Japan tour

Continued from page ten

“Obviously the (J: Epeuese lumber builder) has
got the advantage of being able to go down the
street and doing business with somebody they
know,” he said. “They know exactly what they
are getting and they can get a guarantee on
quality components.”

Routley noted that demographics of the Japan-
ese housing industry has changed much in the
past decade and that there are fewer and fewer
construction workers to go around. The job is
also considered low paid, dirty and dangerous.

“There are less mills and less carpenters in the
country and we were told by our hosts that it is a
trend which they expect to continue,” he said.

But what is increasing is the number of pre-
cut plants. Today about 3/4’s of traditional post
~ and beam homes are being put together in precut
operations. A decade ago only 1/3 was being put
together in this way.

hese plants get between 65-75% recovery. At
the Zaiso pre-cut plant in Nagoya, he saw high
tech computers cut, notch, router and drill com-
ponents for housing packages.

Those packages are taken to sites where they
are put together with bolt and plates to meet
rigid earthquake standards.

he Japanese government has upped lumber
production by heavily subsidizing the use of the
native Sugi species.

If a company will pay for roads and logging
costs, Sugi is given to them. The government, as

art of its new economics stimulus package, will
fork out loans of up to 70% of the costs of a plant’s
infrastructure with an annual interest rate
chi of only 1%.

“The Japanese government is definitely
embarking on a program to subsidize local lum-

¢ Inside a pre-cut wood home at a housing site in Osaka were Tom Holmes, Craig Neesor (second
from left) and Bill Routley with Tomiko Mokubo president Yamamoto Mokuzai and his brother (sec-
ond and fourth from left) and MBKKs representatives S. Shigyo and Y. Suzuki (right).

ber production and what is also important to
know is that we were told that domestic forest
growth is becoming more sustainable for domes-
tic rates of consumption,” said Routley.

Much of the Sugi
species winds up in
laminated beams.
Four laminated
pieces are combined
with high quality
veneer to make up the

105mm posts that are
used in houses.

“Engineered wood
products are a major
thing in Japan,” he
added. “Their use is
growing and they are
knocking Canadian
forest products out of
the market.”

At the Tsukamoto,
Tsuji Mokuzai Cen-
tre in Osaka, which
wholesales and re-
tails lumber, Routley
saw lumber from MB

° At a Tokyo lumber terminal Routley saw lumber from the Doman Western
mill in Nanaimo, B.C., MacMillan Bloedel and Skeena Forest Products.

© Clockwise from top left: pre-cut housing lumber at the Zaiso plant in Nagoya; Mi
workers precision trimming components at the Zaiso plant; and Sugi posts at Zaiso.

Chemainus, Tim-
berWest Youbou,

and Doman mills in Nanaimo and Duke Point.

“The bad new for us is that European and
Russian competitors have made huge inroads
into the same market,” he commented.

When asked if the tour was worth it, Routley
answered yes.

“I think it’s extremely worthwhile for the
1.W.A. to get involved and see what opportuni-
ties there are for business,” he said. “I think a
major company like MB has to look at a partner-
ship with major builders in Japan.”

“It’s clear to me that you have to have those
linkages. The Japanese builders are tied to doing
business with somebody locally, not unlike what
our expectations are in Canada,” he said. “We
like to deal with the local guy and go back to him
if there is a problem. They are not any different.

“T think it make sense to link ourselves to
Japanese builders because they are partnered up
with lumber producers.

“We have to have builders who are in on the
homes and telling up precisely what they want
and them I’m sure we could set up a pre-cut
plants here in Canada to do the actual work of
putting together the packages.

“The challenge for us would be to ship them
over to Japan cost effectively and to have good
delivery time and make things happen so it is
not unlike what happens in Japan.”

MacBlo wood from Chemainus and APD at Zaiso lumber yard;

Middle is a planed western douglas fir board at Tanaka

sawmill. Page one top right is Routley with S. Tsuchiya holding corner mouldings at the Emachu Corp. plant in Tokyo.

LUMBERWORKER/JUNE, 1999/11