Wood-Mizer Sponsors Urban Wood Seminar at 2018 International Woodworking Fair

Wood-Mizer will sponsor an urban wood seminar, "The Urban Wood Revolution is Now! Come Join the Movement," on Friday, August 24 at the International Woodworking Fair in Atlanta, GA.

The seminar will focus on the environmental and economical benefits of utilizing locally sourced urban wood while providing practical instruction and networking opportunities for sawyers, woodworkers, lumber suppliers, and lumber buyers.

Urban trees are used for lumber in order to make better use of wood from sources like our own yards, parks, and even near our city streets. Every urban tree used for lumber is one less tree that must be cut from our forests and one less piece of green waste that would otherwise be dumped in our landfills.

According to IWF, the seminar will also address:

> The unique "source local/buy local" marketing appeal of urban wood products and the interesting stories they tell
> The environmental advantages of utilizing urban wood
> How to find local sources of urban wood
> How to join or start a local urban wood network
> A Q&A session with an expert panel

The main speaker for the seminar is Jennifer Alger, CEO of Far West Forest Products of Sheridan, CA, and president of the newly founded Urban Salvaged & Reclaimed Woods, the first urban lumber trade network on the West Coast.

Dwayne Sperber will also be speaking at the event. Dwayne is the Wisconsin state lead for the Urban Wood Network, and the owner and founder of Wudeward Urban Forest Products, which supplies lumber to architects, designers, and builders.

"Throughout the past decade, Wood-Mizer has seen a major influx of successful businesses who are utilizing urban-sourced wood for their sawmilling operations and we are proud to manufacture a product that enables small businesses to be profitable with an underutilized resource," explains Wood-Mizer COO Darryl Floyd. "While Wood-Mizer has been educating woodworkers about the positive environmental and economic impact of urban wood for years, the Urban Wood Seminar at IWF 2018 will be another step forward in saving more trees from going into the waste stream."

Wood-Mizer is dedicated to sustainable forest management and the urban sawmilling movement. The company recently developed an Urban Sawmilling Video Series highlighting businesses in the USA and Canada who are using locally sourced and salvaged urban timber to make a difference in the wood industry, where many of the hardwoods and softwoods we love are burned, buried, ground, or simply thrown away.

Wood-Mizer has also published a guide to urban milling called "Salvaging, Sawmilling, and Marketing Urban Wood" which can be downloaded here.

The Urban Wood Network, along with Wood-Mizer, recognizes the need for sustainable forestry practices and has joined businesses and individuals in the Midwest to promote urban wood utilization. Part of UWN's mission is to "build a common understanding, language, commitment, and eventually, brand for the urban wood marketplace."

The Urban Wood Seminar is free of charge, but advanced registration is required to guarantee a seat. Learn more and register here.

About Wood-Mizer

Since 1982, Wood-Mizer has earned the reputation as a leading wood processing equipment manufacturer with a strong legacy from its innovative sawmilling products. From forest to final form, Wood-Mizer offers an extensive line of equipment including narrowband portable and industrial sawmills, wideband sawmilling equipment, resaws, edgers, kilns, planer/moulders, firewood processing equipment, pallet recycling equipment, material handling equipment, bandsaw blades, and blade maintenance equipment for woodworking and forestry hobbyists and professionals all over the world.