HANNOVER, GERMANY - U.S. Lumber and timber products association The Southern Group of State Foresters is here at Ligna 2013 promoting its members' 1,500 mills as abundant sources for sustainable lumber and biofuel stock.

Exhibiting in Hall 18, the group represents private forest owners. It says the U.S. Southern Region has the highest growth of timberland in the United States, and that it has advanced research and innovative manufacturing for timer production and the emerging markets for wood chips, pellets and bio-mass.

The Southern Group of State Foresters (SGSF) is a non-profit organization consisting of State Foresters from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The group estimates the forest products industry contributes more than $132 billion to the South’s economy.