FPAC Bio-pathways FPAC at 100 A proud past and a promising future: we’re 100 years and growing. By David Lindsay O ne hundred years ago in March 1913, a meeting was held in the King Ed-ward Hotel in Toronto to establish an organization aimed at “the consideration of matters of general interest to the pulp and paper industry, the promotion of its welfare and the social intercourse among the mem-bers of the Association.” And so, the Canadian Pulp and Paper Association was born, an organization that lives on under its new name, the Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC). Back then membership for companies was just $25 a year and the salaries for the three staff added up to a grand total of $440. The To reach our product goal, mills are diversifying, transforming and moving beyond their traditional production of lumber, pulp and paper to a new suite of value-added products. nascent CPPA actually had a challenging first year. But soon the association found its footing and grew into one of the most respected industry associations in Canada, as it remains so today. All this year, FPAC will be celebrating its 100th anniversary by reflecting back on the proud past of an industry that helped shape the Canada we know today. Of course, the origins of the sector in Canada predate the association. The Canadian forest industry first flourished after Napoleon Bonaparte brought in the Continental Blockade in 1806 aimed at cutting off its archenemy Great Brit-ain from its traditional suppliers― forcing Brit-ain to turn to its colonies for timber. The evolution of the forest products in-dustry can be seen as a veritable hewer of Canadian history. First the timber trade and then the pulp and paper industry brought investment and immigration to Canada; these industries fostered economic devel-opment and transformed the landscape by encouraging the building of town and villages and the opening of roads and rail-ways; they had a broader reach into every region of Canada than any other industry, past or present. The pulp and paper in-dustry was for about 75 years of the 20th century the largest employer, the largest exporter and overall the largest contribu-tor to the Canadian economy. But as we cel-ebrate the proud past of the industry, it is also a time to reinforce our be-lief in the positive future of the Cana-dian forest sector, something that will be rooted in the new bioeconomy. That’s why FPAC believes in Vision2020, a program that sets ambitious goals for the industry in the area of people, performance and products. We aim to replenish the workforce with at least 60,000 new recruits and have re-cently launched a new recruitment tool, thegreenestworkforce.ca; we want to fur-ther burnish our green credentials with another 35% reduction in our environ-mental footprint; and finally, the industry is aiming to produce another $20 billion in economic activity from new products and markets. To reach our product goal, mills in Canada are diversifying, transforming and moving beyond their traditional produc-tion of lumber, pulp and paper to a new suite of value-added products. For ex-ample, FPAC has just released a Construc-tion Value Pathway study that shows the Canadian forest products industry is well positioned to capitalize on key opportuni-ties in a global construction industry now worth about $8 trillion dollars and grow-ing by about 8% a year. These figures could include prefabrication and customized en-gineered wood systems. It will also be crucial to take advantage of the rapid growth of the bioeconomy by producing a broad range of products in the area of bioenergy, biochemicals and bio-products. In addition, the forest products industry is seeking out new partnerships with others interested in the innovative use of wood fibre, including the chemical, plas-tics, auto and biotech industries. Many of the employees we are hop-ing to recruit under our Vision2020 goal of 60,000 new workers are not the kind of hires we made 100 years ago. Yes, we still need millwrights and foresters, but as the new forest products industry becomes a leader in the bioeconomy, it will also re-quire the likes of innovators and chemists and international sales staff. There has already been a lot of reinvent-ing, redeveloping and re-engineering of the Canadian forest products industry and that transformation is now accelerating. So this year, we are proud to remember our glori-ous past and our considerable contribution to the Canadian economies of the 19th and 20th centuries. But it’s also time to focus our eyes firmly on the future in order to reach our potential in the 21st century – a future where the Canadian forest products industry will be a dynamic player in the global bioeconomy. • David Lindsay is president and CEO of the Forest Products Association of Canada. MarCh/april 2013 10 Canadian BIOMASS
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