For many in the UK, trade with Canada used to be large volume business and wistful expressions cross the faces of some who have occasion to look back on those halcyon days.
Pacific coast hemlock, for example, was a Canadian success in the UK market in anyone’s book. More than one million m3 of hemlock was exported from Canada to the UK in 1990 after having been introduced some years earlier to the UK joinery industry and widely adopted. This was in addition to the 1.6 million m3 of SPF (spruce/pine/fir), adding to a total of almost 2.8 million m3 of softwoods and over 96,000m3 of plywood. Canadian Lumber Standards (CLS) timber made up an unquantifiable proportion of the softwood total and is now a UK industry standard.
The high value speciality softwoods, including the high-end of the hemlock spectrum, the hardwoods and the plywood didn’t capture this market share on price – it was marketing that did that. So, too, was the work leading to the adoption of CLS by the UK timber frame industry and the earlier pioneering of timber frame construction in the UK. Instrumental in this, the Council of Forest Industries (COFI), based in western Canada and with a presence in the UK, created a market for Canadian plywood, CLS dimension lumber and British Columbia’s unique softwood species. It was followed some years later by the Bureau de Promotion des Information du Bois (BPIB), founded by the eastern Canadian industry to market its hardwoods and white pine and add to the Canadian structural softwood effort.
COFI’s earlier marketing and promotion was seen as very successful and before cutting back its activities it commissioned a report on the need for and value of marketing in overseas markets. At the end of the summary was a concise conclusion: “Don’t tell – Don’t sell”! QED!
Marketing programme revived
The need to tell once more has been recognised and the formation of Canada Wood is bringing back a programme of marketing and awareness to Canada’s important wood products export markets. The group’s European activities will be managed through offices in Belgium and the UK.
The Canada Wood group of associations for the UK market is: COFI, British Columbia Wood Specialities Group (BCWood); Canadian Lumbermen’s Association (CLA); Canadian Plywood Association (CANPLY); Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC); and Québec Wood Export Bureau (Q-WEB) together with the Canadian government providing 50% financial support for the five-year, multi-million dollar programme to focus on Europe and Asia.
The UK office will also continue to represent the interests of the member companies of the Maritime Lumber Bureau (MLB) and the Ontario Lumber Manufacturer’s Association (OLMA) together with the National Lumber Grades Authority (NLGA).
Trade partners
The Canadian added-value wood products sector has been of growing importance for many years. With availability ranging from semi- and fully-finished components through to complete products large and small, the consumer is a new focus for Canada Wood UK activities. For this, it is the intention to work with trade partners to develop the necessary networks to meet ensuing interest and demand. The first such collaboration is under way and will be announced this month. The construction industry has not been forgotten of course and Interbuild will see the first major appearance of the Canada Wood brand identity in the UK. Visit us at the show on Stand 20-G24. In addition, ‘Canada Wood Days’ are planned for later in the year with a comprehensive programme and subject modules accredited for the RIBA CPD Providers Network.
The timber industry is full of acronyms: EWP, FSC, MDF, and OSB to name but a few. All of them come with various smart ploys to change market perceptions. Many companies are now regularly confronted by one of those acronyms in particular, FSC, frequently accompanied by the words “the only credible certification system”. It is, indeed, used for forest certification in Canada, but is only one of many tools employed in the constantly evolving Canadian forest management process.
And in this regard Canada has undeniably a very good story to tell and one which will form a part of the awareness and learning from Canada Wood. For the construction sector and consumers alike, few other countries can offer such a diverse range of species and products from such a well-managed and plentiful forest resource.
