Panel industry converges on London for events

22 November 2015


Around 300 people attended the annual dinner of the Timber Trade Federation's National Panel Products Division (NPPD) in London.

The event, held in the Radisson Blu Hotel in Portman Square, was sponsored by Guararapes and Sudati. Mark Cheriton, chairman of the NPPD, addressed the gathering, saying that it had been a challenging year for everybody in the trade.

He said that the NPPD is trying to broaden its base and gave as an example progress towards third-party certification of plywood to BS1088.

Mr Cheriton also said that the NPPD needed to guide and assist members with regard to new products and with changes such as the EUTR, so that they become more comfortable with what is required. He added that the CTI was a big change which would give the industry one voice and called on his members to give the CTI as much support as they can.

He described it as a massive opportunity for the trade.

“The NPPD is as alive and strong as ever and the combined strength of NPPD and the CTI can make a real difference to our industry,” said the chairman.

• Earlier the same week, the annual Shippers’ Lunch organised by the Plywood Luncheon Club attracted 200 people and saw TTF CEO David Lennan appeal to the industry to make sure their products were legally sourced and performed as per specification as there was a reputational risk issue for the whole panel industry by not doing so.