SFPA Membership Continues to Soar
In case you missed it in our June 25 issue of Lumber Shorts, I wanted to make sure you saw SFPA has added a new Lumber Manufacturer member – Hunt Forest Products! Hunt is a partner in two Southern Pine sawmills in Louisiana – LaSalle Lumber Co. in Urania, Louisiana, and Bienville Lumber Co. in Taylor, Louisiana.
The addition of Hunt Forest Products brings our total number of Lumber Manufacturers to 14 (with a total of 50 sawmill locations), which represents nearly 40% of all Southern Pine production!
As SFPA’s lumber manufacturer membership continues to grow, our Associate Member roster is expanding too, with the addition of the following companies:
These five members bring our Associate Members roster to 144, and there are still a few new members going through onboarding which we’ll introduce you to soon!
There’s never been a better time to be a part of SFPA. We believe partnerships are key to remaining strong and moving forward, so I want to recognize the important role partnerships played in our success and growth. Our members are visionary industry leaders who understand the power of community. Connections built through SFPA activities drive significant growth for the entire Southern Pine lumber industry from start to finish.
We firmly believe with their continued support, participation, and feedback, we can make a lasting difference in the Southern Pine lumber industry together.
2023 Sawmill Safety Award Recipients
I am excited to share SFPA has announced the recipients of the John Edgar Rhodes 2023 Sawmill Safety Excellence Awards. The SFPA Safety Awards embody the impact, dedication, and legacy of the Association’s founding leader, John Edgar Rhodes. Click here to read the official announcement.
The eight award recipients represent a record of 2,282,255 total hours worked among 987 employees – achieving safety excellence with zero reported incidents. As a side note, this follows two years in a row where seven member mills reported zero incidents.
In an industry where worker safety is of utmost importance, operating without any reportable incidents is a significant achievement. We are extremely proud of each of these operations and their commitment to safety excellence.
Division One: (SFPA member mills that produce 50 million board feet or less annually)
- Almond Brothers Lumber Co. – Coushatta, LA
- McShan Lumber Co. – McShan, AL
- Swift Lumber – Atmore, AL
Division Two: (SFPA member facilities that produce 51 to 150 million board feet annually)
- West Fraser – Fitzgerald, GA
- West Fraser – Lake Butler, FL
- West Fraser – Blackshear, GA
- West Fraser – Mansfield, AR
Division Three: (SFPA member mills that produce more than 150 million board feet annually)
- LaSalle Lumber Co. – Urania, LA
Forest Products EXPO 2025 Booth Sales Now Open!
Exhibit space reservations for Forest Products EXPO 2025 are outpacing the previous show – having more than 62% of the floor plan under contract or pending as of June 24. We are well on our way to surpass the 217 exhibitors from 2023, which was a record number last reached in 2007.
It’s not too late to reserve your space for the 38th Forest Products Machinery & Equipment Exposition, which returns to the Music City Center in Nashville from August 6-8, 2025.
Booth space is assigned based on:
- Membership in SFPA.
- Exhibitor priority points.
- Date of receipt of the application/contract and deposit at SFPA.
- Space size and availability.
Remember, SFPA associate members and EXPO 2023 returning exhibiting companies receive discounted exhibit space rates for applications received before July 19, 2024. Not an SFPA member yet? Click here to explore the EXPO benefits you’ll receive (and click here for full SFPA Membership benefits)!
Have questions about the show, visit SFPAexpo.com or email expo@sfpa.org.
American Wood Council Lifecycle Reporting
Given SFPA and the greater forest products community’s commitment to sustainability, we are proud to be working closely with the American Wood Council (AWC) on its upcoming Lifecycle Survey.
SFPA is coordinating with its Lumber Manufacturer members to engage in this important project to meet these growing transparency demands and position wood – and Southern Pine – as the premier building material.
The survey, which is run by AWC to collect annual mill-level data to produce industry-specific Lifecycle Assessments (LCA) and Environmental Product Declarations (EPD), serves as a central data collection point that allows strengthened data analysis and market transparency positioning the industry as a leader in sustainability and environmental performance indicators.
The resulting database will support the wood products sector as it navigates the ongoing shift toward quantitative environmental performance evaluation as a core element of the procurement and product selection process. The data in these surveys, and the resulting EPDs, will help us continue to tell the powerful sustainability story of U.S. wood products.
We can’t wait to see and share the results!
Promotional Activities
SFPA is always somewhere representing the industry and promoting the benefits and best use of Southern Pine. We’ve had and will have a busy few weeks with the following events:
- Tecno Mueble trade show in Guadalajara, Mexico, from August 14-17.
- Expo Camacol in Medellín, Colombia, from August 21-24.
- Colombia Workshop in Medellín, Colombia, from July 29-August 2.
Members, don’t forget to check out the trip reports and trade leads from each of these international shows!