THE GLOBAL SOFTWOOD LOG & LUMBER CONFERENCE 2012 Vancouver, BC Wednesday, May 9, 2012 Hyatt Regency Hotel

Transcription

1 THE GLOBAL SOFTWOOD LOG & LUMBER CONFERENCE 2012 Vancouver, BC Wednesday, May 9, 2012 Hyatt Regency Hotel In conjunction with: May 10: PWC's 25th Annual Global Forest & Paper Industry Conference May 6-8: The Pulp and Paper Producers Council Annual Meeting May 6-10: The Global Forest Products Leadership Summit 2012 This conference is a follow up of our very successful Global Wood Products Conference in 2011 which attracted almost 200 delegates from around the world. This year, we have invited thirteen industry experts to speak at our conference, which will focus on timely events and hot topics related to North America, key international markets and supplying regions, with a specific focus on softwood logs and lumber, all in four sessions: 1. Global Timber and Lumber Dynamics 2. Asia (featuring China & Russia): Log & Lumber Trends & Outlooks 3. North America: Log & Lumber Trends & Outlooks 4. Europe and Southern Hemisphere: Log & Lumber Trends & Outlooks Below are profiles of eight conference speakers and eight sponsors: SESSION 3. NORTH AMERICA TOPIC: US Log Supply Brent J. Keefer Director Economic Research and Resource Planning Hancock Timber Resource Group Brent is responsible for the economic research program, resources information and property management planning functions for all of Hancock Timber s global timberland holdings. In this role, Brent also leads timberland acquisition valuation and due diligence and provides oversight for Hancock Forest Management s resource support teams. Before joining HTRG in 1998, Brent worked for Rayonier Inc. for ten years in the southeast U.S. managing forest resource information and planning systems. He holds a B.S. in forest resource management and a M.S. in forest biometrics, GIS, and remote sensing, both from Virginia Tech.

2 Brent will address US log supply situation and outlook as follows: Assessment of the current US log supply situation. Market dynamics that will affect demand on the US log supply. Long term outlook for softwood supply: global and US. Short term supply overhang: myth or reality? Outlook of softwood timber prices. SESSION 2. ASIA TOPIC: China Log & Lumber - 1 David Xu (Mr Zhiwei Xu) General Manager Shandong GuoFanZeHai Import & Export Co. Ltd. David Xu is the general manager of Shandong GuoFanZeHai Import & Export Co. Ltd., a softwood log and lumber import, distribution and sawmilling company based in Shandong province, China. David is involved in softwood log and lumber imports and travels widely in major softwood supplying countries, including New Zealand, Canada, USA, Russia, and Australia. David has very good insights and knowledge on softwood log supply, distribution, production, and market trends with respect to China. Prior to his current position, David worked as Sales Director and Import Department Manager in Sunhover Industry Group and Shandong Lichen Group. David will address the following topics: 1. China's demand on softwood log & lumber - current situation & trends: Current market picture, including inventory levels of logs and lumber. Current housing inventory and outlook on the housing construction. What about all of these ghost cities that we hear about? Current preferences for species, sizes (metric), grades, etc. who is selling the right product vs. who is selling more basic products? 2. China softwood supply - market share & competition: Log and lumber price trends by supplier. Impact of Russian log export tax reductions and quotas on exports to China. Other supplying countries, including US, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Chile. 3. Challenges & opportunities for importers & suppliers in 2012 and looking out to 2013: Is China s building boom sustainable? Summary of housing demand (concrete form) plus demand by the remanufacturing sector.

