Wood Education and Resource Center To Host Hardwood Components Workshop
The U.S. Forest Service Wood Education and Resource Center (WERC) will host a 2-day workshop, Remaining Competitive in Hardwood Components Production, April 20-21 in Princeton, WV.
The workshop will be valuable to anyone interested in manufacturing hardwood components, supplying lumber, or buying components. Hardwood industry managers will assess the current market situation, learn about opportunities, compare their efforts with others in the industry, and discuss issues with industry experts.
The workshop is sponsored by WERC and the Virginia Tech Department of Wood Science and Forest Products in conjunction with the National Hardwood Lumber Association, Wood Component Manufacturers Association, and Wood Digest magazine.
“With business activities contracting, residential housing markets down by more than 50 percent, and offshore producers fighting to maintain and increase their share of the U.S. market for hardwood products, remaining competitive is no small feat for domestic producers of hardwood components. While macroeconomic events often cannot be prevented from affecting one’s business, leading companies always try to understand the underlying reasons of events, how they will likely work out, and where there is an opportunity that waits to be taken advantage of,” said Virginia Tech Department of Wood Science and Forest Products Associate Professor Urs Buehlmann.
With a focus on the current economic situation, the workshop will explore opportunities to produce certified (green) hardwood components and discuss lean manufacturing. Leading industry experts will also discuss issues important to the hardwood industry, and workshop participants will visit an award-winning lean component manufacturing facility.
For more information about the workshop, visit http://www.woodscience.vt.edu/woodcomponents/ and click on the Short Courses tab, or call Urs Buehlmann of Virginia Tech Extension at (540) 231–9759.
The Wood Education and Resource Center is located in Princeton, WVa. It is administered by the U.S. Forest Service Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry unit. The Center works with the forest products industry to encourage and support sustainable forest products production in the eastern hardwood forest region. WERC provides state-of-the-art training, technology transfer, networking opportunities, applied research, and information. Visit http://www.na.fs.fed.us/werc for more information about the Center.
