BC Wood just recently received confirmation that the funding for our 2013-2014 trade show activities has been approved. We began this year’s proposal writing with some concerns over just how much our members would want to take on in the coming year. Our early December sector meetings with member companies provided some good input on how much companies wanted to do this year and where they wanted BC Wood to focus its’ efforts.

BC Wood took this input and put together a comprehensive package of market development activities. Upcoming activities will focus on expanding market share in the United States while maintaining the hard won presence we have gained in Asian markets and Eastern Europe. Recognizing the possibility of a new and emerging market opportunity in India, BC Wood has scheduled a mission and participation in a trade show in Bangalore in February 2014. The Global Buyers Mission, our 10th, will be a highlight, with over 200 buyers coming to Whistler in early September.

I would like to recognize and thank the staff of BC Wood for the extra effort they put towards writing these funding proposals. The result was that BC Wood has another strong program of approved trade event activities for 2013-2014. For those of you wanting to see the updated list of trade show activities, please visit the BC Wood website at www.bcwood.com and select Trade Events from the Programs & Services tab. Any comments or questions regarding these planned activities can be directed to me at bhawrysh@bcwood.com or by calling our office at 604-882-7100.

With the GBM over, BC Wood’s Japan office is now working on bringing members into the market through two major fall shows. One of course is the famed Japan Home Show (Nov 14^th – 16^th) that has been welcoming overseas suppliers for more than three decades. The other, the Osaka Living and Design Show (Oct 24^th -26^th), is a new show for us and is a part of our continuing efforts to brand Canadian wood products in the high-end, Japanese commercial construction and interior design market. This is the last chance for members looking to take advantage of these exciting programs. Only a few spaces remain so please act fast if you are interested.

Osaka Living and Design Show

After a long absence from taking members to trade shows in Osaka, BC Wood will be organizing a Canadian pavilion at the new but highly regarded Living and Design Show. Over the past few years we have participated in Tokyo Designers Week, but decided to change to L&D as it is more focused on B to B for interior design and also gives us a chance to target the lucrative but underserved Kansai region in Japan (all foreign competitors go to Tokyo). This area that includes Osaka, Kyoto, and Kobe has a larger economy than all of Canada and is also experiencing a flourishing commercial construction sector. Another benefit of this show for members is that it better covers building products such as flooring and millwork.

Japan Home and Building Show

BC Wood will once again be organizing the Canadian wood products pavilion at the annual Japan Home Show. This year the show will return to its traditional November schedule and run from the 14^th through the 16^th at Tokyo Big Sight.

The JHS typically attracts about 90,000 industry people ranging from importers and distributors to builders and architects and has long been the highest profile building products show in the country, particularly for imported products. This year the organizers have decided to strategically partner with JAPANTEX which is one of Japan’s largest interior trend shows for professionals. With the JHS and JAPANTEX collocated together in Big Sight’s East Hall, it is expected that JHS exhibitors will see a dramatic increase in designers working on non-residential projects.

Also, we expect positive synergies from the HOSPEX show, catering to the owners/operators of medical and elderly care facilities, which will be run concurrently by the same organizers in an adjacent hall. Elderly care facility operators have been adopting 2×4 buildings more and more in recent years because of the perceived therapeutic benefits of wood framed buildings. COFI’s Japan Office has been very active in targeting this market on the structural side and we are endeavouring to find more opportunities for value-added products on such projects.

BC Wood will also be working with the Canadian Embassy on a program timed around the show to target the reconstruction efforts in the Tohoku region. As a result, members attending the JHS will also be able to take part in some match-making activities targeting local companies working on both non-residential and residential projects in the tsunami devastated communities.

This show offers a great opportunity for companies looking to enter the Japanese market and take advantage of the many positive trends we are seeing.  Products sectors covered: cabinetry, engineered wood, millwork, log and timberframe, packaged homes, as well as reman and specialty lumber including WRC.

For more information about either of these shows please contact Jim Ivanoff at ivanoff@canadawood.jp.

Last November, BC Wood, with a small group of member companies, completed a very successful trade mission to Moscow to explore opportunities for value-added wood products in the Russian market, and to participate in the Fall Holzhaus trade show.

BC Woods’ members showcased log home and timber frame structures, factory built homes, high quality millwork, and specialty Western Red Cedar building materials. Members were able to engage with industry professionals from all over Russia and surrounding countries. Developers, architects, builders, distributors, importers, and designers were all in attendance at the show, many of whom came specifically to the show to speak to the Canadian manufacturers.

