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Reverse Trade Mission Trip Report June 9-16, 2018

MAP 2018 M18GX-C38SA (M18S-38-920-SA-2), M18GX-S38MX (M18M-38-920-MX-2), M18GX-S38CA (M18D-38-920-CA-2), and M18GX-X28SA

A. Participants

1. Santiago Nieto, Architect. Peru 2. Yann Barnet, Architect and Director, Institute of Housing, Urbanism and Construction,

USMP University. Peru 3. Diego Bendezú, Student of Architecture and Urbanism, Federico Villarreal National

University. Peru 4. Bernardo Feijo, Remasa el Pino. Peru 5. Juan Carlos Quino, Andina Home. Peru 6. Luis Eduardo Navas, Vista Sur Inmobiliaria. Peru 7. Jaime Zorrilla, Maderería NASA. Mexico 8. Saul Padilla Castor, Maderas y Materiales JR. Mexico 9. Geovani Padilla Castor, Maderas y Materiales JR. Mexico 10. Marcelo Bosch, Lignum. Guatemala 11. Sandra Pinto, Inmunizadora Serrano Gomez. Colombia 12. Natalie Thelen, APA Latin America. Panamá 13. Fernanda Vale, AMSO Mexico. Mexico 14. Miluska Camacho, U.S. Embassy Peru. Peru

B. Purpose of Travel The purpose of the reverse trade mission was to expose individuals in the wood products and

related industries from five Latin American countries to U.S. southern yellow pine lumber,

structural panels, engineered wood products, U.S. construction practices, and wood frame

design. The overall goal of the mission was to adequately educate the participants, so they

could return to their countries of origin and put all they had learned into practice – be that

specifying U.S. panels for construction, importing U.S. wood products, or building relationships

with U.S. producers. In addition, the combination of participants from various countries lent

itself to productive collaboration and information sharing.

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C. Itinerary

Saturday, June 9: Participants arrive in Dallas, Texas Sunday, June 10: Dallas construction site visits Monday, June 11: Simpson Strong-tie plant tour, presentations, and site visits Tuesday, June 12: Travel from Dallas to Alexandria, Louisiana. Roy O Martin OSB plant tour Wednesday, June 13: Weyerhaeuser sawmill tour and Boise Cascade plywood plant tour. Networking with APA and SFPA members Thursday, June 14: Almond Brothers sawmill tour, travel to Miami, Florida Friday, June 15: Universal Forest Products tour, presentation, and networking Saturday, June 16: Return to cities of origin D. Summary and Observations The mission began in Dallas, Texas with single family and multi-family construction site visits, in

order to see how the different structural panels, engineered wood products, lumber, and

connectors come together to build a structure. In the world of wood frame construction,

connectors play a very important role. As a result, Simpson Strong-tie asked to have the group

visit their production facility in Texas. There, participants were educated regarding the various

connectors used in wood frame construction, visited more construction sites, toured the

production facility, and participated in a hands-on demonstration. Information regarding

connectors is extremely important – without their proper installation, structural wood panels

and engineered products cannot perform at their utmost potential.

From Texas, the group travelled to Louisiana where they toured a Roy O Martin OSB plant, a

Weyerhaeuser sawmill, a Boise plywood plant, and the Almond Brothers sawmill. On the 13th,

the group participated in a networking event where they were able to meet both APA and SFPA

members interested in exporting to the Latin American region. From Louisiana, the group

travelled to Miami. While there, they toured Universal Forest Products, and were educated

regarding the wide array of products that Universal buys and sells. This wide range of

experiences gave participants an understanding of wood construction from the plant to finished

buildings, and sales have already been completed between those in attendance and APA/SFPA

members.

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E. Names of Principal Contacts

Bobby Byrd, OSB Sales Manager, Roy O Martin Kristie McCurdy, International Marketing Manager, Boise Cascade Neal Shunk, Strategic Product Manager, Weyerhaeuser Co. Keith Holliman, Maintenance Superintendent, Weyerhaeuser Co. Vince Almond, International Sales, Almond Brothers Lumber Daniel Gonzalez, Export Account Manager, Universal Forest Products F. Conclusions and Recommendations The reverse trade mission gave participants the unique opportunity to learn about U.S.

structural panels, engineered wood products, softwood lumber, and connectors from the mill

to finished structures. The comprehensive trip enabled participants to learn how products are

made, why U.S. products have consistent quality and specifications, and how the products are

integrated in residential, non-residential, and commercial construction. In addition to all of the

information learned, participants were able to collaborate across country boundaries – sharing

ideas, struggles, successes, and plans for future joint work. This type of collaboration is

extremely valuable, as the countries in Latin America often face similar challenges with respect

to wood use and construction practices. It is very likely that a successful approach in one Latin

country will succeed in another, thereby positively impacting the perception of wood and

eventually increasing the use of wood products. In addition to the professional relationships

made among the participants, sales have already taken place between two of the U.S.

producers visited and two of the Latin American companies.

As a result of the trade mission, it became apparent that education of Latin American importers,

distributors, builders, and design professionals must continue. Information regarding U.S.

structural panels, engineered wood products, and softwood lumber is not well known in many

countries, and one of the best ways we have found to increase this knowledge is through

reverse trade missions. Because of this, American Softwoods plans to conduct another reverse

trade mission to the U.S. in 2019.

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G. Copies Distributed To:

• Kirsten Luxbacher, Attaché, Office of Agricultural Affairs, U.S. Embassy/Lima, Peru

• Erich Kuss, Director, and Julio Maldonado, Deputy Director, Agricultural Trade Office/Mexico City, Mexico

• Orestes Vasquez, Director, Agricultural Trade Office/Monterrey, Mexico

• Richard Todd Drennan, Counselor, and Sean Cox, Attaché, Office of Agricultural Affairs, U.S. Embassy/Guatemala City, Guatemala

• Michael Conlon, Counselor, and Benjamin Rau, Attaché, Office of Agricultural Affairs, U.S. Embassy/Bogota, Colombia

• Anita Katial, Counselor, Office of Agricultural Affairs, U.S. Embassy/Panama City, Panama (resident in San Jose, Costa Rica)

• Julie Scott, FAS HQ

• Shelly Wiseman, APA HQ

• Charlie Barnes, APA

• Brad Rose, Rose Research

Residential construction site visited outside of Dallas, Texas

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Visit to Simpson Strong-Tie facility in Dallas, Texas

Visit to RoyOMartin OSB plant in Oakdale, Louisiana

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Tour of Weyerhaeuser sawmill in Dodson, Louisiana

Tour of Almond Brothers sawmill in Coushatta, Louisiana

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Tour of Universal Forest Products/Aljoma in Miami, Florida

Multi-family construction site visit

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Networking with APA and SFPA members