Quick Links

Missed previous Wood Connections issues? 

Over the next month or so, the Toronto boutique Mjolk is hosting the first-ever exhibition in Canada from the Nakashima Studio. The show pairs Nakashima designs with work in ceramic, wood and metal by five contemporary Japanese artisans. It is a useful juxtaposition, as Nakashima works - still produced today under the direction of his daughter, Mira - draws on a Japanese reverence for nature and that culture's traditional respect for craftsmanship.

"The respect for the natural form of wood is very Japanese," Mira Nakashima says from her family's home and workshop outside of Philadelphia. "Dad said that he thought he was a Japanese Druid. Druids worshipped the trees. But the Japanese Shinto tradition is very similar - that very deep respect for the things of nature and the forms of nature. Dad thought it was in his blood."

George Nakashima was born an American, in Washington State in 1905, but he set out on a path that gave him a rare opportunity to learn about his ancestral homeland. After studying architecture at the University of Washington, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the �cole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, he moved to Tokyo to work for Antonin Raymond, a Czech-American architect who became a force for modernism in Japan. "While in the Raymond office, he studied Japanese building," Nakashima's daughter says. "They didn't really have architecture as a profession at that time; the building was mostly wood construction and the master carpenters were the ones who really knew everything.

This event is the annual meeting of the International Research Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction's Working Commission W18 on Timber Structures. This important annual meeting brings together internationally-known expert researchers from the field of timber building, and is a forum where new developments in technologies, products and construction techniques are often first introduced, later finding their way into building codes around the world. The conference has been held in various international locations and was last in Vancouver in 1997.  

This year's event is organised by UBC's Timber Engineering and Applied Mechanics group and the Centre for Advanced Wood Processing, and will provide an opportunity for practitioners to participate in a 4-day event in which the latest scientific research on timber construction will be presented and discussed. Presentations will take place in the convenient location of UBC's downtown campus at Robson Square. The conference includes an opening reception, a conference dinner, an evening dinner cruise, and a day of technical tours visiting prominent buildings in the Lower Mainland.  The expected attendance is approximately 80 people. A list of accepted presentations is available on the CIB W18 website.  

REGISTRATION INFORMATION can be found at http://www.rz.uni-karlsruhe.de/%7Egc20/IHB/cib_information.pdf

This event is sponsored in part by Forestry Innovation Investment.

Companies can achieve higher cost effectiveness by having processing standards in place. Documented standards reference the best way to perform a process and capture the knowledge that is unique to each company. When best practices are captured, a company can:

• Increase its productivity
• Lower rework costs and waste
• Reduce training time
• Create repeatability

Many quality programs require Standard Operating Procedures (SOP's) for certification; however the documentation process to create these SOP's can be long and costly.  Best manufacturing practices have provided industry with a number of different formats to create operational documents for your manufacturing practices.

In the webinar, FPInnovations will present one practical documenting practice as well as share their knowledge of the key elements needed to create effective standards for your operation and help your business succeed.

Click onthe link below before August 15th, 2013 to register for this free webinar and find out how you can benefit from this information.

https://www.eply.com/operational-documents_aug15

Thiswebinar ishostedbyFPInnovations. 

This one day workshop will provide you with the tools you need to establish gains in Productivity, Quality, Cost, Safety, and Morale.

A positive approach to continuous improvement in your business will result in significant gains! Click here to hear how it worked for Mitsui Homes Canada Ltd. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5d268LAFGlM

This workshop will provide you with methods to conduct Continuous Improvement activities. Through a "Learn by Doing" approach, participants will conduct a practice exercise in tracking internal quality, setting measurements, establishing standards and leadership.

Date/Time: September 17, 7:30am-4:00pm

Location: Morgan Creek Golf Course, 3500 Morgan Creek Way, Surrey 

To register, Click here 

For more information, click here  

Here are 4 sets of benefits trade shows offer, at all levels of your professional life:

How Trade Show Helps You:  Whether you are working your trade show booth, attending keynote sessions, or just meeting people in the aisles, trade shows provide a fertile ground for advancing your career.  You learn more about your clients, prospects, competitors, and industry, gaining insights that never would have come to you while sitting at your desk.  You enhance your professional networks. You may even meet the person who will give you your next job.

Roy Manion

Well, as we continue to enjoy a magnificent summer, activity here at BC Wood, like the weather, continues to be hot as we prepare for the architect program at the GBM and simultaneously continue on with our activity in the Specifiers Program. Since our last Wood Connections, we have held 3 lunch & learn sessions which is quite unusual for this time of year but due to requests by both industry and architect firms, the activity continues to be quite brisk.

Architect Institute of America (AIA):

As mentioned previously, we received notice from the Architect Institute of America (AIA) that BC Wood has been approved as a Registered Provider. However, we also had to complete a minimum of 8 hours of "Prerequisite Training education", that we have now done. We are now in the process of submitting courses to AIA that we, along with industry, are planning to present in the near future - with the GBM seminars being at the top of our list. Once approved, all AIA registered architects will be able to earn credits for attending.

Alberta Association of Architects (AAA):

We are still awaiting approval from the AAA to become a Registered Provider. We have submitted all the necessary information (and paid our fees) and are now playing the waiting game. Our most immediate benefit of being an approved Registered Provider for AAA would again be the GBM where any attending architects that are registered with the AAA can gain their Alberta Architect credits along with their AIBC and AIA credits.

