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May/Jun 2014
CALENDAR

June 23-27, 2014
Zvolen, Slovakia

August 10-14, 2014
Quebec City, PQ, Canada

August 10-13, 2014
Quebec City, PQ, Canada

October 8-10, 2014
Boston, MA

October 15-17, 2014
Portland, OR

Wood Solutions Fair
October 23, 2014
Portland, OR

NAWLA 2014 Traders Market
November 12-14, 2014
Chicago, IL

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QUOTE
"Life is like a game of soccer:  you need goals if you expect to succeed!" 
  
-- Unknown

 
 

A display in TECO's corporate office in Wisconsin contains the flags of each country where we have clients, which at current count is fifteen.  This display represents the opportunity we've been given to meet and work with people from all over the world.  Seeing these flags every day, and knowing that they represent people that over the years have also become our friends, puts into perspective not only how small the world has become but also, in spite of our many differences, how similar we are.  

 

One of those flags is the flag of Brazil (shown here) and starting next week they will host the 2014 FIFA World Cup.  There are 32 countries (nine of which are countries where TECO has clients) whose national teams will compete for the World Cup.  And because there are more than 170 other countries who did not qualify for the final 32, this is a truly global game and event.  

 

So in the spirit of brotherhood and good sportsmanship, we send our very best wishes to our Brazilian friends (and also our long-time representative in Brazil, Mr. Fabio Roberto Flor) as Brazil plays host to the World Cup.  We look forward to spirited matches for all teams and also say 'boa sorte' ('good luck') to Brazil and its national team for a successful tournament. 

 

Now don't get me wrong.  I'll be cheering for the USA ... USA ... USA.  But I will also cheer for Brazil, and for our friends there.  If I can read the match schedule correctly, the only way Brazil and the USA will play head-to-head is if both reach the final on July 13 in Rio de Janeiro.  I'm hoping that both teams have the 'boa sorte' to make that happen!

 

 

Steve G. Winistorfer, PE

CEO and President
TECO
 
   
Wells Fargo:  Spring Slump Raises Doubts About Housing 
Wells Fargo There has been a steady tide of negative housing reports over the past few months that have raised doubts about the housing recovery.  Sales of new and existing homes have weakened, mortgage applications have fallen, and the homeownership rate has plunged to its lowest level in 20 years.  New home construction has also slowed.  Single-family starts through the first three months of this year are running 1.6 percent below their year-ago pace, and starts of multi-family units are down 3.8 percent.  

 
 
June 1 -- The Official Start of the 2014 Atlantic Hurricane Season 

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is forecasting a near- or below-normal hurricane season for the Atlantic, which runs from June through November. NOAA's Climate Prediction Center is forecasting 8-13 named storms, with one or two turning into major hurricanes, whose winds are 111 mph or higher.  Even though 12 of the past 20 years have seen above-normal activity, NOAA scientists believe 2014 has only a 10 percent chance of being above-normal for storm activity in the Atlantic.  

 

2014 hurricane outlook

 

NOAA points out that this forecast is not a prediction of how many storms will hit land, only a forecast of how many will form.  Forecasts for individual storms and their likelihood to hit land will be provided throughout the season by NOAA's National Hurricane Center.  

 

Forecasters name tropical storms when top winds reach 39 mph; hurricanes have maximum winds of at least 74 mph. The first storm name on the list this year  is Arthur, followed by Bertha, Cristobal, and Dolly.  

 

Read NOAA article >>    

 
FPL Research on Affordable Safe Rooms

Dr. Bob Falk, a research engineer at US Forest Products Laboratory in Madison, Wis., could have used expensive lumber, pricey nails and high-grade plywood in his tests to create an almost impenetrable tornado shelter made of wood. But that would have missed the point.  

That's why Falk and his team of engineers have been using an air cannon to fire, at 100 mph, 12-foot long, 15-pound southern pine 2-by-4s into specially designed walls made of some of the cheapest wood available.

 

The cannon mimics the forces of an F5 tornado with 250-mph winds. The lumber used to make the walls of the shelter is of such low quality, Falk had to special order it because he couldn't find it at area lumber yards or hardware stores.  "This is quite a resilient design," Falk said after a test shot. "All we're trying to do is absorb the energy."

 

The goal is to create an economical wood-based shelter that can be easily constructed in a basement or garage by anyone halfway skilled with a hammer and saw. The process for making a tornado safe room could be similar to that of building a storage shed that comes in a kit.

 

AWC Comments on National Climate Assessment Report
AWC
 

American Wood Council (AWC) President and CEO Robert Glowinski issued the following statement regarding the U.S. Global Change Research Program's recommended use of structural wood in its Third National Climate Assessment (NCA).  


"We're pleased that wood products have again been recognized for their inherent carbon sequestration qualities. Wood products facilities use all parts of the raw material not only in the manufacture of carbon-sequestering products used in everyday life, but also do so using carbon-neutral biomass energy, offsetting any CO2 that would have otherwise been released to the atmosphere from more carbon intensive products produced using fossil fuels."

  

Glowinski added:  "Use of our products also creates an economic incentive for private landowners to replant trees - making an additional positive contribution to the carbon cycle - rather than result in conversion of land for development. Moreover, the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture recently recognized wood products as 'one of the most advanced' building materials in the world. All told, we believe our products are part of the solution in mitigating for climate change."

 

Excerpt from the NCA Report: Sector, Forest, Key Message 2 (Changing Carbon Uptake)

  

"Forest product-use strategies include the use of wood wherever possible as a structural substitute for steel and concrete, which require more carbon emissions to produce.  The carbon emissions offset from using wood rather than alternate materials for a range of applications can be two or more times the carbon content of the product."

 

 

See full NCA Report >>