Bo Borgström, chairman of CEI-BOIS (the European Confederation of Woodworking Industries), is clearly a man on a mission. Gripping a microphone and pacing in front of 240 delegates at European Wood Day, he asked: “Do we know where we are going to? And do we know where we started the journey?”

A section of map was flashed up on a big screen, picturing two prominent places, the “city of today” and the “city of tomorrow”, representing the present and desired future state (higher profits) of the European woodworking industries.

Today, there are about 42,000 companies in the European woodworking industry sector, with a turnover of e150bn and employing 1.6 million people (including the furniture industry).

“Profitability is going down and competitiveness deteriorating,”said Mr Börgstrom, adding: “The major part of our industry is going in that direction and we are losing competitiveness to other building materials.”

Mr Börgstrom was presenting the findings of the CEI-Bois “Roadmap” study, which sets out a vision of timber and wood products becoming the leading material in construction and interior solutions by 2010.

There is a lot of talk about “roadmaps” in the international arena at the moment, usually in the context of a crisis, a fact not lost on Mr Borgström.

He said: “Competing materials are dominating the market with effective co-operation and lobbying. As long as the fragmented position [in the woodworking industries] continues we cannot combat the competing materials.”

Mr Borgström points out that an increasing amount of new industrial investment is now done outside the EU. And, he said, the woodworking sector has not fully recognised the importance of its biggest end-use sector – the building industry.

“It’s about time to wake up. The enemies and the competition are coming from other materials, not from ourselves. That is the battle we have to start.”

He said the woodworking industry of “tomorrow” needs to be more consolidated, with extensive co-operation between its branches – something already largely enjoyed by the plastic, aluminium, steel and concrete industries. The steel industry, he added, is about nine years ahead.

Environmental message

He said there needs to be full use of timber’s environmental message and development of sophisticated products and systems (including a pan-European timber frame construction system) integrated with the end use in order to achieve the desired improved profits.

Key areas looked at in the roadmap, financed by the Nordic Timber Council, EPF and the Austrian wood industry federation, include how to increase wood consumption; the barriers to increased use of timber in construction; and how best to use the environmental advantages of wood.

On this last point, consultant Dr Markku Simula told the conference that “wood has a good story to tell” but the woodworking industries have a poor image because of the impact of forest management on biodiversity, illegal logging and emissions.

He said timber frame buildings have advantages over concrete and steel, in terms of low embodied energy and carbon sink benefits. But consumers do not seem to be reacting to environmental messages, with it ranking third, fourth or fifth in purchasing decisions.

Mr Simula said: “One of the reasons is a lack of a concerted effort by the industry. We have not been able to capitalise on the environmental message of wood.

“Awareness of the environmental advantages of wood can be converted into sales for the woodworking industry if action and promotion is taken by the industry.”

Climate change

He suggested climate change is likely to be the strongest environmental factor to promote the interests of the woodworking industries, although several industry panelists disagreed.

If wood consumption in Europe rose annually by 4% (roadmap target), an additional 1.5 billion tonnes of CO2 would be sequestered in wood products in use by 2010. The estimated market value of this environmental service would be about e18.2bn at expected emission trading prices (e12 per tonne of CO2).

“The roadmap vision cannot be achieved without forging an alliance between authorities, woodworking industries, the forest sector and stakeholders,” Dr Simula added.

&#8220We must not be afraid and shout to the whole world ‘we are big, wood is coming, so beware’. We have to stop talking about our problems”

Emine Erdogmus, Turkish Timber Association

In terms of market development, Jan Wintzell of Jaakko Pöyry Consulting said there is reduced growth in most wood products throughout Europe.

OSB and MDF are showing good growth – OSB consumption is forecast to rise by 13% between 2002-05 and MDF by 7%. In contrast, sawn softwood is just 1% and hardwood 2%.

Mr Wintzell said the western European market is maturing while eastern Europe is an emerging sector. “This will have an impact on our industry,” he said.

Glulam has shown good growth but it is now slowing. In western Europe, it experienced a 16.4% boost in 2000-02, forecast to slow to 1.8% between 2002-05, while LVL is showing rapid growth but with small volumes. Western European LVL consumption is estimated to increase by 6% in 2002-05 and 58.7% in eastern Europe.

Shifting supply

Furniture and joinery demand is growing but the source of supply is shifting from western to eastern Europe, leading to more imports. “It is stagnating and decline is certain unless action is taken,” said Mr Wintzell.

He agreed that the wood-based products industry has a “fragmented” structure, but the panels sector is leading the way in terms of consolidation and integration.

Key areas identified for development include supply chain efficiency, innovation, and R&D.

Kjell Nylund, of UPM-Kymmene, reported hardly any growth in European demand, with construction and RMI remaining fairly flat. This has led to export increases.”This means we have to increase consumption of wood products.”

He pointed to wood. for good‘s success in the UK: “An investment in promotions can provide the critical mass we need.”

The biggest call to arms came from perhaps an unusual source – the Turkish Timber Association.

Its spokersperson Emine Erdogmus said: “They [the concrete industry] are afraid of us. We must not be afraid and shout to the whole world ‘we are big, wood is coming, so beware’. We have to stop talking about our problems.”

Regulatory barriers

Regulatory barriers to increasing use of wood were identified in a roadmap survey of 18 European countries, conducted by the Building Research Establishment.

It found there are no direct barriers to the use of wood in residential construction, but there are limitations, including building height and cladding. Education, training, skills and safety are big barriers, while wood’s durability is still a question mark in people’s minds.

The BRE recommends national standards and regulations be harmonised across Europe and advocates greater collaboration between industry, research institutes, authorities and construction experts.

Lars Sandberg, chairman of consultant Timwood AB, said the 1% annual growth rate forecast until 2010 is “unsatisfactory”. Key areas of action needed to reach the roadmap vision of 4%, include R&D, promotion and lobbying.

Mr Sandberg recommended sharing the roadmap results with industry, national associations/authorities and European institutions, to start a consensus building process. Suggested promotional activities include targeted campaigns to increase awareness in society about “Building with Wood” and “Living with Wood”.

Response to the roadmap vision from those assembled was positive. Mr Börgstrom’s call for delegates to stand to their feet as a sign of endorsement left only a few still warming their seats.

Now the challenge begins.