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The Moratuwa Woodworking Industry Cluster (MW1C) is a geographically concentrated cluster of over 1,600 small-to-medium scale wood-based manufacturing and retail facilities in Sri Lanka. Firms include furniture manufacturers, carpentry shops, sawmills, and integrated sawmills. The concept of industrial symbiosis explores the synergies between industrial facilities to exchange energy, water, by-products, and waste to achieve a higher efficiency in resource utilization. This research was undertaken to address the lack of quantitative information on wood residues generated within the MWIC. A survey of 180 primary and secondary wood product manufacturers was undertaken to quantify MWIC firm by-product production and consumption of wood residues to establish a baseline for possible end use and waste synergies. The total population of enterprises generating wood waste is 730; retail facilities are not included. Sawmills produce approximately 66% of the 6,490 MT of MWIC's monthly wood residue generation, with the balance produced by carpentry and integrated enterprises. Teak (Tectona grandis) and mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) are the dominant species used in the MWIC, accounting for most of the wood waste. Three main types of wood waste were identified in the survey: sawdust (76.5%), boards with significant wane (16.5%) unusable for further products, and offcuts (6.9%). Only 55% of the wood waste generated in MWIC is currently used; the remaining 45% is taken to landfills or disposed of in other ways, such as discarded in waterways or other nonapproved locations. Improved wood waste sorting by type at the mill level and aggregated wood waste within the MWIC was determined to increase the usability of wood waste as potential inputs in other wood manufacturing sectors in the MWIC., Sri Lanka's forest sector and wood-based manufacturing industry play an important role in the national economy, contributing over USD 176 million to the country's GDP, with over 50,000 employees (Annual [...]

ABSTRACT The wood industries in Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Hercegovina (BiH) and Macedonia have a long tradition of producing a wide range of products. BiH and Macedonia have similar forest [...]

The value of aggregate forest product exports to India has increased from about $1.5 billion in 2003 to about $5.4 billion in 2013. Although many of the forest product resources can be sourced from within India, the subcontinent must also source forest products from trading partners, in the form of wood product exports. This presents many economic challenges and opportunities for wood product markets and trade, as India is the second-largest importer of wood products in the world. In this study, we focus on the effect of regulatory quality on forest products exports by partner countries to India. Using a panel of trade flows during 2009 through 2013 of 143 partner countries exporting forest products to India, we estimate an augmented gravity trade model to capture the effect of relevant variables on the outflow of aggregate forest products and disaggregate paper and paperboard, wood pulp, fiberboard, veneers, sawn wood, industrial roundwood, and plywood products from partner countries to India. Results from the analysis are mixed; regulatory quality is found to have positive correlation with exports to India in some cases (paper and paperboard products and wood pulps) and no correlation in a few instances (fiberboard, veneer sheets, sawn wood, industrial roundwood, and plywood). Other explanatory variables such as the distance between the partner country and India, forest area of partner country relative to forest area of India, gross domestic product, population, and trade agreements are mostly found to have positive or negative significant effects on trade, varying across different sectors., Forests in India supply a wide array of goods and services such as timber, fuelwood, fodder, wood products, pulpwood, sawn wood, veneer wood, paper, and other wood-based materials. India ranks [...]

The financial crisis that started in mid-2008 has led to a subsequent economic recession. Although officially declared over, global financial degradation may result in a 'double-dip' recession with no substantive relief in the near future. Consequently, fundamental shifts within global forestry and the forest industry sectors have taken place with disruptions, dislocations, and uncertainties felt through the entire chain from the forest to markets. This is the worst downturn for forest products markets since the first oil crisis in the 1970s. Manifestations have included decreased demand, fluctuating prices and changed exchange rates, increased competition, overcapacity, low profitability, wood supply problems, and competition for raw materials exacerbated by the emerging bio-based energy sector. Although the ability of the forest sector as a whole to experience strong growth during the recession and when recovery begins is doubtful, there are many actions that individual companies can take to create competitive opportunities during the crisis and solidify position when markets strengthen. This article presents specific actions that can be taken to create or maintain competitive advantage across the forest sector supply chain in this time of crisis., INTRODUCTION The macroenvironment surrounding the global forest products industry has undergone drastic changes in the recent past. The emergence of low-cost producers, changing trade flows, and increasing pressure from social [...]

Abstract The Merriam-Webster's dictionary defines innovation as (1) the introduction of something new or (2) a new idea, method, or device. Many empirical studies suggest that innovation is an important [...]

Abstract This article introduces a comprehensive product development strategy to transform ideas into commercial products. Although there is abundant literature on product development tools and innovation theory, the inconsistency of [...]

Abstract Primary wood processing and secondary furniture production are strategic sectors in most western Balkan countries with regard to contribution to gross domestic product, exports, and employment. After abandoning a [...]

Introduction As the dynamics of national and regional economies change in the United States, industries are re-evaluating their strategic positioning given changing factor input and product supply conditions. These changing [...]

Introduction Sri Lanka possesses an abundance of natural resources that enrich and sustain the lives of its people Forest resources are one such resource, The forestry sector in Sri Lanka [...]

Abstract The diversity of forest environmental certification schemes can be confusing to consumers and may weaken the clarity of their message. Certified forest product demand is partly contingent on product [...]

Abstract Forest certification continues to generate promise, discussion, and debate. In this study, we surveyed the top 500 home-center retailers in the United States to ascertain their participation in certification, [...]

Abstract Comparative analyses of wood products manufacturing groups based on machinery and equipment are important to the growth of U.S. wood products manufacturers. Observed commonalities of machine centers between industry [...]

References to the wood products industry in Iran can be traced to as far back as 4200 B.C., when native people of Iran used wood for wheels, carts, and agricultural [...]

Introduction Sri Lanka is endowed with a rich diversity of natural and plantation forest resources. According to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL 2004), the agricultural sector accounted for [...]

Abstract In this study, a companion piece to a previous examination of children's playground equipment buyer perspectives, we investigate what children's playground equipment manufacturers think about using treated wood. The [...]

Bolivia is a centrally located country in South America about the size of Texas and California combined. The Andes Mountain Range divides Bolivia into two main ecological zones: mountain and [...]