The Carrefour now seems to be a ‘must visit’ for European timber traders. This was hailed as by far the best Carrefour since it started as a one-day conference in 1990.

The combination of industry meetings, seminars and presentations, together with the most international participation yet, has placed it high on the exhibition circuit. Described by the organisers as “the 100% timber trade show”, the spirit of Carrefour was labelled as “listening to the timber trade”.

Albeit a thoroughly French show, there were strong delegations from the US, Canada and Belgium in particular. Carrefour is also strongly supported by France’s many timber organisations including CTBA, FNB, LCB and APECF, the latter using Carrefour to launch its most aggressive campaign yet – to promote French oak. The Carrefour is also sponsored by local trade and port organisations in Nantes, as well as the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC). AHEC also took the opportunity to launch the French edition of its new Hardwood Grading Guide.

Sectors represented

All sectors of the wood processing industry, including sawn timber and panels, are represented by exhibitors, 30% of which were from outside France. The state of Pennsylvania organised an island stand incorporating six hardwood exporters of products ranging from sawn timber (Rossi, ITL and Bradford FP) to maple dimension (Thompson Maple Products).

The Canadian Embassy in Paris organised the representation of a number of Canadian exporters to the French market, including BC Wood Specialities. Belgium was well represented by hardwood distributors such as Willy Carpentier and Cravan which distribute widely in the French market. Belgian timber agent C Leary was also exhibiting on behalf of two of its shippers.

Many French sawmills – especially from western France, such as Roger and Ducerf – and importers, such as Tolazzi, also exhibited with stands that were highly prominent. Another western French participant was the renowned école Supérieure du Bois – the timber engineering school in Nantes.

One spectacular launch was the publication ‘Partenaire de l’avenir, le chêne’ promoting French oak by APECF – the association for the promotion of French oak. This is aimed at architects and designers and provides both aesthetic and technical information on French oak for a variety of applications. This is supported by a website at www.chenedefrance.info. Such promotion puts France in the forefront of the campaign to increase the consumption of hardwood.

Softwood exhibitors

Scandinavian forest products were present under the auspices of Finnforest France and UPM-Kymmene Wood SA to name but a few. Other softwood exhibitors included American Softwoods and many French regional softwood producers. Californian redwood sidings were exhibited by C Leary on behalf of Palco in the Pacific Northwest.

Exporters from further afield were also present this year. The Malaysian Timber Council, a long time supporter of Carrefour, was at the head of the Asian list which included several teak (from Burma and elsewhere) and bamboo suppliers for flooring and panels. Lenga sawn timber, often promoted as a cherry substitute, was on offer from Chile; and from Africa a wide range of species was promoted by SNBG from Gabon. The Carrefour organisers had also arranged a delegation from six South American countries which held individual meetings with Europeans at the International Affairs Club, one of the show’s facilities.

Environmental issues were a little more prominent than in past shows at Nantes, although France cannot be described as a ‘hot bed’ of environmentalism! One of the several main congress subjects was certification in which a whole afternoon was devoted to the subject. The CNDB also made a presentation entitled ‘Wood – construction – environment’.

Hardwood producers

In addition, Ducerf, one of France’s leading hardwood producers, launched itself as the first French producer to be certified by the Pan European Forest Certification (PEFC) scheme and the Precious Woods Company from Switzerland was using its FSC registration to promote hardwood lumber from Brazil.

Another environmental marketer was Van de Casteele Houtimport from the Netherlands. Among the comprehensive programme of activities taking place during Carrefour, was a briefing by PEFC France on the development of its certification system.

The conclusion of the 2002 Carrefour was three days of intense discussion and interest in wood products, particularly in the solid lumber sector in which France now hosts one of the most compelling events in the European timber trade calendar.