Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Hull Oakes Sawmill
Hull Oakes Lumber, the last steam powered mill in Oregon, introduced Fellows to historic sawmilling methods. Click on the photo for more pics.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Frozen Mt. St. Helens
Wow! What a beautiful winter day. We took advantage of a brief moment of sunshine to get up to Mt. St. Helens. The only other traffic on the road was the elk. The volcano was steaming, the snow was 5 feet deep, and we had a great time. Click on the group photo for more pics.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Storm Damage on Oregon Coast
Retired Oregon State Parks forester Al Tocchini and Linsen Zhao (China) survey storm damage near the Klootchy Creek Sitka Spruce, the famous Oregon Heritage Tree which lost its top this winter. For more photos, click on Linsen.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Parr Lumber Provides Solutions, Not Just Products
Thanks to WFC Director David Hamill, Fellows enjoyed a lively discussion with Parr Lumber’s procurement team at their Hillsboro distribution center. Parr is primarily a west coast lumber retailer, but the company also functions as a distributor, broker, wholesaler, manufacturer, and builder with 750 employees.
Parr managers did an excellent job explaining the complex wood supply chain to Fellows. When asked how they are able to stay competitive with such diverse offerings, Director of Procurement Matt Jeffries explained that they are constantly challenged to prove the value they bring to clients, otherwise they are the first to be eliminated in the supply chain. Providing excellent service and “solutions, not just products” has led to success.
A recent innovation from the company is their “Get Real” programs, a response to the green movement. Parr sees a need for smaller, energy efficient, quality homes in the market and the Get Real program provides customers with sustainable solutions without getting caught up in labeling and certification.
Fellows were impressed with the Parr managers’ passion for their work. Employees tend to stay with the company for a long time, and many managers worked their way up from entry level positions. Matt Jeffries, for example, started as a truck driver. His advice for success: “be innovative, and never assume that what you did yesterday will get you through tomorrow.”
For more photos, click on the Parr Truck!
Parr managers did an excellent job explaining the complex wood supply chain to Fellows. When asked how they are able to stay competitive with such diverse offerings, Director of Procurement Matt Jeffries explained that they are constantly challenged to prove the value they bring to clients, otherwise they are the first to be eliminated in the supply chain. Providing excellent service and “solutions, not just products” has led to success.
A recent innovation from the company is their “Get Real” programs, a response to the green movement. Parr sees a need for smaller, energy efficient, quality homes in the market and the Get Real program provides customers with sustainable solutions without getting caught up in labeling and certification.
Fellows were impressed with the Parr managers’ passion for their work. Employees tend to stay with the company for a long time, and many managers worked their way up from entry level positions. Matt Jeffries, for example, started as a truck driver. His advice for success: “be innovative, and never assume that what you did yesterday will get you through tomorrow.”
For more photos, click on the Parr Truck!
Friday, January 04, 2008
Fellows Search for Innovative Products in New Homes
Posing as an unusual nuclear family, Fellows went shopping for a new home in Portland. The US housing market has slowed to the lowest pace in decades, and real estate agents were happy to show Fellows newly constructed homes lingering on the market. This was an opportunity to compare construction practices and living styles between cultures, and to better understand the American lifestyle that drives the US lumber industry and economy.
The tour was of particular interest to Korean Fellow Namgon Kwag, who works for Eagon Ltd., a luxury building products supplier and builder. For his project, Namgon is searching for innovative home products that could be introduced to the Korean market, particularly in flooring or windows. Namgon paid special attention to heating systems, which are done quite differently in the US. Korea has a unique radiant flooring system for heating called the “Ondol.”
The average American house size has more than doubled since the 1950s and now stands at 2,300 square feet, although Fellows saw homes double that size with price tags of up to USD $700,000. Some memorable features included Brazilian hardwood flooring, extensive use of OSB, large kitchens, media and wine rooms, and creative storm water management systems.
