Industry experts speaking at an upcoming Trans-Tasman conference and workshop will be urging timber manufacturers to make a shift to value-added solution selling to foster growth of the timber industry in Australia and New Zealand.
‘Australasian Markets: Threats and Opportunities’ is the theme of the conference being held at Noosa from 27-29 July. It will be the first time the New Zealand Pine Manufacturers Association and Australian Timbers Importers Federation have joined forces to explore how the two countries can work together to change industry perceptions and raise the profile of wood-based products.
Around 20 leaders from Australasia will speak about the real issues challenging suppliers and the opportunities to create new product and commercial solutions, including representatives from Australand, Bossley Howe Architects, Carter Holt Harvey, Jenkin Timber, Lockwood International, National Australia Bank, New Zealand Trade & Enterprise, Timber Queensland, Hyne & Son, Woodhouse Timbers and Weyerhaeuser.
Chris Howe, project director from Bossley Howe Architects will examine how, instead of increasing the production volume to remain competitive, timber manufacturers must focus on increasing its value.
“Timber has predominately been used for structural work within architecture because it is low cost and therefore its unique attributes are often overlooked and undervalued,” he says. “I’ll be discussing the opportunities for the industry to rethink how it can develop timber into higher value products by marketing its use in different ways, such as interior panelling or engineered pine products for particular uses.”
According to Nick Roberts, managing director of Weyerhaeuser Australia and New Zealand, the industry must also consider new ways to approach an increasingly sophisticated buyers market. “Recently we’ve seen the emergence of buying groups that are becoming more demanding,” he says. “They’re looking for suppliers that can offer e-business interfaces, can guarantee regular deliveries and operate a very sound supply chain.”
“This raises a number of questions for the industry around the way we manage logistics in its totality, from the way we plan our manufacturing, scheduling and how we think about the markets we service. I’ll be talking about what this means for Australian operators and what those implications are for New Zealand mills looking to further their market in Australia.”
For more information email: maria@aptm.com.au
Source: Building Products News.