian Federation of
Forestry and Wood Industries, and PEFC Austria.
8 www.timberdesignandtechnology.com | November 2012
NEWS
Pace presents award-winning Hand
LIGNA and interzum to coordinate their visitor advertising activities
Dubai-based Pace Joinery,
one of the region’s leading
manufacturers of interiors,
furnishings and fittings for
the hotel and hospitality
markets, has appointed Barry
Hand as general manager. The
53 year old South African-
born Hand has over 34 years’
international experience in
construction and interior
fit-out, 15 of those in the
Middle East. He has managed
the fit-out of the Jumeirah
Beach hotel and was part of
the project team at Dubai
International Airport for
over eight years. Hand’s other roles include, founding director of
Plafond interiors and managing director of MEP company Macair.
In addition, regionally and internationally, he has managed
some of the most prestigious interior fit-out projects, two of
which received national industry excellence awards. Hand was
Every two years, wood and furniture specialists from around
the world come to Germany to attend the two most important
trade fairs for their industry: LIGNA in Hannover and interzum
in Cologne. The two fairs are staged in quick succession so that
international visitors can attend both in a single trip. 2013 will be
no different. Together, LIGNA and interzum will once again provide
a comprehensive overview of the materials, design solutions
and technologies currently available for the woodworking, wood
processing and furniture industries. As in the past, the organizers,
Koelnmesse (interzum) and Deutsche Messe AG (LIGNA), are
coordinating their international visitor acquisition and marketing
activities.
In 2013, interzum, the world’s leading trade fair for furniture
making materials and design and interior finishing, will be held
from 13 to 16 May - meaning that it will follow LIGNA rather
than precede it as is normally the case. The reason for the change
relates to the timing of public holidays. LIGNA, the leading
marketplace for the international forestry and wood industries, is
always timed to coincide with Ascension Day. In 2013, however,
Ascension Day falls so early in May that the May Day holiday
would clash with interzum if the latter were to be held before
LIGNA.
LIGNA and interzum are the world’s foremost trade fairs in their
respective sectors. Together, they cover a very broad spectrum of
exhibition topics, ranging from wood as a renewable material to
woodworking and processing technology to components for the
furniture and interior finishing sectors. For visitors from abroad,
the timing of the two fairs is ideal because it enables them to
take in both events in a single trip – which is eminently feasible,
given that the host cities, Cologne and Hannover, are only 300
kilometers apart by road or two and a half hours by rail.
also involved in projects such as the Queen Alia International
Airport in Jordan and the Military Hospital in Muscat, Oman.
Hand sees his key role with Pace as substantially developing the
company’s manufacturing business to support major international
hotel projects, while at the same time ensuring the bespoke
furniture business maintains its reputation for exceptional quality.
By combining traditional workshops, with state-of-the-art
manufacturing facilities, Pace Joinery has built an enviable
reputation throughout the region for its high-quality, handcrafted,
furniture, which serves its prestigious client-base, as well as
providing interiors, furnishings and fittings for major hotel,
hospitality and retail projects. With an annual turnover in excess
of AED 50 million, Pace has a full-time staff of some 350 skilled
personnel and has manufacturing facilities totaling some 35,000
square feet.
“Pace is renowned, particularly in the hotel, hospitality
and retail sectors, for combining traditional carpentry skills
and craftsmanship with state-of-the-art manufacturing and
fabrication processes. My strategic business plan for this highly
successful regional company is to develop it still further, into an
exceptionally successful organization on an international level,”
said Hand.
Barry Hand, GM, Pace Joinery
9November 2012 | www.timberdesignandtechnology.com
NEWS
Chinese wood imports have fallen dramatically this year
‘Wild West’ timber trade threatens Congo forests
The reduction in construction activities in China during 2012 has
resulted in reduced demand for lumber, and as a consequence imports of
both logs and lumber to China fell substantially in 2012, according to a
report by the Wood Resource Quarterly. Total imports, by value, during
the first eight months was USD 4.3 billion, or 19 percent less than in
2011, with the biggest declines in logs imported from Russia and the
U.S., and in lumber from North America. By volume, log imports were
down 17 percent and lumber imports down 5 percent.
Imports of softwood lumber in August were down for the third
consecutive quarter to 1.1 million cubic meters, which was a decline of
21 percent from May and 23 percent lower than in August 2011. Canada
and Russia are the two dominant suppliers of softwood lumber to China,
together accounting for 84 percent of the total imports, with the U.S.,
Chile and New Zealand making up most of the remaining import volume.
Further, during the first eight months of this year, Russia, Chile and New
Zealand have increased their shipments to China, while volumes from
North America have declined. Exports from the U.S. are down as much
as 41 percent as compared to the same period in 2011.
In August, the average import value for all softwood lumber
imported to China was down nine dollars to USD 203/m3 from a year
ago, according to Customs data. The cost for Russian lumber fell as
much as USD 19/m3, while Canadian average costs were down only
five dollars to USD 200/m3 over the past year. Costs for Canadian
lumber have steadily increased from earlier this year and were at a 12
month-high in August.
Chinese softwood log imports have also fallen dramatically this year.
From January through August, imports from Russia were down 21
percent, and from the U.S., 31 percent as compared to the same period
in 2011. The two other major log-supplying countries, New Zealand
and Canada, have shipped practically the same volume this year as last
year. With the reduced demand for logs by the lumber industry in China,
log prices have fallen through most of 2012. Average import softwood
log values in the third quarter of this year were down 13 percent from
a year ago, and domestic Chinese-fir log prices have fallen about 6
percent in the last year.
Officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo are colluding with foreign
logging firms to support illegal logging, harming local communities and
risking the destruction of the world’s second largest forest, a report
by a campaign group says. Derelict ports in Congo’s riverside capital
Kinshasa are piled high with logs ready to be shipped out to China and
Europe as part of the lucrative timber trade. Much of the timber has
been harvested using permits signed by the ministry of environment in
direct contravention of Congolese law, advocacy group Global Witness
said in the report.
Congo’s forest is part of the Congo Basin that spans six countries in
the central Africa region covering about 500 million hectares, over 130
million of which is in the Congo. It contains thousands of species and a
quarter of the world’s remaining tropical forest.
According to the report, so-called artisanal logging permits - meant
only for small scale tree felling by Congolese nationals - are being
awarded to foreign firms. The companies then use industrial methods
to cut and export large quantities of wood out of the country, while
sidestepping the environmental and social obligations demanded of
industrial logging operations. Attempts to bring order to Congo’s chaotic
forestry sector have seen a ban on all new industrial logging licenses
since 2002, but this has done little to improve the situation according to
Colin Robertson, one of the report’s authors.
“Basically this is a new system to get around the moratorium. Officials
have been giving out artisanal permits to industrial loggers, and it’s
created a completely chaotic situation in the forests,” he told Reuters.
In the heavily forested province of Bandundu at least 146 artisanal
logging permits have been issued in the last 2 years according to the
report, which also shows evidence of some firms having cut far more
than is allowed by artisanal licences. Local chiefs are paid off with
anything from motor bikes or alcohol to allow the trees to be felled,
while rural communities see no benefit at all, the report states.
Congolese conservationists say the situation is as bad if not worse
elsewhere in the country, which is home to 86 million hectares of forest.
However, Victor Vundu, Director of the Ministry of Environment’s legal
team said they were working on clarifying and tightening up legislation
under a new minister.
“It’s not surprising, in a post conflict country where the administration
has been really weakened, that the state should be accused of not
sufficiently controlling the application of the law,” he said.
Industrial logging output from Congo has dropped in recent years
and currently stands at around 350,000 cubic meters per year, as
companies say that without far tighter regulation they cannot compete
with the illegal market.
10 www.timberdesignandtechnology.com | November 2012
NEWS
Emerging African market to drive Danube’s growth
Danube Building Materials has recently extended its presence in
Africa with the opening of its new showrooms in Kenya and Libya.
Conveniently located in the heart of the city, the showroom in Kenya
is situated at Nairobi and spread across 20,000 square feet. Similarly,
the franchise outlet of Danube in Libya is located in Benghazi and is
spread across 35,000 square feet. Both the showrooms showcase an
extensive collection of products including sanitary ware, ceramic tiles,
parquet, flooring, MDF, Chandeliers, Garden Furniture, Timber, Steel,
Hardware etc. Further, the company foresees expansion in other areas
of Africa such as Ethiopia and Tunisia.
“Danube’s commitment to the construction and building materials
market is underlined by our expansion, which is aimed at addressing
the needs of the customers across the region,” said Rizwan Sajan,
Founder & Chairman of Danube Group. “With several construction
projects currently under way and planned projects, there was an
obvious demand for building materials in Africa which has helped us
expand and consolidate our market presence in the region.”
The African market is set for a rebound and the construction
industry is currently gaining momentum across the region with the
demand for building materials giving a much-needed lift to Africa’s
materials manufacturing sector. A new report sponsored by PwC and
carried out by Global Construction Perspectives and Oxford Economics
forecasts that global construction will grow by 67 percent from USD
7.2 trillion to USD 12 trillion annually by 2020. Of this, the Middle
East and African region is expected to outpace the global growth rate.
Libya has a huge potential to become a role model for other Arab
nations considering the steady recovery it is experiencing post the
war. At present, the country is experiencing massive demand across
major sectors of the economy including construction, which bodes
well particularly for foreign companies and investors. Additionally, a
report from Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) stated that the
economy of Kenya grew by 4.9 percent in the first quarter of 2011
due to improved productivity in the construction industry.
In addition to its expansion into Africa, Danube has launched
three new showrooms in key locations including Saudi Arabia, Abu
Dhabi, and Al Ain in the first half of this year. To keep pace with the
emerging market trends, Danube has plans to continue opening more
outlets with a view towards creating a stronger market presence
not only in the Middle East but also across the global market. The
company is set to open 20 new showrooms by next year across UAE,
Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Africa. The increased demand for its
products coupled with its expansion has resulted in the company
growing its workforce since its inception, to 1800 people.
Moreover, the company recently announced a 20 percent growth in
sales for the first two quarters of the fiscal year 2012, with Rizwan
Sajan citing growth and demand for products in the Middle East and
African markets. With its strong cash position, Danube Group is well
poised for a growth of 25 percent over the rest of 2012. Danube’s
growth in sales can be attributed to its provision of world-class
high quality building materials and home interiors combined with
great value and special services. The company’s dedicated focus on
establishing facilities in high potential locations has made it a major
hit with customers.
Farlin Group receives one of the largest single shipments of film-faced and commercial plywood, MDF and panel products for the GCC market
The Farlin Group has recently received one of the biggest
shipments of Film-Faced and Commercial Plywood, MDF
and panel products at Port Khalid, Sharjah. The shipment,
which was estimated at 36,000 cbm, arrived in Sharjah on
a chartered ship - MV Rattana Naree - where approximately
70 percent of the total cargo was offloaded. According to
Abdul Gafar, Business Development Manager at Farlin, the
remainder of the load was directed to Doha Port in Qatar. The
announcement further reaffirms Farlin’s position as a leading
global supplier of timber and timber related products.
The majority of the cargo comprised the group’s own
brand of film faced plywood - Farlinplex - in addition to
commercial plywood, MDF and other panel products. The
materials that were offloaded in Sharjah are primarily for
the UAE market with some of it being routed to Saudi Arabia,
Bahrain and Oman. Meanwhile the shipment to Doha was
earmarked for local consumption in the Qatar and aimed at
local traders in the country who have a strong relationship
with the Farlin Group.
According to Gafar, this shipment represents the ability
of the Farlin Group to continue supplying market demand in
the aftermath of the global economic recession and despite
volatile market conditions. The company is positive of the
growing demand in the region and has expressed a firm
commitment towards ensuring a regular and healthy supply
of products for traders who supply the construction sector in
the UAE and wider GCC.
NEWS
11November 2012 | www.timberdesignandtechnology.com
Image © Farlin Group
Image © Farlin Group
Image © Farlin GroupImage © Farlin Group
www.timberdesignandtechnology.com | November 201212
DnA testing of wood to help curb illegal logging
DoubleHelix pioneers testing that can pinpoint timber species and origin
SUSTAINABILITY
In a recent report (see page 16), Interpol has estimated
that the value of illegal logging is worth more than USD
30 billion a year, while the legitimate annual global trade
is estimated to be worth in the region of USD 115 billion.
Perhaps the biggest shock is a revelation by Interpol that
the trade in illegal logs is worth almost as much as drug
production. One possible solution to this global problem
is through government legislation such as the USA’s Lacey
Act, the European Union Timber Regulation (EUTR), and the
Australian Illegal Logging Prohibition Bill amongst others.
However, the true impact of these measures on illegal logging
is still yet to be fully realized. The answer could perhaps then
lie in the DNA testing pioneered by Double Helix Tracking
Technologies (DoubleHelix). Timber Design & Technology
talks to Jonathan Geach, Executive Director at DoubleHelix to
learn more about DNA testing of wood.
13November 2012 | www.timberdesignandtechnology.com
Established in June 2008, the company today is the leader in applied forest genetics and aims to bridge the gap between cutting edge genetics, forest management and timber supply chain issues
SUSTAINABILITY
such practices. Geach is hopeful that
the progress being made could result
in small-scale laboratories around
the globe carrying out cheap DNA
timber tests for companies, customs
agents and law enforcement agencies
within the next two years.
As the cost of genetics research
continues to fall, novel applications
are becoming viable and affordable
to meet a multitude of challenges
faced by the forestry industry and
beyond. As a result, the range of
services offered by DoubleHelix is
expanding across species and sectors
and includes plantation forestry,
timber certification and genetic
inventory for carbon projects.
Geach goes on to state that the
scope of the company’s services is
spreading significantly across a range
of questions as they aim to find
practical commercial applications at
prices that work for their customers.
This has happened due to a
combination of the breadth of issues
that DNA tests easily resolve and the
company’s ability to introduce more
species and regions into play.
“We are seeing clients in Europe
start to incorporate DNA testing
into supplier contracts to verify
country and species claims. Many
clients are using the EU Timber
Regulation as a spur to examine their
supply chains, often with little real
idea of the existing risk. We bring
together our three strengths - an
understanding of trade, expertise
in legality and cutting edge science.
In this way clients are able to get
ahead of the curve and harness the
EUTR as a marketing opportunity
rather than a new risk in operating
internationally,” says Geach.
The company has also been
According to Geach, DoubleHelix
grew out of a timber product
legality standard in Indonesia called
CertiSource (www.certisource.
co.uk). Established in June 2008,
the company today is the leader in
applied forest genetics and aims to
bridge the gap between cutting edge
genetics, forest management and
timber supply chain issues. As such,
the company is pioneering the use
of applied genetics to verify claims
associated with legality, origin,
sustainability, whilst removing
fraud from within the timber supply
chain and preparing businesses for
legislation in the USA and Europe.
Registered in Singapore, the company
is the first in the world to develop
and commercialize DNA testing
for wood. Geach confidently states
that commercial services have
been purchased by businesses keen
to access markets secure in the
knowledge that they are getting what
they pay for since 2007.
