B.C. trees become
furniture in Europe

THAT DOUGLAS Fir
you lean against while tak-
ing a breather on a hike
could end up as part of a
new home in Italy.

A new veneer plant in
Terrace is making sure BC
woods are showing up in
homes across Europe.

Forwest Veneer
production at its Terrace
plant. in June last year. The
plant is jointly owned by

Forwest Wood Speciallies:
BC's Douglas . fir for ‘the 7

and Triumph Veneer.

The plant is now operating’
at capacity, and employs
about 37 people.

Hemlock, Douglas. fir and
spruce from all over the pro-
yince are brought to the
plant, and sliced into thin
layers of veneer,

The thickness of the slic-
ing varics — often it’s just a
few millimetres. In order to
make ‘these small cuts the
wood is steamed and heated.

Then it’s dried ina special.

drier and stacked “for ship-
ping.

. Company. vice- president
Siephen Holmes says the
majorily of ‘the veneer is

sold for use as architectural -

plywood in‘ European

— markets, particularly Italy
and Spain.

began |

This veneered plywood is
used in kitchen cabinetry
and doors, often for raised
pancls, European carpentry
styles call for solid wood for
the outside edges of doors,
while panels are simply sur-
faced with vencer.

The veneer is also used for
larger pieces of furniture,
such as armoires and war-

‘ drobes.

And in Spain, a guitar
manufacturer prefers to use

front of its-instruments. .
“We've targeted several
key companies in each
market,’’ says Holmes. That
means Forwest can sell
directly to cabinet and furni-
ture makers, bypassing any
‘*middiemen’’ companies.

He’s reluctant to give the
names of those companies,
saying he ‘doesn’t want to
share his customer base with
any. potential competitors. -

‘Anyone can make
venecer,”’. he says.
marketing it is. the difficult
part.” He says developing
overseas customers was...
lengthy .process,.. typically
involying a trip ta Europe or
a visit to the Terrace plant

’ by the potential customers.

. where

“But.

The veneer plant has been
so successful Holmes says
the company is looking at
doing a million dollar ex-
pansion — so il can process
more vencer.

However the expansion is
probably on hold tll For-
west can develop new
markets, hopefully in Japan,
the company can
demand “a higher profit
margin for specialty yencer
products,

NORTHWEST FOREST, DIGEST-- MARCH 25, }998 — PAGE H

VENEER made in Terrace might be used to make a Spanish guitar, or be part

of a new kitchen in Italy.

Predict the future of pest outbreaks

It might look like a harm-
less bug on a tree branch,
but that bug just might be
eating our forests.

Every year, roughly” half

the annual harvest of (imber”

in Canada.is lost to insects

; or discases.. To: predict the
outbreak’ of insects and their -
clfect on forest, pest ‘man-_”

agers have developed Deci-.

sion Support Systems
(DSS). These computer-
based models and inter.

pretation systems help the

“user predict the future. of

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Smithers, B.C.

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Phone: (250) 847-4394

(250) 847-9687

pest outbreaks an forests,
wood production or wildlife
habitat.

“Insects change — forest
ecosystems in unknown
ways,’ says Dr. Rene Al-
faro, research scientist with
the Pacific Forestry Cente.
He is heading a project on

the. white pine weevil with

B.E. Ministry of Forest, the
University of. British
Columbia, Simon Fraser
University and the Univer-
sity of Northern B.C. Their
studies showed: the white
pine weevil has been ‘a natu-
ral park oof interior

ecosysiems. With this in-
formation, Dr. Alfaro and
his team of researchers are
more able to predict effects
of logging and fire, and
determine whether weevils
actually -change the course
ofnatur al forest Br owth.

Another,” forest
entomolosisi warking atthe
Pacific Forestry Contre, Dr.
Terry Shore heads research
on the mountain, pine beetle

DSS. He describes DSS as a

user-friendly computer. pra-
gran for: forest managers
that moves from. it

‘road.

tive’? to a ‘‘proactive’’ ap-
proach to tackling forest
pest’ problems. Dr. Shore
uses the example of a forest
fire to. describe ‘the » dif
ference between ~ the. two
management.techniques. In-
slead of’chasing atter'a fire
that has become out of hand,
measures. are taken to pre-
yent the fire starting up. By

learning more:about forests

and-using DSS technology
for’ ‘timber: managesment,
CFS. scientists may finally
have found the ulliniate dict
pill, for Canada’s forest
posts. ,

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Smithers Parts Ltd.

Victoria Drive Phone 847-4287 After Hours: 847-9685 Fax: 847-5048