3 Price outlook for imported softwood logs and lumber for the second half of 2012 and SESSION 2. ASIA TOPIC: Russia Slava Bychkov Managing Director, Communications Ilim Timber Industry Slava Bychkov has been working for Ilim Timber Industry since the company was founded in Ilim Timber is a spin-off of the former woodworking assets of Ilim Pulp and is part of joint venture arrangements with International Paper. He is primarily responsible for public affairs, government relations and business development. Slava has extensive experience in the timber and pulp and paper industries, working for the largest Russian pulp and paper corporation, Ilim Pulp from 1999 to Prior to joining Ilim Timber, Slava was the head of the St. Petersburg Chapter of the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia from 1997 to He was also a Managing Director of Ogilvy Public Relations in Moscow from 2005 to Slava will be addressing Russian softwood sawmilling sector within respect to global markets and trends as follows: Current development of Russian sawmilling Russian lumber production capacity and log supply Domestic market perspective and major export destinations How WTO participation and the reduced log export tax will affect the Russian timber industry

4 SESSION 4. EUROPE & SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE TOPIC: New Zealand & Australia Robert Eastment Director IndustryEdge Robert Eastment is a Director of IndustryEdge and is a professional economist and forester. IndustryEdge provides a range of market related professional services to industry, both corporate and commercial, and governments with interests in the Australasian forestry, pulp and paper sectors. IndustryEdge is also a coauthor of CarbonEdge, the bi-monthly Australian carbon market intelligence report. Robert is the editor of the monthly Australasian market intelligence report Pulp and Paper Edge, the annual Australasian Pulp and Paper Strategic Review and the biannual Forest and Wood Strategic Review. He undertakes extensive analysis and reporting on the forestry and timber markets in both Australia and New Zealand. Robert will be speaking on the following: Softwood Timber Industries in Australia and New Zealand Plantation resources: Changes impacting resources and ownership Domestic markets: Sawnwood Pulp Engineered wood products e.g. panels, etc. Issues impacting the domestic markets Exports: Logs - to where and what is the impact on local industry Woodchips - to where and security impact on industry Exports of sawn wood and engineered wood products Issues impacting exports Governance: Government policy Investment confidence Prices, trends and outlook

5 SESSION 4. EUROPE & SO. HEM. TOPIC: Chile & Brazil Charles Kimber Corporate Affairs & Marketing Director Celulosa Arauco y Constitución S.A. (Arauco) Mr. Kimber studied Commercial Engineering at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. He is the Corporate Affairs & Marketing Director at Arauco, one of the largest forestry companies in Latin America in terms of surface area and yield of its plantations, production of market kraft woodpulp, and production of sawntimber and panels. Arauco has investments in Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay and a sales offices in Peru, Colombia, Mexico, U.S.A., Holland, China, Australia and Japan. Mr. Kimber joined Arauco in 1986 and since then, has held several positions within the company, as it grew from sales of US 150 million to US 4 billion today. Mr. Kimber is a Member of the Board of Corma (Chilean Forestry Association), Amcham (Chile USA Chamber of Commerce), Chile Argentina Chamber of Commerce and of several companies within the Arauco Group. He has a keen interest in the environmental, social and educational fields and has been personally involved with several NGO s, environmental initiatives and especially primary and secondary school education. Arauco has been investing for years in plantation forestry in South America as in now one of the top companies in world. As a fully integrated company, with direct ownership on over 1 million hectares of pines and eucalyptus, 5 pulp mills, several wood based panels and lumber production facilities as well as one of the largest energy biomass co-generation producers, Arauco has much to say on the future development of plantation fiber supply and demand in the southern cone of Latin America. Charles will look specifically at Chile and Brazil in terms of some of the following: Industry trends in terms of what is happening with the industrialization of wood products; Trends in Latin America s surging domestic demand; The importance of export markets and how Chile has expanded its exports to all corners of the world; Why Brazil does not need to rely as much on exports; Trends in lumber and plywood exports and where the U.S. market fits in; and Other strategic topics.

6 SESSION 2. ASIA TOPIC: Middle East, India, etc. Mo Amir General Manager SPF Precut Lumber Muhammad (Mo) Amir Jr. brings ample international experience and a strong educational background to SPF Precut Lumber, an awardwinning exporter and remanufacturer of Canadian wood products founded by his parents and based in beautiful British Columbia, Canada since Growing up around the lumber industry, Mo had always kept a keen interest in the operations of SPF Precut Lumber, obtaining his SPF Lumber Grading Certificate and working at the company s remanufacturing mill over the summers during his youth. With a thirst for international business and international trade policy, Mo completed his Bachelor of Business Administration Honours degree at Simon Fraser University before embarking on his MA in Political Science which will officially be completed by the end of this summer. His undergraduate studies included a school-sponsored field study program, where Mo lived in Curitiba, Brazil for three months, conducting original research on the Brazilian automotive industry. In 2009, Mo Amir joined his family business and the SPF Precut Lumber team, assuming the lead in the company s ocean freight management while also implementing numerous administrative, marketing, and information technology initiatives. Mo will be speaking on the following: 1) Introduction: Heterogeneity of the Middle East 2) Economic Characteristics, Demand for Lumber of Key Middle East Markets 3) Business Culture similarities and differences between economies 4) The Influence of the Arab Spring challenges and opportunities