Up until now, the fight against
the trade in illegal timber has been
waged with government regulations
and preventive measures, which
have not met with much success. As a
result, there has been a shift towards
using the criminal justice system and
law enforcement techniques, which
has forced companies around the
world to undertake their own due
diligence or pay the price of neglect.
The DNA testing services offered by
DoubleHelix is helping responsible
companies ensure the legality of the
timber they have procured whilst
also fighting to ensure that common
practices in the timber industry such
as mislabeling, lying about origin or
substituting one type of wood for
another are a thing of the past.
Andrew Lowe, Chief Scientific
Officer at DoubleHelix, is one of
the world’s top plant geneticists
and was responsible for making
the breakthrough in DNA testing
of wood. At his laboratory at the
University of Adelaide in South
Australia, he perfected the method
of extracting DNA taken from a log,
a board, a table or even flooring,
which paved the way for the
commercialized testing of timber.
Today, rapid advances in the field
and plunging costs for DNA testing
of timber now mean that it is
commercially feasible for companies
trying to meet new regulations in
the United States and Europe against
Jonathan Geach, Executive Director, DoubleHelix
Andrew Lowe, Chief Scientific Officer, DoubleHelix
Image © DoubleHelix Image © DoubleHelix
14 www.timberdesignandtechnology.com | November 2012
SUSTAINABILITY
involved in several civil and criminal
actions. Geach recalls the case of a
developer who was concerned that a
decking supplier had provided mixed
species instead of a single species
included in the procurement contract.
The developer wanted to use the
company’s services to prove the
mix of species a few years later at
a time when the product was falling
to pieces. Furthermore, governments
and investors interested in forest
carbon schemes such as REDD
are increasingly recognizing the
value of DNA postcodes for trees
to form a security system for their
investment, all of which bodes well
for DoubleHelix.
Aiming to explain the science
behind it all, Geach highlights the
fact that tree’s are individuals and as
such each tree has it’s own unique
DNA. When a tree is cut down and
transformed into a product, its DNA
is still present and can, with skill,
be extracted. The idea is that by
extracting the DNA and conducting
a simple species test, DoubleHelix
will be able to verify the species
of wood and its origin. At present,
this testing is done in only one of
two very specialized laboratories,
but the company is working towards
developing this so that it can be
easily and cheaply handled by
licensed laboratories anywhere in the
world. The aim is to license Lowe’s
DNA extraction technique within
two years to accredited laboratories
globally in a bid to firmly stamp out
the illegal timber trade.
In principle, DNA testing is
extremely accurate due to the unique
DNA signature of each species. One
could then be mistaken for thinking
that the journey for DoubleHelix
has been smooth sailing. The truth
is that when the company launched
in 2008, the concept of DNA testing
was relatively unknown with clients
unable to fully grasp the benefits of
the service. However, with the Lacey
Act in play in the US over the past
few years and the proposed EUTR
set to come into effect in 2013, the
number of clients is growing. Geach
states that the number of clients for
the CertiSource chain-of-custody
and legality verification scheme is
numbered in the hundreds and this
When a tree is cut down and transformed
into a product, its DNA is still present
and can, with skill, be extracted. The idea is that by extracting the DNA and conducting a simple species test,
DoubleHelix will be able to verify the species of
wood and its origin Kevin Hill, Founder of DoubleHelix
Image © DoubleHelix
15November 2012 | www.timberdesignandtechnology.com
SUSTAINABILITY
DNA TesTiNg iN prAcTice: The cAse of The simmoNDs Lumber groupThe Simmonds Lumber Group is one of Australia’s leading wholesale timber importers with an annual turnover of over AUS$ 100 million. The company imports high quality tropical timber flooring, structural components and decking products from a number of countries including the USA, China and Indonesia.
Simmonds sought to safeguard their reputation as a responsible importer of tropical hardwood from Indonesia, a market tainted with high volumes of illegal timber and without adequate solutions at hand to secure their supply chain.
the certisource solution ensured:• Due diligence analysis of Simmonds’ existing supply chain to assess ability of suppliers to meet legality and traceability standards.
• Independent audit of forest sources and sawmill Chain-of-Custody systems against the CertiSource standard for Verified Legal Timber.• Implementation of DNA testing on every batch of timber processed through the audited supply chain from forest to sawmill, providing scientific validation of unbroken Chain-of-Custody.• Simmonds secured supply of CertiSource Verified Legal timber products from Indonesian sawmills. Every product can be traced back to a specific batch of logs from legally harvesting forest concessions.
Simmonds achieved four significant benefits from the solution:• Access to new forest sources they were previously excluded from due to lack of traceability.• Significant risk reduction in their tropical
timber supply chain.• Differentiation of their product offer and brand leadership position in Australia.• Access to new buyers due to assurance of product legality.
These have led to two significant business wins for Simmonds; they have secured a contract to supply Masters Stores (a joint venture between Lowes of the United States and Woolworths of Australia) who are opening 158 outlets across Australia. Simmonds has also successfully penetrated the New Zealand market based on the supply of CertiSource Verified Legal timber.
“From a perspective of legality of our industry at the supply end through to the marketability of products to Australian consumers, this is the way of the future,” said Paul Elsmore, CEO, Simmonds Lumber Australia 2007.
includes both big and small businesses
in Australia, New Zealand and Europe.
Commenting on the company’s
customer base, Geach says: “Clients
for new genetic services tend to
be larger businesses up, mid and
downstream. These lead clients
are enabling us to ensure that the
services we’re developing are what
the market really needs and that
pricing and service structure serves
purpose. This currently numbers less
than 20 but we anticipate a sharp
increase in the next six months,
especially as we hope to see a major
timber audit business and a well
known international certification
brand start piloting our technology.”
The biggest challenge (and a common
misconception as well) to DNA testing
is the fact that clients think a
DNA forest map is required
for comparison purposes.
Constructing such a
map is crucial because
DNA for each species
changes subtly
from one area to
another, acting like a
postcode that can be
used to determine
a sample’s origin.
At the same time,
the process of going
into a forest to take DNA
samples across a species’
entire range is costly and time
consuming. Geach counteracts by
stating that this is only a slight
challenge and it’s more of a
common misconception of the scale of
the issue.
“At present, there are a number
of very useful species identification
services that do not require
background databases. Maps exist
for many species and more are
being made as people increasingly
realize their value. The data is
generally in the public domain and
will be of great use for far more
than legality issues for hundreds of
years to come,” says Geach. “More
recently, the International Timber
Trade Organization has approved
and funded a project that will create
large scale ‘genographic’ maps
of several commonly traded tree
species in seven African countries
and implement DNA based Chain-
of-Custody (CoC) systems in these
countries. This project will
facilitate access to premium
European and United States
markets both of which
have legislation requiring
proof of legality, and
therefore traceability.”
Spurred on by the
early success of the
company, support for
DoubleHelix has come
from both the industry
and from governments.
According to Geach, many
governments have helped not
just with funding but also with
support in championing the idea.
The US, German, Australian, and
Singaporean governments are
a few who have actively supported
the company. From an industry
perspective, Geach believes that
once a person grasps the simplicity
of genetic solutions to timber supply
chain issues, and the longer term
view of global forestry, they quickly
recognize it’s inevitability. In the
Middle East, Kevin Hill, the founder
of DoubleHelix, is confident that
DNA CoC will play an important
part in reducing cost and providing
more security when incorporating
compliant timber products into LEED
and other Green Building standard
projects given the widespread
prevalence of ‘green building
standards’ in the construction sector.
“Our business is going through
several cycles. We have gone
through the proof of concept phase
where we have shown that these
services work, are affordable and
people like them. We are now going
through a wider commercialization
phase and will finally get to a point
where we own and license IP. This
will allow third-party businesses
to offer the technology solution
whether they are a timber supply
chain auditor, lab services company
or otherwise involved in compliance
issues, investment or forestry.
In short, people who adopt our
technology now are benefiting by
winning new business, accessing
markets they’re previously excluded
from as well as reduce risk and
cost of risk management/security,”
concludes Geach.
16 www.timberdesignandtechnology.com | November 2012
MARKET REPORT
In a new report released by
INTERPOL and the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP), the
economic value of the illegal timber
trade by organized crime groups is
estimated to be worth between USD
30 and 100 billion annually, which
represents around 10 - 30 percent
of the global wood trade. The Rapid
Response Report, entitled ‘Green
Carbon: Black Trade’, states that illegal
logging now accounts for between
15 - 30 percent of the global legal
trade and significantly hampers the
Reducing Emissions from Deforestation
and Forest Degradation (REDD)
initiative - one of the principal tools
for stimulating environmental change,
sustainable development, job creation
and reducing emissions.
Forests worldwide bind CO2 and
store it - so called Green Carbon - and
help mitigate climate change. However,
deforestation accounts for an estimated
17 percent of global carbon emissions,
which is about 1.5 times greater than
emissions from the entire world’s
air, road, rail and shipping traffic
combined. According to the report,
the vast majority of deforestation
and illegal logging takes place in the
tropical forests of the Amazon basin,
Central Africa and Southeast Asia, with
recent studies projecting that illegal
logging accounts for 50 - 90 percent
of the volume of all forestry in key
producer tropical countries and 15 - 30
percent globally.
“Funding to better manage forests
represents an enormous opportunity to
not only address climate change but to
reduce rates of deforestation, improve
water supplies, cut soil erosion and
generate decent green jobs in natural
resource management,” said Achim
Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General
and UNEP Executive Director. “Illegal
logging can, however, undermine
this effort, robbing countries and
communities of a sustainable future,
if the unlawful activities are more
profitable than the lawful ones under
REDD+.”
A number of certification schemes
and programmes have evolved as
a means to reduce illegal logging.
These schemes, such as voluntary
trade agreements including the EU
Forest Law Enforcement, Governance
and Trade (FLEGT) Voluntary
Partnership Agreements (VPAs), or
Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)
certification, have been relatively
successful in bringing stakeholders
Illegal logging nets organized crime up to USD 100 billion dollars every year
‘Green Carbon: Black Trade’ outlines the severity of the
illegal timber trade and makes recommendations to combat this global problem
17November 2012 | www.timberdesignandtechnology.com
MARKET REPORT
together and generating incentives for
legal exports and more sustainable
forestry. Additionally, the Convention
on International Trade in Endangered
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
(CITES) is increasingly being used by
states to ensure that trade in listed
timber species is legal, sustainable and
traceable.
The report points out that the
main aims of the aforementioned
programmes are to promote
sustainable trade. With the exception of
CITES, they are not designed to combat
organized crime and are not effective
in combating illegal logging, corruption
and laundering of illegal timber in
tropical regions. Other incentives and
subsidies to offer alternative incomes
are also unlikely to be effective when
illegal logging and laundering offer
much higher profits and very low risk.
Furthermore, widespread collusive
corruption from local officials to the
judiciary, combined with decentralized
government structures in many tropical
countries, provide little or no economic
incentive for illegal loggers and corrupt
officials to change their practices.
The report goes on to state that
to become effective, voluntary
trade programmes and the effective
implementation of CITES, must be
combined with an international
law enforcement investigative and
operational effort in collaboration with
domestic police and investigative task
forces in each country. This is to ensure
that a local decline in illegal logging
is not offset by increases elsewhere,
as international cartels move to new
sources of illegal timber.
“The threat posed to the
environment by transnational
organized crime requires a strong,
effective and innovative international
law enforcement response to protect
these natural resources and combat
the corruption and violence tied to this
type of crime, which can also affect a
country’s stability and security,” said
Ronald K. Noble, Secretary General of
INTERPOL.
In the last five years, illegal
logging has moved from direct illegal
logging to more advanced methods of
concealment and timber laundering.
The report outlines more than 30
ways of conducting illegal logging,
laundering, selling and trading in
illegal logs. Primary methods include
falsification of logging permits, bribes
to obtain logging permits (in some
instances noted as USD 20 - 50,000 per
permit), logging beyond concessions,
hacking government websites to obtain
transport permits for higher volumes
or transport, laundering illegal timber
by establishing roads, ranches, palm
oil or forest plantations and mixing
with legal timber during transport or
in mills.
According to the report, the much
heralded decline of illegal logging
in the mid- 2000s in some tropical
regions was widely attributed to a
short-term law enforcement effort.
However, long-term trends in illegal
logging and trade have shown that this
was only temporary, and illegal logging
continues unabated today. More
importantly, the apparent decline in
illegal logging is due to more advanced
laundering operations masking criminal
activities, and not necessarily due to
an actual decline in illegal logging. In
many cases a tripling in the volumes
of timber ‘originating’ from plantations
in the five years following the law
enforcement crackdown on illegal
logging has come partly from cover
operations by criminals to legalize and
launder illegal logging operations.
The report also cites other cases of
increased illegal logging that involve
road construction and the cutting of
wide corridors, which facilitates land
clearing by impoverished settlers, who
are later driven away by ranchers and
soy producers, such as has occurred
in the Amazon. Companies make
money from clearing the initial forest,
have impoverished farmers convert
forestland to farmland, and then
push these farmers off to establish
In the last five years, illegal logging has moved from direct illegal logging to more advanced methods of concealment and timber laundering
The heALTh of our foresTs
net loss of forest
current forest cover
net gain of forest
dryland degradation
Source: Adapted from a map by Philippe Rekacewicz originally published in UNEP-FAO Vital Forest Graphics , 2009; data source from MA 2005.
18 www.timberdesignandtechnology.com | November 2012
MARKET REPORT
rangeland for cattle.
Funneling large volumes of illegal
timber through legal plantations, across
borders or through mills, is another
effective way to launder logs. In some
instances, illegal loggers mix illicit
timber with 3 - 30 times the amount of
officially processed timber, which also
constitutes tax fraud. Many of these
illegal operations involve bribes to
forest officials, police and military, and
even royalties to local village heads.
In addition, other scams include the
falsification of eco-certification.
Experts concur that much of the
laundering of illegal timber is only
possible due to large flows of funding
from investors based in Asia, the EU
and the US, including investments
through pension funds. As funds are
made available to establish plantations
operations to launder illegal timber and
obtain permits illegally or pass bribes,
investments, collusive corruption and
tax fraud combined with low risk
and high demand, make it a highly
profitable illegal business, with
revenues up to 5 - 10 fold higher than
legal practices for all parties involved.
This also undermines subsidized
alternative livelihood incentives
available in several countries. In
addition to increased organized crime
involvement, the report also highlights
a rise in other crime types linked
to illegal logging, including murder,
violence, threats, corruption, fraud and
theft, with indigenous forest dwellers
particularly affected. The challenges
already facing indigenous peoples are
further compounded as companies now
launder illegally felled timber under
fraudulent permits for ranches or
plantation establishment schemes.
According to the report, efforts to
stop this black trade must concentrate
on increasing the probability of
apprehending illegal logging syndicates
and their networks, reducing the flow of
timber from regions with high degree of
illegality by adapting a multi-disciplinary
law enforcement approach, developing
economic incentives by discouraging the
use of timber from these regions and
introducing a rating of companies based
on the likelihood of their involvement in
illegal practices to discourage investors
and stock markets from funding
them. When combined with economic
incentives, through REDD+ and trade
opportunities through CITES and FLEGT,
these actions may become successful in
reducing deforestation, and ultimately,
carbon emissions.
