New wood products show debuts

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held to bring together everyone involved with wood from the forester to the retail lumber merchant.

Held in Bordeaux, France and jointly sponsored by wood industry groups and the French government, it was an impressive premiere for an exposition that is now scheduled to be held every other year.

Called Batibois, a French shorthand kind of word that roughly translates as wood in building, it attracted 276 French and foreign firms to disPlaY their wares in 136,000 sq. ft. of the enormous local convention hdl. Of the nearly 2090 foreign exhibitors only one was from the United States: PreCut International of Woodinville, Wa., a maker of Pre+ut timber homes.

Their participation in the show marks a beginning perception among American wood products firms of the huge potential for American wood and wood products in the growing European market. Additionally, the European marketing manager for

Story at a Glance

lntematlonal ghow covers all aspecle ol wood and wood constructlon. . .hundreds of exhlbltors lrom 16 countrlee. French sponsored, lt's a unlque attempt lo Increage wood In European conslructlon.

Southern Forest Products Association and Western Wood Products Association, Robert R. Kincaid, presented a seminar at the show. (see occomponying story.)

Three days of symposia, conferences and presentations were included during Batibois lnternational, which was held September D-17. ManY were devoted to increasing the role of wood in European building. Today, much of the home and low rise construction in Western Europe is in stone, cement, concrete, steel and stucco. A prime purpose of the show and the seminars was to attempt to increase awareness of the benefits of wood construction in a wide range of applications. Bordeaux, incidently, was an apt choice for a show.site as the largest forest in Europe is in that area of France.

A remarkable co-feature of Batibois International was Villabois International. It was nothing less than an entire village of ll7 wood framed homes, built nearby especially to tie in with the show. (See pages 40-41.)

An interesting aspect of the exPo was its similarity to business gatherings in this country. American show visitors were quick to note that other than the French language signs, most of the displays could just as easily

/l'!t'ust' lurn lt) Pagt' -19)

For Related Story

SEE PAGES 40.41