7 SESSION 3. NORTH AMERICA TOPIC: North America Lumber Chris McIver Vice President, Lumber Sales and Corporate Development West Fraser Chris McIver was appointed Vice President, Lumber Sales and Corporate Development for West Fraser in January 2011 and is based in Quesnel, BC. Prior to his most recent position, he had been Vice President, Lumber Sales since 2006 responsible for West Fraser s Wood Product Sales and transportation. He joined West Fraser in 1991 and has held various sales and operations positions in West Fraser s solid wood, pulp and paper and MDF groups. Chris holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and is married with two teenage children. Chris will be addressing some of the following topics on the trends and outlook for the US Market: Overall demand trends in North America with a focus on the US; Perspectives on housing starts, new and existing home inventories and prices and the role of shadow inventories ; Housing demand in terms of demographics and future household formations in US; Export demand (such as China) and its effect on the North America market dynamics; Future demand capacity/factors that may affect pricing in short to mid-term; and Outlook for the U.S. market.

8 SESSION 1. GLOBAL DYNAMICS TOPIC: Global Marketplace Dynamics Reid Carter Managing Partner Brookfield Timberlands Reid is a Managing Partner of Brookfield Timberlands, based in Vancouver and is responsible for timberlands management strategy at Brookfield. With over 30 years of forest industry experience, Reid s focus is on the acquisition and management of private timberlands. Reid joined Brookfield in Since then, Brookfield Timberlands portfolio has grown from 310,000 acres under management to one of the largest timberland estates globally with over 2.5 million acres under management in the U.S., Canada and Brazil. Prior to joining Brookfield, Reid was a top ranked Paper and Forest Products Research Analyst at National Bank Financial, and has held senior roles at TimberWest Forest Corp. and Fletcher Challenge Canada. Reid holds a Master of Science in soil science from the University of British Columbia and is a British Columbia Registered Professional Forester. Reid s presentation will focus on the global timber marketplace dynamics: As a global timberlands expert, Reid will identify and discuss many of the factors outside of traditional regional competitiveness and benchmarking studies that are likely to be key drivers for the success or failure of timber and wood products producing regions in the coming years. The presentation will offer specific examples of biological, regulatory, foreign exchange, and market factors that are likely to meaningfully impact investment returns. Reid s presentation will kick off the conference and provide some unique perspectives for other speakers and delegates to consider.

9 SESSION 4. EUROPE & SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE TOPIC: European Industry & Market Outlook Olle Berg Senior Vice President, Marketing & Sales Overseas & Distribution Stora Enso, Helsinki, Finland Olle Berg is the Senior Vice President, Marketing & Sales for Stora Enso in Finland, and he is currently responsible for Marketing & Sales Overseas & Distribution, Stora Enso Building & Living. He has been an integral part of Stora Enso for over 15 years and brings a wealth of knowledge on the European and overseas markets as from production side of the business. Some of his previous positions with various divisions of Stora Enso include: Senior Vice President, Marketing & Sales; Senior Vice president, Marketing & Sales, Nordic Production Unit Senior Vice President, Marketing & Sales Overseas,Japan/US/Australia/South East Asia Managing Director, Sweden Division Olle will be speaking on the following topics: European Sawn Softwood Situation: Overview of key supply/demand drivers and economic development Production trends in key European producing regions Main markets and flows (short term) development How we look at different geographical areas - Japan/China/MENA & main European markets operatively. Trends and Outlook: Log and sawnwood prices (and the lack of sawnwood margins vs. log prices) Impact of Russian log export tax from 25% to 13-15% Market outlook & long term building trends in Europe.