Based on the success of last year’s program, BC Wood is planning to return to Moscow and the Holzhaus show this coming fall, November 1st- 4th. Space will be available for BC Wood members wanting to participate in the Holzhaus trade shows and I would encourage any companies interested in more information to contact me at bhawrysh@bcwood.com or in BC Wood’s offices at 604-882-7100.

BC Wood will once again be organizing the Canadian wood products pavilion at the annual Japan Home Show. This year the show will return to its traditional November schedule and run from the 14^th through the 16^th at Tokyo Big Sight.

The JHS typically attracts about 90,000 industry people ranging from importers and distributors to builders and architects and has long been the highest profile building products show in the country, particularly for imported products. This year the organizers have decided to strategically partner with JAPANTEX which is one of Japan’s largest interior trend shows for professionals. With the JHS and JAPANTEX collocated together in Big Sight’s East Hall, it is expected that JHS exhibitors will see a dramatic increase in designers working on non-residential projects.

Also, we expect positive synergies from the HOSPEX show, catering to the owners/operators of medical and elderly care facilities, which will be run concurrently by the same organizers in an adjacent hall. Elderly care facility operators have been adopting 2×4 buildings more and more in recent years because of the perceived therapeutic benefits of wood framed buildings. COFI’s Japan Office has been very active in targeting this market on the structural side and we are endeavouring to find more opportunities for value-added products on such projects.

BC Wood will also be working with the Canadian Embassy on a program timed around the show to target the reconstruction efforts in the Tohoku region. As a result, members attending the JHS will also be able to take part in some match-making activities targeting local companies working on both non-residential and residential projects in the tsunami devastated communities.

I am very excited about this year’s Japan Home Show as the housing market overall has been strong this year and the show organizers have been working hard to bring more value to exhibitors. This show offers a great opportunity for companies looking to enter the Japanese market and take advantage of the many positive trends we are seeing.  I will be booking booth space soon so for more information please e-mail me at ivanoff@canadawood.jp.

By Daryl Holmes

Organized for the 35th time, TURKEYBUILD Istanbul is dubbed the biggest inter-regional building gathering that covers Turkey, Balkans, former CIS countries, North Africa, and Middle East. The exhibition was held from May 2nd to 6th, 2012 at the Tüyap Fair Centre and Congress Center, which is made up of 81,000 sq. metres and consisting of 12 exhibition halls. Attendance at this show was very high with total attendees recorded at 110,000 guests.

The following information summarizes the show and my market observations as they pertain to the value-added wood industry beginning with the core feedback that directly impacts you, the member.

BC Wood first attended Turkeybuild in the smaller market of Ankara in September, 2011 with the notion of returning for the signature event to be held in Istanbul. The valuable work undertaken in September set the stage for a very successful return to this market in early May. This show takes me back to the glory days of USA builder shows with the aisles full of qualified agents, buyers, architects, designers, developers, planners, and builders. In Turkey, industry continues to take firm steps forward. Turkey, which acts as an intercontinental bridge due to its geographical position, is an extremely important partner for BC manufacturers who wish to develop sales in this part of the world.

Where do the sales prospects lie?

At the show, four companies represented their products in the BC Wood booth space. We focused our display on products that we feel have the greatest competitive advantage in this area – Engineered Wood Products, Log Home and Timber Frame structures, PreBuilt Housing, and Remanufactured Products. Flooring and high-end furniture also received attention at this event.

During the show, we spoke to many qualified representatives of local companies who were interested in the distribution of products; these contacts were spread around Turkey and the surrounding countries. All member companies received wide spread interest in not only distribution of products, but also direct sales opportunities.

While most construction taking place in Turkey is with concrete and steel, the appetite for wood products was high. Timber and lumber comes into the country from neighbouring countries; however, the reputation of Canadian wood products as being high quality meant that we received many enquiries about project based developments and high-end building materials. So, in short, the increase in development taking place in this market indicates a growing demand for lumber and wood products overall. It was encouraging to speak to many project managers and resort developers who did not see Canada’s geographic proximity as a barrier to discussing business deals.

How do I access these opportunities?

Obtaining access to these opportunities is not easy and won’t happen overnight. The key, as always, is to get active in the market and to get connected to local industry partners. Securing strategic partnership agreements with local agents is of the utmost importance. Relying on your website and word-of-mouth will not get you access to this market. Also, once you have made contact in this area, the key is to commit to follow up, and the required amount of engagement needed to realise sales.

Either as an individual company or in partnership with BC Wood and other industry groups, you will have success showcasing your products and gaining profile in this competitive marketplace if you make the decision to invest some time in a market strategy that puts you and your products in the path of these key decision makers.

