Winning with Wood: Businesses join forces

As New Zealand prepares to showcase its forestry and wood industries to the world, five local companies have joined forces to make sure local wood products are well represented.

Winning with Wood is a seven-week festival of forest- and wood-related activities around the country, starting with the launch of the Forestry Industries 2011 Festival in Rotorua this week, to display Kiwi wood production, processing and products to international visitors here for the Rugby World Cup.

Lockwood, Verda New Zealand, Alpwood Joinery, Nature's Flame and Expandasign have put their hands up to be part of the National Wood Innovation Showcase, exhibiting locally produced wood products at the Lockwood Show Village on Fairy Springs Rd and, in some cases, offering visitors tours of their premises.

Lockwood marketing manager Melanie Short encouraged visitors, New Zealanders and locals to take the opportunity to see the innovative ways companies in the Rotorua region were using wood and wood byproducts between Monday, September 5, and Saturday, October 22.

"We already had the site with a range of show homes on it and I think the whole collaboration is very exciting. It promotes the capabilities here and around New Zealand to create innovated timber products."

For Lockwood, all the showhomes will be part of the showcase, but the products from the other participants will largely be focused around the Eco Smart house.

"It is a great chance for people to come in and have a fresh look at what is happening."

Verda already has a strong relationship with Lockwood and marketing manager Mathilde Carles said it made sense to use the show village as a central location for the combined Rotorua showcase.

"We will be showcasing our decking, fencing, raised gardens and a new range of high-end outdoor furniture, creating a comfortable, beautiful space for people to gather."

As well as promoting individual products, Carles said the national showcase was a chance to expose some of the 85,000 or more international Rugby World Cup visitors to New Zealand's forestry and wood expertise and creativity.

Key markets for Verda include Europe, Japan, Australia and the United States, which she said fitted well with the tournament audiences.

Alpwood Joinery products and Nature's Flame wood pellet fires will be on display inside the Eco Smart Lockwood home and Expandasign will be raising the profile of its WoodE signs at the show village and at other events during the next two months.