The past year has seen many changes and some very exciting events for Wood Component Manufacturers Association members and technical partners.

Under Amy Snell’s leadership we reinstituted our annual spring meeting for the first time in several years. The event was held in Nashville in conjunction with the HMA National Convention, and was well attended by both associations. WCMA members had the opportunity to network with not only their industry peers, but also many industry suppliers.

With the volatility of lumber pricing in our industry, this meeting provided an outstanding opportunity for our members to talk to many of the large producers of hardwood lumber in North America. In addition to networking there was a diverse and well informed group of speakers. Those who attended came away with a much better understanding of the trends and dynamics of the hardwood lumber industry in North America, as well as many other topics.

For the 2016 Spring Annual Meeting we will be partnering with Stiles Machinery and Weinig to provide a European Plant Tour Event, a unique opportunity for members. Held March 11-19, 2016, the meeting will include a visit to the Nuremberg Woodworking Show as well as tours to leading-edge woodworking and machinery manufacturers in Germany. Due to logistics and space, the number of participants will be limited; we’ll keep  you updated.

Prior to the spring event, the annual Fall Conference and Plant Tour will take place in Sherbrooke, Quebec, September 20-22, 2015. This event provides several networking opportunities. In addition, the Tech Expo gives members and the tech partners a forum to discuss challenges and opportunities.

The WCMA provides members a conduit for customers to locate and contact suppliers of component parts rather than producing their own. We have all seen the comparisons and advantages for domestic outsourcing of wood component parts, and with the advances in technology and the diversification of our membership WCMA members are able to provide customers with the products they require, to their specifications, and with much shorter lead times than competing regions of the world. There has rarely been a time like now, when buying component parts domestically is by far the better alternative.

For information on the WCMA or its members’ products, visit www.WCMA.com, call 651-332-6332, or email [email protected].

Paul Dow of Yoder Lumber Co. is WCMA President