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HMA’s National Conference and Expo: A Catalyst For Change

2022 may be in the rearview mirror, but the challenges of last year – labor shortages, supply chain constraints, product shortages, inflation – remain front and center. Now, if yours’ is the ‘glass-half-empty’ mindset, 2023 is looking bleak. But for us ‘glass-half-full’ enthusiasts, we’re hyped and ready to get this new year started. And we’d […]

AHEC Reaches Hundreds Of Architects And Industry Professionals At Perspective In Venice

AHEC participated in this year’s Perspective, held by leading Italian design magazine The Plan, that serves as a major networking and inspirational event for leading European architects, building engineers, designers, and other key industry figures. As part of our long-term strategy to “pull” demand by targeting decision makers along the specification value chain, AHEC’s European […]

WCMA New Year, New Opportunities To Connect

As we wrap up 2022, I am grateful that the WCMA was able to add value to WCMA members by creating opportunities to network, participate in pertinent industry informational sessions, and meet in person and tour manufacturing facilities. In November of 2022, over 70 WCMA and WMMA Members participated in the joint Wood Component Manufacturers […]

Election 2022—New Congress Starting To Take Shape

While the dust has not yet settled (at presstime) on the 2022 midterm election, it’s safe to say that an early top line narrative doesn’t include a major “Red Wave” that many experts predicted for the mid-term election. That said, there were some important takeaways from Tuesday, November 8th elections. For one, voter interest and […]

Step Up To The Challenge

By now you have heard about the Real American Hardwood Coalition. If not, then this is your call to action. If you are sick of hearing about the RAHC, then this is your call to react. Either way, let me sum up in two sentences what the RAHC is. The Real American Hardwood Coalition unites […]

Russians Have Eluded U.S. Sanctions On Russian Birch

Decorative Hardwoods Association and Hardwood plywood made news in Washington recently as The Washington Post reported on Russian Birch imports by way of China and Vietnam. Earlier this year, shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, DHA reported about large volumes of Birch plywood imports through Vietnam and noted this material was likely Russian. Now, […]

Maximizing Market Access For U.S. Hardwoods Through Risk-Based Certification

During the NHLA Annual Convention this September in Cleveland, Ohio, AHEC presented details of on-going work to develop Sustainable Hardwood Certification (SHC) as a cost-effective solution to verify the sustainability of American Hardwoods and maximise market opportunities for our hardwood products. The SHC website is now live at www.shc-cert.org to explain why the new certification […]

Making Changes and Moving Forward

HMA’s 2023 National Conference and Expo is set for March 22–24 at the JW Marriott Nashville, and all Hardwood industry stakeholders are welcome to attend. Yes, this HMA event is open to all Hardwood associates, and I encourage you to join us in Nashville because our Conference agenda has something for everyone, both newcomers and […]

Hope For The Future

When you look toward the future, what do you see? The year 2050 is not much more than 25 years away—roughly a generation and much less than the typical lifetime. What changes can we expect to see in the years ahead? Population growth will continue, and it’s anticipated that by 2050, the population distribution could […]

Remember The Good We Do

Life, business, the economy, the environment, and just about everything else are cyclical, like the leaves of a deciduous tree that grow big and fall off again and again and again. In good times or bad times, there really is only one answer for the Hardwood industry – keep on producing the best you can. […]