Finding that feel-good factor

A trader at the Plywood Club of London's special 60th anniversary annual dinner sang from a similar song sheet. "Business isn't bad and we're making a profit - not as good as before the slump, but still a profit," he said. "But it's just not exciting. There just doesn't seem to be that feel-good factor out there and it's difficult to see how we're going to get it going - or when."

This so-so mood seems prevalent across the industry. Hardly surprising with the housing sector still in the 130,000-starts-a-year doldrums and government steps to kick start it some way off having any discernible impact.

But while 2012 may not have been much to write home about business-wise, it wasn't a write-off for timber. In fact it saw more positive developments for the sector than it's seen in a while; ones that may not immediately feed through to bottom lines, but that should leave timber well-placed to exploit that elusive feel-good factor when it finally materialises.

For a start we saw the launch of the Wood First initiative from the Wood for Good marketing campaign. This is highlighting the carbon benefits of building with timber to government and local authorities and has already received a positive response. Following a Wood First presentation, Hackney Council has featured timber prominently in its regeneration planning consultations and other authorities are now looking at giving it some form of preferential status. The Independent Panel on Forestry, examining future strategies for UK forest and timber industries, strongly backed the Wood First approach too.

Timber also had a phenomenal showcase at the London Olympics, where it was used structurally, as cladding and in a range of other applications at Games sites (including, as supplier John Brash proudly points out, as decking). It is likely to feature prominently at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games as well, with three timber frame suppliers already signed up to provide a large part of the athletes' village.

With industry input, the Olympics also established a model for sustainable and legal timber sourcing for construction, which contractors will use on future projects.

In the summer we also saw the launch of the Timber Accord, bringing together leading industry bodies to identify areas for co-operation, with the Wood Window Alliance the latest to officially sign up.

And, while the overall construction market may still be trawling along the bottom, the UK Timber Frame Association reported recently that timber frame is set to increase housing starts market share to 25% in 2014. Architects are clearly being increasingly drawn to wood too, with the Wood Awards, for use of timber in construction, interiors and furniure having another impressive year for entries. Timber Expo, which strongly targets the building sector, also had a visitor increase.

While it may not have been an easy or painless process, the trade this year also stepped up preparations for the anti-illegal wood EU Timber Regulation, which becomes law in March. This puts timber businesses through some new bureaucratic hoops. However, once bedded in, it will further demonstrate that they're doing the right thing by the environment, putting them in a still better place to build on timber's sustainable and renewable credentials in future.