Suppliers and manufacturers of wood products, both local and international, came together for the Philippine Wood Expo 2019 on Oct. 21 and 22 at Sofitel Philippine Plaza to showcase sustainable trends and innovations in the global wood industry.
The theme of this year’s Philippine Wood Expo, which was held at the Luzon and Mindanao ballrooms of the Sofitel Philippine Plaza, was “A Greener Economy through a Wooden World”. Attendees of the event came from various countries in Asia, Africa and Europe. Stakeholders from the public and private sectors also participated in the event.
“There is growing interest in wood as a material and this event showcased exciting developments in the wood industry that promises to propel it forwards,” said PWPA chairman Charlie Liu. “We are looking forward to highlighting the Philippines as one of the global leaders in terms of wood technology.”
The event also hosted several respected industry experts who discussed some of the most pressing issues and interesting developments in the industry.
Among the topics tackled were “Understanding the Proposed Sustainable Forest Management Bill” led by Tommy Valdez of Filipino Foresters Inc.; “Demand and Supply-Side Measures in Support of Legal and Sustainable Trade” with Bruno Cammaert of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization; and “Wood in Construction: An Option or A Necessity” with Jon Ander Bilbao, lead architect of Goudie Associates.
“We hope that attendees learned more about the local and global wood industry and the trends that are shaping its future. We believe that through activities like the Philippine Wood Expo 2019, we can help build greater support for the usage of wood,” Liu said.
This is the second time that the PWPA held the Philippine Wood Expo. The first was held in 2016. The event brought together representatives of various sectors such as forest management and development, manufacturing, processing, distribution and marketing of wood products. Government officials and communities who directly benefit from the wood sector also joined the first iteration of the Philippine Wood Expo.