INTERPOL and UNEP, through the
UN agency’s GRID Arendal centre in
Norway, have also established a pilot-
project called LEAF (Law Enforcement
Assistance to Forests) funded by
the Norwegian Government agency
NORAD to develop an international
system to combat organized crime in
close collaboration with key partners.
However, the cost of implementing an
effective international law enforcement
scheme and training capacity to
substantially reduce the emissions
from illegal logging is estimated to be
approximately USD 20 - 30 million
dollars annually. While INTERPOL is
currently leading the police related law
enforcement response through Project
LEAF, its success requires strong,
constant, and sustainable commitment
from governments, civil society, and
the private sector.
The newly established International
Consortium on Combating Wildlife
Crime (ICCWC), chaired by the CITES
Secretariat and comprised of INTERPOL,
the United Nations Office on Drugs
and Crime (UNODC), the World Bank
and the World Customs Organization
(WCO), also provides a substantial
new commitment to the sharing and
coordination of a comprehensive
international effort to help combat
wildlife crime, including illegal logging.
In fact, the ICCWC represents the
entire enforcement chain - customs,
Key recommeNDATioNs of The iNTerpoL-uNep reporT• Strengthen and consider funding opportunities for the development of a full-fledged Law Enforcement Assistance to Forests (LEAF) programme under INTERPOL and UNEP in close collaboration with all ICCWC partners, REDD+, FLEGT and other relevant programmes and agencies. The objective of the programme is to implement coordinated international and improved national law enforcement and investigative efforts to reduce illegal logging, the international trade in illegally felled timber and forest-related corruption including tax fraud and laundering.
• Increase national investigative and operational national capacities through an INTERPOL based training scheme to strengthen and build national task forces on combating illegal logging and laundering. This includes strengthening national law enforcement agency cooperation and co-ordination through
supporting the formation of national taskforces to ensure enforcement of laws and regulations related to forests.
• Centralize nationally the issuing of permits for land clearance whether for logging, plantations or ranching and permits for road transport of timber with strong anti-counterfeit measures.
• Develop an INTERPOL classification system of geographic regions within countries according to the suspected degree of illegality in collaboration with National Central Bureaus (NCBs) and other relevant stakeholders. This includes defining upper limits of volumes of logs to be transported, restricting transport funnels of all timber from such illegal logging regions and monitoring forest change on a regional basis.
• Encourage national tax fraud investigations with a particular focus on
plantations and mills laundering, under- or over-reporting of volumes and over- or under-invoicing, tax fraud and misuse of government subsidies.
• Reduce investment attractiveness in forest enterprises active in regions identified as areas of illegal logging by implementing an international INTERPOL-based rating system of companies extracting, operating in or buying from regions with a high degree of illegal activity. This includes investigating possible complicity of investors in funding illegal activities related to logging, transporting, laundering or purchasing illegally logged timber.
• Strengthen the resources available to ICCWC to have a dedicated role, unit(s) and responsibility at global and regional levels, as appropriate, specifically tasked to combat illegal logging and international trade in illegally logged or procured timber and wood products.
police and justice. It also addresses
anti-money laundering and serves as
a model at the international level for
the sort of cooperation that is required
amongst enforcement agencies at
the national level to more effectively
combat illegal international trade in
timber products.
MARKET REPORT
Lastly, priority attention must be
given to investigation of tax fraud,
corruption and anti-laundering,
including substantially increasing the
investigative and operational capacity
of national task forces working with
INTERPOL, against logging companies,
plantations and mills.
This feature contains
information and text
from the Summary of the
INTERPOL-UNEP Report.
The report - Green Carbon:
Black Trade - is available for
download on the INTERPOL
and UNEP websites.
CAD+T Middle East JLT, PO Box 262353, Indigo Icon, Offi ce 507, Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai, UAE, Mobil.: +971(0) 50-2738319, Tel.: +971(0) 4-4477880, Email: offi [email protected]
20 www.timberdesignandtechnology.com | November 2012
ANALYSIS
Dr. Jeffrey Howe and Kathryn Fernholz of Dovetail
Partners share their views on the certification of forests
In 2013, the world will mark the 20-
year anniversary of third-party forest
certification. After 20 years of effort,
approximately 10 percent of the world’s
forests have been certified through various
programs. During this time, many changes
have occurred in the forest sector and in the
practice of forest management. Yet, in spite
of many successes, major hurdles remain.
Although it could clearly be argued that
global forestry has been affected positively,
not only are 90 percent of the world’s
forests uncertified but also the certified
10 percent was already the best-managed
forestland in existence. So the key question
now is what will the next 20 years of forest
improvement look like? Will we continue on
the certification path we are on, or will we
thoughtfully assess and apply the lessons
learned in order to chart an improved
course? Based upon the knowledge
gained over the past two decades and the
experiences of other eco-labeling systems, it
is clear that a better method is needed, and
is possible. It is time to move beyond the
forest certification of the past generation
and entertain a broader, more inclusive, and
more cost effective approach.
The existing approach to forest
certification is extremely complex and is
inflicting significant cost on the forest sector.
It is complex in that current systems have
become moving targets with ever changing
standards and inconsistent interpretations
that undermine the credibility of the
entire effort. The current approaches to
forest certification have created confusion,
hypocrisies in the way standards are being
applied, and they have failed to adequately
address emerging issues such as illegal
logging and bio-energy production. Forest
certification is also costly. To date, it is
Beyond Certification Understanding the challenges of certification and identifying opportunities to both improve on existing programs and develop new approaches
Although it could clearly be argued that global forestry has been affected positively, not only are 90 percent of the world’s forests uncertified but also the certified 10 percent was already the best-managed forestland in existence. So the key question now is what will the next 20 years of forest improvement look like?
ANALYSIS
21November 2012 | www.timberdesignandtechnology.com
likely that hundreds of millions of dollars
have been spent in order to recognize the
existing best-managed forestlands in the
world. One shudders to think of the costs
and the complexities of addressing the
remaining forest segment under the current
approach. There are many diverse benefits
being realized from forest certification, but
the focus needs to be on the forest, rather
than the process, and the approach needs to
be easily applicable to more diverse forest
management situations.
In marketing terms, forest certification
is a well-defined attribute, but an unclear
benefit. When organic certification was
evolving, a similar situation occurred.
Organic certification was initiated by non-
governmental organizations and evolved
into competing systems that established
diverse standards and attempted to raise
the bar on each other to gain recognition
as the ‘gold standard’. Over the course
of nearly 20 years (1972-1990), as the
market potential for organic increased, the
competing standards and their changing
requirements became a barrier to growth
and a bottleneck to supply. In addition, the
perceived benefit from ‘organic’ became
muddied by the growing and diverse
claims of various producers scattered over
wide geographic areas. In response, the
U.S. and other nations chose to establish
government-based programs for managing
organic standards. These programs resulted
in many significant changes. Key among
these was a clarification of the legal
definition of ‘certified organic’, which
demystified the benefit to the marketplace.
These changes were followed by dramatic
growth in the organic market. The U.S. sales
of organic products have grown from USD
1 billion in 1990 (when the Organic Food
Production Act was passed) to an estimated
There are many diverse benefits being realized from forest certification, but the focus needs to be on the forest, rather than the process, and the approach needs to be easily applicable to more diverse forest management situations
Dr. Jeffrey Howe, Dovetail Partners
Image © Dovetail Partners
22 www.timberdesignandtechnology.com | November 2012
ANALYSIS
USD 20 billion in 2007; and grew an average
of 18 percent each year between 2007-
2010. The USDA Organic Program also drove
the creation of a new space for the direct
marketing of local products as a ‘deeper
shade of green’.
So, what would a better forest certification
system look like? How can the benefits of
certification be clarified in the marketplace?
There are many possible answers. One
approach would be to have forest certification
simply take greater advantage of existing
forest management infrastructure and
expertise, recognize the benefits of existing,
effective regulatory systems (e.g., U.S.
laws), and utilize terminology that has
greater acceptance in, and attraction to, the
marketplace. Marketplace acceptance could
be tested for attributes like GMO-free wood,
wood grown without the use of pesticides
or herbicides, or wood from forests that are
regenerated with native species. Another
approach would be to develop a comparative
index that ranks forest practices based upon
a small number, but clearly identifiable and
understandable forestry considerations. Using
this type of approach, product market claims
could be based on regional or global rankings
(e.g., wood comes from forests among the top
10 percent in the world or attains four out of
five stars). In addition to these possibilities,
further approaches and/or improvements
in forest certification could be defined by
interviewing both current and potential users
(especially in tropical areas) to identify those
methodologies that they would see as having
significant potential to increase the practice of
responsible forestry.
Pursuing additional options and
enhancements might allow the forest sector
to rapidly move beyond the current limits
of forest certification. The original goal
hasn’t changed. We still need to dramatically
decrease deforestation in tropical areas.
According to the UNECE, in the twenty years
since certification was formed we have
certified only 2 percent (200 million acres) of
tropical forest while over 700 million acres of
tropical forest has been deforested. We also
need to be able to identify wood from well-
managed forests across the globe. In addition,
U.S. markets need to be assured that the wood
products they purchase meet the requirements
of the Lacey Act.
The first question that matters for the forest
sector at this point is: Do we want the next 20
years of forest certification to look like that last
20? If the answer is No, which it must be for
anyone who cares about forests and the forest
sector, then the next question is: How can we
most effectively move beyond current forest
certification methodologies to dramatically
benefit forests? And the answer to that
question is to pursue a system that leads us to
the core principles of what wood means as a
renewable, infinite, sustainable, responsible and
natural product. Good examples and abundant
experience now exist to allow us to modify,
change, and adapt to a better future.
When you make maple syrup there is a
time after all the preparation and collection
of material (sap and firewood usually) from
the forest that you simply have to turn up the
heat, stir it up a bit, and tend to it carefully
to make it come out well. Certification may
be at the same point. The original goal of
forest certification was to create a label that
would enable the market to identify and
select wood from well-managed forests and
thus allow demand from the marketplace
to provide economic benefit that would
translate into increased funding for better
forest management practices. In short, the
goal was to link clear market choices with
sustainable forestry.
In order to understand the current
challenges of certification and to identify
opportunities to both improve on existing
programs and develop new approaches, we
need to take a look at forest certification from
two opposite ends of the spectrum, that of the
forest and that of the marketplace to see if it is
successfully addressing that original goal and
to recommend a possible next step.
The Forest PerspectiveTwenty years ago there was no common
agreement on the definition of ‘sustainable
forestry’. Today, with great regard to forest
certification, there appears to be a general
consensus on what good forestry entails.
However, this consensus has not been boiled
down to a finite number of characteristics
to which individual landowners are held
accountable. Instead, current sustainable
forestry is a complex series of interwoven
ecological relationships on which no two
landowners may find uniformity. In an attempt
to consider every possible negative outcome,
certification has become similarly complex.
This complexity provides incredible
strength when it results in comprehensive
auditing that leaves no stone unturned,
reviews all aspects of forest management,
and helps identify a full spectrum of
opportunities for improvement. For land
managers that want to make changes (or
need to), the current certification process
can be very constructive in identifying key
gaps and setting priorities for strategic
improvements. However, for land managers
that are already doing a very good job and
are in regions with significant regulatory and
management structure already in place (i.e.,
many of the current certificate holders), this
According to the UNECE, in the twenty years since certification was formed we have certified only 2 percent (200 million acres) of tropical forest while over 700 million acres of tropical forest has been deforested
Kathryn Fernholz, Dovetail Partners
Image © Dovetail Partners
Image © AHEC
24 www.timberdesignandtechnology.com | November 2012
ANALYSIS
emphasis on the details can be extremely
frustrating and costly. As one manager put
it in a private conversation, “it’s frustrating
spending time and money trying to be ‘more
perfect’ when there are a world of issues to
be addressed on other lands.”
The broad-brush approach inherent in
some certification systems appears to lead
to cost inefficiencies as well. For example,
the lack of trust in existing infrastructure
(e.g., government, management planning,
and legal systems) leads to unnecessary
administrative costs to landowners in
regions like North America. Also, in some
instances, the attempt to address globally
issues that are dominantly of regional
concern leads to efforts that appear
unnecessary. The net result is high forest
management costs related to certification
(or penalties) on well-managed sites and
few lands that are certified in regions (e.g.,
tropics) where sustainable forestry is in
greatest need of attention.
The Market PerspectiveThe key to success of a certification system
is its effectiveness in the marketplace. This
effectiveness is primarily based on trust
in the certified brand. It has been said that
we trust those that we believe have the
ability and the commitment to do what
they say. Thus, certification is as effective
as the extent to which the certified label is
recognized and trusted.
To date certification is relatively
unrecognized in the marketplace in North
America, at least by the average consumer,
and the concept of certification is both
poorly understood and poorly differentiated
from other ‘green’ marketing activities. For
example, is forest certification of the wood
in a product equal to, more, or less important
than attributes such as VOC-free?
Certification is also relatively
unrecognized and poorly differentiated in
the market channels that transfer wood
products. In the U.S. approximately 4,000
of the estimated 200,000 wood products
companies are chain-of-custody certified
today, and research suggests that even
key individuals from companies that are
certified are poorly informed as to what
that certification actually means. It is also
common for individuals and organizations
to ask the difference between certification
programs when in fact they really don’t
know anything about either, and are simply
trying to define them by their variances
rather than their attributes. Thus actual
benefits to the customer remain undefined
and no value can be placed.
To a certain extent some of this lack
of understanding of certification by the
marketplace can be explained by the
complexity of the systems they represent, but
it is also true that there are no simple claims
that can be made about today’s certified
wood products because there are almost no
universal truths. For example, the simplest
claim of all, the source of the wood, cannot
be universally guaranteed. That is, a seller
couldn’t necessarily claim that the wood in a
labeled certified product actually comes from
certified forests. It is hard to convince buyers
that a product has extra value when there are
no definable benefits to that claim.
Result of two perspectives - is it working?So is the marketplace providing funding
for the benefit of forest management?
It is hard to see that this is true at this
point. Anecdotally it would appear that the
opposite is true, meaning that costs have
increased while selling prices have remained
stagnant. Certainly, it is true that some new
buyer-seller relationships have been created
and there are benefits to aligning like-
minded organizations. But there is little to
no evidence that a clear premium exists for
certified products, in general.
So, how do we solve this? How do we
clearly answer the question of what it
means to support sustainable forestry
with the purchase of sustainable forest
products? First, we recognize the value
of the current programs. The current
certification programs and systems offer a
robust structure and model for developing
exemplary forest management systems
where they are lacking. The level of detail
and breadth of issues that are covered
help develop professional levels of forest
stewardship. But the gap of providing a
straightforward and guaranteed benefit for
the market can’t be filled by these systems
as they currently operate.
We need to leverage our twenty years of
experience to boil down the complex list of
100s of possible indicators of sustainability
to the top 3, 4, or 5 mandatory and universal
building blocks that define good wood. These
core components should be measurable,
auditable and widely applicable. They should
support a vision for the forestry we want to
see now and in the future, and the responsible
wood products that the marketplace desires.
