The forest products industry continued it's push for a more sustainable planet over the last several weeks. Major producers have partnered with nature conservancies and iconic sporting venues to advocate for cleaner water, renewable products, and a reduced carbon footprint, while others have crafted and exceeded impressive sustainability standards. This blog is a collection of headlines from recent weeks that highlight the efforts of the forest products industry to promote sustainability.
Spain-based Saica Group, the third-largest European producer of recycled paper for corrugated packaging, announced last week its plan to build a $72 million packaging plant outside of Cincinnati, Ohio.
Saica is the latest international player to move into the US. London-based DS Smith, Ireland’s Smurfit Kappa and Australia’s Pratt Industries all have a strong presence in North America. However, Saica’s timing and destination are certainly interesting.
With the COVID-19 crisis ongoing and the effects being felt globally, The Washington Post focused on the story of Verso Corp.’s Wisconsin Rapids Mill, which closed its operations at the end of July and left 900 people without jobs.The story featured analysis from Fisher International senior consultant Katie Mencke (kmencke@fisheri.com), who offered insight into the decline in demand for printing and writing products and the considerations that lead to a mill shutdown.
Forest2Market’s in-depth analysis of historical data over the past six decades documents the link between increased demand for forest products and increased forest inventory. Further, it explains that the dramatic increase in forest inventory was made possible by even more remarkable increases in forest productivity, especially on privately-owned timberlands.
We tend to know our customers far better than we really know our competition, whether directly or indirectly. Understanding direct and indirect competition will help us better understand the customers by helping us address unserved needs, thus allowing us to better serve the market. Understanding the implications of the physical locations in comparison to the market can provide producers and suppliers insights to inform their sales and marketing initiatives.