Does Turkeybuild Deliver?

This show is without a shadow of a doubt the premium show to attend in this market. This show draws attendees from all over the Middle East and the local Turkish market, as well as Russia, Ukraine, and other neighbouring markets. Follow the money – this notion is so prevalent in this marketplace and based upon our success at this show, members have already secured sales. The Europe market is mature and very competitive; however, niche areas of the world continue to show an increase in opportunity for BC’s value added industry. The Turkey marketplace falls into this category and it is my opinion that business to business sales opportunities will continue to grow in this area.

Upcoming events in the Europe market include Holzhaus, Moscow (Nov 9-13), and BAU, Germany (Jan 17-20, 2012). For more information contact Brian Hawrysh at bhawrysh@bcwood.com  or email me at dh@themataigroup.com

BC Wood member Mandala Homes recently completed a pretty unique project. They just finished building BC’s first Energy Star qualified round house in Nelson, BC.

For 11 years, Mandala Homes has been designing and building pre-fabricated round and rectangular home packages in Nelson, BC and distributing all over the globe, with Canada and US being their main markets. Along with pre-fabricated home packages, they also sell decking, flooring, trim packages, pre-stained cedar siding, timber frame components and wood window & door packages.   Mandala Homes, with their triple-bottom line business model, makes every business decision by taking into account the financial, social, and environmental impact.

Lars Chose (above picture), owner of Mandala Homes designed and built the first Energy Star Qualified house in BC. The 2,300 square feet home includes three bedrooms, two and a half bath­rooms, a work­shop, two out­door rooms, and a stor­age room. The house is finished with West­ern Red Cedar sid­ing and trim and fir post and beams, while the inte­rior is fin­ished with West­ern Red Cedar ceil­ings, cork floor­ing, ceramic tile, fir trim, Yolo and Natura no-VOC paints, and no-VOC fin­ishes from EcoCrete and Ver­mont Natural.

This green pre­fab con­serves energy with deep over­hangs, LEDs and CFLs, an HRV, thick walls (R34), an insu­lated roof (R66), fiberglass-insulated dual-pane win­dows, sky­lights, solar tubes, an ICF foun­da­tion, and Energy Star appliances.

For more information on the specifications of this house, click here
For more articles on this house, click here

This January’s cold snap has been blessing ski hills around the country with an abundance of snow after a slow start to the season. However, the Fukushima nuclear crisis still looms heavily over the prospects of resorts attracting foreign tourists. In fact, for 2011 the number of tourists coming to Japan fell 27.8%. Niseko has benefitted the most from inbound tourism over the past few years so it was safe to assume that it was also being hit the hardest by this steep decline in travellers. Therefore, I recently visited the area to find out what was happening and what the prospects were for a rebound.

The first thing that struck me driving around the area was the number of construction sites that seemed to be stopped. In meeting with local people I soon learned that developers quickly put the brakes on many projects after 3/11. However, unlike past boom and bust cycles the owners of these projects are now well financed professional developers. Therefore, they have both the capability to weather the tough short-term conditions and they also have the foresight to see that over the longer term the nuclear fears will dissipate and foreign tourists will return in large numbers. Everything that has made Niseko the most talked about ski resort in Asia is still there.

One positive outcome from the current downturn is that a central “village” may finally be built in the Hirafu area. Over the years many people involved with developments in the area told me that the shoddy shape of the main access to the Hirafu lifts and the lack of a Whistler type village area was holding Niseko back from reaching the next level as an international destination. Many of the old buildings lining the main road were owned by people waiting for the area to grow further but without the means to properly develop the properties themselves. It seems that several of them were persuaded by the bleak prospects last year to finally sell. Once that part of Niseko is redeveloped, the whole area will benefit greatly from it.

Another thing that seems to be changing is the attitude towards domestic travellers. One of the amazing aspects of the Niseko success story was how it could prosper while only catering to foreigners and completely ignoring the massive Tokyo market. Hokkaido was always seen as a clean and pristine area, but that image has been further reinforced by the fact that it was one of the few areas in Japan that was spared any fallout after the Fukushima explosions. By actively pursuing the Tokyo market, Niseko operators can not only fill more rooms now, they can also build a more diversified client based so that the area is less susceptible to future shocks from overseas.