By identifying the cornerstones of sustainable
forestry, we will articulate the expertise of
our good forest managers and eliminate the
confusion in the marketplace. Today we have
the knowledge and experience to address
this issue. By turning up the heat a little, and
boiling the system down a bit, we should be
able to come up with something a little more
intense, a little more pure, and better tasting
to the marketplace.
The net result is high forest management costs related to certification (or penalties) on well-managed sites and few lands that are certified in regions (e.g., tropics) where sustainable forestry is in greatest need of attention
AbouT DoveTAiL pArTNersDovetail Partners provides authoritative information about the impacts and trade-offs of environmental decisions, including consumption choices, land use, and policy alternatives. Dovetail is a highly skilled team that fosters sustainability and responsible behaviors by collaborating to develop unique concepts, systems, models and programs. Dovetail Partners is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. More information is available at www.dovetailinc.org
25November 2012 | www.timberdesignandtechnology.com
nHLA hosts its annual convention and exhibit Eight hundred delegates attend the 115th annual ‘global gathering of the hardwood community’
Eight hundred delegates attended
the 2012 National Hardwood
Lumber Association’s Annual
Convention & Exhibit Showcase - the
115th annual ‘global gathering of
the hardwood community’ in Chicago
over three days in September. The
mood was cautiously upbeat with a
background of improving housing
starts and increased hardwood
lumber and flooring production in
North America. While the phrase
‘tough market times’ was frequent a
theme, most attendees agreed that
the worst may now be over and with
improving exports the future for
the hardwood industry is brighter.
American hardwood lumber exports
were up over 9 percent in value
through July 2012 compared to the
same period last year.
The annual convention is widely
supported by many sponsor companies
and a number of leading organisations
also use the event to hold their own
annual members’ meetings including
the American Hardwood Export Council
(AHEC) and the International Wood
Products Association (IWPA). Keynote
speakers this year included Mike Ditka,
FEATURE
renowned National Football League
(NFL) player, coach and commentator;
John Carpenter, President of Caterpillar
Forest Products Centre of Excellence
and Chairman of the Tropical Forest
Foundation; and Kevin O’Connor, TV
host of ‘This Old House’. In addition, the
sold out exhibit hall featured seventy-
two companies and organizations
showing off their products and services
on the show floor.
At the opening session outgoing
NHLA President Dave Redmond
welcomed delegates from all over
the USA and Canada, where there are
1,200 members of NHLA, as well as
hardwood traders from 12 countries
reflecting the growing emphasis that
the association is now placing on
overseas markets and membership.
The membership then heard reports
from the NHLA Executive Director
Mark Barford and the Hardwood
Federation President Brad Thompson.
Barford reported that last year 37
Chinese companies had joined NHLA,
testament to the NHLA’s growing
international network. Following the
presentations from the nominating
committee chairman Ted Rossi, the
NHLA membership unanimously
elected two new officers and six new
board members.
Scott Heidler, President of Heidler
Hardwood Lumber Co. of Chicago, Ill.
was elected to serve as President and
Pem Jenkins, President of Turn Bull
Lumber Co. of Elizabethtown, N.C.
Mark Barford introducing NHLA team of Inspectors
Mark Barford, Executive Director of NHLA Kevin O’Connor of ‘This Old House’ TV show
Image © NHLA
Image © NHLA Image © NHLA
26 www.timberdesignandtechnology.com | November 2012
FEATURE
will serve as Vice President. Further,
the six new board members include:
Mark Cifranick of Baillie Lumber Co.;
Shane Cook of Midwest Walnut Co.;
Charley Fiala of GMC Hardwoods,
Inc.; Scott Holley of Industrial Timber
& Lumber; Steve Jones of Ron Jones
Hardwood Sales; and T.J. Rosengarth
of Northwest Hardwoods.
Following the selection of the new
NHLA board, legendary coach and
player Mike Ditka officially kicked off
the 115th Annual Convention events.
During his address Ditka talked at
length about attitude, enthusiasm
and character as essential elements
of life. He concluded his remarks to
a standing ovation with a quote by
Abraham Lincoln. “You cannot build
character and courage by taking away
man’s initiative and independence.
You cannot help men permanently by
doing for them what they could and
should do for themselves.”
Ditka’s motivational opening
remarks were followed John Carpenter
who presented Caterpillar’s global
economic outlook focusing strongly
on China. Lastly, Kevin O’Connor,
the charismatic host of This Old
House, America’s most watched home
improvement television show, shared
his observations on the green building
movement and the green building bust.
The Exhibit Showcase and Traders
Alley was open on all three days for
delegates to meet with traders and
companies offering a wide range of
services to the hardwood industry.
Notable for overseas delegates was
the now very popular International
Buyers Panel of importers from
several key global markets, moderated
by AHEC Executive Director Mike
Snow. Also at the convention, NHLA
Chief Inspector Dana Spessert and
his team of inspectors presented an
educational seminar and update on
grading rules and on the domestic
and international inspection services.
Following the success of the 2012
convention, the NHLA has announced
that the 2013 NHLA Annual
Convention & Exhibit Showcase will
be held from October 2-4 at the Omni
Hotel in Fort Worth, Texas.
Keynote speakers this year included Mike Ditka, renowned National Football League (NFL) player, coach and commentator; John Carpenter, President of Caterpillar Forest Products Centre of Excellence and Chairman of the Tropical Forest Foundation; and Kevin O’Connor, TV host of ‘This Old House
NATioNAL hArDwooD Lumber AssociATioN (NhLA)
The world’s largest and oldest hardwood industry association, the NHLA represents more than 1,300 companies and individuals that produce, use and sell North American hardwood lumber, or provide equipment, supplies or services to the hardwood industry. It was founded in 1898 to establish a uniform system of grading rules for the measurement and inspection of hardwood lumber. Since 1980, its headquarters have been in Memphis, Tenn. To learn more about NHLA, please visit www.nhla.com.
AHEC’s International Buyers Panel in Chicago
Dana Spessert, Chief Inspector, NHLA Keynote Speaker - Mike Ditka
Image © NHLA
Image © NHLA Image © NHLA
ANALYSIS
27November 2012 | www.timberdesignandtechnology.com
Turkey, at the crossroads of Europe and
the Middle East, is a key player in the
global economy and it has seen ten years
of high growth. By the third quarter of 2011,
Turkey was the fastest growing economy in the
world, with the biggest year-on-year growth in
GDP over the first six months of the year. The
budget was in surplus, tourism was growing,
and the banking sector was strong. The two
biggest problems were the trade and current
account deficits. We now know that all this
growth led to 2011 being the biggest year ever
for Turkish exports, with a total value of goods
worth USD 134.6 billion being shipped overseas.
As well as a new record this was also 18.2
percent higher than the figure for 2010 and this
massive export growth cannot help but close
the trade and current account gaps. According
to data from the Automotive Distributors
Foundation, 864,439 passenger cars and light
commercial vehicles were sold in Turkey last
year, representing a growth of roughly 16.4
percent from the year before and setting a new
record. At the same time, tourism hit the target
of 30 million in 2011, mergers and acquisitions
hit USD 15 billion and Turkey’s airports handled
118 million passengers.
All these signals pointed to Turkey continuing
to be one of the strongest and most stable
economies in the world and, so far in 2012,
the situation has remained very positive. One
concern is rising inflation and also the heavy
reliance upon foreign investment. However,
Turkey is embarking on inward investment
projects of its own, such as a massive rebuilding
programme across five major metropolitan
areas. This is designed to address the need for
earthquake proof construction (with reference to
the massive earthquake of 1999, centred around
Izmir), but it will also provide a major boost to
the already very active construction sector.
Turkey has a very substantial and growing
wood products sector, around half of which
is comprised of producers of raw materials -
lumber, veneer, wood-based panels, components
etc., while the other half comprises producers
of finished products - furniture, flooring and
interior joinery. The sector includes many
thousands of small firms and cottage-type
workshops, as well as much fewer large-scale,
fully mechanised manufacturers. As a result, it
is almost impossible to gauge the exact size of
the sector, but it is estimated that it accounts
for some 4 percent of all manufactured goods
in Turkey. Overall, there are some 44,000
enterprises operating within the forest and
wood products industry. Of these, around 200
can be classed as medium-sized companies
(100-150 workers) and large-sized companies
(150 plus workers).
An assessment of the Turkish market
for hardwoods
talking turkey
28 www.timberdesignandtechnology.com | November 2012
Turkey’s forests, which are entirely State-
owned, produced an estimated 18 million cubic
meters of logs in 2011. Of this total, some 13
million cubic meters were for pulp production,
leaving around 5 million cubic meters for
industrial use. Of the industrial roundwood
production, around 90 percent was accounted
for by various softwood species and the
remaining 500,000 cubic meters by poplar
(European), beech, oak, chestnut, ash, sycamore
(European maple) and walnut. The vast majority
of domestically produced hardwood logs were
destined for low end industrial uses, such as
pallets and packaging, while a significant volume
(unknown) was used for plywood, veneer and
lumber production, also supplemented by
imported logs.
Logs: Turkey’s considerable domestic hardwood log
production is also supplemented by imports,
which, in 2011, reached a total volume of just
over 160,000 cubic meters (see table below).
Roughly half of this volume was accounted for
by European species (mainly beech and oak)
from nearby Romania, Ukraine and Georgia,
but also from Germany. Much of the remaining
volume was accounted for by imports of tropical
species from Central Africa, while a significant
volume of hardwood logs were also brought in
from the United States.
On account of Turkey’s own position as
a hardwood producer, it has both a well-
developed sawmilling industry and good veneer
slicing capacity. Most Turkish wood importers
are also producers of lumber, veneer or panel
products and, often all of these, making them
fully-integrated forest products companies,
rather than just importer/distributors. Some of
these operate on a wholesale basis only, while
others offer both wholesale and retail.
Lumber: Domestic conversion of hardwood logs to
lumber is also significant in Turkey and this
production is supplemented by imports, which
reached a total volume of just under 47,000
cubic meters last year. This volume is not very
high in relation to the overall production and
consumption of hardwoods and it would have
been accounted for, in the main, by species
which require kiln drying before export or which
are unavailable in log form for export.
Veneer: Although production figures are not known,
Turkish production of hardwood veneers
is significant. This is also supplemented by
imports, which, in 2011, reached a total value
of USD 31.67 million. China was the leading
supplier last year, while the United States took
the number two position. Hardwood veneers
are also purchased from Southeast Asia, Central
ANALYSIS
28 www.timberdesignandtechnology.com | November 2012
Turkey -‐ Hardwood Log Imports by main supplying country
Jan-‐Dec 2011 Jan-‐Mar 2011 Jan-‐Mar 2012 % Change Jan-‐Mar 11/12 Supplying
country Val. ($000)
Vol. (m3) Val. ($000)
Vol. (m3) Val. ($000)
Vol. (m3) Val. Vol.
Cameroon 14,014 38,247 2,885 7,702 559 1,678 -‐81 -‐78 Congo 7,966 13,959 4,117 7,441 529 902 -‐87 -‐88 Romania 6,377 46,372 710 5,251 1,348 10,395 90 98 United States 5,695 9,447 1,537 2,017 1,984 2,288 29 13 Central African Rep.
4,327 6,270 1,374 2,145 1,295 1,942 -‐6 -‐9
Congo Dem. Rep. 3,872 6,738 622 1,075 342 651 -‐45 -‐39 Ukraine 3,541 23,695 992 6,216 1,766 14,509 78 133 Myanmar 1,061 437 325 125 0 0 n/a n/a Germany 769 3,201 112 470 212 1,036 89 120 Georgia 578 4,338 111 855 0 0 n/a n/a Others 3,298 7,510 1,367 3,298 857 2,394 -‐37 -‐27 Total 51,498 160,214 14,152 36,595 8,892 35,795 -‐37 -‐2 Source: Broadleaf Consulting, various
Turkey -‐ Hardwood Lumber Imports by main supplying country
Jan-‐Dec 2011 Jan-‐Mar 2011 Jan-‐Mar 2012 % Change Jan-‐Mar 11/12 Supplying
country Val. ($000)
Vol. (m3) Val. ($000)
Vol. (m3) Val. ($000)
Vol. (m3) Val. Vol.
United States 5,732 8,076 1,227 1,718 2,017 2,842 64 65 Ukraine 6,531 9,498 1,822 2,577 421 963 -‐77 -‐63 Cameroon 3,628 7,883 871 1,888 930 1,603 7 -‐15 Romania 1,382 4,061 539 1,254 161 617 -‐70 -‐51 Georgia 1,132 5,414 245 999 73 266 -‐70 -‐73 Bulgaria 735 3,413 180 822 118 590 -‐34 -‐28 Central African Rep.
572 1,041 103 186 245 487 138 162
Gabon 770 802 287 293 23 44 -‐92 -‐85 Congo 830 664 349 326 12 4 -‐97 -‐99 Congo DR 403 441 205 233 39 67 -‐81 -‐71 Burma 1,626 413 457 132 317 120 -‐31 -‐9 Canada 456 542 109 132 0 0 n/a n/a Indonesia 840 555 230 151 105 76 -‐54 -‐50 Others 4,020 4,406 800 1,011 380 511 -‐53 -‐49 Total 28,657 46,809 7,424 11,722 4,841 8,190 -‐35 -‐30 Source: Broadleaf Consulting, various
Turkey – Hardwood Veneer Imports by main supplying country
Jan-‐Dec 2011 Jan-‐Mar 2011 Jan-‐Mar 2012 % Change Jan-‐Mar 11/12
Supplying country
Val. ($000) Val. ($000) Val. ($000) Val. China 11,947 2,285 2,134 -‐7 United States 4,193 1,250 1,400 12 Romania 2,933 703 672 -‐4 Gabon 2,222 394 1,176 199 Italy 2,203 282 750 166 Germany 1,768 421 221 -‐47 Ukraine 1,370 380 716 88 Bulgaria 879 195 159 -‐18 Indonesia 710 64 2 -‐97 Cameroon 434 181 0 n/a Czech Republic 372 0 27 n/a Russia 326 40 212 430 Malaysia 314 148 0 n/a Others 1,997 612 904 48 Total 31,668 6,955 8,373 20 Source: Broadleaf Consulting, various
Africa, Western Europe and the nearby markets
of Romania, Russia, Ukraine and Bulgaria.
As a significant producer of hardwood
products from both domestic and imported logs
and in its unique position at the crossroads of
Europe and Asia, Turkey is also an exporter
of sawn hardwood lumber and hardwood
veneers. In 2011, the total volume of hardwood
lumber exported from Turkey reached 11,446
cubic meters, worth USD 8.1 million. The main
destinations were Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan,
Iran, Iraq and the Turkish Republic of Northern
Cyprus. In terms of hardwood veneers, exports
in 2011 were far more significant and reached
a total value of USD 24.7 million. The main
destinations for Turkish veneers were Italy,
Egypt, Iran, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates,
and Lithuania. Hardwood veneers produced in
Turkey were also shipped to a wide range of
other destinations in Western Europe, Central
Asia, North Africa and the Middle East.
