John Tong takes up the TTF reins

The Timber Trade Federation (TTF) presidency has had its distractions over the last two years and the terms “stormy waters” and “challenging times” have become all too familiar.

However, when outgoing president Geoff Rhodes compares his achievements against the targets he set himself a couple of years ago, he’s reasonably content.

For instance, he’s seen the Code of Conduct – “another badge of credibility” – become more firmly embedded and he’s witnessed the raised profile of the trade within a wider academic audience, which, he said flags up the career opportunities within the industry. “All the disciplines of international trade – logistics, marketing, sales, IT, accountancy, environmental affairs and so on – are there, but they need to be up in lights,” said Mr Rhodes.

He’s also seen a dramatic improvement in the “statistical profiling” of the trade.

“We’ve always said it was a big industry, but how big?” said Mr Rhodes. “We can now talk in terms of 17.5 million m³ of sawn timber and sheet materials, or £2.5bn-worth of trade [in 2003]. That puts our industry into perspective compared with others.

“We’ve got more to do on that,” he continued. “We’ve got figures for the turnover, but we need the number of employees, the contribution to the economy – the real depth.”

And, he said, when the UK timber industry has tangible benefits and successes, it can link with Europe through organisations such as CEI-Bois which is “knocking on the door of the corridors of power in Brussels”.

Closer links have been fostered with other organisations, both European (such as FEBO) and UK-based (such as the UK Forest Products Association), all of which have broadened the TTF’s focus. And the TTF’s membership has grown by 45.

It all amounts to what Geoff Rhodes refers to as “critical mass”, making the UK timber industry a force to be reckoned with and it’s given his successor, Finnforest (UK) managing director John Tong, a stable platform on which to build. “Over the last two years we’ve been focusing on internal issues, but I can now look externally,” said Mr Tong.

“We need a stronger voice. There are many different organisations throughout the supply chain and we should be presenting a united front and collaborating on joint strategies to take to government.”

Financial pressure

The finances of the TTF have been under both pressure and scrutiny in the past couple of years, but they now seem to be back on an even keel. In fact, TTF treasurer Charles Sherborne reassured the governing body at the annual general meeting that The Federation should finish the year “on a small profit”.

Mr Tong is determined to build on the greater financial accountability and transparency and will be driving forward a fund-raising initiative which will enable the timber industry to market itself effectively on the world stage without dipping into the finite TTF membership subscription coffers.

The promotional levy, the brainchild of Michael Walker, TTF vice-president elect, is similar to the old FIDOR levy which worked successfully for the fibreboard sector.

“We are looking to impose a levy at source in order to raise the £1.5-2m necessary to match the funding provided by the wood. for good campaign,” said Mr Tong. “We can’t expect the Nordic countries to carry on funding us without putting something in ourselves. In fact the Nordic Timber Council has made it quite clear that the absence of matching funds from the UK would cast doubt upon its continued contribution to wood. for good.”

The levy will not be obligatory, so is unlikely to apply to the market total of 17.5 million m³. It is also expected to be set at a fraction of 1% of the price of each cubic metre of wood sold. Nevertheless, the money making potential is clear.

The whole initiative has now had legal clearance from leading competition lawyers and Mr Tong has embarked on a tour of the big UK players, outlining the mechanics of the scheme. “Clearly there’s a communications exercise to be done,” he said, “but we already have broad brush approval from the majority of the top 10 companies.”

The hope is that the levy will be in place by the fourth quarter of this year, enabling a budget to be set for 2005.

Regulations dictate that the money must be spent in direct proportion to the way it is collected – so if 20% of the levy is collected from the panel products industry, 20% of the funds must be spent on promoting panel products. And the promotion has to be generic, rather than product specific.

The non-mandatory nature of the levy is bound to attract opportunists happy to reap the benefits of marketing without spending any cash themselves, but John Tong’s response to that suggestion is unequivocal.

“People can walk away from it but they have to understand the consequences and that’s our sell into them,” he said. “We can’t live on charity. We’ve got to put up or shut up. We’ve seen the benefits of promotional activities and we can either enhance that or stop it next year. It’s our choice. The status quo is not on offer.”

Crucial timing

And, he added, the timing is crucial. “With an election coming up we’re moving into a critical time for lobbying government ministers and getting the message across. That costs money.”

Both past and present presidents agree that this is a very positive time for timber. It has increasingly robust environmental credentials that the industry is more willing to promote and it’s become much more the product of choice amongst fashion conscious consumers.

They also agree that the industry is characterised by the people who work within it.

“The positiveness of the industry is all there to be crystallised,” said Geoff Rhodes. “We have a great network – a good constitution from around the whole of the UK and the federation has a unique role to play in pulling that together.”

It’s going to be a demanding job and Mr Tong said that following the departure of director-general Paul Martin last year, one of the tasks is to appoint a new leader of the secretariat. “It’s so important to have a full-time leader here because nobody can cope with this and another job – this is a full-time job.”

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