International Wood International Wood 2004

SOFTWOOD MOULDINGS “There are two main reasons people choose imported softwood mouldings: they either prefer that particular species, or it’s just a better value than domestic species,” says Jeff Setzer. Setzer is president of Setzer Forest Products Inc. based in Sacramento. The company has a second manufacturing facility in Oroville, California, and runs a total of 11 moulding machines. Products include lineal moulding, casing base, interior jambs, which are sold to distributors, wholesalers, and jobbers. “For three generations now our company’s philosophy hasn’t changed: we’re always looking for new opportunities, different markets, new species, and new ways of doing business. That’s why we started exploring imported wood species way back in the mid 1980s, beginning with plantation-grown radiata pine from New Zealand.” “Radiata Pine is just like Ponderosa Pine,” says Mitch Stevens, plant and purchasing manager for Setzer. “We use it to make thousands of profiles. Seventy percent of the Radiata Pine we sell is fingerjointed and primed with a water-based primer. The rest is solid cut-to-length, and most of that is stained. “We also use Taeda Pine, another plantation species that comes from Uruguay, Argentina, and Brazil. Like Radiata Pine it’s paint grade and easy to work with, although it is a little heavier. We bring it in as solids and blocks for fingerjointing. “As we’ve grown we’ve steadily used more and more imported wood,” says Setzer. “Our customers will let us know if they prefer either domestic or imported wood. There is a difference between the Pine species. The southern hemisphere Pines, Radiata and Taeda, grow much more rapidly, which means the growth rings are further apart, so they have different appearance than domestic species. We find that most of these Pine species are acceptable for our products, particularly the primed product. “The only real difference is the perception in the marketplace. Our customers know that imported wood is as good as domestic species and will satisfy their needs, in most cases at a lesser cost. One thing we stress is that they’ll have more flexibility buying mouldings and millwork created in the U.S. from imported wood than if they buy these value-added products from overseas producers.” Mount Taylor Millwork in Milan, New Mexico, makes mould- ings out of several Pine species, including New Zealand Radiata Pine and Ponderosa Pine from Mexico. The company specializes in commodity mouldings, casing base, quarter-rounds and other types of millwork. A D V E R T I S E R I N D E X “We like working with these imported planta- Alan McIlvain Company. . . . . . . . . . . . 25 tion-grown species Aljoma Lumber. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 because they are readily Argo Fine Imports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 available, unlike domestic BlueLinx Corporation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 pine species,” says Hardy Chesapeake Hardwood Products, Inc.. . . 18 Allen, vice president and Columbia Forest Products. . . . . . . . . . BC general manager. Dean Hardwoods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 “Two years ago we Diamond Hardwoods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 started working with DLH Nordisk. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 small volumes of Virola, Ghana Forestry Commission . . . . . . . . 38 or Lauan, from Brazil. It Hennawood Pte. Ltd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 looks enough like Oak Hyundai Merchant Marine Co. Ltd.. . . 35 that it’s used as a substi- Indonesian Wood Panel Association. . 27 tute. It’s really not much Inter-Continental Hardwoods, Inc. . . . 39 different from what we’re International Specialties, Inc.. . . . . . . IFC used to working with. It International Wood Products Assoc.. . . 8 machines well, and is J. Gibson McIlvain Company . . . . . . . . 13 easy to run. Some of our Liberty Woods International, Inc. . . . . 19 customers request a Malaysian Timber Industry Board . . . . 17 clear satin finish, which McCathay Timber, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 we apply with our flow North Pacific Group, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 coating line.” Pan Ocean Shipping Company, Ltd. . . 49 Both Setzer and Allen Patriot Timber Products . . . . . . . . . . . IBC stress that wood mould- Plywood & Door Manufacturers Corp.. 37 ings are now an interna- Plywood Tropics USA, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . 31 tional market. By working Robinson Lumber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 closely with their mould- South Jersey Port Corporation. . . . . . . 49 ing and millwork suppli- Thompson Mahogany Company . . . . . 33 er, customers are assured Timber Products Company . . . . . . . . . 15 the best combination of TradeLeaf LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 performance, availability Tradelink Wood Products, Inc.. . . . . . . 41 IW and price. Tropical Woods International, LTDA . . 54 UCS Forest Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 40 IMPORTED WOOD BC = Back Cover IBC = Inside Back Cover IFC = Inside Front Cover

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