Turkey is a major user of hardwood, but
much of this is for low quality industrial uses,
such as pallets and packaging. However, there
Turkey - Hardwood Log Imports by main supplying country
Turkey - Hardwood Lumber Imports by main supplying country
Turkey – Hardwood Veneer Imports by main supplying country
Source: Broadleaf Consulting, various
Source: Broadleaf Consulting, various
Source: Broadleaf Consulting, various
Turkey -‐ Hardwood Log Imports by main supplying country
Jan-‐Dec 2011 Jan-‐Mar 2011 Jan-‐Mar 2012 % Change Jan-‐Mar 11/12 Supplying
country Val. ($000)
Vol. (m3) Val. ($000)
Vol. (m3) Val. ($000)
Vol. (m3) Val. Vol.
Cameroon 14,014 38,247 2,885 7,702 559 1,678 -‐81 -‐78 Congo 7,966 13,959 4,117 7,441 529 902 -‐87 -‐88 Romania 6,377 46,372 710 5,251 1,348 10,395 90 98 United States 5,695 9,447 1,537 2,017 1,984 2,288 29 13 Central African Rep.
4,327 6,270 1,374 2,145 1,295 1,942 -‐6 -‐9
Congo Dem. Rep. 3,872 6,738 622 1,075 342 651 -‐45 -‐39 Ukraine 3,541 23,695 992 6,216 1,766 14,509 78 133 Myanmar 1,061 437 325 125 0 0 n/a n/a Germany 769 3,201 112 470 212 1,036 89 120 Georgia 578 4,338 111 855 0 0 n/a n/a Others 3,298 7,510 1,367 3,298 857 2,394 -‐37 -‐27 Total 51,498 160,214 14,152 36,595 8,892 35,795 -‐37 -‐2 Source: Broadleaf Consulting, various
29November 2012 | www.timberdesignandtechnology.com
ANALYSIS
is also significant consumption of higher quality
hardwoods for yacht and boat building, decking
and cladding, outdoor furniture, flooring, interior
furniture and interior joinery. The yacht and
boat building sector is substantial in Turkey and
is a major user of tropical hardwoods in the
main, particularly from Central Africa. A few
temperate hardwoods are also used for luxury
yacht interiors. The decking and cladding sector
is growing quickly in Turkey and is influenced
by the renewed fashion for timber cladding, as
well as the rise in disposable incomes allowing
many people to purchase holiday homes
with swimming pools. This sector has been
a major user of tropical hardwoods, but the
increasing availability of heat-treated temperate
hardwoods in the market is allowing non-
durable species to penetrate this sector.
As with the decking and cladding sector,
the manufacturing of outdoor furniture is also
a major user of tropical hardwood species,
but heat-treated temperate hardwoods
have also begun to be used in recent years.
Turkey is a significant producer of hardwood
flooring (mainly engineered) and there is a
sizeable market for strip flooring and parquet,
particularly in oak from nearby supplying
countries, such as Ukraine. There are an
estimated ten or so companies in Turkey
producing engineered hardwood flooring.
Turkey’s furniture sector is very significant
and production in 2011 is anticipated to have
reached a value of USD 10 billion. In addition,
some USD 1.7 billion worth of Turkish-made
furniture is estimated to have been exported
last year, rising by around 18 percent from
2010. The main destinations were Iran, Iraq,
Libya, Central Asia, Russia, Romania, the UK and
the Arabian Gulf. However, the vast majority
of Turkish furniture is panel-based and the
sector is a heavy user of MDF and chipboard,
both also produced locally. While this means
that the use of solid hardwoods in furniture is
limited in relation to overall production, it does
mean that demand for hardwood veneers (along
with manmade papers and foils) is relatively
high. Nevertheless, there is a high end, bespoke
segment within the furniture sector and this
is where a significant proportion of imported
hardwood lumber ends up. Much of this
production is geared towards export and this
sector is growing.
Hardwood is also used fairly widely in
residential interior joinery, particularly for
staircases and kitchen worktops, while doors are
most often made using panels and softwoods.
In most cases, stair treads and worktops are
made from edge-glued finger-jointed panels and
these rely on European hardwood species in the
main, such as beech, oak and chestnut, but also,
increasingly, American hardwoods. Commercial
joinery is not a major hardwood-consuming
sector, but this is developing as fashions change.
Furthermore, buoyancy in the construction
sector is leading to a number of large-scale
commercial projects, including offices and hotels.
This is expected to drive the market for interior
joinery in the coming years.
Population: 79.7 million (July 2011 estimate)
Population growth 1.2% (July 2011 estimate)
Population age (avg.) 28.8 years
Urban population 70% of total (Istanbul: c.14 million, Ankara: c.4.5 million)
GDP growth8.5% (2011)
GDP per capita (PPP)USD 14,600
Inflation 7.8% (2011 estimate)
ExportsUSD 134.6 billion (2011)
Imports USD 240.8 billion (2011)
Main trading partners EU (especially Germany & UK), Russia, Ukraine, Iraq, Iran, Gulf countries, Libya, Central Asian countries
AbouT The AuThorRoderick Wiles has been analyzing the Middle East’s markets for wood products for the past 13 years. He has traveled extensively throughout the MENA region, developing a wealth of contacts and experience and providing consultancy services to a range of government and industry clients on a long term or one-off basis. For more information, see www.broadleafconsulting.com
‘out of the Woods - Adventures of 12 Hardwood Chairs’
Ground breaking LCA research helps RCA students generate full environmental profiles for each of their designs
The ‘Out of the Woods -
Adventures of 12 Hardwood
Chairs’ project culminated in a
fantastic high profile exhibition and
press conference at the Victoria and
Albert Museum as part of the London
Design Festival 2012. The project was
a collaboration between the American
Hardwood Export Council (AHEC), the
leading international trade association
for the American hardwood industry,
and the Royal College of Art (RCA)
in London. The 12 chairs and seats,
which were designed and made by top
product design students from the RCA,
were shown in a creative display that
told the story of the project, and how
for the first time, full environmental
profiles had been developed for each
design using AHEC’s ground breaking
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) research.
The students were invited to work
with craftsmen at Benchmark Furniture
to finalize the designs and make their
prototypes earlier this year. Benchmark,
which was founded 30 years ago
by Sean Sutcliffe and world famous
designer Sir Terrence Conran, who
invited the students to camp in his
grounds, provided a unique educational
experience. As a result, twelve very
different seating installations were
created in a wide range of U.S.
hardwoods, including lesser known
species such as gum, pecan, hickory and
soft maple. In addition, each student
recorded all the inputs and impacts of
manufacture to develop an LCA profile
for each piece using the ‘i-report’
modeling system developed specifically
for the project by PE International.
“Our collaboration with the RCA and
Benchmark has resulted in fascinating
approach to working with an age-old
material. This unique exercise has
not only thrown the spotlight on the
beauty of American hardwoods but it
has also helped the students explore
the creative and environmental
potential of this naturally renewable
material by looking at the entire life
cycle of each product,” said Roderick
Wiles, AHEC Director for Africa,
Middle East, India and Oceania.
“By ensuring that every scrap of
material and minute of production
time was carefully recorded during
the manufacturing of these twelve
wooden chairs, we have been able to
help produce life cycle assessments,
charting the projected lifespan of each
chair against the cost of resources and
processes needed to produce it.”
Following the completion of the
prototypes, AHEC has produced
a publication that documents the
story, highlights the use of American
hardwoods and environmentally profiles
each design. In addition, the RCA
students have also produced a creative
publication, with support from AHEC,
that imagines the possible life scenarios
of these designs with the help of some
of the UK’s leading poets and writers.
“With the completion of our
LCA research study into American
hardwoods, the challenge now remains
to integrate life cycle thinking into all
stages in the design, manufacturing
and delivery of products containing
U.S. hardwoods. As a first step, the
LCA data for U.S. hardwood lumber
is being made available to suppliers
and specifiers by way of PE’s online
‘i-report’ tool, which will enable specific
data to be generated for individual
species, lumber thickness, processing
parameters (such kiln efficiency and
energy sources), transport distances
and modes (truck, ship, rail). This
project with the RCA has enabled us
to show the full environmental impact
of the designs produced and paves
the way for a more scientific approach
towards specification of timber,”
concluded Wiles.
www.timberdesignandtechnology.com | November 201230
DESIGN & DéCOR
Image © Petr Krejci
31November 2012 | www.timberdesignandtechnology.com
Swedish-born Petter Thörne was
conscious about making a modest,
yet elegant piece of furniture
that is economical in its use of
materials. His design, Beeeench, is
a 3.5 metre beam structure made
up of thin strips of American ash.
Ash is a very strong and flexible
timber; “For me this project has
been about pushing the material to
the limit,” says Thörne. Beeeench
has removable legs making it easy
to transport.
Well Proven Chair - James Shaw and Marjan van Aubel
Beeeench - Petter Thörne
Phyllida - Nicholas
Gardner and David Horan
The Well Proven Chair is an
experimental project exploring new
sustainable ways of production,
utilizing timber waste from any
well-run factory. Combining
timber shavings collected from the
workshop floor, bio-resin, water
and dye, British born James Shaw
and Dutch-born Marjan van Aubel
moulded the porridge-like mass to
a classic chair, which dried to form
a hard structure. This unique piece
sits on elegant legs of turned ash,
contrasting with the liveliness of
the seat.
Named after the sculptor Phyllida
Barlow, this piece was inspired by one
of her works. With the aim of creating
a packable bench out of harmonious
materials, Irish David Horan and
Australian Nicholas Gardner have
designed a flat-pack bench made out of
a tulipwood board, 1.5mm ply, bungey
cord and no screws. The legs fit in to
tulipwood base rings, and to a circular
groove in the underside of the bench.
When the bench is to be carried, the
‘legs’ unroll to become flat, and the base
rings slot in to another set of grooves in
the underside of the bench. The whole
assembly is held together with cords,
which when the bench is assembled
join the rings to hooks on the
underneath of the flat bench. Tulipwood
was chosen for its character and its
strength as well as its light weight, so
the bench can be carried by one person.
DESIGN & DéCOR
Image © Petr Krejci
Image © Petr Krejci Image © Petr Krejci
Image © Petr Krejci
Image © Petr Krejci
Image © Petr Krejci
32 www.timberdesignandtechnology.com | November 2012
Snelson - Sam Weller
Solitude - Mary Argyrou
Floating Chair - Bobby Petersen
and Tom Gottelier
Sam Weller has always had a keen
interest in mechanics and engineering
principles. His stool is inspired by
Kenneth Snelson’s sculptural works
that are built around the principle of
tensegrity (a concept later defined
by Buckminster Fuller), where
components of a structure are held
together by the continuous tension of
binding strings. Weller’s design uses
string under tension to hold together
the elements, which do not even need
to touch. The manufacturing process
was relatively simple and it would be
easy to replace any damaged part,
giving the stool greater longevity.
Weller made three stools in American
ash, cherry and walnut.
Bobby Petersen and Tom Gottelier
wanted to create an experience, not just
a seat. Fascinated with the longevity
and solidness of boat construction,
they decided to design a floating chair.
The boat has been built in marine ply
and veneered in American cherry,
which was chosen both for its high
strength-to-weight ratio and for its
color, which will darken in sunlight. The
keel is in American white oak, which is
both durable and heavy - a desirable
property for a keel. In an unusual
twist, the boat can be controlled by a
smart phone working with GPS, and
the software will drive the propulsion
system allowing you to sit back and
relax while the boat takes you for a ride.
Solitude by Mary Argyrou is inspired
by the traditionally crafted church
chairs found in her home country of
Cyprus. Staying true to the values
of the church, the chair is modest in
its expression and its form engages
with the longevity and significance
of furniture within a church setting.
Made in cherry, it has solid sides with
a hinge fold-down seat between them.
With the seat down, the user can step
back entirely into their own private
space. Church furniture can easily last
for over a century and there is no
reason why this chair should not do
the same. “Its life cycle is conveyed
both by the enduring qualities of the
material and its usage,” says Argyrou.
DESIGN & DéCOR
Image © Petr Krejci
Image © Petr Krejci
Image © Petr Krejci Image © Petr Krejci
Image © Petr Krejci
Image © Petr Krejci
Imag
e ©
AH
EC
34 www.timberdesignandtechnology.com | November 2012
Squeeze - Nic Wallenberg
Num. 4 - Santi Guerrero Font
Tree Furniture - Anton Alvarez
London-born Nic Wallenberg has
created a stackable chair with
ergonomic curves. In order to make
the chair as sustainable as possible
Wallenberg has taken advantage
of the strength and flexibility of
American hickory and, with the
use of bolts, he has squeezed the
chair into its desired shape. The
chair thereby gains ergonomic
curves without the use of energy-
consuming techniques such as steam
bending or press molding.
This unusual bench is designed by
Swedish-Chilean Anton Alvarez. The
concept for Tree Furniture is that it
should be carved simply from a tree
cut down and left on the forest floor
where it has been cut – an idea that
had to be adapted slightly since he
was working with American hardwood
in England. By means of a portable
sawmill and simple hand tools, an
American cherry log has been made
into a bench. Alvarez’ idea is that it
would be a pleasure to happen on
such a bench during a walk through
the woods.
Num. 4 Chair reflects Santi
Guerrero Font’s interest in the
Danish style, which typically
showcases construction techniques.
His chair is visually very simple
and honest; you can see where the
legs pass through the structure,
and where their ends become
flush with the seat. By choosing
American ash, one of the strongest
timbers, Guerrero Font managed
to slim the thickness of the timber
required from 20mm to 12mm.
The Spanish born designer made a
jig to create the joints so it would
be relatively straightforward to
make multiple chairs.
DESIGN & DéCOR
Image © Petr Krejci Image © Petr Krejci
Image © Petr Krejci
Image © Petr Krejci Image © Petr Krejci
Image © Petr Krejci
35November 2012 | www.timberdesignandtechnology.com
Leftovers Chair - Lauren Davies
Folded Chair - Norie Matsumoto
Designed Legacy - Michael Warren
Davies’ interest in food and cooking
led her to designing a chair that could
be described in the form of a recipe,
made up from a variety of hardwoods
with a strong affiliation to food. Many
American hardwood species are fruit or
nut-bearing, oak, alder and hickory are
often used for smoking, maple syrup
is extracted from the maple tree and
so on. The seat is a traditional Windsor
Chair with a twist: the seat is ‘pickled’
with vinegar, the legs are ‘smoked’ and
the spindles of the back are ‘flavoured’
with fruit essences. Davies’ chair
is made up of red oak, alder, hard
maple, white oak, walnut, black cherry,
soft maple, hickory and pecan. The
flavorings, which supply color, include
saffron, paprika, blueberry, strawberry,
raspberry, beetroot, blackberry,
pomegranate and onion skins.
Upon the realization that one-inch
thick, kiln-dried timber requires much
less energy to produce than thicker
stock, Michael Warren set out to design
furniture using a single piece of timber
measuring 25mm by 145mm by 1.6m
long. Warren designed small-scale
connections drawing on joints used in
green timber frame buildings. Stemming
from a great desire to minimize
environmental footprint, Warren avoided
steam bending to create the curve of his
seat, instead using two laminations glued
together. The finished stool weighs only
1.5kg. Warren made several stools during
his week at Benchmark, his favourite
being sapgum, a very lightweight timber,
resulting in a featherweight version of
his already light stool.