Skwachays Lodge in Vancouver

We have run this article over the past 2 Wood Connections and this will be our last time. Normally, we would only run this type of article once but as it is such a great cause - and opportunity for some manufacturers - we have decided to run it once again. If you are interested in assisting First Nations in a very worthwhile endeavour and at the same time develop a relationship with six of Vancouver's leading Interior Designers then read on.

There is a renovation that is taking place at Skwachays Lodge in Vancouver. The plan is to re-position the lodge as Canada's only Aboriginal arts hotel. Once completed, guests can immerse themselves in First Nations culture by staying in an arts hotel, having breakfast in a find arts gallery and perhaps participating in a workshop with the artist who created his room. To accomplish this, six aboriginal artists are teaming up with six of Vancouver's leading Interior Designer firms with each team tasked with designing and furnishing 3 rooms. For their part, the Interior Designers are donating their services and are now soliciting donations from BC's furniture, millwork and cabinet industry in the form of a piece of furniture, a cabinet or a vanity as part of the renovation. They are not seeking large volumes from a single manufacturer but rather that multiple manufacturers become involved which is why the request for donations of just a single piece. All those who do donate will then have the opportunity of meeting and working with the various designer firms.

The first of these opportunities will be on August 8th when Skwachays Lodge will be hosting a meet and greet event. Attending will be all the Interior Designer firms along with the aboriginal artists. This will be a thank you party for all those that have donated time, money or goods and also a way to introduce them to most of the Interior Design firms that do hospitality design in Vancouver.

If you wish to become involved in this project or just require additional information, please contact Vicki Pearson of Porada Design Group at Vicki@poradadesign.com myself at rmanion@bcwood.com

As always, should you want more information on any aspects of the Specifiers Program please let me know by contacting me at  rmanion@bcwood.com.

Rumin Mann

Surrey Cedar opened its doors in 1979 as a cedar hip and ridge cap remanufacturer. By expanding into different cedar product lines and exceeding buyers' expectations, the company saw steady growth over its first two decades. That all changed in 2003. A young, ambitious entrepreneur saw huge opportunity in the humble family business and set aside other career aspirations to take on the challenge of growing a small mill into a major cedar distributor. In the 10 years since Sam Bath took over the company, Surrey Cedar has experienced extraordinary growth and expansion throughout the world. As a testament to his leadership, they currently source lumberyards on every continent - other than Antarctica.

"Business isn't about making a quick buck," says Sam, as he stops to look out his office window at the busy mill, "it's about believing whole-heartedly in what you're doing. When people buy Western Red Cedar, they're not looking for just any lumber - they want the best. Knowing that you produce something that is appreciated and admired all over the world is awesome. Here in BC, we have the best trees in the world, and I'm a small part in making sure the rest of the world enjoys this beautiful wood as much as we do."

For more information, please visit www.surreycedar.com  

Advertising/Sponsorship Opportunities at the GBM

Later this year, BC Wood will be participating with Industry members in the Denver Log and Timber Home show, September 27th to 29th. The feedback from the members attending last years' Denver show was generally very positive. The number of attendees, while not back to pre-2008 levels, was definitely higher than they had been in recent years. Most exhibitors reported a more positive attitude from the attendees at the show. Individuals who had been hesitant over the past few years to take the final step towards building their projects came to the show ready to build.

The Denver show featured log home and timber frame displays, smaller out-buildings and finished building products such as roofing, flooring, decking and rustic furniture. Over the past few years, a number of BC Wood members from the log and timber frame home sector have used the Denver show to maintain a toe hold in the US market while they cut back on some of their other promotional activities during the slower economic times.

The BC log and timber frame builders have remained active in a number of regional markets in the US like the Rocky Mountain States, because it has been one of the few areas that has shown some activity. The Rocky Mountain States, due to their close geographic proximity to BC, product acceptance, and the clustering of resort developments catering to a wealthy demographic, have continued to be a relatively strong market for BC producers.

We are talking to members now about their space requirements at the Denver show. If you are interested on more information about the show including costs, please contact me at bhawrysh@bcwood.com or in BC Wood's offices at 604-882-7100.

Over the past couple of years, BC Wood has with a small group of member companies worked on developing market opportunities for value-added wood products in Russia. These initial efforts have to date been quite successful. As a result, BC Wood is planning to return to Moscow to participate in the Beautiful House tradeshow, October 31st to November 3rd.

The Beautiful House exhibition is substantially larger than the Holzhaus fair we have attended in the past. An added bonus is that the Beautiful House show is co- sponsored by the Union of Architects of Russia and the Union of Moscow Architects and held in conjunction with the Russian Architecture Salon. I expect the larger product scope and format of the Beautiful House show will greatly increase the exposure for the companies that plan on participating in the show. The connection that this event has with Russian architects will also enhance our ability to connect with design and construction professionals in Russia.

In the past, BC Woods' members have showcased log home and timber frame structures, factory built homes, high quality millwork, and specialty Western Red Cedar building materials. The larger Beautiful House show should lend itself well to promoting these same products, plus a broader range of finished building materials. Space is available for BC Wood members wanting to participate in the Beautiful House show. I would encourage any companies interested in more information on this show to contact me at bhawrysh@bcwood.com  or in BC Wood's offices at 604-882-7100.