You clearly can’t keep a good show down. This year’s Carrefour International du Bois (CIB) in Nantes had numerous obstacles thrown its way, fi rst threats of France-wide transport strikes then storms and fl oods. One exhibitor was minus business cards because they were under four feet of water in his abandoned car.
Despite everything, however, visitor numbers increased 3% to 10,250 over the three days, with the foreign proportion up to 28%, drawn from 70 countries.
Exhibitor numbers rose around 3% too to 550, representing 28 countries, prompting expansion to a fi fth hall at the Beaujoire fair complex.
The buoyancy and buzz of the event were attributed to an improving French and wider European economy and construction sector, high profi le global marketing from CIB, plus, as one exhibitor said, an increasingly “diverse sales and communication dynamic”. Visitors, he said, were an increasing mix of buyers and suppliers, with the latter there to target customers among exhibitors, and ‘take the market temperature’.
Genevieve Standaert, international sales manager of Belgium-based international trader Vandecasteele agreed.
“It’s become a meeting and marketing opportunity for the whole industry,” she said. “We’ve seen a wider spread of visitors overall, but particularly suppliers, notably from Brazil.”
PRIME PRODUCT LAUNCHPAD
Exhibitors also said that CIB’s growth and rising international profi le meant they now viewed it as the prime European venue to unveil new products and corporate developments.
Many also reported more architect and designer visitors. This was attributed to development in timber-based construction Europe-wide and that, in turn, had resulted in a corresponding increase in building products-focused exhibitors in the dedicated Techniques & Solutions (T&S) hall and elsewhere at the show.
Another clear theme was French exhibitors’ focus on the UK, seen as having continuing strong economic and construction prospects, regardless of the EU referendum.
This view was strengthened by the UK providing the fi fth biggest national visitor contingent and underlined by CIB’s invitation to present on the UK market to me and Danzer UK managing director Ken Walsh, who stepped in when James Latham managing director Chris Sutton’s fl ight was cancelled.
French hardwood exhibitors drew several of the show threads together; they were ? upbeat, innovation focused and saw the UK as a key target.
Export director Florence Perrucaud said Ducerf continued to be a major player in sawn oak and other hardwoods, with new investment in mill and kiln plant underway.
“But we’re also developing sales of further processed and manufactured ranges, including laminated Panoplot and Patchwood panels,” she said. “Thermo-treated products are also increasingly significant, and we’re now processing for other suppliers, including ash, beech and sycamore for UK mills.”
The confidence of fellow French hardwood mill Tarteret was underscored by installation of latest warehousing climate control technology and major storage expansion. Export manager Mathieu Berthe reported growing sawn oak sales to China, as its rising labour costs added to processed products’ appeal, and new forestry rules curbed Chinese French log exports.
“But the UK is significant for volume and value too,” he said. “We’re selling green oak beams, selected boards and boules to merchants and frame builders. Although, like other French suppliers, we still need to build understanding of what the market wants and where it’s headed.”
Belgian French oak mill Hublet, a long-term UK supplier, said a growth area was sawn block sales to Chinese customers, who might previously have bought logs. But it’s focus remains 27mm x 220-240mm sawn oak for flooring. Despite staying with its core product, however, Jean-François Hublet, stressed the business is developing. “We’re focused on grading, slower drying, improved defecting,” he said. “It’s not about producing more, but better.”
French miller and forester Henry Millet debuted latest flooring products. “Oak flooring and decking are growth areas and we’re highlighting our new heat treated Thermissimo range,” said Millet’s Pauline Jullien. “We see UK potential for this and have sent over samples.”
Glulam and CLT producers exhibiting included Nordlam, Binderholz and Pollmeier, while French pine and Douglas fir glulam manufacturer Charpentes-Fournier drew visitors to its stand with a French fruitwood Citroen 2CV.
Another big French player Monnet-Seve spotlighted not just its PLX cross laminated timber in spruce, pine and Douglas fir, but its pre-fabricated structural panel operations. “We work with architects and contractors, delivering product ready for erection,” said a spokesperson. “And PLX is suited to everything, from small modular projects, to multi-storey.”
New from sawmiller Groupe Lefebvre was glue laminated structural beech, just approved by France’s FCBA technical institute.
“It competes with oak, pine and Douglas,” said export sales executive Ludovic Chilloux. “It has high mechanical strength and compression resistance and the clean beech look will appeal for exposed structural elements.”
Cladding’s CIB profile also continues to rise, partly, say exhibitors, on the back of timber building growth.
Leading French supplier Sivalbp underlined increasing market diversity and demand for more technical products.
“Our launch is pre-aged grey New Age, which really targets designers,” said director Guillaume Tormos. “But besides aesthetics, what’s also driving sales, are new performance aspects, including fire retardancy and greater durability through thermo-treatment. To drive this we’ve spent €10m on plant and technical development in eight years.”
The company, he added, exports widely, including via sole distributor Vincent Timber to the UK, where its products feature on M&S stores and Odeon Cinemas.
Showing poplar plywood was Joubert. Export manager Michael Geoffroy stressed that the company was not moving away from its okoumé product. In fact, it’s invested in a new Gabon peeling line. But it’s also intent on developing its poplar offer, now including fire retardant processed Poplyfeu and flexible Poflex.
“Poplar is now over 25% of production and winning new markets,” said Mr Geoffroy. “This includes the UK as the full load orders we prefer are more feasible with mixed products there than solely okoumé plywood.” CIB is also known as a tropical timber showcase, and this year the sector seemed even more prominent, partly the result, said exhibitors, of an 11% upturn in European tropical sales last year.
Vandecasteele highlighted its success with lesser known tropical hardwoods in the all-FSC Precious Wood stocks it acquired two years ago, notably South American.
“Some are so popular, we’re reordering from suppliers,” said Ms Standaert. “We’re marketing them as alternatives to more common species, with data sheets comparing relative performance.”
French-based central African timber and plywood leader Rougier acknowledged a difficult 2015, but was positive on prospects. CSR director Paul-Emmanuel Huet attributed last year’s losses to various factors, including global market and logistical difficulties and the aftermath of Gabon’s log export ban.
But demand has recovered, the company has developed Gabonese plywood production, sawmill yield and waste valorisation, plus mill output in Congo Brazzaville and Cameroon.
“We also have a new forest concession in the Central African Republic,” he said. “This gives us more raw material, including sapele, but also, once we have completed rehabilitation of the road, will provide a more direct route from our northern Congo mill to Cameroon and Douala port.”
Deputy CEO Marie-Yvonne Charlemagne, said the first few months of 2016 had also seen growth in demand for its core okoumé plywood and solid timber, including kiln-dried sapele in the UK, where first quarter sales saw a significant growth compared to last year.
Interholco, part of the Danzer Group, expressed equal positivity, with a stand featuring a sculptural table in sapele and desk in a rainbow mix of bosse, ebony, bilinge and wenge.
“There were concerns about tropical timber’s European future,” said communications spokesperson Tullia Baldassarri Höger van Högerstahl. “But efforts of companies like Interholco to strengthen the environmental, social and economic benefits of the sector through certification, lesser known species development and CSR programmes, are changing the picture. ”
Marco Gardin, environmental manager at CIBM, French timber import and trading arm of St Gobain, agreed.
The operation, which holds around 40,000m3 of stock, is strongly focused on developing its tropical credentials.
“We’re stepping up tropical supply auditing globally, strengthening EUTR expertise, liaising with NGOs and growing our certified and legally verified offer,” said Mr Gardin. “We’re also educating customers about these topics, including that this work may increase prices, but that it’s worth it.”