Click on the giant house for more photos.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
December 2007 WFI Update available for download
The December 2007 WFI Update is now available to download! In this issue:
http://wfi.worldforestrycenter.org/WFIupdate12.07.pdf
Thanks,
Angie
WFI Program Manager
- Welcome to New Fellows from China and Korea
- Weyerhaeuser Federal Way Headquarters Tour
- Farewell to Lithuanian Fellow Nerijus Miskinis
- Particleboard and Kraft Paper Mill Tours
- Taiwanese Alumni Reunion in Taipei: Photos from WFI Director's Trip to Taiwan
http://wfi.worldforestrycenter.org/WFIupdate12.07.pdf
Thanks,
Angie
WFI Program Manager
Thursday, December 06, 2007
WFI Welcomes New Fellows from China and Korea
In November, Dr. Linsen Zhao joined WFI for a six-month Fellowship. Linsen is a professor in Landscape Architecture at the Southwest Forestry College in Kunming, Yunnan, China and he is sponsored by the China Scholarship Council. Linsen’s background is in silviculture, however, he has been working in urban forestry since 2001. In 2002-2003 Linsen spent one year at UC Berkley as a visiting scholar studying urban forestry.
During his Fellowship, Linsen will research social issues related to urban forestry, and is particularly interested in public participation in planning, planting and maintaining urban forests. He will also spend time working with research methodology for carbon sequestration by urban vegetation and various models that estimate the benefits of urban forests such as STRATUM and CITYGreen.
In December, Mr. Namgon Kwag also joined WFI for a six-month Fellowship. Namgon is sponsored by his employer, Eagon. Namgon is the fifth Fellow to be sponsored by Eagon, whose closest office is in Seattle. Namgon is a manager on the Management Support Team for Eagon Living Co. Ltd, a wood flooring subsidiary, and deals with planning and corporate activities. Previously, he has worked with Eagon on a variety of tasks, including corporate strategy planning, labor affairs, flooring distribution, and wood veneer purchasing.
During his Fellowship, Namgon will be exploring homebuilding and decorating trends and the housing market. He is interested in how Americans do business and how they are currently dealing with environmental issues.
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Weyerhaeuser Kraft Mill
Weyerhaeuser operates a pulp and paper Kraft mill in Albany that processes 1800 tons of raw material per day. Approximately 50% of the fiber used is pulped from chips, mostly from mill waste. The remainder is from recycled packaging. Materials are brought to the facility by truck, almost all from within a 50 mile radius. The final product, which is a three layer kraft paper, is sent for finishing as linerboard and bags at other facilities.
Click on Deepak and Weyco Engineer Scott Freeburn for more photos.
Click on Deepak and Weyco Engineer Scott Freeburn for more photos.
Flakeboard Particleboard Mill Tour
Flakeboard, a Canadian company, operates a Duraflake particleboard plant in Albany. Duraflake is a well known brand name and they produce a wide variety of panels for cabinetry, furniture, underlayment, and sheet stock. Recently there has been more demand for green certified products and they have a specialty line made without urea or formaldehyde. Altogther, the mill produces 435,000 m3 annually.
Raw materials and waste from other mills are dried, milled and blended with resins, glue, and wax. There are separate formulas for the particleboard face and core. The blended materials are then formed, pressed, sanded, and trimmed before being shipped to customers across the US.
For more photos click on the sign!
Raw materials and waste from other mills are dried, milled and blended with resins, glue, and wax. There are separate formulas for the particleboard face and core. The blended materials are then formed, pressed, sanded, and trimmed before being shipped to customers across the US.
For more photos click on the sign!
Saturday, December 01, 2007
Farewell, Nerijus!
2007 passed quickly for Nerijus Miskinis, WFI’s first Lithuanian Fellow, who completed his Fellowship in December. Nerijus’ Fellowship was sponsored by the Shelk Foundation. During his time at WFI, Nerijus interviewed CEOs and managers in the forest industry in order to compare forest sector issues between the two countries. “I feel lucky because I worked on such a project,” said Nerijus. “I liked what I did, I greatly enjoyed the people I met and I strongly believe it will help me improve my personal life in the future. How and how much? Probably I will answer this question completely 20 years later!”
Nerijus is planning to travel to Brazil before returning to Lithuania to finish his Ph.D. project at the Lithuanian University of Agriculture.
Farewells are always difficult, but Nerijus will remember the good times. “I would consider the World Forestry Center my home in the US,” said Nerijus. “I will miss this Rose City!”
Friday, November 30, 2007
Taiwanese Alumni Reunite in Taipei
In November, WFI Director Sara Wu visited Taiwan and had the opportunity to meet with all of WFI’s Taiwanese alumni, most of them from the Taiwan Forest Research Institute.
