News Regional news A message from Pat Bell - March 26, 2010
A message from Pat Bell - March 26, 2010
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Hi all,
I’ve had to pre-write this Top 10 as I am on my way to China this weekend to further advance the lumber sales opportunity that is showing real potential. This trip is very short (depart Friday afternoon and arrive back on Tuesday afternoon) but has the potential to really be the breakthrough for our industry. I am joined by 4 CEO’s (Canfor, West Fraser, Western FP and Interex) as well as the sales reps from another half dozen or so companies.
There are 3 major events in the trip including a presentation to a dozen large Chinese investors looking for opportunities in the forest sector, a presentation to a green building conference and most importantly the signing of an agreement that will lead to the construction of a 6 story wood frame apartment building. This segment of the construction industry in China has the potential to consume over 50 billion feet of lumber per year (we only produce 15 billion and we’re the biggest in the world).
Next week (after I get back) I’ll be in Victoria in the Legislature to wrap up a few more bills and the Estimates process for my Ministry.
Have a great week!
Pat
1. Great news for Mackenzie this week with the Quebec Court approving the sale of the Abitibi assets in Mackenzie to Conifex. Conifex is a solid company that purchased a sawmill in Fort St James last year and has had very good success. They plan to run the sawmills and are looking at what they can do for energy generation with the power generator system from the paper plant.
2. Final trade statistics for 2009 show that British Columbia softwood exports to China hit 1.63 billion board feet, more than twice the record 784 million shipped the previous year. B.C.’s annual lumber shipments to China are also soaring in terms of value. Sales have nearly tripled from about $113 million in 2007 to more than $327 million in 2009.
3. Part of the success in 2009 was the significant volume of new lumber orders generated by B.C.’s largest ever forestry trade mission to China. Major breakthroughs were made as the trade mission helped Shanghai launch its new wood-frame building code, and signed an important agreement to demonstrate the benefits of wood for affordable housing. The vice-minister of China’s Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development also encouraged B.C. to collaborate on a six-storey, wood-frame apartment building in Beijing.
4. B.C.’s new Zero Net Deforestation Act encourages an equal area of trees be planted for carbon storage to offset any forest land that is permanently cleared for another use. The act meets government’s commitment in the 2008 speech from the throne to pursue the goal of zero net deforestation, which will be achieved when the area of newly created forest land in B.C. is equal to or greater than the area of deforestation. The act also requires that the Minister of Forests and Range regularly reports on progress toward zero net deforestation. The three keys to achieving zero net deforestation are to avoid, minimize and mitigate deforestation. Sometimes the loss of forest land to other purposes, such as housing or highway development, is necessary. In these cases, the preferred option is to minimize the footprint and mitigate the impacts by creating new forests on previously non-forested land.
5. New safety standard guidelines adopted by the Association of BC Forest Professionals will promote a culture of safety across British Columbia’s forest sector. The association’s Standards of Professional Practice and Code of Ethics were amended in January to include clear guidelines for interpreting its safety related bylaws. The new guidelines reinforce that safety must be considered at all stages of a member’s professional practice.
6. January was a very good month for us in forestry with the China market +449% (yes that’s 449%), the USA +6%, Japan +11% and Europe +37%. While we are not rolling over a difficult year positive numbers are always good!
7. Trace Resources, a Merritt based company has expanded its local operations by investing in a new electric chipper. The company’s new electric chipper is cleaner, more energy-efficient and more cost-effective than its previous diesel-powered chipper. The new chipper will be able to process up to 1,800 cubic metres of wood for each 10-hour shift. The partners in Trace Resources, Dan Eaton and Ron Racine, are proud of their achievements with low-quality wood, “Long-term success and good forest management require innovative and cost-effective approaches to using wood impacted by the mountain pine beetle,” said Racine. “With our new chipper we’re providing Merritt-area millers with a place to take residues, and, in turn, providing an affordable long-term chip supply for our customers.”Innovative timber sale licences awarded through BC Timber Sales and forestry licences to cut have enabled Trace Resources to sign pulp-log supply agreements with Harmac in Nanaimo and Celgar in Castlegar. Trace Resources also has contracts with Domtar in Kamloops and Windset Farms in Delta to supply hog fuel.
8. Millions of people, governments at all levels, businesses and organizations across the world will join together to conserve power by turning off the lights. This year, on Saturday, March 27 at 8:30 pm you can be a part of the solution simply by flipping off your lights for 60 minutes. Conserving power is one of the easiest things we can do and each year Earth Hour reminds us that we need to think of conservation first and foremost. Earth Hour originated in Sydney, Australia in 2007 and since that time it has grown in popularity. In 2009, hundreds of people in some 4,000 cities in close to 90 countries literally “turned off their lights.”
9. The Province is investing $6.6 million in two cutting-edge clean technology projects, one that will create synthetic gas from waste wood to generate heat and power, and another for windows that darken in sunlight and lighten at the flick of a switch. These latest investments from the Innovative clean Energy fund are helping to move new technologies that have been proven on a small-scale into the marketplace. The funds go to Switch Materials Inc.( http://www.switchmaterials.com/technology.html ) and to Nexterra Systems Corp. (Nexterrra/UBC biomass heat and power system).
10. Visitors to SeniorsBC.ca can now quickly locate up-to-date information about topics on healthy living, transportation, finances, continuing education, recreation programs, volunteer opportunities for older adults, and more. The new website also features stories and profiles of older British Columbians and a regular e-newsletter to which visitors can subscribe.
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