Global Wood & Furniture Marketplace Online

MDF BREAKTHROUGH IN CHINA
¡¾2002.06.24¡¿

MDF BREAKTHROUGH IN CHINA

AUSTRALIA: Sydney-based Carter Holt Harvey (CHH) Pinepanels expects to increase exports to China by up to 30% within the next 12 months through a new sales and marketing agreement with International Paper Pacific Millennium (IPPM). Pinepanels currently exports up to 40,000 cubic metres of Customwood medium density fibreboard (MDF) to China's southern provinces, where it is primarily used in the manufacturing of furniture for export to the US and Japan. Under this new agreement, IPPM will market and sell Customwood and other Pinepanels products in five of China's northern provinces. Pinepanels chief executive Ian Myers says, "Government initiatives and Beijing's successful bid for the 2008 Olympic Games have contributed to strong growth among manufacturing industries in northern China, so this is an ideal time for us to be expanding into these provinces." The partnership with IPPM, in which CHH has a 25% shareholding, will enable CHH to leverage IPPM's storage, distribution and customer networks in targeting manufacturers of products, particularly furniture, for the domestic market.