Guide promotes innovation in US hardwood

American hardwoods are set for a major international awareness-raising and promotional push in coming weeks with the distribution of 30,000 copies of a new species guide.

The American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) produced the last edition of its guide a decade ago and says the new version represents a major improvement, with new content and illustrations. It also has a new title stressing the environmental credentials of US timber, Sustainable American Hardwoods: A Guide to Species.

“It is one of the most important things we do to highlight and educate the market on the technical potential and physical properties of American hardwoods,” said AHEC European director David Venables. “This time we are also making it more accessible with a range of formats. Besides the printed copy, we are also making it available as a PDF which can be sent out on request, or downloaded as a whole, or in sections direct from our website www.americanhardwood.org.”

Individual sections of the 36-page publication are also being prepared as A4 fact sheets for companies to use in their own promotion of particular American species.

Greater prominence is given in the new guide to the nine most popular US hardwoods, with a further 20 covered in detail and relevant information also included on American softwood species.

There is additionally a focus on new and lesser-known applications of various timbers, with details of latest performance testing and research aimed at increasing their versatility. This includes AHEC’s project with Osmose looking into treatment of American tulipwood to make it suitable for exterior use.

“With demand growing for temperate hardwood species, it’s essential that we make best use of the resource at our disposal, which means experimenting with new applications and making more of lesser known species,” said Mr Venables. “The new guide is intended to help in that process and give people the inspiration and information to try something different.”

The new publication also includes a glossary of terms and comparative performance tables.

Free copies of the printed version can be ordered at www.ahec.org.