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Missed previous Wood Connections issues? 

The Centre for Advanced Wood Processing invites you to two days of workshops focused on advanced computer-controlled fabrication of timber building components and structures. The event will discuss current and emerging technologies used to fabricate wood elements such as posts, beams, floor and wall panels, and other building components. Specialists from Canada, the US, and Germany with expert technical knowledge will present in an informal environment that will encourage two-way Q&A and knowledge sharing throughout each day. BC innovators, Daizen Joinery, Fraserwood Industries, and others will share their significant experience using the technology.

Who Should Attend?

• Existing users of CNC-controlled timber processing equipment and those considering investing in such technology
• Architects, designers and engineers wishing to better understand how digital design and manufacturing tools are impacting the design-fabrication-construction continuum

We invite participants to sign up for one or other of the two workshop days - or both - depending on their specific interests

DAY 1 Theme: Digital Fabrication and Its Impacts on Design and Construction (10am to 4pm)

DAY 2 Theme: The Hundegger ROBOT Drive Machine and the Future for CNC for Timber Construction 

For more information and a full agenda call 1-866-822-2297 or visit the CAWP website: http://cawp.ubc.ca/digital-design-construction-of-timber-structures-workshop-2014/

Technology is continually advancing, and that means that it's easier than ever for companies to incorporate it into their trade show booths. If you've never thought about how camera phones, tablets, event management software, or video monitors can impact your business, keep reading.

Use Tablets or Smart Phones to Gather Leads at Your Booth

Years ago, trade show booths included very simple ways to capture leads - a pen and a piece of paper. However, when you're relying on a customer's handwriting, sometimes deciphering can be very difficult. Without legible information you don't have a lead! Tablets and smart phones with cameras have changed all of this. Capturing a customer's contact information is as easy as snapping a picture of their business card.

Smart phones and tablets aren't the only ways to capture leads electronically at your trade show booths. Purchase a business card scanner, which will enable your staff to scan a business card quickly. These scanners will automatically add contact information to your email's contact list, cutting down on administrative man-hours.

Click here to read the entire article

Rumin Mann  

Casika Modern, started in 2002 in Vancouver by Peter Chen, custom designs and builds furniture using engineered wood products. He mainly uses plywood, LSL, and LVL to produce structurally informed and modern cabinets, benches, bedframes, bookcases, and specialty millwork cabinetry. In 2002, Peter Chen started a co-op with two other woodworking companies. It has now grown to 9 other individuals/or companies.

Casika was one of the companies participating in the 2012/13 STRUCTURE program. This program brings 6 designers who primarily work with wood together and challenge them to design a piece using a specific type of wood that is provided to them; in this case, it was Brisco's LVL material. Peter used this material to design an 8 foot long bookcase. Unique feature include easy to snap on dividers, ease of transport, and assembly without tools. Click on the video link below to watch a quick video on this product.

For more information, please contact Peter at 604-831-5708 or casikamodern@yahoo.com.

Roy Manion  

Last week, accompanied by representatives from 4 companies, BC Wood entered the Alberta architect market for the first time ever with sessions in Edmonton, Calgary, and Lethbridge - 3 cities in 3 days. Overall, a total of 70 architects, engineers, and contractors registered for our seminars. From industry, we were joined by Dai Ona of Daizen Joinery, Christoph Loesch of Brisco Manufacturing, Norman Kwok of Ainsworth Engineering, and Stefano Corradini of Coulson Cedar. Each representative gave, on average, a 30 minute educational seminar on their products and yours truly gave a broad brush overview of BC's value-added wood industry. The sessions lasted a total of 3 hours, so it was quite a commitment of time for the architects; however, it did qualify for 2.5 Learning Units for both Alberta and BC architects (there are a number of Alberta architects that belong to both Alberta and BC architect associations) so there definitely was an incentive for the architects to attend.

We began our three-day marathon in Edmonton with the first session beginning at noon at a downtown Edmonton hotel. Twenty architects registered for the event and we began our series of seminars while they were enjoying the lunch we provided. Afterwards, we met with those who stayed behind to ask questions. We then packed up and the 5 of us drove to Calgary. We were all in two cars allowing for a great opportunity for critiquing and relationship development.

The Calgary format was similar to Edmonton's except over twice as many people registered. When we finished Calgary our group drove to Lethbridge. Lethbridge is a relatively small community with approximately 15 architects so groups like ours don't come there very often. Generally, Lethbridge architects have to trek to Calgary for seminars so our coming there was appreciated, and we did meet with a number of architects that now know more about BC's wood products. The format was changed in that we had a breakfast session, which in many cases is preferred to luncheon sessions by those attending as it allows them a more efficient use of their day.

As this was our first attempt at conducting seminars in Alberta, I was pleased with the positive comments we heard after our sessions. Therefore, I would label the venture very successful and a great base for future such sessions.

The three-day venture also allowed industry participants to spend considerable time together, learning about the others' business and products and to develop relationships. I am sure that now each company representative would have no problem recommending the other participating companies' products should the situation arise.

I would like to thank all the participants for their great efforts and professional manner in which they presented their products and companies. I would also like to thank the Alberta Association of Architects for their great assistance in working with BC Wood to make this first event happen.

