2007 Media Releases & Alerts
Seminars for Smaller and Startup Eastern Hardwood Manufacturers Scheduled for
2008
December 21, 2007, Upper Marlboro, Md. - The NAHB Research Center and the
U.S. Forest Service will host a series of one-day seminars — Gaining a
Competitive Advantage: Insights for Smaller-sized and Startup Eastern Hardwood
Manufacturers — to help hardwood manufacturers learn about emerging
product-demand trends in the building products industry and how to respond
effectively to these trends. The first of the seminars will be held in
Princeton, W.Va., on January 16, the second in Asheville, N.C., on March 24,
and the third in Williamsport, Pa. on April 4.
These seminars will target smaller-sized and startup manufacturers of eastern
hardwood products, from primary producers to secondary manufacturers.
Participants will gain a competitive advantage by accessing specialized
market-trend data provided by the NAHB Research Center. The Research Center
collects market-trend data about builders and consumers annually through its
Builder Practices and Consumer Practices surveys. The Research Center will use
these seminars to demonstrate the usefulness of this highly relevant,
market-trend information to audiences that may not have access to it.
Seminar participants will also learn how to use new product development and
commercialization tools that the Research Center recently developed with
support from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Partnership
for Advancing Technology in Housing (PATH) program. These tools help
manufacturers and service providers develop new products and successfully get
them into the marketplace.
Diversified manufacturers can serve suppliers more effectively because of their
ability to respond to market pressures that cause shifts in demand both toward
and away from their main product offering. This includes understanding how
overseas competition is supplying the domestic marketplace.
Contact Ronda Oglesby at (301) 430–6262 or roglesby@nahbrc.org
for more information about seminar locations or to make a reservation to attend
one of the sessions.
About the NAHB Research Center: The NAHB Research Center
provides evaluation and testing of products and materials to keep builders on
the leading edge of technology, and enhance the quality and affordability of
housing materials. Visit www.nahbrc.org for more
information about this organization.
About the Wood Education and Resource Center: The Wood
Education and Resource Center is located in Princeton, WV, and administered by
the Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry unit of the Forest Service in
the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Center's mission is to work with the
forest products industry toward sustainable forest products production for the
eastern hardwood forest region. It provides state-of-the-art training,
technology transfer, networking opportunities, applied research, and
information. Visit www.na.fs.fed.us/werc
for more information about the Center.
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