While 2011 was a terrible year for Niseko developers and lodging operators, there is some optimism returning. Apparently the number of inquiries from Australia and ex-pats in Asia has been increasing recently. Hopefully the Japanese government’s declaration in December that the Fukushima plants have achieved cold shutdown will encourage the Chinese tourists to also comeback. At the very least, the Japanese government is looking positively at 2012 by aiming to attract over 9 million inbound tourists topping the previous record of 8.6 million. Let’s hope they are right!

Register now for the 28th MBC Construction Expo in Seoul, Korea, this coming January 27-30, 2012. BC Wood will be taking space at this building and construction show to exhibit member products to Korean builders, architects, distributors, and construction material importers. The four-day event is expected to attract over 150,000 attendees as well as 350 exhibitors.

This trade event offers an excellent opportunity for BC Wood members to tap into the Korean market and take advantage of our expert in-market representative. Members that would benefit from this event include manufacturers and suppliers of remanufactured lumber products, prebuilt homes, kitchen cabinets, log home and timber frame homes, and engineered wood products.

BC Wood will be coordinating space for members at the event; advertising in key industry publications; managing event logistics; and organizing business networking opportunities. Space is limited so contact David Pao ASAP at dpao@bcwood.com to register.

For more information, please click here.

By Daryl Holmes

BC Wood recently led a group of members on a market development mission to Turkey which included participation at TurkeyBuild in the capital city of Ankara.  Product sectors represented included Log Home and Timber frame, Prebuilt Housing, and Remanufactured Lumber Products.

In the Turkish construction materials sector, wood products have approximately 20% market share with consumption mainly in private up-scale villas and some high end commercial resort style development. The consumption of wood in major residential housing projects and light commercial projects is low when compared to concrete and steel (for structure) or PVC (for windows/doors), however, as with most markets in the Eastern European area, the demand for wood is on the rise.  Both private and public sectors in Turkey are engaged in a shift (albeit a slow shift) towards a growth in the use of wood products.  Industry professionals and consumers alike have a keen interest in wood as a construction material, as was evident during the show in Ankara. The earthquake in 1999 has drawn attention to the importance of timber in construction, however; with the economic impact of the global meltdown, progress has been slow in the area of conveying the attributes of wood and educating key decision makers as to the benefits of using wood in construction.  There is without a doubt, an increase in construction taking place right now in Turkey as residents look to build homes on the outskirts of some of the major cities. Accordingly, a select group of builders, developers, and importers are currently involved in projects outside of the main city centres which are being built with wood. During our stay in Turkey, we were able to make contact with many of these industry professionals and discuss opportunities for BC products.

The show itself was very busy, which in the current global market place was encouraging for the members.  Although the Ankara show is a more of a regional show (with the main construction show being held in Istanbul in May), it drew attendees from all over Turkey and some surrounding countries.  Numerous Architects, Engineers, Builders and Designers engaged in discussions with the BC exhibitors.  The outcome of those interactions predominantly showcased the demand and desire for wood, while also highlighting the lack of distribution of products within the Turkish marketplace.  In a jointly hosted event with the Turkish Timber Association, members were also able to showcase their products to key importers and building materials distributors located in and around the construction hub of Istanbul. Response from these professionals was again encouraging, as products including Western Red Cedar, Prebuilt Housing, and Log Homes proved to be of high interest for regions all across Turkey, including the coastal regions of the Black Sea.

Where do the sales prospects lie?

A clear demand for wood products exists within the Turkish marketplace.  Much of the wood imported into Turkey is from surrounding markets of Russia, Ukraine, and Scandinavia. The key to accessing this demand for BC companies is securing partnership with local wood importers and distributors of other building materials.  This process will take some time and investment by BC Wood members and this show in Ankara was a positive step in the right direction.  Turkish building professionals are starved of opportunity to partner with Canadian companies and they are motivated to establish relationships with producers of high quality wood products. As with all new and emerging markets, finding the right partner is crucial in gaining market penetration.  Turkey’s current growth is expected to continue well into the next ten years and those members who continue to put time and effort into the Turkey market will be rewarded with sales and long term partnerships.

What is the market looking for?

WRC Lumber, WRC Shake and Shingles, Hand Crafted Log Homes, MDF, Plywood, Yellow Cedar, Hemlock, Douglas Fir, and Prebuilt Homes.

How do I access these opportunities?

BC Wood will distribute the show leads via the online Wood Supply Network. For more detailed market information contact dh@themataigroup.com

For over 30 years the Japan Home & Building Show has been one of the most important events in marketing calendar of foreign companies selling into Japan. However, this year there were many challenges facing the event, some resulting from the 3/11 earthquake while others were self-inflicted.

