French forum

Summary
• A quarter of the Carrefour’s 508 exhibitors were from outside France.
• Show visitor numbers were up 6%.
• The timber construction hall had more exhibitors.
• Wood energy products, engineered and modified timber were prominent.

The Carrefour International du Bois show has become the face of the French timber industry, and it’s a face that is increasingly multi-dimensional and outward looking.

The biennial event, which took place in Nantes in May, started life in 1990 as a small regional conference. This year, in its 10th outing, it hit record exhibitor and visitor totals of 508 and 9,528, with 25% of the former and 15% of the latter from abroad.

“The show is still a meeting point for the national industry and an opportunity for overseas companies to buy and sell in France,” said international co-ordinator Sam Padden. “But it’s also now an international forum where they can do business with one another.”

Underlining the profile of the show today, many companies used it to unveil new products and business developments. For instance, tropical hardwood and plywood giant Rougier Sylvaco announced key moves in certification in its 2 million ha of west African concessions.

“We’re now on track to achieve FSC certification for logs, sawn timber and okoumé plywood from our 700,000ha concessions in Gabon this year,” said Rougier environmental specialist Paul-Emmanuel Huet. “This will be followed with PEFC-certification in Gabon, FSC accreditation in Cameroon and TLTV legality in Congo, all hopefully in 2009, and FSC in Congo in 2010.”

These developments, he added, should “give Rougier a significant marketing advantage in many countries, including the UK”.

Primed plywood

The big news from plywood specialist Joubert was its new primed okoumé range. Billed as “2-in-1 plywood” and backed with eye-popping primary colour advertising, this has an 80-micron white acrylic coating. “It provides a very smooth surface and makes applying further coats of paint much quicker,” said Joubert’s Sylvie Faye. “It costs a bit more than non-primed, but that’s offset by time saved by end users and the quality of the finish.”

It’s a sign of the environmental times that wood waste-based fuel is becoming an integral element of many timber companies’ business and among the exhibitors in this market was La Rochelle-based sawmill Archimbaud. It was exploring market opportunities for the 45,000 tonnes of pellets a year it will produce at its new e3m plant.

“We believe we could ship to the English south coast cheaper than you could truck pellets from Scotland!” said the company’s Jean-Pascal Archimbaud.

Another product having a growing impact is thermally processed softwood, predominantly for cladding and decking. New French producer Sivalbp highlighted the creative possibilities of its softwood range, which includes heavily textured brushed finishes and a primitive ‘hacked’ look. “We think this will be very popular for pubs and other commercial premises,” said export manager Mathieu Blanc.

A new aspect of the exhibition launched in 2006 was the Techniques and Solutions hall, focused on products for timber construction, and this year it featured more companies and a bigger international conference programme. Among the exhibitors was engineered wood and construction components producer Simonin which demonstrated developments in its Sapisol and Sapilege structural thermal roof panels. These comprise spruce or oak boards sandwiching polystyrene or cork insulation and can span 6m. According to the company, the ranges are selling worldwide and a Briton, impressed with their performance in his house in France, is now evaluating their UK market potential.

Foreign exhibitors were also prominent in this section, including Binderholz of Germany, producer of BBS cross-laminated structural timber panels.

“Rising energy prices are making these increasingly competitive,” said Binderholz’ Bernhard Gisy. “A house built in BBS consumes just 30-40kW/m² a year compared to 150-200kW for standard construction.”

Overseas exhibits

Overseas group exhibits included the American Softwoods stand, focused particularly on decking products, and a Swedish Trade Council group comprising several of the country’s sawmills.

Belgium was strongly represented too: international hardwood trader Willy Carpentier Houtindustrie based its stand theme on its control of supply from forest to mill, while hardwood and softwood supplier van Hoorebeke Timber concentrated on its redwood and larch offer, but also covered the bases from African Hardwoods to Brazilian ipe decking. “We’re also publicising our stake in a new sawmill in Russia due to come on stream in June,” said Pierre-Emmanuel van Hoorebeke.

Hardwood and softwood trader Vandecasteele Houtimport also reported a “busy show, despite trading conditions”. “The market is tough,” said marketing manager Genevieve Standaert. “But it’s a show that attracts the true timber professionals; exhibitors and visitors are all potential buyers or suppliers.”

Like many other exhibitors, Ms Standaert also commented on the “friendly, family atmosphere” that makes Carrefour even more conducive for doing business. The organisers are pledged to maintain this, it’s just that, with exhibitors already booked for 2010, the Carrefour family looks set to keep growing.