$1 Million to
Strengthen Value-Added Wood Industry
The
provincial government today announced an expanded program to help
value-added
wood product manufacturers update their business planning, technology
and
marketing activities, said Forests and Range Minister Rich Coleman.
“We’re investing in B.C.’s value-added sector
because we recognize the importance of these small businesses in
forestry
communities,” said Coleman. “The funds will help these operators get
access to
essential business development advice, which will help them develop new
products and market them around the world.”
The
value-added program will provide over 700 wood product companies in
B.C. with
access to advisory services for business development and expansion. More than half of these companies are small
businesses, with 15 employees or less.
The
program
is a partnership between BC Wood and FP Innovations (Forintek
division), a
research agency managed by Forestry Innovation Investment Ltd. (FII). FII has also provided another $12 million to
help trade associations and others conduct 56 projects this year to
market
B.C.’s wood, and to develop markets internationally. This work includes
$1.59 million
for mountain pine beetle-related projects.
“B.C. is increasingly recognized as the world
leader in forest management and the manufacture of top quality wood
products,”
said Grant McKinnon, president and chair of BC Wood Specialties Group
(BC Wood)
and partner, Pacific Building Systems. “The new value-added program
will
further strengthen B.C.’s value-added industry.”
BC
Wood is a
secondary manufacturing industry association focused on building demand
for
manufactured wood products. Forintek is Canada's national wood products
research institute. It delivers technology transfer initiatives that
help
value-added wood manufacturers improve their competitiveness through
the
development of new products and manufacturing processes.
By
combining
the expertise of these two organizations, the value-added program will
provide
manufacturers with a single point of access to these programs and other
business development programs that will help expand B.C.’s value-added
industry.
The B.C. specialty wood products manufacturing sector had sales of $4.85 billion last year and employed 19,600 people processing the round wood equivalent of approximately 25 million cubic metres. Companies produce a wide range of value-added products including: doors, window, cabinetry, manufactured homes, custom furniture, engineered wood products, and log homes.