10 SESSION 3. NORTH AMERICA TOPIC: BC Mountain Pine Beetle Jim Girvan, RPF MBA President M.D.T. Management Decision and Technology Ltd. Jim is recognized as an authority in timber supply, economic and statistical analysis, forecasting and finance. As a professional forester, Jim has over 30 years of experience in small businesses, large corporations, and financial institutions. Jim served as the Executive Director of the TLA; the quiet voice of reason representing the political interests of independent communitybased businesses reliant on the forest industry across coastal BC. He has authored reports and articles ranging from supply analysis to tenure reform and is an eloquent presenter that has addressed audiences from Oregon to New Zealand sharing his creative and innovative solutions to difficult forest industry issues. Key areas of his practice include timber supply and fibre flow modeling and analysis, industry forecasting, statistical analysis, licence acquisition and forest policy. About his presentation: The mountain pine beetle has devastated the lodgepole pine forests in the interior region of BC. Much of the impact has already been felt in the industry with the annual allowable timber harvest levels now falling and many lumber and plywood mills have already closed. Looking forward in the wake of the epidemic, opportunities exist for new industries and those mills that have survived the global market downturn and direct impact of the beetle on the BC Interior log supply. This presentation will include key conclusions found in the report as they relate to: How the allowable harvest level has changed in the BC Interior over the last 2 decades and what the eventual mid-term harvest and sawlog supply will look like; Why the mid-term and final impacts of the beetle on B.C. s forest industry may be less that was initially forecast; How the B.C. Interior s industry has already reacted to the beetle and what is yet to come in terms of mill closures as well as new business opportunities; The fibre supply reality that downstream residual chip, sawdust and hog fuel consumers are forecast to face and what their alternative biomass fibre supply opportunities may be; and An analytical perspective on B.C. forest sector opportunities that still remain after the beetle in the BC Interior as well as an assessment of how the BC Coast will see growth opportunities.

11 LUNCH SPEAKER Paul Quinn Analyst RBC Dominion Securities Inc, Canada Paul has been a forest products analyst for the last 8 years after a successful 10 year career in the industry. He brings a practical approach to investing in the sector, assisted by his strong industry contacts and operational knowledge. His current company coverage totals 19 North American companies, split somewhat evenly between the US and Canadian markets. Over the past several years, Paul has achieved consistently high rankings for his forest products research and stock picking ability. Paul will be speaking on the following: Analyst perspective on log and lumber equity values. Key drivers in valuations. Significant trends in the North American log and lumber markets - Consolidation, Home Size, Exports, Supply reductions. Pricing impacts from Chinese demand, Russian log export tax reduction, Mountain Pine Beetle supply reductions. How to make money, and pay for the price of the conference! from the eventual US housing recovery/growing Asian demand.

12 SESSION 1. GLOBAL DYNAMICS TOPIC: Global Lumber Trends Russell Taylor President Mr. Taylor conducts wood products marketing analysis and business assessment/investment projects for numerous global industry clients and across North America. As a global wood products consultant, Mr. Taylor travels extensively throughout the world and conducts market research and industry analysis to assist companies throughout North America and in many dynamic global regions, including Russia, China, Asia, and throughout the Southern Hemisphere and Europe. His clients include many of the larger or most influential companies around the world. Mr. Taylor has published/produced over 300 articles, reports and presentations and leads International WOOD MARKETS Group in its various strategic market intelligence reports and forecasts for the wood products industry, including: The bi-annual Global Timber / Sawmill / Lumber Cost Benchmarking report, WOOD MARKETS 2012 the Five-Year Outlook for North America, and The China Book Wood Products Industry & Market Review: Outlook to Mr. Taylor has a forestry degree (BScF) and an MBA from the University of B.C. (Vancouver) and is also a registered professional forester (RPF). Russ s presentation will address global lumber trends over the next five or more years, including: Global Lumber Trends by Region Changing Supply Trends: in Canada, U.S., Europe, Russia and China Changing Demand Trends: U.S. housing, European debt crisis, MENA, Japan, Asia, India, China What Does It All Mean? Things are definitely changing here s why!