The reunion kicked off atop the Taipei World Trade Center, where dinner was held in a suite overlooking the city nightscape. Those attending included Mr. Yen-Chang Chen and his wife and younger son, Dr. Chiung-Pin “Bonnie” Liu, Dr. Jiunn-Cheng "David" Lin and his wife and two sons, I-Shang Chen, Dr. John Wu, Min-Chung “Galy” Yang, and Dr. Pei-Jung Wang and her husband and baby son. Hosting the event were Sara Wu, her father and his wife.
Many of the alumni had to travel far to attend the dinner, as David is director of the remote Taimali research station, Yen-Chang is now director of the Fushan forest recreation reserve, and Bonnie teaches at a university in Tai-chung. The effort they made to attend the dinner was greatly appreciated and it was an opportunity to catch up on what everyone has been doing.
In the days following the alumni reunion, Bonnie accompanied Sara and her family to Fushan, where the Taiwan Forest Research Institute operates an experimental research forest that is also a popular tourist site. Yen-Chang Chen is now the director of the research station. The Fushan watershed feeds into Taipei’s drinking water catchment and visitors are restricted to 300 persons a day to protect the wildlife habitat and watershed. Director Chen invited the Wus to stay the night at the TFRI research facilities, which includes living quarters. Wildlife is plentiful at the reserve, including monkeys, various birds, wild pigs, bats, and insects. There are also fern gardens, a rhododendron garden and rare native species. University students and faculty routinely conduct studies at Fushan, and a small but effective staff, along with hundreds of volunteers, help to maintain trails and provide educational interpretation. Some of the plants at Fushan have medicinal potential and are being analyzed to produce commercial applications.
After Fushan, Bonnie met the Wus in Taichung, where they took Taiwan’s new high-speed rail to get there in less than an hour from Taipei. Bonnie is a professor of watershed ecology, the only female faculty in the entire forestry department. One of her students toured the group through the newly opened National Museum of Natural Science, where a large indoor arboretum houses a waterfall, canopy walk and many tropical plants. The museum also boasts a life-size, multi-million dollar robotic T-Rex dinosaur. The museum is one of many new recreational parks and visitor centers that Taiwan is building to attract tourists. WFI sends heartfelt thanks to our Taiwanese alumni for facilitating these trips!
For more photos, click on the group picture.
The reunion kicked off atop the Taipei World Trade Center, where dinner was held in a suite overlooking the city nightscape. Those attending included Mr. Yen-Chang Chen and his wife and younger son, Dr. Chiung-Pin “Bonnie” Liu, Dr. Jiunn-Cheng "David" Lin and his wife and two sons, I-Shang Chen, Dr. John Wu, Min-Chung “Galy” Yang, and Dr. Pei-Jung Wang and her husband and baby son. Hosting the event were Sara Wu, her father and his wife.
Many of the alumni had to travel far to attend the dinner, as David is director of the remote Taimali research station, Yen-Chang is now director of the Fushan forest recreation reserve, and Bonnie teaches at a university in Tai-chung. The effort they made to attend the dinner was greatly appreciated and it was an opportunity to catch up on what everyone has been doing.
In the days following the alumni reunion, Bonnie accompanied Sara and her family to Fushan, where the Taiwan Forest Research Institute operates an experimental research forest that is also a popular tourist site. Yen-Chang Chen is now the director of the research station. The Fushan watershed feeds into Taipei’s drinking water catchment and visitors are restricted to 300 persons a day to protect the wildlife habitat and watershed. Director Chen invited the Wus to stay the night at the TFRI research facilities, which includes living quarters. Wildlife is plentiful at the reserve, including monkeys, various birds, wild pigs, bats, and insects. There are also fern gardens, a rhododendron garden and rare native species. University students and faculty routinely conduct studies at Fushan, and a small but effective staff, along with hundreds of volunteers, help to maintain trails and provide educational interpretation. Some of the plants at Fushan have medicinal potential and are being analyzed to produce commercial applications.
After Fushan, Bonnie met the Wus in Taichung, where they took Taiwan’s new high-speed rail to get there in less than an hour from Taipei. Bonnie is a professor of watershed ecology, the only female faculty in the entire forestry department. One of her students toured the group through the newly opened National Museum of Natural Science, where a large indoor arboretum houses a waterfall, canopy walk and many tropical plants. The museum also boasts a life-size, multi-million dollar robotic T-Rex dinosaur. The museum is one of many new recreational parks and visitor centers that Taiwan is building to attract tourists. WFI sends heartfelt thanks to our Taiwanese alumni for facilitating these trips!