Several years ago the show organizers decided to change the date of the 2011 show so as to time it with the planned UIA event at Tokyo Forum. I personally expressed my concerns over this numerous times as I have seen how such date changes have hurt other shows. Especially with the JHS’ long history, everyone expects it to take place in November. However, they believed that holding it in conjunction with the UIA event would inject new energy into the show.

These plans were greatly complicated by the March earthquake. By having bumped up the show, the organizers also bumped up the recruiting period of the show to late spring, which was still the dark period when no one knew what tomorrow would bring. As a result, purse strings were tightened and I am sure the JHS had trouble signing up exhibitors.

The earthquake and the nuclear disaster also worried the expected 10,000 overseas UIA attendees. In April there was even talk of cancelling the UIA event. However, they moved ahead with it as the situation in Fukushima gradually improved.

As we set-up for the show, I wondered and worried about how it would turn out. As feared, the attendance fell dramatically, from 87,000 to 43,000. Luckily though the quality of the visitors greatly increased as many more architects came to the show for the first time. This was undoubtedly due to the cross-marketing with the UIA event. We even received many overseas guests who came for the UIA event. Overall, even though the overall numbers were down, we felt just as busy as last year since the architects were spending more time with us asking questions about products.

The other thing that I had been wondering about was how much traffic we would receive related to reconstruction efforts in the Tohoku area. Over the three days we met with many builders, developers, and distributors from the earthquake/ tsunami affected areas and they seemed to be getting themselves prepared for the big reconstruction projects. I learned that developers from across the region and even other parts of Japan are buying up all the available elevated land near the coast for such projects. However, they are experiencing labour shortages and are thus looking at overseas suppliers that can help with packaged homes and other solutions.

Despite the drop in attendance I was very pleased with the results of the show. We were able to make a great number of new contacts including ones involved in the reconstruction efforts. This helps us prepare for the Nikkei Show next March where reconstruction projects will definitely be taking center stage.

For 11 years, Mandala Homes has been designing and building pre-fabricated round and rectangular home packages in Nelson, BC and distributing all over the globe, with Canada and US being their main market. Along with pre-fabricated home packages, they also sell decking, flooring, trim packages, pre-stained cedar siding, timber frame components and wood window & door packages.   Mandala Homes, with their triple-bottom line business model, makes every business decision by taking into account the financial, social, and environmental impact.

Mandala Homes is the only round home builder in Canada and one of only few in North America. Round homes use less building surface to enclose the same square footage as a rectangular building, resulting in less BTUs needed to heat than a conventional home. Mandala Homes’ innovative air tightness design provides a strong barrier from the elements, limiting air leakage and vastly cutting down on heating and cooling costs.

One of the strongest benefits of a round/faceted structure is its natural resistance to strong winds and seismic activity. The round design allows the wind to wrap around rather than push against it and the conical roof prevents roof lifting due to negative pressures over the lee side of the house. The interdependence of all of the building components makes it easy to engineer connectors to tie the building to the foundation system for areas that experience earthquake activity.

They are dedicated to creating positive change in the world through innovative green technology and a focus on using safe, healthy, and sustainable building products. Mandala Homes incorporates a Smart Waste Program in their production facility which minimizes the amount of material ending up in a land fill. The factory is powered by a windmill farm in Northern BC and is heated by a high efficiency wood burning stove; leftover wood cutoffs are burned instead of thrown into the dumpster. They also use sustainable and renewable products and low VOC or non-toxic materials.   Mandala Homes also has a LEED Accredited Professional (AP) Designer and Engineer available for any LEED projects. One of their projects in 2010, a health food store in Fort Nelson, won the Best BC Green Business of the Year award.

Through their commitment to innovative green technology, they created The Comfort Wall System. With this system, they have moved from the standard R20 insulation rating to R34 in the wall and R66 in the roof. They use Roxul mineral wool insulation which is created from recycled mineral.   The insulation is fire resistant; repels water so the R-value is not affected; completely resistant to rot, mildew, mold, and bacterial growth; and absorbs sound. To limit thermal bridging, a blanket of Roxul Board is used on the outside of the wall, along with the air barrier, creating an air tight seal around the complete building envelope. Stay tuned to their Facebook page on when they are coming out with this new technology.

Along with their dedication to the environment, Mandala Homes also gives back to their community. For example, they support Habondia’s Women in Sustainable Housing (WISH) project.   This 30 month pilot project’s goal is to support women survivors of violence and senior women in increasing their money management skills and improving their economic security through obtaining or maintaining sustainable housing.

