Four European wood promotion organisations have pooled resources to promote wood in Asia.
Backed by a €600,000 budget, the Nordic Timber Council (NTC) of Finland, Sweden and Norway, proHolz Austria, the German Timber Promotion Fund and FrenchTimber will target Japan and China.
NTC managing director Jan Söderlind, who has been appointed chairman of the steering committee, said the agreement was of great importance to the entire wood working industry in Europe.
And proHolz Austrial managing director Georg Binder added: “It’s a breakthrough that the major timber countries in Europe are working together in close co-operation like this, showing only one face and speaking with one voice to the new promising markets in the Far East.”
The first step of the project will be to increase acceptance for wood used in new ways and to promote wood as a building material. CEI-Bois will work on legislation and standardisation matters to remove obstacles to the use of wood in construction in the Far East.
In China the focus this year will be on wall and roof systems, visual timber grading and a “Handbook of Wood Structures”.
In Japan the main activity will be a generic wood promotion and a European Wood Day in Tokyo.
