SELLING TO: DESIGNERS & SPECIFIERS Picture: International Timber
timber I’ll use for all its benefits, idiosyncrasies and qualities. That might mean looking for straight or character-full grain, choosing on tone, examining for defects, and even checking moisture content of boards on site. “Some merchants can be uneasy about that, but it’s what I need to do,” Michael Cooper affirms. “So the suppliers I use are typically very open and accommodating. I go armed with my cutting list and a tape measure. Once I find the boards I need I’ll work out on site how I can maximise material efficiency and minimise waste, as every length of wood in a stack is unique. That’s what makes the in-person selection process so vital in my case,” Michael Cooper says.
1. HARD CHOICES?
Are merchants missing out on business by not making available a selection of sustainably-grown hardwoods from around the world? What are customers looking for and what’s available? How can merchants assure sustainable sourcing credentials?
“Y
ou’re lucky to get your hands on any hardwoods these days,” speaker Marcus Jahrling, Fellow
of the Institute of Carpenters, told students at the launch of the Institute’s London City Hub at the Building Crafts College (BCC), underlining some of the problems for those learning carpentry and joinery in getting to grips with the true variety of timber available. “Yet we need to keep developing our young people’s knowledge through CPD, as we have a huge skills shortage,” Marcus Jahrling added. Knowledge of different timber species is certainly part of courses at the BCC, but nothing beats hands-on experience in touching, feeling and appreciating the physical differences between a selection of hardwood species from Europe and further afield.
Fine expectations
Fine furniture-maker and designer Michael Cooper, now working for furniture company Benso, is also an Institute of Carpenters member and often has to search hard to find a sufficient selection of hardwoods from
10 / May 2019
builders’ merchants. He says: “From my experience, most independent furniture-makers work primarily with a reasonable selection of key European and North American species (Oak, Ash, Beech, Maple, Sycamore, are just a handful of our staple ingredients). We also need these in reasonable dimensions – boards at most builders merchants are generally not wide enough for us. They are perhaps better for the ‘traditional’ joiner rather than fine furniture maker: stock is often more suited to framing, doors, windows and fitted work. But likewise I’m sure most joiners would also benefit and be interested in choosing from a wider selection of species and dimensions.” How do furniture-makers choose their timber? What level of service are they looking for? Michael Cooper explains: “I go out of my way to use trusted suppliers that I’ve discovered firsthand, or that have been recommended by peers. I don’t want to ‘buy blind’, so I don’t go online or buy over the ‘phone. I will almost always call up in advance to check whether my preferred supplier has what I’m after in stock. I want to visit, work through the stacks and select the
Board widths
John Dowd, Specialised Product Category Director at International Timber, echoes Michael Cooper’s point about stocking different board widths: “For many merchants the main difficulty is not having sufficient space to carry the ideal inventory: boards may not be the right width or length for bespoke joinery work, for example. The main hardwood species we find demand for are American White Oak, Sapele, Meranti, European Oak, Beech, and, for decking, Bangkirai. One or two merchants succeed by keeping a small stock of hardwoods on the ground in-branch, but sawn hardwood lumber can be expensive to stock.
“It’s better to come through to your timber supplier with any bespoke enquiries. International Timber maintains a hardwood sales desk team at each of our depots so our colleagues will be able to help you find what you are looking for,” International’s John Dowd continues. “Ask your customer about the intended application for the timber, as that is helpful in identifying alternative species, if there’s a need to do so. We are here to help you service your customer’s needs which in turn will assist in making the sale.”
Sustainable sourcing
The sourcing of hardwoods two decades ago was in a very different place to where members of the Timber Trade Federation are today. All TTF members must adhere to its Responsible Purchasing Policy, which requires strict due diligence on responsible sourcing, proving legality and sustainability on supplies. Part of this also means engaging with the European Union’s FLEGT– Forest Law, Enforcement, Governance and Trade – process, as TTF Managing Director David Hopkins explains: “FLEGT licensing is a mechanism for ensuring
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