US firm gains FSC for Europe
8 July 2006US-based Meridian Forest Products Inc, a UCM Timber plc company, has achieved Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification which it believes will help it boost sales in Europe.
The certificate was awarded by BM TRADA Certification Ltd which said Meridian, of Beaverton, Oregon, is its first client in North America.
“There is currently minimal demand for FSC-certified products in North America, but we recognise the need for FSC certification to develop and open up markets in Europe,” said Meridian’s environmental co-ordinator Jennifer Lovejoy.
UCM Timber plc managing director Mark Plews agreed. “Last year we were BM TRADA certified as UCM Timber plc along with our other companies in the UK and Ireland – Churchill & Sim Group Ltd; UCM Timber (Specialities) Ltd, and Dorman Timber Agencies (Ireland) Ltd,” he said. “We hope Mercantile International PTE Ltd in Singapore will be next and that will mean the whole group is certified.
“It’s a message to our suppliers that we view this as important and it is trying to encourage those that aren’t certified to go down that route.”
Mr Plews said that UCM’s UK certification recognised chain of custody for several certification schemes including FSC, PEFC, MTCC and SFI.
“We back certification rather than a particular certifier and it is more important to encourage the process rather than one particular certification body,” he added.
