Oct 16 2012
Shelter Forest International (SFI), a US company that manages the global supply chain for TigerPLY™ hardwood plywood, used by thousands of US manufacturers, announced today a new sustainable resource program for its operations in China.
Rod Loe, VP Global Production for TigerPLY(TM), inspecting panels coming off the production line at a partner mill in China. With new technology in silviculture, Hybrid Eucalyptus plantations and world-class facilities, TigerPLY(TM) eCORE(TM) can be produced from sapling to plywood in just six years. (c) Lou Jones 2012.
For several years SFI has been working on building partnerships with wood fiber suppliers in China. SFI's unique relationships have allowed the company to engineer specialty plywoods for a number of industries such as marine, recreational vehicles, furniture components, etc. Plantation Eucalyptus is the latest resource utilized by SFI to develop a new product line labeled eCORE™. This new line of hardwood plywood demonstrates superior performance properties, with 35% higher strength than equivalent Douglas Fir Plywood.
SFI has also secured the fiber source for years of future production, through their relationship with the Chinese Provincial Timber Bureau, who manages and oversees 160,000+ acres of sustainable mixed use forest earmarked for eCORE™.
Rod Loe, VP of Global Production for SFI, is proud of the company's commitment to using the most renewable wood fiber sources available. "The eucalyptus saplings used in the core can be turned into plywood just six years after planting. This short harvest cycle is critical in making this the most sustainable and environmentally sound plywood program on the market."
Loe has had over 20 years in the domestic hardwood plywood business. He now uses that experience to manage, teach, train, and audit one of the largest supply chains of Hardwood Plywood in operation today. Loe is involved in all phases from fiber management, from the nursery saplings through final production of TigerPLY™.
"On a daily basis we perform audits on our partner mills that include sourcing, production tests for bonding, emissions, and overall grade and quality standards." Loe spends a significant amount of his time visiting SFI's plantations and oversees the chain of custody for all fiber used in the production of TigerPLY™.
SFI recently joined the American Alliance for Hardwood Plywood, an organization of American importers, distributors, manufacturers and retailers of hardwood plywood, along with other US companies who provide tens of thousands of jobs that depend on the availability of global resources.
SFI and other member companies of the AAHP are concerned that if proposed tariffs are approved, up to half the world's supply of hardwood plywood would be unavailable to US manufacturers, creating an economic advantage for overseas producers of many finished products. The hardwood plantations set up and managed in China provide a source of material that is not available in the US.
"It's very bad timing for this program as we have spent years preparing for an early 2013 launch of eCORE™ for the US market," cautioned Loe. "With the recent petition filed with the US International Trade Commission asking for 300% tariffs on this product for the US market, SFI will be forced to redirect its marketing efforts to supply Asia and Europe."
The petition will be debated at a hearing before the ITC in Washington D.C. on October 18, 2012 with a vote on whether to move the case forward expected on November 9, 2012. If the ITC votes to allow the case to move forward, two U.S. government agencies will then spend the better part of the year investigating whether the legal criteria have been satisfied to impose the high tariffs. A final decision is not expected until the fall of 2013.