When it comes to social media, Mandala Homes is quite successful. With almost 5,000 Facebook fans and up to a 75% engagement rate, they have an edge up in the industry. With a post almost every day, Mandala Homes is keeping their fans engaged and informed on the topics of energy efficiency, sustainable building practices, company projects, and the soul of the home. This activity strengthens their brand awareness.

For more information on Mandala Homes, please visit www.mandalahomes.com and their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/MandalaHomes.

BC Wood will be exhibiting at the China International Exhibition on Housing Industry (CIEHI) this September in Beijing. This event will focus on China’s growing construction market and the application of new housing and green building technologies. Attendees of the three day event will include major real estate and property developers from around various regions in China. The event is hosted by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Rural Construction. Other organizers also include the China Real Estate Association, Beijing Construction Committee, and Beijing Housing Technology Development Co.

BC Wood, along with Canada Wood partners, COFI and CFPA, see a strong potential for Canadian wood products at this event and will coordinate participation.

When and Where?  

Date: September 27-29, 2011  
Location: Beijing, China

Why should you come?  

• Cost savings for BC Wood members
• Gain in-market exposure and first hand market intelligence
• Opportunity to meet key builders and developers in China

Who should participate?

Manufacturers of:

• Glulam and heavy timbers
• Prebuilt homes
• Outdoor wood products (Western Red Cedar)
• Landscaping products
• Exterior siding and panel products

Market Opportunities

• The rise in China’s middle class is credited for a growing and increasingly important import market. The country’s rapidly growing middle class has spurred strong domestic consumption of housing and material goods.
• Over the past 10 years, there has been rapid growth in China’s use of imported wood products.
• Despite the global recession, the China market is continuing to grow with GDP growth projected to continue at up to 8.5% per annum.
• China’s new policies, focused on improving energy efficiency and environmental impact of structures, make wood building systems an increasingly attractive option, with benefits such as carbon reduction and seismic stability

Save the date and register now!

For more information or to register, please click here  to download the registration form and fax to 604-882-7300 or contact David Pao at 604-882-7100 or dpao@bcwood.com

The Japan Home and Building Show is the most famous building products show amongst foreign exhibitors. Every year companies from Canada, the US, across Asia, and many parts of Europe come to this show to find new Japanese partners or build on their existing market presence. Even companies that do not participate directly time their business trips to Japan around the middle of November so that they can at least visit the show or take part in related receptions.

This year, however, many companies will be surprised to find out that the JH&BS will be held from September 28th through 30th and not in November. This is because the UIA is holding their “World Congress of Architecture” in Tokyo in and the JH&BS organizers agreed with the UIA organizers to tie the two events together. The UIA’s website explains their event in the following way:

“Described as the “Olympics of Architecture,” the UIA World Congress is a major international architectural event that attracts around 10,000 architects, engineers, researchers and students.Since the inaugural World Congress in Lausanne, Switzerland in 1948, it has taken place triennial in 23 different cities around the world.”

By adding these international guests to the JH&BS’ already large audience of Japanese industry professionals, the show organizers are expecting that exhibitors will be able to reach a much wider audience than in the past. This will be of particular interest to those who are looking to begin marketing to other parts of Asia as an event of this calibre in Tokyo will be sure to attract the top people in architecture from neighbouring Korea and China. Considering the bleak outlook that some people foresaw after the 3/11 earthquake, this added vibrancy to the JH&BS is a welcome development.

Another point in this year’s JH&BS’ favour is that some major wholesalers have decided to cancel their own private trade shows in the summer and fall. This means that the JH&BS will be the only venue for buyers, builders, and architects to see new products this fall. It is expected that the strong resulting interest amongst attendees will overcome any confusion resulting from the change in dates.

BC Wood now has its funding in place for the new fiscal year and as a result I am able to accept applications for show space. Please contact me for more information on this year’s event as well as on how to apply.

Local governments in the tsunami hit areas of Japan are still scrambling to house people, but progress is being made. However, a report from the Nikkei Newspaper stated that unfortunately about 90,000 still remain homeless.

The good news is that the goal to have 30,000 units built by the end of May was basically achieved. The remaining 25,000 are to be completed before the end of July. Some of the units being built are using the 2×4 construction method and are already being well received as they are much better built than the typical pre-fab metal units.

The pictures in this article are of a project completed by Iwakura Homes from Hokkaido. While on paper these temporary homes are only expected to be used for two years, it is likely that many people will live in them for many years more. With Tohoku’s cold winters, the people who are chosen for 2×4 units like these by Iwakura will be afforded a much more comfortable living environment.

