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State promoting Vermont wood products brand
November 1, 2003
By DARREN M. ALLEN Vermont Press Bureau
MONTPELIER — Hear that something is made in Vermont, and chances are what comes to mind are sharp cheddar cheese, dense and fattening ice cream and pure maple syrup.
The state’s lumber workers, mill owners and furniture makers want to add wood products to that list.
As part of a marketing campaign begun quietly a little over a month ago, the Vermont Wood Products Marketing Council is aiming to showcase the quality and innovation of wood in much the same way that agriculture officials have for years been touting the products of the state’s 250 specialty food companies.
“It’s a similar take on that approach,” said Jonathan Wood, commissioner of the Department of Forest, Parks and Recreation. “It’s a way to try and capitalize on the real identification in the marketplace of Vermont as a place that is hard-working and ingenious.”
The state’s forest and wood products industry employs more than 18,400 people and is worth an estimated $330 million a year, according to the Vermont Department of Economic Development. Put another way, the industry accounts for more than 6 percent of the state’s jobs.
The marketing effort was years in the making, and represented a coming together of the disparate parts of the industry. A logo and branding campaign was unveiled at an industry conference in September. The logo will begin to appear on Vermont-made and -crafted wood products in the coming months, and will make a big national splash at international furniture trade shows later this year and early next year.
Concerned that up to a third of the wood harvested in Vermont’s forests was exported to other states and countries, state officials and wood industry representatives wanted to find a way to keep more wood at home.
“There’s a real benefit to the state’s economy by keeping the logs in the state all the way through,” said Mary Jeanne Packer, executive director of the Vermont Wood Manufacturers Association. “Every time the log is handled, the greater the value.”
The effort is an industry-led one, with very little state money. The exception is a $40,000 grant secured by Sen. Susan Bartlett, D-Lamoille, to be used in the spring for an in-state exposition of the wood-products industry.
“This just makes a lot of sense,” said Bartlett, the chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “We have this magnificent renewable resource, and we’re foolish not to do a better job promoting it.”
Keeping the wood here also helps preserve jobs in an industry where the finished products – furniture, toys, and other crafted items – are increasingly put together overseas.
The marketing effort is aimed at highlighting the “Vermont-ness” of the state’s wood products, in much the same way that the Green Mountain State’s image as a wholesome, healthy and innovative place is exploited by food manufacturers and tourism officials.
“Our competitive edge is being creative in our designs and workmanship,” said Paul Costello, executive director of the Vermont Council on Rural Development and a key participant in the marketing push. He said that with more than 80 percent of the state covered in forests, fostering a demand for Vermont-made wood products can lead to the continued viability of the state’s thousands of wood-related jobs and companies.
“We all need to work together to support the Vermont brand,” he said. “The state currently sends an inordinate amount of logs that aren’t processed out of state. We don’t use it as a raw material here as much as we might, a situation that will change if we can stimulate the value-added elements of the business.”
Randall Henson of Colchester is one of those who adds value to a portion of the state’s annual harvest of 824,000 to 1.2 million cords of wood.
The designer and builder of Windsor chairs makes anywhere from 15 to 20 of the chairs a year at nearly $1,000 each. Henson, president of the 35-member Guild of Vermont Furniture Makers, is cautiously optimistic that the marketing effort will pay off.
“There is value in wood products made in Vermont by local craftsmen,” the one-time Burlington chef said. “People associate our craftsmanship with integrity, with a way of life that people really admire.”
He said exploiting the Vermont-made angle makes perfect sense for the state’s agriculture products. He’s hoping it will do the same for his industry.
“It’s kind of a gamble,” he said. “But we have a way of life here that people really admire, and people are able to bring a piece of that home with them when they buy Vermont furniture.”
The state’s furniture and makers of other wood products can place the new logo – a tree with “Vermont Quality Wood Products” emblazoned across it – on all their Vermont-made production for a $25-annual fee.
The idea, its supporters say, is to make the products stand out from their non-Vermont customers.
“We’re never going to be able to compete with the Chinese and with mass-producers of furniture,” said Wood, the forest department commissioner. “People will want to buy Vermont products for what they are, and for what they represent. We think this is a great idea.”
Kevin Dorn, the state’s secretary of Commerce and Community Development, said that by tying together the entire spectrum of wood industry participants, the marketing effort will have far-reaching benefits.
“It’s good to see the entire industry coming together to do this,” Dorn said. “There’s a common objective and a common theme, and I think the approach is right on the mark.”
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