Japanese designer and furniture-
maker Norie Matsumato wanted
her design to be a beautiful timber
sculpture that could also work as
a chair, rather than the reverse
approach, which is more common.
This led to an asymmetric design,
which unfolds in a surprising but
elegant manner. Folded Chair
combines American ash and walnut,
playing with the light and dark
tones and making a point at its
asymmetric nature. The fact that it
can be folded away when not in use
makes it more versatile, helping to
guarantee its longevity.
DESIGN & DéCOR
Image © Petr Krejci
Image © Petr Krejci Image © Petr Krejci
Image © Petr Krejci Image © Petr Krejci
Image © Petr Krejci
36 www.timberdesignandtechnology.com | November 2012
FEATURE
World’s tallest timber building ‘tops out’ in MelbourneConstruction innovation heralds new era for building industry
forTé
Location: 807 Bourke Street, Victoria Harbour, Melbourne, Victoria
Size: Forté is the tallest timber apartment building in the world rising up to 32.17 meter
Population: 23 apartments, over 10 storeys including:- 7 x 1 bedroom (59m2)- 14 x 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom (80m2)- 2 x 2 bedroom penthouse (102m2)
Time Frame: Start on-site: February 2012Begin Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) installation: May 2012CLT structure complete: August 2012Target construction completion: November 2012
Project cost (construction): Apartment tower: AUS $11 million
Design and Construction:Lend Lease
Image © Lend Lease
37November 2012 | www.timberdesignandtechnology.com
FEATURE
The world’s tallest residential timber
building has topped out in Melbourne
with builders having recently lifted
the last timber panel to complete the
structure. Taking shape near the water’s
edge in Melbourne’s Victoria Harbour, Forté
is being built with Cross Laminated Timber
(CLT), which has a structural strength
akin to the traditionally used concrete
and steel. CLT, which is already a proven
success in Europe for more than a decade,
is being used to build the 32-meter high-
rise apartment building, which upon its
completion will make it the tallest timber
building in the world.
According to Lend Lease, the developers
behind Forte, the project represents a
new era for the construction industry
as it incorporates a more efficient and
environmentally-friendly construction
process that has not been undertaken
in Australia before. By using CLT, Forté
will reduce CO2 equivalent emissions by
more than 1,400 tonnes when compared
to concrete and steel - the equivalent
of removing 345 cars from the roads.
Chief Executive Officer for Lend Lease’s
Australian business, Mark Menhinnitt
believes that CLT is the most significant
form of innovation in construction
technology that Australia has seen in
many years.
“CLT will transform the construction
industry by introducing a more efficient
and environmentally-friendly construction
process that has never been undertaken
in Australia before,” said Mark Menhinnitt.
“In 2001, we introduced the innovation of
chilled beam technology to the Australian
market, which has now become the
industry norm. CLT is another example of
how Lend Lease is leading the way with
innovations that will create value for
consumers in the industry.”
Sustainability and a lowered
environmental footprint have been
the key drivers behind the wide use
of engineered timber, more commonly
referred to as CLT, in Europe for more
than a decade. A building material that
has been around for centuries, timber,
enables the permanent capture of carbon
so buildings become essentially ‘carbon
sinks’. Using innovative technology, timber
panels undergo a process whereby they
are stacked at right angles and bonded
together over their entire surface and then
hydraulically pressed. This process delivers
a viable alternative to concrete and steel
that can withstand the same pressure as
prefabricated concrete.
“With an increasing number of people
moving to urban areas, this innovation is
timely given the urgency to create liveable,
sustainable cities that are climate positive.
The adoption of green technologies,
materials and construction processes, like
CLT, means we are closer to achieving this,”
added Menhinnitt.
As an engineered mass timber product,
CLT is very different to a traditional wood
frame. Mass timber - dense solid panels
of wood engineered for strength through
laminations of different layers - provides
significant benefits and has the equivalent
structural integrity to concrete. CLT on
a weight to strength basis meets, and in
some cases exceeds, the performance of
reinforced concrete, resulting in a very
stable and durable structural outcome.
Designed and produced in a factory
environment means it will also be built 30
percent faster than its material counterparts,
Sustainability and a lowered environmental footprint have been the key drivers behind the wide use of engineered timber, more commonly referred to as CLT, in Europe for more than a decade. A building material that has been around for centuries, timber, enables the permanent capture of carbon so buildings become essentially carbon sinks
Image © Lend Lease
Image © Lend Lease Image © Lend Lease
while being cleaner and more efficient.
Murray Coleman, Managing Director
of Lend Lease’s Project Management and
Construction business in Australia, said
that as well as offering a strong, solid,
warmer and more natural living experience,
the use of timber was also better for the
environment. “Forté is built on the principle
that what’s good for the environment is
good for the resident too. Using CLT offers
better thermal performance and requires less
energy to heat and cool,” states Coleman.
Aspiring to be the first 5 Star Green Star
As Built residential building in the country,
Forté in Victoria Harbour, Melbourne will
rise over 10 storeys, offering 23 boutique
residential apartments and 4 townhouses.
Designed and built by Lend Lease, the
building will reflect the contemporary
inner-city lifestyle of Victoria Harbour
while combining environmental initiatives
such as better energy efficiency in terms of
heating and cooling.
“Forté is a showpiece for natural and
new, where modern architecture meets a
natural building material. It will offer a
different way of living through reduced
energy costs due to better thermal
performance, an abundance of natural light,
ventilation, sweeping views and a healthier
living environment,” said Menhinnitt.
“Building with CLT is becoming increasingly
popular overseas with other residential
building developments such as Bridport
House and Stadthaus Murray Grove, both
in London being built successfully with CLT.
It proves that the appetite is there for this
kind of living.”
The 10-storey building is one storey
higher than the current highest timber
residential build - the Stadthaus in
Hackney, London - and will reflect the
modern urban-city lifestyle of Victoria
Harbour while delivering a healthier more
natural living environment for occupants.
Each apartment is dual aspect and has
been designed to make the most of sunlight
and natural ventilation. Designed to be
thermally efficient it will require less
energy to heat and cool than a typical
code compliant apartment. In addition, all
apartments will have smart meters, which
link to an in-home display that shows
real time and historic data on energy
consumption. The designers have also paid
attention to indoor environmental quality,
which will be maximized through good
levels of daylight, solar shading, natural
ventilation and acoustic treatment.
Construction of the building started
in the first week of June, with levels
rapidly added. After just 16 weeks, the
building has topped out and is already the
tallest timber residential building in the
world. Following on from Forté in Victoria
Harbour, the company is aiming to develop
30-50 percent of its apartment pipeline
using CLT and sees application elsewhere
across the Lend Lease Group.
“Lend Lease has a proud history of
landmark innovations in sustainable
construction and this project demonstrates
how we are, once again, leading the way,”
concluded Menhinnitt.
Forté is a showpiece for natural and new, where modern architecture meets a natural building material. It will offer a different way of living through reduced energy costs due to better thermal performance, an abundance of natural light, ventilation, sweeping views and a healthier living environment
FEATURE
38 www.timberdesignandtechnology.com | November 2012
Image © Lend Lease Image © Lend Lease
40 www.timberdesignandtechnology.com | November 2012
PROFILE
Miro Forestry aims for leadership within the sustainable plantation forestry industry in West Africa
Miro Forestry forecasting annual supply in excess of 500,000 cubic
meters by 2018 Miro Forestry is a commercially
focused and sustainable
forestry business centered
in West Africa. As an independent
Cayman Islands incorporated private
limited company headquartered
in Dubai, the company owns and
operates sustainable forestry
plantations of fast growing timbers
for the production of lumber, poles
and biomass in Ghana and Sierra
Leone. The company manages its own
forestry plantations, which cover
approximately 25,000 hectares of
land, and commenced planting a
mix of fast growing timber crops in
February 2010.
With an aim to be a leading,
commercial and sustainable
The Boumfoum Forestry Plantation consists of 5,000 hectares of fertile land located in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. The company’s land is located about 10 minutes drive from the town of Agogo and about one hour from Kumasi.
The plantation is around 7° north of the equator and has a tropical climate with average monthly temperatures ranging between 24°C and 28°C
and annual rainfall between 1,500 - 1,650mm. The rains predominantly fall in June, July and September with the driest hottest months being December through to March.
The land on which Miro Forestry is establishing plantation forests was severely degraded during the 1980s and 1990s by agricultural clearing and heavy logging. Today, the land has been designated a forestry
reserve, and the Ghanaian Forestry Commission are very supportive of foreign investment being deployed to reforest the area. Moreover, Miro Forestry works in close consultation with local subsistence farmers in the area aiming to deliver mutual benefit through education and controlled agro-forestry practice.Most of the soils are well drained and considered ideal for trees such as Teak and Eucalyptus. The land
areas not planted by the company currently hold a canopy cover of less than 5 percent and show a dominance of secondary growth species such as elephant grass, characteristic of the transition zone, and is ideally suitable for growing both indigenous and commercial timber species.
boumfoum foresTry, ghANA
plantation business that operates
to high management, social and
environmental standards, Miro
Forestry focuses on fast-growing,
high-yield plantation timber that
enables it to cater to both local and
international markets. The company
mixes commercial plantation forestry
with protection and regeneration
of indigenous tree species, and
also promotes bio-diversity and
environmentally sustainable land-use
management. As such, the company is
also able to continue delivering both
attractive returns to investors as well
as significant social and environmental
benefits within local communities.
Managed by an experienced team
of forestry, business and investment
Andrew Collins, Executive Director & CEO, Miro Forestry
Image © Miro Forestry
Image © Miro Forestry
41November 2012 | www.timberdesignandtechnology.com
PROFILE
management professionals who have
a good track record of building and
operating emerging market businesses,
the company aims to lead the
sustainable plantation forestry industry
in West Africa with in excess of 2,000
hectares being planted next year for
the production of poles, saw timber,
and wood chips for wood based panels
and biomass. In an exclusive chat with
Timber Design & Technology, Andrew
Collins, Executive Director & CEO, Miro
Forestry provides an overview of the
company and its strategy.
ObjectivesMiro Forestry is a profit driven,
commercial plantation timber
business that aspires to operate in
line with high management, social
and environmental standards. As
such, the company aims to continue
to conserve and expand natural
forest and other valuable vegetation
within its areas of operation and to
also obtain FSC certification for all
its forest plantations. In addition, the
company plans to continue to reach
out to local communities to establish
social, economic and environmental
development programs within
the local community adhering to
high standards of corporate social
responsibility. Collins states that this
is in line with the company’s’ aim to
be the preferred partner for the local
communities in which it operates and
for international business partners
and financial institutions.
At its core, the company’s principal
objective is to continue to acquire
and build interests in timber and
sustainable forestry businesses and
assets that provide it with:
- exposure to capital appreciation of,
as well as the cash yields generated
from, timber and forestry investments;
- optimize long-term sustainable
returns through best practice
management;
- ownership of timber and forestry
businesses and assets, which are,
or have the objective of, producing
sustainable timber certified by the
Forest Stewardship Council; and
- revenue from the supply of timber
and timber products worldwide.
According to Collins, the company
was borne out of a venture capital
group originally based in Dubai
and has its head office in the UAE.
Collins notes that the company has
a number of investors in the Oil &
Gas industry, based out of the Middle
East, who have been attracted to
investing in Miro Forestry given their
understanding of the growing demand
for timber as a global commodity and
the strong commercial returns that the
company can deliver. In addition, they
have been attracted by the ability to
offset their carbon footprint (given
the atmospheric carbon sequestered
by the plantations) and because the
company delivers significant social
benefits generating jobs, providing
vocational training and other benefits
in poor rural areas of Africa.
Business StrategyCollins believes that demand for
The company aims to continue to conserve and expand natural forest and other valuable vegetation within its areas of operation and to also obtain FSC certification for all its forest plantations
sustainable timber will continue to
rise with the increased global demand
for wood products particularly from
the expanding and increasingly
affluent emerging markets. More
importantly, in the face of increasing
demand, the planet is losing over
ten million hectares of forestland
every year or an area equivalent to
Ireland or Sierra Leone. On a positive
note, there are several measures
being implemented to curtail this
continued deforestation and illegal
logging. However, demand for
sustainable timber continues to grow
and plantation timber represents one
sustainable and feasible option to
address this demand.
In the case of plantation timber, the
truth is there is simply not enough
land being planted with sustainable
timber crops to meet the growing
demand. However, tropical climates in
emerging markets have high biological
growth rates, ensuring that trees
grow and reach maturity quickly.
This combined with low land and
operating costs ensure that countries
in West Africa such as Ghana and
Sierra Leone can be extremely
competitive and profitable for the
production of sustainable tropical
timber. Collins is quick to point out
that the industry in West Africa
suffers from a lack of investment
and knowledge of best practice
forestry and sustainable practices.
There is also a general shortage in
construction timbers - particularly as
the region continues to boom with
world leading GDP growth rates.
Against this backdrop of increasing
demand for sustainable timber, Miro
Forestry’s strategy is to convert
low-yielding grassland and degraded
forest into sustainable plantations that
grow the highest-yielding timber crops
suitable for the land areas under the
Establishing Teak Beds Teak BedsImage © Miro Forestry Image © Miro Forestry
42 www.timberdesignandtechnology.com | November 2012
PROFILE
company’s management. According to
Collins, the plantations currently are
still immature and no timber has been
harvested. However, the company is
positive of harvesting timber from
2016 onwards and building up towards
an annual supply of over 500,000
cubic meters per annum from 2018.
SpeciesMiro Forestry owns and operates its
own forestry plantations in Ghana
and Sierra Leone, which cover over
25,000 hectares of degraded land,
and commenced planting a mix of fast
growing timber crops in February 2010.
However, it is important to note that
selecting the correct species for future
plantings is not just about the timbers
and products that the market demands;
it is very important to select species that
grow well on the proposed planting site.
West Africa has ideal climatic conditions
for maximum tree growth and
competitive operating costs; it is also
a region with significant and growing
demand for timber products. As such,
the company is focusing on Eucalyptus,
which is appropriate for construction
and for transmission poles, sawn timber,
wood chip for wood based panels and
biomass, with a view towards selling
this in West Africa and into Europe.
Wood ProductsIn addition to its own plantation,
The company’s Yoni Plantation consists of 21,000 hectares of flat and fertile land located in the Tonkolili District of Sierra Leone, 90 miles from Freetown, the country’s capital, and adjacent to the country’s major highway into Freetown. At this plantation, fast rotation species, predominantly including Eucalyptus, are grown to cater to demand from the local transmission pole market as well as for export. Due to the proximity of the land to Freetown, and substantial deepwater port
facilities, the company has good access to the North American and European lumber, pulp and biomass markets, which are characterized by increasing demand coupled with decreasing supply.
The Yoni Plantation is around 8.5° north of the equator and has a tropical climate with average monthly temperatures ranging between 26°C and 36°C and annual rainfall in excess of 2,000mm. The dry season typically spans between December and
March having less than 100mm of rainfall.
The land on which Miro forestry has established its plantation forests was once forested with primary forest. However, the land now consists of secondary growth including grasses, low level bush and palms. The land is being leased under long-term agreements with landowners ratified by the chief’s and government as legal custodians.
