Industry Forum Hits Key Issues During NWFA Expo

At the 2012 NWFA Wood Flooring Expo in Orlando, Fla., last week, leaders from all facets of the wood products industry convened for the Industry Issues Forum held on April 12, covering topics from lumber supply to environmental protections to leveraging technology to better one's business. Here are snapshots of what each presenter said:

• On the supply side, Mark Barford, executive director of the National Hardwood Lumber Association in Memphis, Tenn., told attendees that between 1999 and 2009, hardwood production in the U.S. fell about 50 percent; today, the majority (about 48 percent) of that domestic supply is used in industrial purposes like pallets, while 8 percent goes to the wood flooring industry. Things are also changing on the export side of supply; "The most important change that has happened is in exports-they really are controlling where the industry is going," Barford said.
• Pamela Bowe, executive director of the nonprofit Floor Covering Business to Business Association, told attendees of the benefits that technology advances can give to companies. "Technology is changing rapidly-it's a very interesting time that we live in," she said. Bowe referenced a recent study from Keystone Strategy that showed businesses that make significant investments in information technology (IT) grow 6.8 percent faster and have 23 percent higher revenue per employees than companies that do not invest in it. Last, Bowe urged attendees to evaluate their IT power, and to attempt to make the wood flooring industry competitive with other consumer-friendly industries.
• Jim Gould, president and founder of the St. Louis-based Floor Covering Institute, also addressed the challenges that China presents to the U.S.'s wood products industry. As a result of increased pricing pressure from China, Gould said he is expecting wood floor prices to continue to rise. He also reminded attendees of the threat that commoditization poses to the wood flooring industry. "A ¾ cherry floor is not the same as a thin veneer on an HDF core. It's up to us to tell consumers that there are major differences between products," Gould said. It's also important to remind consumers of the environmental benefits of wood products: " The best thing we can do for the environment is cut down trees and capture that carbon. We need to get this message to the consumer," Gould said.
• Tom Inman, president of the Appalachian Hardwood Manufacturing Inc., commended the wood flooring industry, saying the NWFA took the lead in conducting a life cycle analysis, and that other wood product makers-cabinets and furniture manufacturers-are now doing the same thing. Inman also told attendees that his group has been successful in implementing sustainable forestry practices, noting that forests under AHMI are experiencing a 2.45 cubic meter growth for every 1 cubic meter that is cut down.
• Linda Kramme, manager at the World Wildlife Fund's Global Forest & Trade Network (GFTN), painted a picture of tropical forest management around the world, elaborating on the threats illegal logging poses-like accelerating climate change and habitat depletion-and the solutions sustainable forest management can bring about. Her group's primary mission is to facilitate relationships between wood products manufacturers and sustainable foresters in the tropics, with the ultimate effort of increasing the amount of sustainable managed forest products in the marketplace, she told attendees.
• Alexander von Bismarck, executive director of U.K.-based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), explained how environmental crusading has evolved over the years. In the era before the Lacey Act was amended in May 2008, manufacturers who could clear illegally logged lumber through U.S. customs-by way of subterfuge-were scot-free. At best, von Bismarck said, groups like EIA could launch negative PR campaigns against the companies; however, the downside was that the criticism would then tarnish the wider wood products industry-it was a "dull instrument," von Bismarck said. Today, von Bismarck champions the Lacey Act for punishing violation of foreign laws, and he told attendees that, since it was amended, the Lacey Act has had an "extraordinary impact on the marketplace." Last, von Bismarck told attendees that it was sobering to realize the Lacey Act is under threat by politicians who want to remove its references to foreign law.
• Last, Grace Terpstra, representing the Hardwood Federation of Washington, D.C., said that despite all the political theater going on revolving around the upcoming presidential election, there is hard work being done in Washington by forest products lobbyers. She reminded attendees that the forest products industry is going up against industries with very deep pockets, like the LVT flooring industry. Terpstra also told company leaders to be vigilant in guarding their company's public perception, reminding them of the tribulation nonprofit organization Susan G. Komen for the Cure experienced when it touched off a political and media firestorm after ceasing funding for Planned Parenthood in February. "With the Internet, public opinion on issues can change in the snap of a finger," she told attendees.