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Four British Columbia projects have earned recognition at the 2012 North American Wood Design Awards.

"The projects featured in this year's awards program serve not only as examples of the unique capabilities of wood as a building material, but also as a reminder for the possibility of broader applications of wood in future projects," explained Etienne Lalonde, vice-president of market development for the Canadian Wood Council.

More than 100 entries were submitted into the competition with 10 winners selected.

Perkins + Will earned a Canadian Wood Council Award for the Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability (CIRS) at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, B.C.

McFarlane Green Biggar Architecture + Design won a Wood Design Merit Award for the North Vancouver City Hall.

Checkwitch Poiron Architects earned a Wood Design Citation Award for the Nanaimo Cruise Ship Terminal Building on Vancouver Island.

The final award for a B.C. project went to MacDonald & Lawrence Timber Framing Ltd. in Cobble Hill for the Kinsol Trestle, which is also located on Vancouver Island. The project earned the Special Recognition for Wood Heritage Award.

B.C.'s forest sector is booming again and those in the industry say rising price of lumber is leading to a labour crunch.

Exports to China, a revitalized U.S. housing market and a hurricane on the East Coast have driven lumber prices to heights not seen in seven years - about $400 per thousand board feet dimension lumber.

MaryAnne Arcand with the Central Interior Logging Association says the problem now is getting skilled workers. "This is the first time in B.C.'s logging lumber history where we had two big customers and so there is a lot more demand," she said. "It just creates that situation where demand outstrips supply and now we've got to try and catch up to it."

Arcand says the problem so acute those in the industry are doing something the oil sector has done for decades - bringing in workers from the East Coast.

Making a lasting impression isn't always the same as making a good  impression, particularly when you are trying to woo international leads.  When you use trade show displays to convey your message at an international event, you should assume that you will  encounter visitors from other countries that are valuable players in your  industry, and who are interested in what your business has to offer.  The difficult aspect of this is to gain their interest and respect without damaging  a potential business relationship because you were ignorant of certain social rules surrounding their behavior and expectations.  

There are a few things you  can do to successfully network with foreign visitors.  Keep the following  guidelines from an international trade show company in mind as you demonstrate  your products or services.

Read Their Body Language

Americans tend to engage each other quickly and interact physically as well  as with words and gestures.  Some countries have a different concept of how close  is appropriate for business peers.  If you are talking to guests and they seem to be trying to retreat behind your bannerstands, you've probably invaded their  personal space.  Follow their lead rather than taking the lead when greeting.  More than one exhibitor has a horror story about global  business misunderstandings. Let your guests take the lead in your company's  trade show displays.

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British Columbia Timberframe Co. designs, manufactures, and builds quality timber frame homes. Their designers work in partnership with homeowners, architects, and builders to design and tailor the customer's home to suit their present and future needs. Each frame is architecturally designed in-house using CAD software, translated into code, and cut by a Hundegger K2 CNC Machine. Such software and machines have transformed the timber frame industry, allowing them to guarantee an accurate frame cut and easy on-site assembly.

  Not only does BC Timberframe use advanced software and equipment to maximize efficiency, they stay current with the latest market demands and trends. In addition to timber frames, they recently began to offer pre-fabricated wall and roof panels designed specifically to work with timber frame construction. Using an innovative wood fiber insulating product from Germany, they have constructed panels that range from basic building code to Passive House requirements, allowing one to achieve their desired energy efficiency within their budget.

This Squamish, BC based, innovative company is now in their 13th year. Having always been a boutique timber frame company located in the epicenter of arguably the best wood in the world, Coastal Douglas Fir, they have placed themselves close to the source. Coastal Douglas Fir grows in an optimal environment at an ideal pace, producing structurally superior timbers that have become the foundation of BC Timberframe. Each log is selected specifically for timber frame construction, allowing them to ensure the consistent quality of their product.

BC Timberframe works on projects that range from 600 sqft cabins and small outdoor pavilions to 10,000 sqft dream homes. They offer both kit homes with lock-up services to complete architectural and timber frame custom designs. When natural timbers are unable to meet the structural requirements of the design, they offer Grain Matched Glulams that have the benefits of glue-laminated timber with the natural look of solid-sawn timber. Furthermore, they have developed unique joinery techniques that minimize the visual impact of shrinkage with their 20 years of collective timber frame design and manufacturing experience.

For more information on British Columbia Timberframe Company, call 1-866-385-2283 or visit www.bctimberframe.ca.

For the past two years, BC Wood has coordinated highly successful market development activities in the Eastern European markets of Russia, the Ukraine, and Turkey. The strongest of these regional economies has been Turkey. Turkey is the fastest growing OECD market, and the region's top performer. Turkey also has a long history and affinity of building with wood which gave way to a focus on concrete construction in the post WWII period. With their growing affluence, Turks are rediscovering their traditional preference for wood construction, particularly, in higher-end residential and recreational home construction.

For these reasons, BC Wood decided to explore opportunities for BC's value-added sector in Turkey. Last May, four BC companies and BC Wood's representative attended the Turkeybuild show and reported that there was very strong interest shown in BC's products and services by the local timber and building materials distributors. The products that generated the most interest were higher-end solid wood building products and interior finishing materials. Turkish companies showed a great deal of interest in partnering with Canadian companies that produce innovative higher quality wood products.

During the period of April 24-28th, BC Wood will attend the Turkeybuild show in the country's economic centre, Istanbul. Last year, the Istanbul show drew over 110,000 visitors, many of them were from the neighboring Eastern European and Islamic countries. At Turkeybuild, exhibitors can showcase a full range of building materials and systems. High quality specialty lumber and building materials such as WRC decking, siding and roofing, log and timber frame homes, and prefabricated house packages will be of interest to the Turkish lumber importers, architects, and builders.

For the 2013 Turkeybuild, BC Wood will organize a display of member companies and other Canadian forest products associations. For more information regarding this event, BC Wood's participation, and costs, please contact Brian Hawrysh at 604-882-7100 or by email at bhawrysh@bcwood.com.