The Association’s “See the Stamp, Trust the Quality” full-page advertisement has been published once again within the Forest Products 
Export Directory, the source book that is purchased by thousands of importers and buyers from around the globe. This is the 41st edition of the book and NELMA’s 7th consecutive year to direct inquiries to nelma.org website for further northeastern species information and the product locator feature. The ad placement is part of the Association’s export marketing visibility through funding provided by the USDA and the Softwood Export Council.
Tag: export
Annual Outreach to Overseas Lumber Buyers
With its full page advertisement titled See the Stamp, Trust the Quality, NELMA continues its visibility within the global market via the 2015 edition of the Forest Products Export Directory. This annual publication is THE comprehensive source
for worldwide buyers of North American Softwood and Hardwood products. Manufacturers of kitchen cabinets, furniture, flooring, millwork, and other assorted wood-using secondary manufacturers, along with all major importers/distribution yards, traders, and agents subscribe to this publication. More than 10,000 copies are in circulation.
Since 2010, NELMA has utilized this yearly publication to introduce and remind overseas customers of softwood lumber products available from the Northeast, where to find and how to contact an Association manufacturer for inquiries. This activity is part of the NELMA’s Marketing Program and export outreach!
NELMA Hosts Wood Product Importers from Pakistan
NELMA was the first stop in the U.S. for a group of 7 business owners or representatives of wood product importers from the country of Pakistan. Accompanied by the Agriculture Marketing Specialist with the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, the two-
day visit was made possible through the USDA Foreign Agriculture Service’s Cochran Fellowship Program. The primary objective of the program is to promote U.S. industry by bringing qualified importers from emerging global markets to the U.S. to establish business relationships with manufacturers and distributors of products of interest. In this case it was softwood lumber manufactured by NELMA mills in the Northeast.
Day One of the visit constituted a meeting of the importer group with NELMA member manufacturers and distributors at the Association’s HQ office in Cumberland, Maine. The relationship process began with an overview presentation of the Northeastern softwood lumber industry by NELMA staff, followed by an informative narrative from the importers regarding Pakistan’s growing need for softwood lumber and images of how the country’s moulding/millwork and window/door industry currently uses wood. It was noted that during the last 5 years, U.S. wood product exports to Pakistan increased 400% and 2014 trade in wood is expected to exceed $30 million.
The afternoon session on Day One was devoted to presentations by NELMA’s member participants regarding their business operations, followed by an interactive, open discussion forum to further add to the relationship building process between NELMA and the importer group.
Day Two incorporated a mill visit to Hancock Lumber Company’s Casco, Maine operation to experience the lumber manufacturing and grading process for Eastern White Pine. Various NELMA grades were available for hands-on viewing and follow-up discussion between the importers and industry representation on the tour. To round out the day, the group toured a forest harvesting site within the area to learn more about the general forest management practices of the industry and the bright future of sustainability for softwoods grown in the northeast.
“This interactive event that brings NELMA’s members in contact with interested importers from around the globe is a perfect example of the type of program the Association hopes to continue in the future”, according to Jeff Easterling, NELMA’s President. “While we are not as large as our Southern and Western forest industry counterparts, bringing more attention to the wide-variety of sustainable wood products produced in the Northeast can lead to additional marketing options for the membership.”
NELMA would like to thank Hancock Lumber Company and their gracious staff for hosting the mill and forest tour for the group during their visit.
Garnering Interest from Overseas Buyers
To augment NELMA’s manufacturing members’ visibility in overseas markets, the Association has once again placed its full page “See the Stamp, Trust the Quality” advertisement in the recently published 2013 annual issue of the Forest Products Export Directory. This globally-recognized, 214-page publication has a circulation of 10,000 and distributed worldwide to buyers of North American softwood lumber products, which includes kitchen cabinet, furniture, flooring and millwork manufacturers, importers and distribution yards, traders, and agents. More than 3,000 are placed in the hands of purchasing decision-makers in China; another 2,100 to those in the European Union, and 450 to key individuals located in the Middle East region.
NELMA’s ad explains the organization’s mission and directs readers to our websites to learn more about northeastern softwood lumber products and to locate specific manufacturer information online. The Association listing is also included within the Directory, which provides pertinent contact information for direct inquiries.
Participating in this 38th annual publication is yet another marketing vehicle NELMA utilizes to increase awareness of the attributes and availability of Eastern White Pine and Spruce-Pine-Fir lumber manufactured by its membership.
