Dr. Scott Bowe to share his insights on the environmental credentials, working properties and wide availability of American hardwoods at ‘Talking Timber’ seminar and networking evening
March 05, 2015 – The American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC), the leading international trade association for the American hardwood industry, has confirmed its participation in the Dubai International Wood & Wood Machinery Show (Dubai WoodShow), which will be held from April 14 – 16, 2015. AHEC is set to host the largest ever American Hardwood Pavilion, since it started to support the Dubai show at its inception back in 2006. According to AHEC, growing interest and demand for American hardwoods has bolstered U.S. hardwood exporters to become increasingly active in the MENA region’s hardwood market. The event will see the participation of twenty-one U.S. hardwood lumber and veneer exporters under the banner of the American Hardwood Pavilion.
The American Hardwood Pavilion, which will occupy 240 square meters of space at the show, will serve to highlight the variety of American hardwood species while also throwing the spotlight on the benefits of the value-added processes undertaken to supply such a high quality and high yielding kiln-dried raw material. In addition, AHEC will co-sponsor the ‘Talking Timber’ seminar and networking evening, which will be held on April 13, 2015. Dr. Scott Bowe, Professor & Wood Products Specialist from the Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology College of Agricultural and Life Sciences University of Wisconsin, USA will deliver a presentation on the U.S. hardwood forest resource, lumber production and kiln-drying, with some emphasis on the environmental credentials of American hardwoods at the seminar.
“The MENA region is a significant market for U.S. hardwood products and its importance has been growing year-on-year since we started operating in the region back in 1999. Exports of American hardwoods, as a whole, have become more important to the U.S. hardwood industry in recent years and the MENA region offers a significant and long-term growth potential to U.S. companies,” said Roderick Wiles, AHEC Director for Africa, Middle East, South Asia and Oceania. “We look forward to our participation at ‘Dubai WoodShow 2015’, which is a must-attend event for the region’s timber trade and woodworking sector. Now in its tenth year, the show allows us the opportunity to share the comparative benefits of U.S. hardwoods with our intended audience of architects, interior designers, flooring, furniture and joinery manufacturers.”
As in previous years, AHEC, together with the Hardwood States Export Group (HSEG), will host an American Hardwood Pavilion comprising individual booths for U.S. hardwood exporting companies in addition to a technical information area. Participating companies include Northwest Hardwoods, Wheeland Lumber, Kretz Lumber, Missouri Walnut, Hermitage Hardwood, Snowbelt Hardwoods, MacDonald & Owen Lumber, Hanafee Brothers Sawmill, Atlantic Veneer, Nina Company, Midwest Hardwood, Mayfield Lumber, Northland Corporation, USA Hardwoods, Oaks Unlimited, American Lumber, Linden Lumber, Baillie Lumber, Cypress Creek Hardwoods, Allegheny Wood Products and Verde Wood International. In addition, Dana Spessert, Chief Grading Inspector of the National Hardwood Lumber Association (NHLA) of Memphis, Tennessee and AHEC staff and consultants will be on hand throughout the show to answer technical questions on American hardwood species, applications, lumber grading and environmental credentials.
“As with everywhere in the world, the greatest barrier to the increased usage of wood is a lack of knowledge. What I mean by this is that the level of awareness and understanding of wood by the decision-makers is, more often than not, far lower than it is for more mainstream, commodity-type materials, such as concrete, aluminum and steel. Specifiers are often dissuaded from using wood because of their own lack of confidence in and understanding of the material. This is very much the case in the Gulf too and, perhaps more so, since wood is not a material from the Gulf itself. Given that wood has not only enjoyed a renaissance, but has become an essential material for architects across the globe, we are eager to raise awareness about American hardwoods across all elements of the ‘timber chain’ in the MENA region,” concluded Wiles.
About AHEC:
The American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) is the leading international trade association for the U.S. hardwood industry, representing the committed exporters among U.S. hardwood companies and all the major U.S. hardwood production trade associations. AHEC runs a worldwide programme to promote American hardwoods in over 50 export markets, concentrating on providing architects, specifiers, designers and end-users with technical information on the range of species, products and sources of supply. In addition, AHEC also produces a full range of technical publications. For more information, please visit: www.americanhardwood.org.