March 2011 - Spring Status. Demand again this spring is overwhelming and extremely widespread. Superior Thermowood continues to struggle with the economic downturn, which has impacted the forest industry. We continue through public relations efforts to answer requests that are outside of our distribution channels at present. Your patience and understanding in this regard are appreciated. We endeavor daily to overcome our growth limitations. The basic reality is that we are just beginning a new North American process, technology and product range. A value added industry that is just coming of age at a time when global economic pressures impede progress in terms of scaling growth. Thank you for your understanding and support.
March 2011 - Higher Education. Lakehead University has established collaboration with the University of Minnesota and began planning basic criteria and designing standards for all future thermally modified wood products. The universities recognize the need to proactively, set standards for the specification, application and characteristics for product types to better ensure product durability, performance and safety. Currently, the industry has been loosely following European standards that are difficult to apply in North America.
January 2011 - Sounds Fabulous. STW has been approached by a number of companies who recognize the benefits offered by thermally modified wood. Acoustically speaking the characteristics offered by Thermal Modification are highly sought after by musical instrument makers from organ makers, luthiers and guitar builders. One inquiry has been particularly gratifying, US based Martin guitars a highly respected acoustic guitar manufacturer, has been in regular communication with STW about utilizing our products to manufacture a line of exclusive guitars.
August 2010 - Product showcased on TV (again). Additional product showcases of our thermally modified products are scheduled for release in 2011. Bryan Baeumler’s new DIY Disaster series will debut in Canada and the US and for the first time episodes will deal directly with decks and dock applications in cottage country. Sounds like a natural environment for ThermoForest Products.
July 2010 - Interest from the East Coast. Company president Ed Rose and Dr. Mat Leitch from Lakehead University’s Wood Sciences department were guests of the Newfoundland government. They were invited to provide an introduction to thermally modified wood and the STW process to the Eastern NLLPA and industry partners.
July 2010 - Large scale partnerships being sought. STW’s Board of Directors has opened the door to partners who can assist in deploying large-scale productivity and product distribution.
June 2010 - Requests for product information and product are strong. We've received hundreds of inquiries after HGTV host Bryan Baeumler featured our thermally modified products utilized in Bryan’s “House of Bryan” television series. Our thermally modified wood products were used exclusively in the construction of the home’s deck and fence with outstanding results.
Demand from professional builders, DIY'ers and families looking to build out door areas for products that look good, perform well and exhibit high standards for quality and durability, without the use of chemicals is incredible. Unfortunately, we are not able to fulfill demand as all production is spoken for.
UPDATE: Fall 2010. While inquiries continued through the summer season there has been resurgence in the number of email responses as a result of the re-running of the HGTV show “The House of Bryan” in September/October.
June 2010 - Architecture projects slow. STW is the successful contract supplier on several large-scale projects that benefited from our thermally modified specialty products. Projects included cladding and decking. While difficult to manage considering our limited capabilities the demand is pushing us to expand our production capability.
MAY 2010 - Wood markets under pressure. Soft markets and slow growth caused by the downturn in the economy are beginning to affect markets and values. The spin off effect of current market conditions is having an obvious (adverse) effect on our value added wood product venture. ThermoForest Products is now seeking Industry partners to grow productivity to meet demand levels.
