Very positive’ feedback on the wood. for good campaign was presented at a Nordic Timber Council (NTC) forum in Stockholm last week.
Increased sales of wood, higher standards and a higher level of sales of finished products were reported at the halfway stage of the three-year initiative.
Mikael Eliasson of AssiDöman Timber said: ‘The aim is to increase wood sales in the UK from 9 million m³ in 2000 to 11 million m³ at the end of the campaign.’
The signs were promising, with the majority of building contractors, industrial companies and retailers interviewed reporting increased sales of wood.
Kevin Cubbage, director of the British Woodworking Federation, welcomed the back-up from suppliers of Nordic wood and wood products and hoped this would continue after the end of the campaign. He pointed out that wood. for good was helping rejuvenate the UK joinery industry. An example was the strongly increased sales of fully finished glazed windows from £20m in 1997 to £70m in 2001, with a forecast of £245m in 2004.
The forum was chaired by Jan Söderlind, managing director of the NTC, and other speakers included Tony Traynor and Inge-Bo Asplund of the NTC, Charles Trevor of wood. for good and Andrew Morley of Jackson Timber Centre.