The biggest obstacle to building temporary housing remains the difficulty in finding suitable land. In Miyagi Prefecture the government is holding land on high ground nearest to the coast for the actual reconstruction of communities. This means that the government is trying to build temporary housing further inland and thus away from the original towns. Without cars or other forms of transportation, many people have turned down such units creating a PR disaster for officials as up to 60% of completed temporary housing units are unoccupied. It is clear that the people in Tohoku need government to stop their politicking and get on with formulating a plan to start the actual reconstruction efforts.

As BC Wood members and their Japanese partners have been asking me for updates on the status of their proposals for the temporary housing projects, I have been working with the Canadian Embassy to get clarification from MLIT. Yesterday MLIT issued an update through their website which can be viewed at the following links.

English: http://www.mlit.go.jp/common/000145167.pdf

Japanese: http://www.mlit.go.jp/common/000145141.pdf

In summary, the announcement states that one overseas company was awarded a contract by Iwate Prefecture, while Fukushima has was able to meet all their needs through local suppliers. Neither prefecture has any intention to place further orders. Miyagi Prefecture is said to be still considering overseas proposals.

I also learned from the Embassy that the total number of temporary housing units required has been reduced from 72,000 to about 52,000. We can assume that some of the reasons for this include the fact that the original numbers were over-estimated and that as it has been very difficult to find suitable land local governments have been moving more people into existing accommodations such as rental units.

The significance of this reduced figure is that it is well under the domestic supply capacity of 62,000 units. This of course means that there is no longer any great urgency to import units that will displace local production and thus local employment. With their economies significantly impacted by the triple disasters, it is easy to understand why the three prefectures would prefer to focus on sourcing locally. For this reason, I am not optimistic about Canadian companies being able to secure any of the remaining contracts with Miyagi Prefecture. However, I will continue following up on the situation in Miyagi.

I know that this announcement will come as a disappointment to the many Japanese and Canadian companies which were hoping to come to the aid of the people in the Tohoku region by supplying high-quality temporary housing units from Canada. However, as this part of Japan progresses from the current stage of housing the homeless to actual large scale reconstruction, there will be even greater opportunities to offer assistance. Hopefully we will be able to work together then to help build a bright future for these people who have suffered so much.

While there seems to be fewer and fewer stories these days on CNN about Japan’s triple disaster, life is still far from returning to normal for the people in the hardest hit region of Tohoku. Recently I was able to make a trip to this area with my colleagues from COFI Japan.

By visiting this area we were able to fully appreciate the fact that it was the tsunami that caused most of the devastation. Although there was some damage to buildings and roads in central Sendai, as soon as we neared the coast we were astonished by the aftermath of the tsunami. Moving on to the communities to the north such as Ishinomaki, Minamisanrikucho, and Kesennuma left us speechless.

I can vividly remember driving along a winding mountain road and noticing some garbage off to the sides. This made us realize that the tsunami had reached this area. Not thinking about it much more, we came around a bend where the mountain pass opened up quickly into a wide valley leading to the ocean. All we saw were mountains of rubble where apparently one of Minamisanrikucho’s communities existed before 3/11. My feelings at that moment will stay with me for the rest of my life.

From there we moved on to Kesennuma to visit a temporary housing construction site. The units were being built on a school’s sports field. In just over three weeks, 120 units were to be built using 2×4 construction. All of the panels for this project were being built at plants nearby using Canadian dimension lumber and OSB. This in addition to the fact that that there 70-100 tradespeople on site at any given time working 14-16 hours per day was allowing the builder to keep this schedule. However, the high volume of traffic in the area bringing in supplies meant that a trip between the site and panel plant that would normally take just two hours was taking 4 to 5. Also, the size of trucks they could use was being limited by downed power lines nearby further decreasing efficiencies. As a result, drivers were only getting 3 or 4 hours of sleep a night. The person in charge of the site felt that once more temporary housing construction got underway, that these issues in addition to a shortage of tradespeople would slow building schedules.

However, the biggest hurdle to quickly building the required 72,000 housing units is the lack of suitable public land. All of the companies that we visited and were involved with temporary housing projects told us that they had materials and people ready to go, but were waiting for local governments to assign them job sites. The problem is the result of a government ban from rebuilding on land affected by the tsunami combined with the mountainous topography of this area. Another requirement specified by the government is that the sites be within 300m of water and power lines to make hooking up to the existing infrastructure possible. Many of the homeless people are also demanding that the units be built close to their destroyed homes as most have lost their vehicles and thus cannot travel long distances for work or school. All this is limiting the availability of land for the temporary housing units and therefore slowing down reconstruction efforts. In some areas the government is looking at topping off/flattening hilltops to create news space.