The land area has limited subsistence
farming going on which is primarily centered around the low lying swampy areas for rice cultivation unsuitable for forestry. The Company works in ongoing consultation with local farmers and aims to bring additional benefit to such farmers through opening up swampy areas for rice cultivation and enabling controlled agro-forestry thus providing clear land for subsistence farming, mutual crop protection and keeping the land free of nutrient sapping undergrowth.
yoNi, sierrA LeoNe
Teak (c.2 years)
Seedling Planting
Eucalyptus Nursery (2012 pre-development)
Women in Nursery
Image © Miro Forestry
Image © Miro Forestry
Image © Miro Forestry
Image © Miro Forestry
Miro Forestry has supplied sawn
timber from third-party suppliers to
customers in Europe. Leveraging its
contacts in West Africa and globally,
the company has been able to source
a range of West African, South-
east Asian and European species
timbers. The company is also able
to supply creosote treated pine
transmission poles, primarily made
from eucalyptus and pine. In line with
its environmental policy, the company
is looking to obtain FSC certification
for its plantation and also works with
FSC certified suppliers. Further, Miro
Forestry intends to start supplying
sustainable wood biomass for
renewable energy in the near future.
43November 2012 | www.timberdesignandtechnology.com
TECHNOLOGY
HOMAG Group, the leading manufacturer of
plant and machinery for the woodworking
industry and cabinet makers, hosted
the 20th edition of its annual ‘Treff’ expo in
Schopfloch, Germany from September 25 - 28,
where visitors had the opportunity to experience
an unprecedented array of smart solutions for
the production of furniture, windows, floors,
staircases and doors. At the landmark event,
HOMAG was able to showcase just how it has
linked innovation with fascination over its 50-
year history in an area of just over 10,000 sqm.
The company further announced that over the
course of 20 years since the first HOMAG Treff
in 1992, over 35,000 visitors from 70 different
countries have visited the event.
A key highlight at this year’s event was the
wide array of large-scale plants that were on
display. In keeping with the 20th anniversary
of the event, the organizers displayed a total
of 20 production-ready large-scale lines.
According to the organizers, the smart batch
size 1 solutions from the entry-level machines
to the high-end plants attracted just as much
interest as the flexible concepts for efficient
series production. Further, a large number
of customer orders under construction or in
action were on display in a bid to demonstrate
A key highlight at this year’s event was the wide array of large-scale plants that were on display. In keeping with the 20th anniversary of the event, the organizers displayed a total of 20 production-ready large-scale lines
HoMAG Group hosts the 20th edition of its annual ‘treff’ expo in Schopfloch
World premier of the ‘Ambition 2200 NEW’ edge
banding technology at landmark event
Looking back over 20 years of the HOMAG Treff: 35,000 visitors from 70 countries - and innovations which shape our industry. Yesterday, today, and into the future!
Image © Homag Group
44 www.timberdesignandtechnology.com | November 2012
TECHNOLOGY
the broad-based expertise of HOMAG’s plant
specialists, and more importantly the trust
placed in them by customers.
The company was also able to highlight the
success of ‘woodWOP’, which over the course
of 20 years has become the most frequently
installed programming system with over 30,000
users worldwide and is now also the established
standard for CNC training in vocational training
schools and technical universities. At the
2012 Treff, the latest version of the program -
woodWOP 6.1 - was launched. The new version
comes with integrated CAD functionality and
offers users the scope for operators to generate,
import or modify CAD drawings in the office or
directly at the machine, supported by a wide
range of drawing and modification functions.
Further, this is not restricted to only the basic
coordinate system, and can be implemented on
any optional level.
highLighTs of The 2012 homAg Treff:• Biggest display ever with 20 large-scale plants: Batch size 1 and series production solutions• World premier of the Ambition 2200 NEW: Industrial- standard edge banding technology with a woodworking shop price tag• Venture 316: 5-axis technology for woodworking shops• Edge banding with zero joint in through feed and on processing centers• Window production cells with automatic feed• iPackage compact for BMG 316 and Ambition 2200 NEW: the customer-oriented service solution for woodworking shops• On-the-spot inspection at the HOMAG Treff ‘Pit Stop’: customers had the opportunity to bring their exchange processing units for some expert attention
20 years of the HOMAG Treff - 20 large-scale plants were on show live in action!
The Ambition 2200 NEW: Great on flexibility - small on priceGrowing with HOMAG......Timber is our raw material
20 years of woodWOP - with over 30,000 users the most successful programming system worldwide
Image © Homag Group
Image © Homag Group
Image © Homag Group
Image ©
Hom
ag Group
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serving its members and the industry by creating and maintaining a uniform
system of grading rules for the measurement and inspection of hardwood lumber.
The NHLA rules created in 1898, are now the standard employed worldwide.
Our standard means integrity – look for the NHLA logo.
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46 www.timberdesignandtechnology.com | November 2012
Top IndusTry ExhIbITIons comIng
up ThIs sEason
Date: 1 - 4 NovemberVenue: Pavilion 75, VVC ExhibitionLocation: Moscow, Russiatimings: 1 - 3 November (Thursday - Saturday), 10:00 - 18:00 and 4 November (Sunday), 10:00 - 16:00expecteD attenDees: 11,500+WeBsite: www.holzhaus.ru/home/default.aspx
Date: 1 - 4 NovemberVenue: Cairo Exhibition & Convention CentreLocation: Cairo, EgyptWeBsite: www.furnexegypt.com
The 17th International Specialized Exhibition Holzhaus
is the leading Russian exhibition for wooden housing
construction. The exhibition showcases the diversity of
contemporary wooden architecture, including full-size
beautiful, warm and eco-friendly wooden houses and
saunas, built with the latest technologies, which will be on
display at the exhibition. As such, the event brings together
builders, developers, architects, designers of wooden
houses, and manufacturers of building, finishing and
protective materials, parts and utility equipment.
The exhibitors - leading companies in domestic and
international wooden housing construction - are set to
introduce visitors to current trends in wooden housing
construction. Over four days, more than 200 companies
will present milled timber and log houses and saunas,
frame houses, gazebos, accessories and more. Buyers from
Moscow and other Russian regions will be able to purchase
everything they need at the exhibition - from the design to
the construction of houses. According to the organizers, over
11,500 visitors are expected to attend the event this year.
holzhaus
FurnEx
Furnex 2012 is a unique opportunity to discover Egypt
as a sourcing destination for furniture, home furnishings
and accessories. The exhibition is being jointly
organized by the Egypt Expo & Convention Authority
(EECA), the Egyptian Furniture Export Council (EFEC)
and Expo Link and will showcase the latest products as
well as the production capabilities of over 200 Egyptian
manufacturers. Taking up over 21,000 sqm at the Cairo
Exhibition & Convention Centre, the event will highlight
the tremendous progress made by the Egyptian furniture
industry, which has resulted in Egypt serving as a
reliable source of world-class furniture and accessories
to international markets.
Leading architects, designers, importers, chain stores,
hypermarkets, retailers, specialized dealers and project
contractors are expected to attend the event. According
to the organizers, Furnex 2012 will highlight the
Egyptian furniture exporters’ understanding of different
markets, which is evident in the continuous expansion
in product development and design, skilled labor
training, as well as in the acquisition of state-of-the-art
woodworking machinery.
SHOWTIME
SHOWTIME
brussEls FurnITurE FaIr 2012
Date: 4 - 7 NovemberVenue: Brussels Expo HeyselLocation: Brussels, Belgiumtimings: 9:00 - 19:00expecteD attenDees: 20,000+WeBsite: www.meubelbeurs.be/en
Date: 5 - 8 NovemberVenue: Dubai World Trade CentreLocation: Dubai, UAEtimings: 11:00 - 19:00expecteD attenDees: 50,000+ WeBsite: www.thebig5.ae
The Brussels Furniture Fair has become an international
platform for furniture in the Benelux and will be held at
Brussels Expo from 4 to 7 November this year. About 20,000
visitors are expected to attend the show, which covers 7 halls
with a floor area of around 70,000 sqm. As an extremely
important landmark in the furniture world and a setting
where sales really do take place, the fair is crucial not only for
Belgium and the Netherlands, but also for France. According
to the organizers, this is mainly because of the assortment:
varied and commercial, and exactly what the furniture trade is
seeking for its core range.
The show is a large fair, but it remains on a human scale,
which is appreciated by the 300 exhibitors, more than half of
whom come from abroad. Further, the show has a solid basis,
a broad spectrum of innovative and market-oriented products
with added value and a clear position in the commercially
most important segment of the market. In addition, more than
half the visitors are from abroad and the organizers expect
this proportion to increase even more in the 2012 edition.
ThE bIg 5
The Big 5 is the largest event for the building and
construction industry in the Middle East. It attracts more than
2,500 exhibitors from 70 countries, and is set to take place at
the Dubai World Trade Centre from November 5-8 this year.
For more than 30 years The Big 5 has provided a business
and networking platform for the construction industry and
is an opportunity for buyers and sellers of construction
products and services from around the world to source an
astounding array of the very latest technologies, innovations
and techniques.
More than an exhibition, the event provides attendees with
unrivalled access to information, intelligence, contacts and
hands on experience. Experts from around the world engage in
the industry’s most topical discussions, finding solutions, facing
challenges and seizing opportunities. As the gateway to the
Middle East and North Africa (MENA) providing both exhibitors
and visitors with the opportunity to conduct serious business
with like-minded professionals, the show continues to pioneer
new opportunities for the industry.
48 www.timberdesignandtechnology.com | November 2012
SHOWTIME
FurnITurE FaIr 2012
Date: 12 - 18 NovemberVenue: Belgrade Fair Exhibition CenterLocation: Belgrade, SerbiaexpecteD attenDees: 60,000+WeBsite: www.beogradskisajamnamestaja.rs
Date: 14 - 16 NovemberVenue: Lahti Fair CentreLocation: Lahti, FinlandWeBsite: www.lahdenmessut.fi/eng/fairs/puuntyosto_woodworking.html
The International Fair of Furniture, Equipment and
Interior decoration and the International Exhibition
of Machines, Tools and Production materials for the
woodworking industry are highly ranked amongst
the industry fairs that cater to the furniture,
interior decoration and related industries such as
production materials and woodworking machines
for the furniture industry in Serbia and the region
of Southeast Europe. This year the Furniture Fair,
which has been the meeting place for renowned
manufacturers from across the region, is celebrating
its 50th anniversary and is offering exhibitors the
opportunity to present their new products, keep
pace with current furniture design trends, maintain
old contacts and establish new ones, as well as to
exchange information and ideas.
Exhibitors at the event will include the complete
furniture industry from those involved with the
primary wood processing to those responsible for
the final product. All types of furniture will be on
display, including home and office furniture, and
interior decoration, as well as a special segment
on woodworking machines, tools and production
materials. Occupying more than 35,000 sqm within
the Belgrade Fair halls, the organizers are confident
of attracting over 60,000 visitors over the course
of the exhibition. To date, over 500 registered
exhibitors, of which a third are international
exhibitors, have been confirmed for the event.
WoodWorkIng 2012
The Woodworking Fair is the largest woodworking
and wood-products exhibition in the Nordic region.
The event features the entire production chain of
the industry including machinery, devices, raw
materials, blades, tools, surface treatment, and
fixing and packaging technology. Set to take place
in the Lahti Fair Center in Finland, the exhibition in
2012 will have a strong focus on carpentry training
and subcontracting. In addition, the event will
also highlight industrial design and environmental
expertise in the region.
To strengthen the increasing potential of the
woodworking industry and to promote expertise
from within the region, a special Woodworking
Industry Day event will be held during the fair. This
Woodworking Industry Day is being organized by the
Association of Finnish Woodworking and Furniture
Industries (AFWFI). Further, a special international
industrial design event - OLO.MUOTO - is also being
held under the theme - Finnish wood design.
SHOWTIME
49November 2012 | www.timberdesignandtechnology.com
chIna InTErnaTIonal Wood and Wood producTs Expo
Date: 21 - 23 NovemberVenue: Olympic Green Convention Center (CNCC)Location: Beijing, Chinatimings: 21 - 22 November (Wednesday - Thursday), 9:00 - 16:30 and 23 November (Friday), 9:00 - 15:00expecteD attenDees: 47,000+WeBsite: www.mujiaohui.com
Date: 21 - 24 NovemberVenue: EXPONOR - Porto International FairLocation: Porto, Portugaltimings: 10:00 - 19:00expecteD attenDees: 25,000+WeBsite: www.fimap.exponor.pt/default.aspx
The China International Wood & Wood Products
Trade Conference (IWTC) is one of the best-known
wood and wood products trade fairs in China. The
event has been successfully organized in cities such
as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, and offers an
excellent platform to highlight the latest products and
technologies for the industry whilst also encouraging
trade between domestic and international wood and
wood products enterprises.
The 10th Wood & Wood Products Expo will focus on
the promotion of wood as an environmentally friendly
raw material, given the fact that is absorbs carbon. The
exhibition will also showcase wood products including
logs and timber, artificial board, PVC floorboard,
different types of flooring, wooden stairs, stair tread,
and other home decorative materials.
In addition to the exhibition, several forums
will be held simultaneously and these include the
China Real Estate and Residential Industry Peak
Forum; the China Wood and Wood Products Industry
Peak Forum; China Sustainable Living and Housing
Industrialization Technology Exchange; Housing
Industrialization and Urban Development Forum; and
the China and Canada Wood Construction Technology
and the Promotion Seminar.
FImap / FErralIa 2012
For the first time, EXPONOR will be simultaneously hosting
three industry events that aim to gather the timber and
woodworking industries in Portugal. The 15th International
Fair of Woodworking Machinery (FIMAP) and the 10th
Exhibition of Accessories and Equipment for the Wood
Industry (FERRALIA) are being hosted from November
21 - 24 and will aim to highlight the import capabilities,
manufacturing and processing potential for the wood and
woodworking sector in Portugal. In addition to FIMAP
and FERRALIA, the 14th International Fair on Industrial
Machinery, Equipment and Services for Industry (EMAP) is
also being held at the same time.
The organizers are confident that the three highly
specialized events offer an ideal platform for both
exhibitors and industry professionals. More importantly,
the synergies in hosting FIMAP, FERRALIA and EMAP at
the same time represents true vale and an opportunity
for business across the different sectors in attendance.
Exhibitors at FIMAP include manufacturers of cutting
machines, sawing machines, planning machines, moulding
machines, boring machines, sanding and polishing machines,
jointing and coating machines, presses, wood treatment
machines and tools and other auxiliary equipment for
timber processing. The companies represented at FERRALIA
include those involved in timber and its by-products, paints,
varnishes, glues, iron tools and utensils, furniture fittings
and chemical products for timber treatment.
