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Village of Pemberton - April 10, 2014

With great anticipation, the Village of Pemberton is pleased to announce the Downtown Community Barn will be raised May 12 - 24, 2014. This Village initiated, Downtown Enhancement project was first earmarked by Council as a priority in 2009. "Through the Downtown Workshops, the Village heard from residents that they wanted a gathering place that would not only reflect our community's identity but also enhance our downtown. This project has become a reality through the incredible partnership we have made with the Timber Framer's Guild which, as it turns out, is a match made in heaven. We are really excited to see them in action and hope everyone will come out for the barn raising" says Acting Mayor Alan Leblanc.

The Downtown Community Barn will be located in the existing dirt lot on Frontier Street. The barn will be a classic barn structure with exposed post and beam construction. The open air timber structure will host activities from a weekly Pemberton Valley Farmer's Market, to traditional barn dances, summer evening movies, and other entertainment, cultural festivals, and performances.

What makes this project 'uniquely Pemberton' is that the community will welcome over 50 volunteers from the Timber Framers Guild (TFG) and host them in their homes and businesses for 12 days. Everyone will come together to raise the structure, on site, in a traditional barn raising fashion on May 22nd and 23rd. The barn raising will be followed by a community "hoedown" celebration at the Pemberton Community Centre on the evening of Friday, May 23rd, 2014.  

Click here to read the entire article 

Click here for more information on this project   

On June 12th and 13th CAWP  invites you to two days of workshops 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 with expert technical knowledge and practitioners with significant experience using the technology will present in an informal environment that will encourage two-way Q&A and knowledge sharing throughout each day. 

Who Should Attend?

• Existing users of CNC-controlled timber processing equipment and those considering investing in such technology (for Day 2 in particular) 
• Architects, designers, and engineers wishing to better understand how digital design and manufacturing tools are impacting the design-fabrication-construction continuum (for Day 1 in particular) 

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

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/

CAWP offers a Management Skills Training Program as a set of 8 short, affordable training courses for wood products manufacturers. We are offering two management skills training courses from June 9th to July 21st, 2014

-       New Product Development

-       Supply Chain Management

It's not hard to make mistakes with your trade show display, but it can be difficult to spot them before they happen. This can be because there are so many things to consider and so many decisions to be made. However, if you make a plan accordingly, avoiding some of the most common mistakes can be easy - especially if you know what to look out for. Here are some of the easiest mistakes to make, but also how to avoid them so you make sure that you have a successful experience with your trade show display: 

Mistake #1: Bringing Your Trade Show Display to the Wrong Show

This year, BC Wood is planning a return to the Mexican market to look at opportunities for BC's wood products. Mexico is a market which was showing good initial promise prior to the economic and construction downturn in the United States in 2008. Even during the downturn, Mexico's dependence on imported wood products, now at US $1.4 billion per year, has been increasing at 5.5% annually. Softwoods comprise the vast majority of wood products imported into Mexico with some hardwoods used primarily in the furniture industry (hard maple and alder are popular imports).

Almost half of the total wood imports come from the US; much of this share is vulnerable to Canadian competition. Deforestation remains a severe problem and Mexico's substandard infrastructure compels the country to rely on foreign sources of wood products. As the US and Canadian economies continue to expand, it is expected that Mexico will be forced to depend on larger and larger volumes of wood imports. In 2012, Canada exported almost $17 million of manufactured wood products to Mexico. This was an increase of 30.1% from the previous year. BC's share of this total was $6 million, a year over year increase of 49%.

BC Wood will coordinate the exhibition of member companies at the Expo CIHAC in Mexico City. Expo CIHAC is the premier event in Mexico and Latin America for the construction industry. This trade event focuses on the importers and distributors of construction and building products, but also goods that are used in industrial application like the packaging and furniture manufacturing sectors. The Expo CIHAC will be a suitable fit for many suppliers for hardwood and softwood lumber and other wood based building materials.

BC Wood will also coordinate a trade mission component post CIHAC that will take participants to directly visit and meet with Mexican wood importers, distributors, and manufacturers. Member companies that participate in this event will have an opportunity to gain first-hand market intelligence, meet with qualified buyers, and increase the sales potential of their products. For more information on CIHAC trade show and the proposed mission contact Brian Hawrysh at 604-882-7100 or by email at bhawrysh@bcwood.com.

A few comments, suggestions, and ideas for the industry...

The US construction market continues to grow at a solid pace. This was once again evident during my trip to Texas for meetings with one of my favorite building product retailers in the Nation, McCoys Building Supply.

McCoys is the largest independent building products retailer in the United States with 85 stores in five states and boasting projected sales this year of $700 million. More impressive is the fact that McCoys is a fourth generation, family-owned supplier of lumber and building materials; today being run by Brian McCoy and his daughter Megan McCoy Jones.

In meeting with their forest products group, it was brought to my attention that of the $700 million in sales, over one half (51%) will come from the sale of lumber and forest related wood products. That number itself should make our industry take note of the value and importance of working with "smaller distributors and retailers" such as Mccoys.

On the relative strength of the Texas and Southwest US market in which they operate, I was told that on Monday, April 28th, they recorded their busiest "non-hurricane" sales day in the company's 100 plus year history. When pressed as to why is was so busy, Tom Hastings, who heads up McCoys wood products team, commented that Texas was in the midst of a construction boom not unlike what they experienced in mid-2000.

I enjoy meeting and working with family run independent companies like Mccoys in the South, Hayward and Beronio Lumber in California, and Simkin Hallins in Montana. I believe the way they conduct business and focus on building long term relationships with suppliers is a key to their success. I also believe that these types of firms are a good fit for our members as our base is made up of small family run businesses just like McCoys. We are hoping to have the McCoys team and other independent distributors join us at the GBM in Whistler this September.

For more information on the US market, feel free to contact me at dfarley@bcwood.com.