13 GOLD SPONSOR Borden Ladner Gervais LLP: Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG) is Canada's largest law firm. With more than 750 lawyers, intellectual property agents and other legal professionals in six offices, BLG provides corporate, litigation and intellectual property solutions to a wide range of clients nationally and internationally. And as a bilingual English-French firm, BLG excels under both the common and civil law systems in Canada. Their Forestry Law Group has extensive experience in forestry projects and acquisitions, corporate/commercial and Forest Act Issues, environmental matters, and aboriginal matters. The lawyers within this group consistently receive top rankings in publications Best Lawyers in Canada and Lexpert." SILVER SPONSOR Hancock Timber Resource Group: Founded in 1985, Hancock Timber Resource Group (HTRG) develops and manages globally diversified timberland portfolios for institutional and high net-worth clients worldwide. As of December 31, 2011, the firm manages more than US$ 9.1 billion. Hancock Timber is a fully integrated timberland investment firm that actively acquires and manages large tracts of timberland in the major timber-growing regions of the world. HTRG is based in Boston and is a division of Hancock Natural Resource Group, Inc., a registered investment adviser and wholly owned subsidiary of Manulife Financial Corporation. PLATINUM SPONSOR CN: CN is recognized as the best-run railroad in the industry. Along with its trucking operations, CN covers the supply chain from beginning to end with a 21,000-mile North American network with access to all three coasts. The vision for CN now is to take the strength of our precision railroading model to the next level by focusing on supply chain initiatives and service excellence. CN is working closely with ports and terminal operators to deliver the fastest, safest, and most fuel-efficient transportation solutions to ensure our customer s success.

14 SILVER SPONSOR Greenheart Group: Greenheart Group is a forestry company listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (HK:00094) with assets in Suriname, South America and New Zealand. In Suriname, Greenheart is the largest forestry operator with harvesting rights to approximately 20 percent of Suriname s total available concessions. Greenheart has harvesting rights to 403,750 hectares of tropical hardwood forestry concessions including FSC certified concessions. Greenheart Group is the owner of the Mangakahia Forest in New Zealand, an area of approximately 13,000 hectares of freehold land and 11,000 hectares of mature radiata pine plantations. GOLD SPONSOR Comact: Although the machining facilities were somewhat modest when operations first started in 1924, the company quickly earned itself an enviable reputation for the quality of its products. Now, Comact is the North American leader in the design and manufacturing of sawmill technology and equipment for the lumber industry. The company offers the largest line of products anywhere, from basic conveyors to complete automated production lines, for both the softwood and hardwood sawmill industries, as well as pellet mill equipment. However, Comact s sawmilling technology is mainly sold to sawmill operators in the softwood lumber industry. ATB Corporate Financial Services SILVER SPONSOR ATB Corporate Financial Services: ATB Corporate Financial Service, a division of ATB Financial, has a wide market presence with offices serving the mid- and senior-markets in Calgary, Edmonton, Lethbridge, Red Deer and Grande Prairie. These physical client touch points are supported through another 242 branches and agencies that cover every corner of the province. We offer a wide range of solutions from credit, deposit, cash management, derivatives and syndications, bringing out assets to 5.2 billion. ATB Corporate Financial Services specializes in the industries critical to the Alberta economy including Energy, Real Estate, Food & Forestry and Diversified. This approach ensures clients are only dealing with experienced Relationship Management Teams that are intimate with their industry. This client interaction is further enhanced through the alignment of sector-specific industry analysts and credit personnel with the Relationship Management Teams.

