MISSISSAUGA, Ontario – Gene Wengert, a.k.a. the Wood Doctor, is gearing up to present at the Woodworking Machinery & Supply Conference & Expo for the first time.

The popular long-time FDMC columnist is scheduled to preside over a pair of back-to-back seminars on Friday, Nov. 1, at the International Centre. Wengert’s first presentation, “Wood Doctor’s RX Part 1 – Improving profitability and reducing wood costs in cabinet and furniture plants,” begins as 10 a.m. It will immediately be followed at 11 a.m. by “Wood Doctor’s RX Part 2 – Eliminating everyday gluing and machining defects.”

Wengert, also an industry consultant, said his presentations will draw upon the real-world experience he has gained helping diagnose and cure clients’ wood-related problems. A common thread of his two WMS presentations is improving profitability by getting a better handle on controlling costs, including eliminating rejects.

“You need to seize control of your processes to better control your future,” Wengert said. “One of the fundamental issues I want to discuss is how wood product companies can prepare to make a profit when times get tough. They have to prepare for the future by doing common sense stuff today that will make them better than their competitors when the next recession hits.”

One of the fundamentals Wengert cited for increasing profitability is optimizing raw material. “This is more than just about maximizing yields in the rough mill,” Wengert said. “Optimization begins with specifying and buying the right product for your needs including paying attention to widths, grades and moisture content. In addition, we have to be careful that we don’t say, ‘I want solid wood for everything or for this and that. Composite wood products can work just as well in most applications and be much less expensive. You have to look at all wood products not just solid wood.”

In the quest for more profits, Wengert said quality trumps productivity. “The important thing is productivity alone is not going to make more profit anymore,” Wengert said.  “Making higher quality products, as defined by the consumer, is going to be what is really the key for why someone buys your product versus someone else’s which might be from China or just down the street. If yours is higher quality, it will be easier to sell and at a higher price.”

Learn more about the WMS education program and register.

Read Gene Wengert's technical articles on woodworkingnetwork.com.

About CCI Media
CCI Canada is owned by CCI Media, a business-to-business media company focused exclusively on industrial wood products manufacturing markets in North America. CCI Media’s flagship publication, FDMC magazine, circulates monthly in print and digital formats. CCI Media also publishes the bi-monthly Closets & Organized Storage magazine. Woodworking Network is the umbrella brand for the combined portfolio of wood manufacturing print, digital, and web products and industry events operated by CCI Media. CCI Canada also produces the Woodworking Machinery & Supply Conference & Expo, Oct. 31-Nov.2, at the International Centre, Mississauga, Ontario and Salon Industriel du Bois Ouvré (SIBO), which will be held April 23-25, 2020, in Drummondville, Quebec.

In addition to WMS 2019 and SIBO 2020, CCI Media produces Wood Pro Expo Texas and the Cabinets & Closets Conference & Expo, both of which will be co-located March 11-13,  2020, at the Arlington Convention Center in Arlington, Texas. The company also produces Wood Pro Expo Lancaster 2019, to be held October 17-18, at Warehouse at the Nook, Manheim, Pa., and the Executive Briefing Conference, November 8-10, 2020, at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colo.