SHOWTIME
50 www.timberdesignandtechnology.com | September 2012
World congrEss oF TImbEr and Wood producTs TradE
Date: 27 - 29 NovemberVenue: Taicang Jinling Garden HotelLocation: Taicang, ChinaWeBsite: www.cnwood.org
Date: 31 January - 3 February 2013Venue: India Expo Centre & Mart, Greater NoidaLocation: New Delhi, Indiatimings: 31 January (Thursday), 10:35 - 18:00 and 1 - 3 February (Friday - Sunday), 10:00 - 18:00expecteD attenDees: 25,000+WeBsite: www.delhi-wood.com
The second World Congress of Timber and Wood
Products Trade is set to take place in Taicang, China
under the theme ‘Embracing New Pattern of International
Trade Together’ from November 27 - 29, 2012. Jointly
organized by the China Timber and Wood Products
Distribution Association, Taicang Municipality Government
of Jiangsu Province and the Jiangsu Taicang Port
Administration Committee, the conference aims to provide
a platform for business leaders in timber and wood
product trade to get together and explore paths towards
improved accountability, profitability and sustainability
within the timber business against the background of
changing economic and policy environment.
The conference is being held in China, which has
developed into world’s largest timber and wood product
trading centre. China’s unprecedented economic growth
has led to its robust demand for timber and wood
products. In 2011, China’s timber and wood product
industry total output value amounted to USD 300 billion,
which represented an increase of 23.9 percent over 2010.
With its steadily growing domestic demand for timber
and wood products, China is set to continue to demand
large volume of timber from international market.
Co-organized by the Taicang Timber and Wood
Products Distribution Association, Shanghai Furen
Forest Products Wholesale Market, and Shanghai Timber
Industry Association, the conference will be attended
by timber and wood product suppliers and traders
from around the world with a view to further explore
business opportunities with China. As such, the congress
will provide an excellent opportunity to meet and
establish business relationship with China’s largest timber
importers and wood product producers.
dElhIWood 2013
The 3rd edition of Delhiwood is being organized from 31st
January - 3rd February 2013 at the India Expo Centre &
Mart, Greater Noida. On account of demand from within the
timber industry in India, PDA Trade Fairs and the European
Federation of Woodworking Machinery Manufacturers
Associations (EUMABOIS) organized the first ever Delhiwood
in Pragati Maidan, New Delhi from the 14 - 17th February
2009. The exhibition drew tremendous response with over
300 exhibitors from 29 countries taking part in the inaugural
event. Ever since the first event in 2009, Delhiwood and the
Indian Woodworking Industry have complemented each other
in their growth. In principle, the event offers a successful
platform to convert market potential to business within the
woodworking sector in India.
The show next year will aim to showcase the latest in wood
processing technologies including sophisticated CNC machines,
accessories and tools from all over the world. The aim is to
bring together a comprehensive range of materials and fittings
to help give an impetus to the growth of industry in India.
Delhiwood 2013 will have several new elements including a
special zone for demonstrations and display of woodworking
machinery; an option for pre-arranged business meetings with
exhibitors for pre-registered visitors; and an exclusive hall for
non-machinery exhibitors. In addition, Delhiwood 2013 will
also display new exhibit profiles including those companies
involved with wooden doors, windows, flooring and parquetry.
SHOWTIME
ForEsT day 6
Date: 2 DecemberVenue: Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC)Location: Doha, Qatartimings: 2 December (Sunday), 8:00 - 19:00WeBsite: www.forestsclimatechange.org/events/forest-day/forest-day-6/forest-day-6.html
Date: 21 - 24 NovemberVenue: Tatmadaw Exhibition HallLocation: Yangon, Myanmartimings: 9:00 - 16:30WeBsite: www.myanmar-expo.com/MIMIF
Forest Day, now in its sixth year, has become one of
the most influential global events on forests. It is a
platform for anyone interested in forests and climate
change to gather to ensure that forests are high on
the agenda of global and national climate strategies,
and that those strategies are informed by the most
up-to-date knowledge and experience. Under the
banner of ‘Living Landscapes’, which refers to the
interconnections between forests and agriculture and
their impacts on people and society, Forest Day 6 will
kick off the first of two popular conferences on the
sidelines of the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change’s (UNFCCC) annual Conference of the
Parties. Forest Day 6 will be followed by Agriculture,
Landscapes and Livelihoods Day 5 slated for December
3 at the Qatar National Convention Centre.
More than 1,100 people from 82 countries, including
216 official climate change negotiators, attended
Forest Day 5 on the sidelines of the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change’s (UNFCCC)
17th Conference of Parties (COP17) in Durban, South
Africa on 4 December 2011. Forest Day 6 will seek to
inform UNFCCC’s global agenda and forest stakeholders
on ways to move forward with REDD+ agreements
reached at COP17 in Durban, to produce social and
environmental benefits, good governance, long-term
financing and the integration of forests into adaptation
strategies on the ground. REDD+ stands for Reducing
Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation,
as well as the conservation and sustainable
management of forests, and the enhancement of forest
carbon stocks.
myanmar InTErnaTIonal Wood procEssIng ExhIbITIon (burma-Wood 2012)
The Myanmar International Wood Processing Exhibition
(BURMAWOOD 2012) is the first ever trade show for
the wood and wood processing industry in the country.
According to official government statistics, Myanmar
exported over 864,000 tons of teak in 2010-11 and
earned over USD 569 million in revenue. Despite its
strong exports of timber, the furniture industry in
Myanmar is currently underdeveloped as a result of
economic sanctions. As such, the country is trying to
reduce its dependence on exports of logs and aiming to
train workers in the woodworking sector with a view
towards increasing skills and quality of output within
the sector.
The show aims to provide a perfect platform to display
the latest woodworking machinery plant & accessories
for production of sawn timber, veneer, particleboard,
MDF, OSB, LVL, plywood & panels; kiln drying & related
timber technologies; joinery machinery and machinery
for the furniture industry; and wood-based panels &
veneered products. Exhibitors include manufacturers of
upholstered products; machinery & lines for finishing;
handling equipment, tooling, woodworking tools, hand
tools & portable power tools; and fittings & accessories
(hinges, knob handles, other hardware) in addition to
dust extraction equipment. In addition, the show will
host traders of woodworking materials & consumables
including laminates, veneers, plywood, particle board,
MDF, engineered wood, moulded plywood, panel
products, wood composites, sawn timber, edge banding
materials, adhesives, lacquers, polishes, finished, sanding
paper, sanding materials, abrasives, coatings etc.
51November 2012 | www.timberdesignandtechnology.com
SHOWTIME INTERVIEW
domoTEx mIddlE EasT sET To ‘Floor’ TurkEy and ThE mIddlE EasT In IsTanbul
Timber Design & Technology talks to
Alexander Kühnel, General Manager at Hannover
Messe International Istanbul ahead of the show
DOMOTEX Middle East, which
runs from November 8 - 11
in Istanbul, is organized by
Deutsche Messe - the creator of the
original DOMOTEX fair in Hannover,
the world’s leading trade show
for carpets and floor coverings.
Deutsche Messe hosts its DOMOTEX
fairs in four locations (China, Russia,
Turkey and Hannover) around the
globe with a view towards creating
a dedicated industry platform that
provides visitors and exhibitors with
unparalleled insights into the latest
trends and market developments as
well as a myriad of networking and
knowledge-sharing opportunities.
After several years in Dubai, the show has been moved to Istanbul. How will the show benefit from a change in location?The Middle East region remains
an attractive region for foreign
companies offering numerous
lucrative business opportunities
and that is why it is imperative that
the fair should be organized for the
region. However, we felt that it was
time to move the show to a different
country. There are two established
hubs for business in the region -
Dubai and Istanbul. After six years
in Dubai, the fair has been moved
to Istanbul considering its strong
economy with a growth rate of 3.3
percent in 2012 (OECD) and access to
multiple markets such as the Middle
East, North Africa, Central Asia, Russia
and Europe. In addition, Istanbul
has always been at the crossroads
of Asia, Europe and the Middle East,
has an excellent exhibition centre,
and modern infrastructure including
an international airport and harbor,
exhibition sites and hotels that
make it ideal as the new venue for
DOMOTEX Middle East.
We believe that our exhibitors will
be able to profit directly from the
boom in Turkey. DOMOTEX is a brand
that commands strong trust in this
region and we expect this to translate
into a high level of acceptance both
on the part of Turkish and foreign
floor covering suppliers as exhibitors,
and on the part of purchasing
managers and agents, wholesale and
retail traders, architects, planners,
investors and property developers
from Turkey, the MENA region and
central Asia, as visitors.
How is this year’s edition positioned?DOMOTEX Middle East has already
attracted strong international
participation. As of today, the fair
has 135 exhibitors from 22 different
countries. The exhibiting countries
include Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium,
Canada, Czech Republic, France,
Germany, Greece, Hungary, India,
Iran, Italy, Malaysia, Netherlands,
Pakistan, Portugal, South Korea,
Spain, United Arab Emirates, United
Kingdom and United States of
America. Under the support of the
Ministry of Economy in Turkey,
the fair has been promoted in 35
selected countries. We have also
invited senior decision-makers
and journalists from these target
countries as guests for the show.
Further, as a part of the special
buying mission programs that are
being organized, business delegations
will also have the opportunity to
make face-to-face meetings with
exhibitors directly on their stands.
Some of the target countries where
the show has been promoted include
Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Armenia,
Syria, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE,
Oman, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Egypt,
Pakistan, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Turkey
and Turkmenistan.
What are the main objectives for this year’s edition?
Under the theme ‘Get the spirit of
flooring’, DOMOTEX Middle East aims
to provide a lively meeting place
where visitors and exhibitors will
have the opportunity to follow new
trends in the industry, to compare
the characteristics and quality of
the products exhibited, to touch
them and to feel the atmosphere
52 www.timberdesignandtechnology.com | November 2012
Image © DOMOTEX Middle East
SHOWTIME INTERVIEW
that carpets and floorings create.
DOMOTEX Middle East not only
invites professionals from the
flooring trade but professionals
from related industries. Visitors to
the show will primarily comprise of
interior designers, architects, floor
layers, industrial designers, furniture
and dye manufacturers, planners,
investors, real estate developers,
whole sellers, retailers, purchasing
executives for hotels, shopping malls
and public institutions as well as ship
and yacht building companies.
Are there any events such as awards, seminars and workshops at this year’s edition?
Like we do for almost all of our
shows, we will be organizing
conferences, workshops and panels
during DOMOTEX Middle East as
well. This will allow visitors the
ability to learn more about the
industry and trends for the future
in addition to seeing products first
hand at the stands. The conference,
seminar and special events will
create a synergy between exhibitors
and visitors in terms of business and
exchange of information.
On the first day of the fair, ‘The
Future of Flooring’ forum is being
organized with the support of
ORSIAD and will aim to discuss
the fundamental problems within
the carpet, parquet / laminate
and resilient floorings industry by
bringing together professionals of the
flooring industry and representatives
from sectoral unions. Further, leading
companies will also participate in the
conference as guest speakers.
Besides the forum, there will also
be a Hardware Corner and Workshop
Area in Hall 11. The demonstration of
carpet, parquet and ceramic flooring
will be organized by Praktiker and
can be visited during the show. In
addition, buyer delegations from
focus countries will be hosted during
the trade fair within the scope of
the International Buyer Delegations
Program. Professionals chosen
from different provinces of Turkey
within the scope of the Anatolian
Delegations Exclusive Program will
also visit DOMOTEX Middle East.
The Istanbul Union of Carpet
Exporters (IHIB), one of the most
important supporters of the fair,
is also hosting its traditional ‘IHIB
Carpet Design Competition Award
ceremony’ this year as part of
DOMOTEX Middle East. The award
winning carpets will be exhibited
for four days with the award
ceremony slated to take place on the
second day of the fair culminating
in a gala reception. IHIB will also
have a special presentation on the
restoration of old carpets, which is
expected to be one of the highlights
during the show.
53November 2012 | www.timberdesignandtechnology.com
Image © DOMOTEX Middle East
Image © DOMOTEX Middle East
54 www.timberdesignandtechnology.com | November 2012
SHOWTIME
HOlzHAUS1st - 4th NovemberPavilion 75, VVC exhibitionMoscow, Russiawww.holzhaus.ru/home/default.aspx
FUrNex 20121st - 4th NovemberCairo exhibition & Convention CentreCairo, egyptwww.furnexegypt.comt
BrUSSelS FUrNITUre FAIr4th - 7th NovemberBrussels expo HeyselBrussels, Belgiumwww.meubelbeurs.be/en
THe BIG 55th - 8th NovemberDubai World Trade CentreDubai, uAewww.thebig5.ae
DOMOTex MIDDle eAST8th - 11th NovemberIstanbul expo CenterIstanbul, Turkeywww.domotex-middle-east.com/en/index.html
2012 CHICAGO lOG & TIMBer HOMe SHOW9th - 11th NovemberDuPage expo CenterChicago, usAwww.thelogandtimberhomeshow.com/shows/118
FUrNITUre FAIr 2012 12th - 18th NovemberBelgrade Fair exhibition CenterBelgrade, serbiawww.beogradskisajamnamestaja.rs GreeNBUIlD CONFereNCe & exPO14th - 16th NovemberMoscone CenterBoston (MA), usAwww.greenbuildexpo.org/Home.aspx
WOODWOrkING 201214th - 16th NovemberLahti Fair CentreLahti, Finlandwww.lahdenmessut.fi/eng/fairs/puuntyosto_woodworking.html
CHINA INTerNATIONAl WOOD AND WOOD PrODUCTS exPO 21st - 23rd NovemberOlympic Green Convention Center (CNCC)Beijing, Chinawww.mujiaohui.com
FIMAP / FerrAlIA 201221st - 24th NovembereXPONOR - Porto International FairPorto, Portugalwww.fimap.exponor.pt/default.aspx
WOrlD CONGreSS OF TIMBer AND WOOD PrODUCTS TrADe27th - 29th NovemberTaicang Jinling Garden HotelTaicang, Chinawww.cnwood.org
FOreSTTeCH 201228th - 29th NovemberBayview eden HotelMelbourne, Australiawww.foresttechevents.com
BUIlDexPO WeST AFrICA 2012 29th November - 3rd DecemberDakar International Fair GroundsDakar, senegalwww.expogr.com/senegal/build
FOreST DAy 62nd DecemberQatar National Convention Centre (QNCC)Doha, Qatarwww.forestsclimatechange.org/events/forest-day/forest-day-6/forest-day-6.html
erBIl BUIlDexPO 20122nd - 5th Decembererbil, Iraqwww.expogr.com/iraq/buildexpo_erbil
MyANMAr INTerNATIONAl WOOD PrOCeSSING exHIBITION (BUrMAWOOD 2012)21st - 24th DecemberTatmadaw exhibition HallYangon, Myanmarwww.myanmar-expo.com/MIMIF
DelHIWOOD 201331st January - 3rd February 2013India expo Centre & Mart, Greater NoidaNew Delhi, Indiawww.delhi-wood.com
FleGT CONFereNCe6th - 7th Decemberuniversity of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg CampusCopenhagen, Denmarkwww.sl.life.ku.dk/English/outreach_publications/Conferences/flegt.aspx
Expo calEndar
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ITG2013_EP_ad_210x297.pdf 1 2012-7-26 17:11:48
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American hardwood.
Each kilogram of U.S. hardwood product stores the equivalent of 1.835 kilograms of CO2 for as long as it remains in use.
For more information visit: www.americanhardwood.org
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