For more photos, click on the group picture.
Thursday, November 08, 2007
WFI Networks with CINTRAFOR and University of Washington
The University of Washington is one of the largest Pacific Northwest schools with 38,000 students. The College of Forest Resources (CFR) offers a variety of undergraduate and graduate degrees. Fellows spent a day in Seattle utilizing the expertise of the CFR faculty and staff.
CINTRAFOR (Center for International Trade in Forest Products) Director Ivan Eastin and Professor John Perez-Garcia hosted Fellows for a session on softwood lumber exports. The group learned about trends in wood products trade, which was of particular interest to Mariane Camargo (Brazil) who is researching moulding and millwork markets. WFI hopes to collaborate further with CINTRAFOR on projects in the future.
Fellows also met individually with a variety of professors to discuss their projects, on topics of sustainability, technology, marketing, and trade.
In the afternoon Fellows attended the Denman Forestry Issues Series, which was a four-hour series of presentations on biofuels and bioenergy. Over ten speakers provided a variety of viewpoints on Washington’s biomass resources and processing issues.
CINTRAFOR (Center for International Trade in Forest Products) Director Ivan Eastin and Professor John Perez-Garcia hosted Fellows for a session on softwood lumber exports. The group learned about trends in wood products trade, which was of particular interest to Mariane Camargo (Brazil) who is researching moulding and millwork markets. WFI hopes to collaborate further with CINTRAFOR on projects in the future.
Fellows also met individually with a variety of professors to discuss their projects, on topics of sustainability, technology, marketing, and trade.
In the afternoon Fellows attended the Denman Forestry Issues Series, which was a four-hour series of presentations on biofuels and bioenergy. Over ten speakers provided a variety of viewpoints on Washington’s biomass resources and processing issues.
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Fellows Receive Insiders’ Tour at Weyerhaeuser
Fellows traveled to Federal Way, Washington, to visit with Weyerhaeuser at their corporate headquarters. Weyerhaeuser is one of the largest forest products companies world-wide, with an annual sales revenue of $21.9B USD and 46,700 employees in 18 countries. A large majority of their forestlands are located in Canada (26 million acres) but they also manage over 6 million acres in the US.
Jim James, the Director for Environmental Affairs, hosted Fellows and arranged a variety of speakers and presentations. Jim has hosted WFI in the past and is well versed in Weyerhaeuser’s inner workings. He explained some of the company’s core values, one of which is safety. The company believes that there is no such thing as accidents and that all incidents are preventable. Thus, the group received safety briefings at each stage in the tour.
Another of Weyerhaeuser’s focus areas is sustainability. All Weyerhaeuser lands are certified, predominately with the Sustainable Forest Initiative in North America, and elsewhere according to local schemes or ISO 4001. Jim explained that certification may not give a market premium, but it does give market access or preferred supplier status, especially to large companies such as Home Depot. Additionally, certification is viewed by the company as being a good management practice.
Speakers touched on a wide variety of topics of interest to Fellows, including investments in South America and the marketing of Lyptus, a brand for eucalyptus products. Tracking in the log supply chain was explained by the IT department. A researcher from their inventory department discussed experimental plans using LIDAR to acquire inventory data, although this is still in the research phase and much of the information is proprietary.
Fellows were also treated to a tour of the Technology Center. This top secret facility is one of the few remaining large research centers run by forest products companies. Home to 400 researchers, the center conducts a variety of studies, from product quality and strength testing to genetic improvement and cloning to new product development.
Fellows were impressed with the managers’ dedication to the company and the strides the company is taking to stay ahead in today’s difficult market.
Jim James, the Director for Environmental Affairs, hosted Fellows and arranged a variety of speakers and presentations. Jim has hosted WFI in the past and is well versed in Weyerhaeuser’s inner workings. He explained some of the company’s core values, one of which is safety. The company believes that there is no such thing as accidents and that all incidents are preventable. Thus, the group received safety briefings at each stage in the tour.
Another of Weyerhaeuser’s focus areas is sustainability. All Weyerhaeuser lands are certified, predominately with the Sustainable Forest Initiative in North America, and elsewhere according to local schemes or ISO 4001. Jim explained that certification may not give a market premium, but it does give market access or preferred supplier status, especially to large companies such as Home Depot. Additionally, certification is viewed by the company as being a good management practice.
