Wood is so much a part of the products that shape our homes, offices, furnishings, and architectural styles. Those who desire fine veneers in the design and manufacture of furniture, panelling, cabinetry, or decorative woods look to Interforest Ltd. and its U.S. subsidiaries.

Durham — in the heartland of Ontario’s agricultural and woodworking country — is home to Interforest Ltd., one of North America’s largest producers and marketers of veneers. The peaceful rural setting belies the fact that customers from around the world come to Durham to inspect and purchase some of the choicest veneers available anywhere on the continent.

It is not by chance that Interforest settled in Canada in the early 1970s. The Danzer Group saw great potential in establishing a base in North America — in a sub-continent with vast natural resources and a venerable history in forestry. Based in Reutlingen, Germany, the Group is headed by Karl Heinz Danzer, the chairman and son of the company’s founder.

The Group strongly adheres to a multi-domestic approach of conducting business. That means Interforest and other Danzer companies have a great deal of local autonomy in the way they manage their businesses and market their products. Corporate independence helps drive each company and contributes to the worldwide organization’s growth and success.
 

Sliced veneer set up in log form

Interforest is an integral part of the Danzer Group that now operates 11 veneer plants on three continents and also has worldwide lumber interests.

The company has grown dramatically and expanded rapidly over the last two decades. It currently exports to customers in 35 countries. From its ambitious start in 1973, Interforest employs 400 people in Canada and 200 in the United States. From modest revenues of about $6 million in 1976, the company earned in excess of $100 million in consolidated sales for 1993.

Southwestern Ontario has traditionally been one of Canada’s most important centres for the woodworking and furniture industries. It also made good sense to take advantage of local traditions, skills, and facilities. To establish its North American base for veneer production, the Danzer Group entered into a two-year partnership with Abitibi-Price Ltd. to purchase an existing mill. In 1975, Danzer took over the entire operation that became headquarters for Interforest.

The challenge was to transform an industrious but local plant into a worldwide operation capable of turning out the fine veneers demanded by customers in the furniture and woodworking industries.

To accomplish its goals, Interforest would invest in quality — starting with buying the best hardwood logs available and introducing production processes designed to turn out veneers for the most discriminating customers.

The final arbiters in the selection of Interforest’s products are its customers. They include furniture, door and plywood manufacturers; veneer resellers; splicing plants; and architectural millworks.

Visitors to Interforest’s showrooms will often see the dynamic interaction that takes place between global customers who carefully scrutinize the veneers on display and the company’s sales representatives. Purchases could be a modest buy of 100 square meters by a domestic furniture manufacturer or up to one half million square meters for an European customer. To meet customer requirements, the company also produces a range of thicknesses — from 0.2 to 2.5 millimetres.

Transforming logs into fine veneers is both a science and an art, using new technologies and a skilled workforce. But the whole process starts with the logs.

Interforest’s buyers shop North America for the finest hardwood logs: red and white oaks, cherry, ash, maple, and walnut. In total, the company maintains a constant inventory of about 10,000 logs to ensure it can meet all customer requirements. Interforest also stocks large quantities of imported veneers to fulfil any demand.

Product quality and reliability extend to the company’s lumber business. Interforest buys only the choicest lumber that it kiln dries, grades and distributes to markets around the world. The distinctive “brown bear” logo assures customers they are buying the best lumber available.

Durham is an immaculate operation that has set the highest of standards in veneer production, using the latest tech- nology and equipment. It is also headquarters for Interforest’s diverse interests in Canada and the United States.

In the Montreal region, Boucherville, Quebec, is the eastern veneer distribution facility and the company’s Canadian centre for hardwood lumber sales. Here, lumber is kiln-dried, graded and exported to world markets. Another strategic location for the company’s lumber interests is Shade Gap, Pennsylvania. Customers recognize Shade Gap as a main source for quality hardwood logs and lumber drawn from Pennslyvania’s abundant woodlands.

Customers throughout the United States eastern seaboard rely on Interforest’s operation in Greensboro, North Carolina. This location has established its reputation as a full-service veneer distribution centre for the company. In Newburg, New York, major office furniture manufacturers and decorative woodworking companies shop for choice veneers at the company’s showroom and sales centre.

The company also owns Penn Beaver Veneer Corporation, an established manufacturer of sliced hardwood veneers in Darlington, Pennsylvania.

Interforest’s values derive from a strong sense of ethics that emphasize the com-pany’s responsibility and commitment to customers, employees, and the environment. The company regards wood as one of the world’s most precious, renewable resources that must be protected.

The partnership between people and technology ensures Interforest and Penn Beaver make the most of a hardwood log. One average veneer log yields enough to manufacture 25 desks or 25 cabinets.

Responsibility means nothing goes to waste. Large pieces left over from a log may be sold to woodworking com-panies. As for the remainder, Interforest and Penn Beaver recycle waste pieces as fuel to create steam for the Durham and Darlington plants.

Commitment to product quality, business integrity, customer service, employees, and conservation of a renewable resource creates responsi-bilities that Interforest has fully honoured since its inception in 1973. Such principles have assured this leading veneer producer of an excellent reputation among customers, employees, business associates, suppliers and the communities supported by Interforest Ltd.