March 2009 - OWPEA has posted two job opportunities.
Markham, ON – Click here to Read Job Opportunities
May 2008 - Historic Collaboration: Ontario Wood Product Exporters Launch New Association
North Bay, ON – Ontario wood product exporters today launched a new association to present a unified voice and brand image on the world stage. The Ontario Wood Product Exporters Association (OWPEA) held its first meeting of the membership in North Bay where the new association was launched.
“Today is a historic one for the wood products industry,” said Geoff Schimmel, founding OWPEA Chairman. “It represents tremendous goodwill and collaboration among those in the industry and with the provincial and federal governments.”
The objectives of OWPEA are to develop and foster distinctive brand awareness internationally of Ontario’s wood products industry. It will assist members to develop export readiness, identify trade opportunities and enhance market awareness through seminars and other networking and educational programs.
OWPEA is the third provincial wood product export association to form in Canada. It plans to partner with similar associations operating in British Columbia and Quebec to access existing export infrastructure and trade information. Consistent with trade and export associations throughout the world, OWPEA will support unified access and help leverage export promotion funds and programs that support wood exports. The association also intends to enhance communication and create opportunities between northern Ontario value-added lumber suppliers and wood product manufacturers in southern Ontario.
“This association can encourage members to diversify international sales,” says Corrado Di Stefano of Alpa Lumber Inc. “A province-wide association will also strengthen the supply chain relationship between businesses in northern and southern Ontario.”
The Ontario wood industry includes: companies sawing logs into lumber and similar products, or preserving these products; making products that improve the natural characteristics of wood, such as veneers, plywood, reconstituted wood panel products or engineered wood assemblies; and making a diverse range of value-added wood products, such as millwork (doors and windows), furniture, cabinets, trusses and manufactured housing.
This key economic sector continues to be negatively impacted even though global demand for forest products is on the rise. Many operations continue to struggle under intense financial and business pressures. The reasons, which are many and complex, include the appreciation of the Canadian dollar, increasing energy and raw material costs, exposure to the faltering US market, stiffer competition from international producers (some of which benefit from government incentives unmatched in Canada), trade barriers, aging and uncompetitive mills, and environmental, regulatory and policy challenges.
Sharing best practices and business intelligence among the membership and representing the interests of Ontario manufacturers at the federal and provincial levels on issues of importance to the membership are also key association objectives. “The inaugural Board of Directors welcome the advice and encouragement we’ve received from the government,” said OWPEA Chairman Geoff Schimmel. Agencies such as: FedNor, the Ontario Ministries of Northern Development and Mines; Natural Resources; Economic Development and Trade; Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada; Industry Canada and Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation support the objectives of this new association.
The Board of Directors consists of eight directors. Mr. Schimmel has more than 20 years of experience in the wood industry. For 11 years, he’s been President of Loyalist Forest Products, and has guided its growth through an innovative blend of technology, marketing and value-added strategies. Mike Murphy will serve as Vice-Chairman. With more than 30 years of experience in the pre-manufactured log home industry, Mr. Murphy is president and co-owner of 1867 Confederation Log Homes and has overseen its growth from a regional supplier to a highly recognized international firm with sales throughout the U.S., Asia, South America and Europe. Joe Mayer will serve as Secretary/Treasurer, and has operated Canadiana Homes Inc., which has exported pre-engineered and panelized homes since 1992. He also owns L & M Developments, a land development company established in 1989.
