The timber industry needs to change its image and approach to meeting customer demand, Timber Trade Federation (TTF) president Martin Gale says in his New Year message.
“It is imperative that the timber industry tackles the issues which restrict people competitively sourcing our product, once it has been specified,” said Mr Gale in the TTF’s eNews.
“In this era where the carbon message is king, we should be exploiting enhanced demand of timber as a construction raw material, but we’re not. Our industry must learn to market itself in the broadest terms – that means becoming a solutions-based industry.
“It is not enough for the industry to say ‘that’s how we’ve always done it’, we need to modernise the timber industry’s approach to the customer’s needs.
“Some companies have already recognised this need to change and others will follow, but in order to maximise the opportunities that undoubtedly exist, the industry as a whole needs to improve its image and approach to meeting customer demand.”
Mr Gale said he thought 2011 would be a challenging year but thought it could also be a year of change as the timber industry tackles the issues confronting it.
