Read the full January Newsletter HERE
We have arrived in 2024 and we wish you all a great and prosperous year. Let’s hope that the new year brings better things than 2023. In conversation with some of the mills, it seems that although it’s a bit early to tell, some are off to a reasonable start. That’s good news is it not?
Many of you will know that early in the new year we see the holding of the Wood Conference at the CTICC. While this conference is not directed specifically at foresters or sawmillers but rather architects and engineers, it nevertheless proves to be most interesting. It’s all about the wonderful use of timber and wooden products in the built environment. So if you find yourself in Cape Town on 28 February I can recommend you register and attend.
Talking Timber
This year will also see us continuing our Talking Timber webinar series, together with our partners. These sessions are designed to “educate” both professionals and the public on the virtues of timber and timber products, as well as get into some of the more technical aspects of designing for and building with timber. There will be another four of these webinars spaced throughout the year. The first is scheduled for March and the team is pulling together the topic and speakers. Watch this space!
Click here if you would like to be added to the webinar mailing list. You will also find recordings of the past webinars on our YouTube channel.
This year, we will once again see WoodEx in Johannesburg from 4-6 June. But more about that closer to the time.
SAVE THE DATE! Sawmilling South Africa AGM – 12 June
We are not sure of the exact venue as yet but could well be at Pretoria University. Again more about this later.
Kiln emissions legal matter
I am happy to inform you that our attorney is making good progress in recovering the costs awarded to us by the Gauteng High Court as part of its judgement in our favour on the issue of kiln emissions. This will be considerable and will be the final chapter in the saga!
Export working group
We are making inroads with our efforts to identify and open communication with potential export customers. As you know, we have established an Export Working Group as a subcommittee reporting to the Executive Management Committee (EMC) and that we are serious about finding offshore markets for our local lumber.
In related news, I reported in my last newsletter of 2023 that Thomas Craddock attended the Inter Africa Trade Fair in Egypt where he made contact with a trader of timber in that country.
Thomas and yours truly will be visiting China and possibly India this year to expand our footprint in those countries.
EMC is meeting in February and will hopefully ratify our budget for this work so more about this exciting development in our next newsletter.
Sharing is caring
We encourage you to share your news with us so we can load it on the website, as well as put a post on our LinkedIn page. Yes, we are trying to get with the times!
Please follow our page, and tag us in interesting articles that you pick. We have to work together to promote timber on as many platforms as possible!
So once again until next month, you know keep cutting straight and drying flat.
Cheers,
Roy Southey
Executive Director: Sawmilling South Africa
Read the full January Newsletter HERE
