2022 Feature - Africa

From the dawn of civilization, man has utilized wood, from the mastery of fire an estimated 120K-700K years ago, to the construction of shelter, tools, and vessels to explore the distant shores, to musical instruments that lifted our cultures as well as taught us about our past; it is fair to say that human history has been built on a wooden framework.

As civilization flourished, applications of wood grew and branched, reminiscent of the trees from which it originated. In the early Mesolithic period (~10,000 BCE) we find evidence of the earliest known timber housing, more than 6000 years before the development of metal tools. As time progressed, cultures around the world learned how to convert wood to charcoal, allowing the smelting of copper, bronze, iron, and even some steel. Elsewhere, the Austronesian expansion piloted wooden boats as they established the vast maritime trading networks that would, in time, become known as the Maritime Jade Road and Maritime Silk Road.

Yet until recently, mankind showed little concern for preserving wood as a resource, despite its role in every aspect of life. Over the last 300 years, factors such as the Industrial Revolution, the Technological Revolution, and major advances in medicine, agriculture, and transport led to an exponential population increase. This in turn, has resulted in a drain on

Earth’s most precious resources. The future costs of over-harvesting and profiteering were largely overlooked until well into the twentieth century. In the past decades, movements have started to emerge focusing on resource preservation, With a new focus on plantations and well-managed timber concessions, many parts of the globe are showing early signs of forest stabilization.

Today we are faced with legitimate questions; How does a modern wood products firm operate in the 21st century, in a globalized and growing world that is experiencing an ever-increasing demand for natural resources?

Shelter Forest International has a simple answer. Environmental stewardship is built into our core, and we continue our commitment to sourcing top-quality materials while concurrently protecting their sources for the next generation. Sustainable practices in light of a growing global consciousness are imperative for a modern-day strategy, while our exceptional products demonstrate our commitment to our channel partners.

Wood has been a harbinger of progress, a refuge during hardship, and has sustained life itself. Wood and its many uses are integral to mankind’s journey, and Shelter Forest International would like to invite you to join us on our part of that journey. In the following pages, we will observe the processes that take Tigerply from humble seed all the way through to being the material of choice for the world’s master craftsmen.

Let’s begin on the continent where man may have originated: Africa.

We invite you to join us on our journey through the story told in the following pages, from meeting the master craftsmen who are experiencing new heights of TigerPly® quality using our Africamade plywood products, to learning how we operate with a focus on proper environmental stewardship.

2000-2009

SFI partners establish over one million acres of Okoume concessions in Gabon Gabon enacts log ban to promote incountry secondary and tertiary product development SFI makes extensive trips to Gabon to audit the fiber source, analyze concession agreements, work with U.S. Embassy personnel meet with regional NGOs StarPly Gabon partnership is formed. With modern plywood manufacturing facility built in Libreville. SFI’s marine grade plywood obtains rigorous BS-1088 certification from Lloyds Registry. All Gabon concessions to be FSC certified.

SFI surpasses 5000m3 monthly production of Okoume Plywood in Gabon

2011 2015-2018 2019 2020 2022

“Made in Africa”

Beginning in 2017, Shelter Forest International embarked on its most ambitious project to date, establishing a base of operations in West Africa in order to manufacture marine grade plywood to the world’s most exacting standards.

MARINE GRADE PLYWOOD

BS 1088:2018 MARINE // SFI / GABON LIGHTWEIGHT / OKOUME Lloyd’s Register Certificate # LR21129196TA

Despite long, arduous treks through the Gabonese jungles, the daunting road systems, and lack of infrastructure in the interior, the mill we helped retrofit in Makokou province got off to a swift start. As the mill’s location is adjacent to several concessions, SFI was certain that this close proximity would lend itself to utilizing the Okoume veneer prized throughout the world. Managing the jigsaw puzzle of logistics and raw materials to the mill was worth the effort.

After several years of hard work, much of which was prolonged due to the pandemic, we are proud to offer our Lloyd’s Register Certified BS-1088 TigerPly® Marine Grade Plywood.

Our setup allows us the opportunity to manufacture high-end plywood at maximum efficiency, but we also prioritized making a positive impact on the local community. In cooperation with village elders, we built a plan that would assist the village’s population. Our development helps provide water and electricity to the village and employment for its residents and ongoing communication maintains the health of our relationship and the community.

Expanding Partnerships

The StarPly Gabon partnership, formed in 2019, has obtained CARB/EPA documentation and is CE2+ and KOMO certified. StarPly now has exclusive distribution deals with some of the biggest names in Europe, the UK, South Africa and Israel. Our joint efforts of product development for the North American market affords an array of products, from industrial, lamination and jumbo panels to underlayment and specialized niche offerings. Without exception, this is the most state-of-the-art plywood manufacturing facility on the continent.

In late 2020, and in the middle of the pandemic, another long-standing Asian partner worked with us to plan the opening of yet another mill within the year, where our plan will be to focus on thin-panel production. The size and diameter of Okoume logs is ideal for thinner panels and we are confident the ones we will be introducing to the market in 2022 will meet the most exacting industry standards. And with their singular composition characteristics—whole piece cores, uniform species—they will be unparalleled in the marketplace.

StarPLY • Est 2019

2.7mm to 40mm press capacity

Environmental Stewardship, Sustainability & Forest Management

Over the past several years, we have witnessed numerous infrastructure projects, continuous job creation, and further industrial developments in the forestry sector. These positive economic developments on the forestry front are occurring alongside parallel efforts of environmental and ecological conservation to ensure Gabon’s precious natural resource will be protected for generations to come.

SFI has worked diligently in conjunction with government authorities, NGOs, and responsible stakeholders to not only improve sustainability measures within Gabon, but also to boost the country’s global reputation.

Harvesting within the country’s concessions is a very comprehensive process. Concession holders must submit detailed 25-year forest management plans accompanied by five-year harvest plans. Each study must take into account the ecological impact of harvesting and entails a

rigorous study of the villages, hunting areas, bodies of water, heritage and tribal sites and the buffer zones necessary to support them.

Most importantly, the required 25-year plan guarantees that there will always be more growth in Gabon’s forest than will ever be harvested. This is one of the most productive and best managed forests we have seen in our travels.

SFI strives to operate under the ideal that sustainable forest management is both ethically responsible and a twenty-first century business imperative, and we are pleased that a growing percentage of our client base is engaging in these matters and pushing back against importers who may have questionable practices.

Gabon’s vibrant country’s forests are being managed sustainably for future generations. Secondary wood-product manufacturing has positive socioeconomic impacts and people. And companies such as SFI can and do take a much broader view – one that is not strictly focused on a dollar-denominated bottom line but instead seeks to preserve resources, develop partnerships focused on sustainable production, and support local communities—all without sacrificing quality.

Okoume - Marine & Industrial Plywood

With SFIs has mass efforts to develop, nurture, and build a robust product offering out of Gabon. In 2018 we introduced an all-new TigerPly® Marine Grade Plywood to the North American market. This product has been enthusiastically welcomed by distributors and master craftsmen such as Walter Baron of Old Wharf Dory Co. who have enjoyed working with the whole piece, highly stable and lightweight Okoume. Walter Baron

of Old Wharf Dory Co.