In an attempt to inform about the best practices in the manufacturing of solid wood furniture from sustainably managed forests of Canada’s British Columbia, Forestry Innovation Consulting India Pvt Ltd (FII) aka Canadian Wood organised a webinar recently.
Peter Bradfield, technical advisor at FII informed about the “unique” properties, grades, and varied applications of various Canadian wood species such as Western Hemlock, Yellow Cedar, Western Red Cedar, Douglas-Fir, and Spruce-Pine-Fir. He also elaborated on the critical aspects of the manufacturing process such as lumber management, seasoning, acclimatization, grain and grade selection, machining, wood coating, storage of the finished products that impact outcomes.
“India has a rich and unique heritage of manufacturing in solid wood. Also, the skills and techniques were often passed on amongst carpenters over generations. However, today a lot of techniques inherent to the process of wood manufacturing in the region have been lost. Limited knowledge amongst craftsmen, lack of appropriate training and regular upgrading of skillsets or understanding of newer technologies and techniques are further affirming the need for educational webinars like the one we conducted,” he said.
Also Read: India is a Promising Market for Certified Canadian Wood: Pranesh Chhibber
Pranesh Chhibber, FII’s country director said, “Canadian softwood species are rapidly finding acceptance in the woodworking industry in India. On the one hand the demand from environmentally conscious manufacturers is growing for legally harvested and certified wood and on the other hand the diminishing availability of tropical hardwoods from its traditional sources of supply has motivated the woodworking professionals to look for alternate long-term sources of wood supply from sustainably managed forests.”