Speakers touched on a wide variety of topics of interest to Fellows, including investments in South America and the marketing of Lyptus, a brand for eucalyptus products. Tracking in the log supply chain was explained by the IT department. A researcher from their inventory department discussed experimental plans using LIDAR to acquire inventory data, although this is still in the research phase and much of the information is proprietary.
Fellows were also treated to a tour of the Technology Center. This top secret facility is one of the few remaining large research centers run by forest products companies. Home to 400 researchers, the center conducts a variety of studies, from product quality and strength testing to genetic improvement and cloning to new product development.
Fellows were impressed with the managers’ dedication to the company and the strides the company is taking to stay ahead in today’s difficult market.
Friday, November 02, 2007
Salmon Life Cycle
Fellows learned about the salmon lifecycle by visiting wild salmon spawning in Eagle Creek and viewing hatchery production at Bonneville Dam. Click on the fish for more photos.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
October 2007 WFI Update Available for Download
The October 2007 WFI Update is now available to download! In this issue:
http://wfi.worldforestrycenter.org/WFIupdate10.07.pdf
Thanks,
Angie
WFI Program Manager
- "Investing Globally in Forestland" conference a great sucess
- Siuslaw and Siskiyou National Forests Tour
- Farewell to Chinese Fellow Zengwang Ma
- Welcome to Chinese Weyerhaeuser Scholar
- Updates from our Alumni Kyungtae Park, Andreas Schuck, Jussi Silventoinen, Runar Gareyev, Inchul Jung, Claudio Ortolan, Mario Angel and Alex Battistella
http://wfi.worldforestrycenter.org/WFIupdate10.07.pdf
Thanks,
Angie
WFI Program Manager
WFI Bids Farewell to Chinese Fellow Zengwang Ma
After spending one year at WFI, Zengwang Ma will depart for his hometown in Hebei, China. “I had one year great time to conduct this program in Oregon,” said Ma. “I have regarded Portland as my second hometown, hopefully, I will have a chance to visit again.”
In Hebei, Ma is a researcher involved in restoration projects. His province has completed many projects to restore degraded ecological systems, which are now vigorous young forests. The task at hand now is to manage these young stands for future threats, including wildfire prevention, invasive species, and new forestland management techniques. During his program Ma examined the Oregon experience for dealing with such problems in order to take lessons back to Hebei. Ma recommends an integrated strategy that keeps ecosystem integrity mind and involves long-term planning, forest management, and research.
“I am missing my family after this one year abroad,” said Ma. “The first thing I’ll do when I return is spend some time with my wife and daughter, then I will continue my forestry research at Hebei Academy of Forestry Science.” We wish Ma all the best upon his return journey.
In Hebei, Ma is a researcher involved in restoration projects. His province has completed many projects to restore degraded ecological systems, which are now vigorous young forests. The task at hand now is to manage these young stands for future threats, including wildfire prevention, invasive species, and new forestland management techniques. During his program Ma examined the Oregon experience for dealing with such problems in order to take lessons back to Hebei. Ma recommends an integrated strategy that keeps ecosystem integrity mind and involves long-term planning, forest management, and research.
“I am missing my family after this one year abroad,” said Ma. “The first thing I’ll do when I return is spend some time with my wife and daughter, then I will continue my forestry research at Hebei Academy of Forestry Science.” We wish Ma all the best upon his return journey.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Medford Moulding
Paul McKay and Lara Stinger toured Fellows around Medford Moulding’s mill and veneer slicing operation. Click on the group for more photos.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Camping and Yurts and Dunes!
Fellows visited Siuslaw National Forests Dunes recreation area. Click on Deepak and Angie for more pics.
Biscuit Fire
Fellows visited the Siskiyou National Forest, home of the 2002 Biscuit Fire. The Biscuit Fire burned nearly 500,000 over 4 months, and the cost of suppression efforts totaled over US$150 million (more than 7 times the annual budget of this national forest). In the years following, there were several salvage sales that were the source of conflict for the public, even though they represented a very small percent of the burn. Forest Supervisor Joel King and Partnership Coordinator Paul Galloway discussed their experiences working with communities and activists with Fellows while touring the Biscuit. Fellows were impressed by their positive attitudes and proactive approaches of involving the local community in forest management. Click on the trees for more photos.
Now that's a big tree!
Fellows visited Redwoods State Parks in California to see the world’s tallest trees. Click on the Stout Tree for more pics.
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