15 PLATINUM SPONSOR RBC Capital Markets: RBC Capital Markets is the full-service investment banking division of Royal Bank of Canada and provides products and services to institutions, corporations, governments and high net worth clients around the world. With over 6,300 professionals, RBC works with clients in over 100 countries to help them raise capital, access markets, mitigate risk and acquire or dispose of assets. RBC operates from 75 offices located in Asia and Australasia, the U.K. and Europe and in every major North American city. GOLD SPONSOR Guofanzehai Import & Export Co: Based in China, Guofanzehai imports logs, lumber and wood chips, and manufactures plywood and lumber. With operations and sales offices in Shandong Lanshan, Qingdao, Shanghai, Jiangsu Taicang and Fujian Zhangzhou, Guofanzehai imports softwood and hardwood logs from New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Russia, US and South American countries. The annual imported log and lumber volume is about 1 million m3 and the company has plans to grow further. Guofanzehai operates five plywood production lines and exports 50,000 m3 of plywood annually. Guofanzehai owns two sawmilling groups that produce and process 200,000 m3 of lumber annually. All of the company s wood products meet national standards in China. Guofanzehai`s business motto is "trust and partnership" with all business partners, and endeavors to build long-term and mutually beneficial relationships with their customers and suppliers. GOLD SPONSOR HewSaw Machines Inc.: HewSaw is recognized globally as a premier supplier of leading edge, small log sawmill breakdown machine lines. Originally developed in Scandinavia in the early 1960s, there are now more than 400 HewSaw installations in 26 different countries, ranging from the company s original single pass curve-sawing machines to full sawing lines, complete with optimization technology and sideboard capabilities. Our new age sawmill lines are designed to provide operational efficiency while minimizing the ecological footprint of space requirements, power consumption and waste. Special design considerations enhance personnel safety, including full guarding, sound buffers and sealed covers. In addition, HewSaw s products are ergonomically designed with features such as walk-in service access for highly efficient saw assembly changes and other servicing. HewSaw lines offer high uptime with low operating costs, providing our customers with profit-enhancing advantages.

16 GOLD SPONSOR Sierra Systems: For over 45 years Sierra Systems has been delivering unparalleled results to our clients by offering a full range of management consulting, systems integration and managed services tailored to the unique needs of each of the industries we serve. Our business information management platform specific to the forest products industry helps our clients streamline operational performance and improve shareholder value. GOLD SPONSOR BEP Engineering Services Ltd.: BEP Engineering Services Ltd. has its roots in mill design, with over 31 years of experience in design of new operations and in upgrading and modification of existing plants. As a result they have a long list of companies in the sawmill, re-man, plywood, planer mill, veneer, and shake producing industries, who have found expert design and advice in solving technical and production problems. But their expertise doesn't end there. BEP Engineering has been involved in hundreds of projects with a team of broad-based designers in civil and structural, mechanical and electrical production, along with contacts from technology suppliers, users and investors to create profitable business ventures as well. Over the last 8 years, BEP Engineering has assisted in supplying and installing Pre-Engineered Metal Buildings and Air Barrier Doors as an added benefit to their customers and an understanding of their customers flow requirements in the development of the most appropriate building shape to suit their particular end use. SILVER SPONSOR AltaCorp Capital Inc.: AltaCorp Capital Inc. is an institutional financial advisory firm that focuses on the key drivers of Western Canada s economy: Energy, Agri-Industry, and Diversified Industries. AltaCorp offers the full spectrum of advisory and institutional services to corporations in varied stages of development, including Corporate Mergers & Acquisitions, Equity Financings, Acquisitions & Divestitures, Equity Research and Sales & Trading. AltaCorp is aligned in a strategic relationship with ATB Financial, Alberta s largest financial institution with assets over $26.5 billion, that provides Commercial Lending, Business & Agriculture Industry Banking, and Retail & Investment Services throughout the province. AltaCorp has offices in Calgary and Toronto and is a registered member of CIPF, IIROC, FINRA and SIPC. For more information please visit

17 GOLD SPONSOR QMI-SAI Global: QMI-SAI Global helps organizations manage risk, achieve certification and drive improvement by providing training, registration audits, and supplier management programs. With auditors and registrations worldwide, QMI-SAI Global is a global leading Certification Body in the forestry sector, committed to exceptional customer service and advancing business excellence and having registered millions of hectares to the FSC, SFI, CAN/CSA Z809 and CAN/CAS Z804 programs in North America. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact our office at (604) For a full WOOD MARKETS conference brochure and further conference and hotel information, please visit: For information on The Global Forest Products Leadership Summit 2012, please visit: