 |
| Backgrounder(s) & FactSheet(s): | Backgrounder |
|
| Backgrounder(s) & FactSheet(s): | Backgrounder |
VICTORIA – Generating More Value from Our Forests, a vision and action plan for further manufacturing, will help position British Columbia as a world leader in innovative and higher-value uses for wood, Forests and Range Minister Pat Bell announced today.
“We have a
tremendous opportunity to strengthen our pulp, softwood and further
manufacturing sectors and create new high-value products for the changing
global economy,” said
The plan provides a framework to mobilize industry stakeholders, investors, researchers, governments and communities around generating more value from wood and wood residue through furthering manufacturing. The aim is to increase production capacity for value-added products and build new capacity for next-generation forest products, such as bio-energy and bio-chemicals.
“The intent of the plan is to bring people together and focus their efforts on adding value to B.C. forest products,” said BC Wood chair Grant McKinnon. “We have all the pieces of the puzzle – skilled workers, primary manufacturing infrastructure, entrepreneurial value-added sector, talented researchers and world-class forests. Now it’s just a matter of putting all the pieces in place to build an industry that sustains jobs and communities by fully utilizing our forests.”
The plan will be supported by the establishment of a Wood Enterprise Centre and a Value for Wood Secretariat. The Wood Enterprise Centre will leverage expertise and resources from existing organizations, research, and academic institutions to expand the use of wood in commercial and institutional construction, facilitate technology transfer, promote training, and expand markets for further-manufactured products.
The Value for Wood Secretariat will provide stakeholders with one-window access to government agencies, leverage public investment, and encourage strategic alliances among businesses, investors and other partners.
“An aggressive approach to the further development of B.C.’s value-added sector will diversify the market opportunities for the primary wood manufacturing sector, and this plan goes a long way to accomplishing that goal,” said John Allan, president and CEO of the Council of Forest Industries.
“This plan builds on the existing value driven coastal forest products industry and provides valuable leadership and direction,” said Rick Jeffery, CEO of the Coast Forest Products Association. “It will allow us to capitalize on the future and provide the world with innovative new carbon-friendly products.”
Complete copies of Generating More Value from Our Forests: A Vision and Action Plan for Further Manufacturing are available on the ministry’s website at www.for.gov.bc.ca/het/valueadded/.
-30-
|
|
||
|
contact: |
Public Affairs Officer Ministry of Forests and Range 250 387-4592 |
|
|
|
||
|
For more information on government services or to subscribe to the Province’s news feeds using RSS, visit the Province’s website at www.gov.bc.ca. |
||