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

The Turkeybuild show in Istanbul is fast approaching. For a number of very good reasons this will be the fourth year that BC Wood has organized the participation of BC companies at this show. Turkey is one of the strongest of these regional economies within Europe. Turkey also has a long history and affinity of building with wood. With their growing affluence, Turks are rediscovering their traditional preference for wood construction, particularly, in higher-end residential and recreational home construction.

Last year, five 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 generating the most interest were specialty WRC lumber and exterior finishing, and prefabricated structures including log and timber frame homes and platform frame structures. Turkish companies showed a great deal of interest in partnering with Canadian companies that supply high quality wood products and more advanced building systems.

Last year, the Istanbul show drew over 110,000 visitors, many of them from the neighboring Eastern European and Islamic countries. For any company interested in participating in the Turkeybuild show as part of the BC Wood pavilion, please contact Brian Hawrysh at bhawrysh@bcwood.com or i at 604-882-7100 by Friday, Feb 14th, 2014.

A few comments, suggestions, and ideas that may be of interest to you...

In the last Wood Connections we reviewed the IBS trade show in Las Vegas, commenting on the show itself and the good number of leads that were generated for members participating in the event. This time, I will review a number of ideas, trends, and cool products that were on display at IBS.

Connectivity:

There were more products than ever at the show with Bluetooth and wireless connectivity. For example, NEST, a subsidiary of Google, introduced the learning thermostat that measures your energy and heating needs in your house and automatically adjusts your usage when you are out of the home. Not only is this very slick looking, but it can be controlled directly by an app on your smartphone and sends you messages giving you up-to-the-minute information on the best way to decrease your energy consumption.

BC Wood member Norelco Cabinets teamed with Samsung appliances to showcase cabinet and appliance solutions that seamlessly integrate Bluetooth and Wi-Fi technology. You can control your washer, dryer, stove, and fridge from your smartphone. Like the thermostat, the fridge will even send you messages telling you that you're out of milk and will also send you recipes based upon what's available in the fridge.

Simpson Door showcased a very cool wood and glass door that changes from clear glass to frosted or opaque glass with a flip of a switch. The door can be used in an exterior or interior application and allows for home owners to have clear glass during the day and when privacy is desired, they can simply turn a toggle and the glass immediately turns frosty. It seems like a great idea for studies, bathrooms, patio doors, and even entry doors with sidelights. The Simpson rep said a single panel 32" VG Fir door will retail for around $2000US installed.

New materials:

There were lots of interesting and innovative products manufactured out of new materials including stone, wood, and composite materials. Ann Sacks Tile introduced a "hand scraped" ceramic tile that upon first review looked absolutely identical to a reclaimed oak floor. The price was not considerably higher than the solid wood flooring that it was attempting to duplicate.

The absolute coolest product that I came across was the thin stone veneer product manufactured by the German firm, Richter. They launched a new ultra-thin stone veneer called Nano stone that was 1/64 of an inch thick. This flexible stone veneer is placed on a flexible mesh fabric and can be thermo formed to wrap around doors, windows, cabinet doors, and other architectural applications. Richter showed the product on cabinet doors and it was impressive. They even had an image of a Smart Car that was wrapped in their stone veneer product--- very, very cool, and I think something that finished product manufacturers should take note of.  

Finally, it was interesting to see the launch and rebranding of the former Molding and Millwork company morphs into their new label, Metrie. The company is changing paths and wants to influence key decision makers in the residential and light commercial construction sector including architects, interior designers, and specifiers. The renaming and rebranding is a major step in this change of direction and the event that they put on and their display was first class and very impressive.

For more information on the information discussed above or on the US market please feel free to contact me at dfarley@bcwood.com

With the April 1st consumption tax hike looming over the Japanese housing market, everyone was interested to gauge the mood at the 2014 Nikkei Show. Any home not handed over by March 31st will be taxed at the higher rate, putting extreme pressure on builders to complete on time and thus making the show organizers as well as exhibitors worried that builders would have little time to attend the trade show. Another major concern for industry people was what happens to orders after April 1st.

Without a doubt, the March 31st deadline had an effect on the ability of people to come to the show. Overall attendance figures dropped from 242,353 in 2013 to 206,240 this year representing a 15% decline. It was interesting talking to builders about how many projects are behind schedule because of shortages in both materials and labour. In fact, there was a rumour floating around the show that the government might give builders a reprieve by extending the deadline a few weeks.

Despite the decline in attendance, the BC Wood pavilion was very busy thanks to both our usual great location and impactful presence which included various high-profile products such as log homes, timeber frame homes, mouldings, reclaimed wood, as well as of course WRC. In fact, we gave out a record number of information packages, doubling the number from last year, due to our beautiful WRC display and booth staffing improvements. Exhibiting members seemed to be very pleased with their booth traffic.

As for the feelings on the outlook of the housing market after April 1st, the consensus remained positive. Most people seem to think that after an initial slowdown following the March rush, the market will pick-up again until at least the next tax increase in the fall of 2015. Participating BC Wood members substantiated this by commenting on how many quality leads they received as well as the high number of decision makers who came through their booths. In particular, a returning member pointed out the dramatic improvement over other shows in the post-earthquake years. Hopefully, Abenomics and the Olympics related stimulus will keep up this momentum for many years.