The land issue is also affecting the program to import pre-fabricated units. MLIT has told us that they have compiled their list of overseas suppliers who met the requirements in their request for proposals. This list was then submitted to the prefectures of Iwate, Fukushima, and Miyagi. According to a press release from MLIT, they received 322 proposals of which 22 were from Canada (http://www.mlit.go.jp/en/jutakukentiku/house04_hh_000001.html).

While we expected that the prefectures would start contacting suppliers last week to discuss the proposals, it seems that the land shortage is both tying up prefectural staff and for the moment decreasing the urgency to import units (there is no point to import units when they don’t have anywhere to put them). We heard that Iwate, which required only a small number of units, has contracted with one overseas supplier and that will likely be sufficient to meet their needs.

As for the other two prefectures, I am currently working with the Canadian Embassy to get detailed clarification on where they are in terms of looking at the proposals and how they expect to move forward. I hope to have more a better understanding of the situation by the end of the week.

Recently an importer of Canadian building products asked me for help with a customs issue he was having. This client had been buying Canadian post and beam log homes through another company, but his supplier went bankrupt a few years ago so he started importing directly. He never had to pay any duty as “house packages” are exempt under Japan’s tariff schedule. Unfortunately, each time he imported directly Japanese customs charged him duty claiming that they were not “house packages.” What changed? Was it his paperwork? He had no idea so he asked me to visit the customs office with him to get some answers.

Over the past few years the Japanese government has been promoting domestic lumber and during that time we have heard many complaints that customs were getting tougher on Canadian imports. For this reason, I went to the customs office fully expecting to face some protectionist motivations for this problem. However, it turned out that the customs officials were seemingly simply not clear on what constituted a “house package.”

The main problem was that they were only familiar with 2×4 packaged homes. Therefore, they were looking for walls (panelized or in component form), floor beams, and trusses in order to classify it as a packaged home. We went into great detail explaining post and beam construction and finally got them to understand that panelized walls and trusses were not needed for these homes. They now have to take this information to their superiors to get an official ruling so hopefully our client will soon be able to bring his homes in duty free.

What also interested me about this interpretation was that the customs officials were not at all concerned about finishing materials such as windows or doors being in the package. I have heard from clients in the past that other customs officials had denied “house package” status if such materials were not included. However, these officials went through the official definition with us (see the attached file), and the only criteria they cited was that all of the structural components necessary to make the house stand had to be included in the shipment. If finishing materials were included, they also enter duty free, but they were not a necessity. Should this interpretation hold, it will greatly simplify processing “house packages” in the future.

The other thing that this case made me realize was the importance of free trade agreements. The duty paid on lumber is 4.8% which no one wants to pay, but it is not necessarily a show stopper amount either. However, having to travel hundreds of kilometres and spending a day debating the definition of what you are importing with custom officials over and over is a serious headache for business people. Getting rid of these kinds of impediments to trade between Canada and Japan would be a tremendous benefit to our industry so I hope that the governments of each country keep discussing the possibility of such an agreement. In the meantime, please contact me if you are having or have had trouble with exporting house packages to Japan.

Prefab buildings definition

The Malaysian Timber Council will be organizing the MTC Global Woodmart (MGW) 2010 from October 19-20, 2010 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC).  This will be the first event of its kind in South East Asia and will serve to provide a one-stop selling, buying and networking platform for all suppliers and buyers of timber products from Malaysia and abroad.  The MGW will also facilitate business among local and/or overseas wholesalers, manufacturers, importers, distributors and ancillary providers in the timber industry and trade and promote and encourage the wider application and use of timber from Malaysia as well as international sources.

Reasons why you should participate in teh MTC Global WoodMart 2010:

1. Enables buyers and manufacturers of wood products to source their product needs through a dedicated event
2. Created trade opportunities for timber industry members by bringing together international buyers and sellers from around the world
3. MTC, HQ, and their offices in London, Shanghai, and Dubai will undertake marketing efforts to bring prospective buyers from traditional markets (ie, Europe, USA, Japan) and emerging markets (India, Middle East, Eastern Europe) for business matching with timber industry members from around the world.

Exhiborts who sign up before May 30, 2010 will qualify for an Early Bird Discount.  For further information, please visit www.globalwoodmart.my.

Click here to view invititation letter.

Click here to view the page 1 of brochure.

Click here to view page 2 of brochure.