Five Ways We Can Preserve Our Wood Markets

In our history, wood has been regarded as a material of great abundance. Its adaptability and versatility have made it a nearly universal manufacturing and construction material. However, all too frequently today, the public does consider a wood product to be “cheap” and undesirable because it is made from wood. It has become a standard, not of excellence, but of failure. Wood will rot, burn shrink, swell, etc. The abundance of wood, its ready availability, its versatility, and its low cost are real and valuable selling assets; but they alone are not nearly adequate to sell wood nor maintain its markets. The industry must make wood available in a form that is more readily usable – would not the fabricator of any product be more inclined to use wood if it were available to him in the size, shape, and quality best suited to meet his needs? We must strive to capitalize on the known virtues of wood – its beauty, warmth, strength, workability – along with good, sound development work of the type that led to such products as plywood, laminated arches, trussed rafters, and timber trusses. As a third consideration, we should make every effort to improve those characteristics of wood which seriously limit its serviceability. Anything that can be done to change the nature of wood so that these faults are eliminated or minimized must certainly improve the marketability of wood and wood products.

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