Softwood export council

Focus So we call it American Softwoods with AF&PA in China and other markets around the world and we work together.

Hande (left) and Xu Fang (right)

Excelling In

What are the advantages of softwood structures as compared to other materials? Hande: Of course it is very durable and aesthetically it is very much nicer. Because it is treated for all weather conditions like rain, snow and sun, heat, termites, other insects harmful to the wood and other things like climate and moulds. They are treated very well and engineered for durability and most of them are ﬁre-resistant and are tested frequently for that.

Hande Ozer-Buyuksahin, International Programs Manager with the Softwood Export Council (SEC) and Xu Fang, Technical Director, AF&PA China Ofﬁce tell Goh Tz’en Long about American Softwoods activities in China and the latest trends in the export of softwoods from the US.

What are some of the applications of softwoods? Hande: Aesthetically, softwoods are beautiful. We build very beautiful bridges and we build exterior applications in the houses, roads. We use them in construction, interiors and furniture. Those are clean looking wood species and we use it for furniture making or window, doors etc. Species like Douglas Firs and Hemlock Firs can be used in construction applications especially in places like the US.

What are the activities of the SEC? Hande: The SEC is an association representing companies, wholesalers, traders and universities. The purpose of SEC is to promote softwood products to international markets like China, India, Europe and Japan. We have members and we represent them by attending trade shows, making media announcements, promotional activities and advertisements. We also bring all these companies with us to trade shows and introduce them to say,

Glulam is often used for construction purposes such as the building of bridges. Can you tell us about its advantages? Xu Fang: There are several strengths of glulam. First is the stable size. All glulams are glued by small laminations. Talking about the stability of the size, the smaller the wood is, the better the stability of the wood. Second is the higher design value and strength. By assigning the design value of the different laminations, we can reach a high value which is much higher than a solid celled wood. Thirdly, glulam

Softwoods

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Chinese companies and try to build business relationships. How does the SEC operate in China? Hande: We have two ofﬁces in China and we work with AF&PA (American Forest & Paper Association). We share ofﬁce and staff with AF&PA. American Softwood is a brand name that we created, combining three different associations, SEC, APA – The Engineered Wood Association and SFPA (Southern Pine Association).

Focus

How would you compare the China market with Eastern Europe? Hande: Eastern Europe is mainly taking care of itself. It doesn’t buy that much from the US because they have compatible species in say Russia and northern Europe. When you think about shipping and handling etc, US products get pricey for them, so they choose to use domestic products and they can substitute it in most applications but we still have operations and sales in Western Europe too but not as strong as in China. Personally, what is your favourite American softwood product? Hande: I like Douglas ﬁr. It is a very beautiful tree, very tall and very strong. It has a darker colour than pine. So it looks very beautiful in the house and it is very durable. FDM

But still, the US softwood industry has a very good reputation for its value added products like glulam and some special species like Western Red Cedar, Douglas Fir and Southern Yellow Pine. Southern Yellow Pine is probably the strongest softwood because of its very high design value and chemical penetration.

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What is the trend in softwood exports from the US to China in 2005? Xu Fang: China used to be pretty big, but at the moment it also imports softwood from Russia. But still, the US softwood industry has a very good reputation for its value added products like glulam and some special species like Western Red Cedar, Douglas Fir and Southern Yellow Pine. Southern Yellow Pine is probably the strongest softwood because of its very high design value and chemical penetration. Literally you can get a 100 percent chemical penetration for Southern Yellow Pine. That is why Southern Yellow Pine is widely used for outdoor structures. In the US market, 76 percent of the wood used outdoors is actually manufactured out of Southern Yellow Pine. If you look at the statistics, last year (2005), Southern Yellow Pine exports from US to China became the number one species, exceeding

Incense Cedar. Incense Cedar used to be the biggest softwood species exported from US to China. That basically went to the pencil industry. Pencil is basically made of Incense Cedar. But last year, because of the slow demand in the Chinese market, treated wood became the number one softwood industry’s export from the US to china. So that is basically the general picture of the softwood industry.

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is the only wood product where you can manufacture curved shapes and forms like a curved beam. It is also environmentally friendly. It makes full use of the small trees in plantations to reach higher design value. So basically the core strengths of glulam are: stable size, high design value, environmentally friendly and different types of forms.

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