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Industry-specific Website Promotes Economic Development

Louisiana - Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco today announced the launch of an innovative website designed to facilitate and promote forest-sector economic development in Louisiana. The website is located at www.laforestproducts.org.

Industry-specific Website Promotes Economic Development

(February 10, 2004 / Natchitoches, LA): Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco today announced the launch of an innovative website designed to facilitate and promote forest-sector economic development in Louisiana. The website is located at www.laforestproducts.org.

Announced during the Governor’s Rural Development Conference, Governor Blanco stressed the benefits to small rural companies. Through this forest-sector website, rural companies will have the same exposure and market opportunities as larger or urban companies. For the first time, wood products buyers anywhere in the world can search online for Louisiana manufacturers that meet their unique purchase needs.

“Louisiana’s forest industry is one of the most important manufacturing employers in the state,” said Governor Blanco. “The economic value of the forest sector to Louisiana is over $3.8 billion. This website helps wood products companies, whether in Louisiana or elsewhere, to find Louisiana suppliers of their raw materials. This website will help Louisiana’s forest products sector become more integrated, which will grow jobs and strengthen our industry base.”

The website – titled Louisiana Forest Products Community and located at www.laforestproducts.org – went live Tuesday, February 10. The Community is the most sophisticated state-level forest sector website in the nation. A key component of the site is the self-generating directory of Louisiana forest product companies. Any company fitting the product line criteria can input its company specifics to be included in the directory. Once in the directory, the company listing is accessible worldwide to anyone searching for various product descriptions.

Louisiana manufacturers can also use the Community to search for raw materials suppliers and equipment to support their companies.

Louisiana Economic Development and the Louisiana Forest Products Development Center, part of the LSUAgCenter, developed the website with collaboration and input from key institutions in industry, government and academia, including the Louisiana Forestry Association, Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, Louisiana Furnishings Industry Association and Louisiana Tech School of Forestry. Instrumental in the design and development of the site were Richard P. Vlosky, Ph.D., Professor and Director, Louisiana Forest Products Development Center, School of Renewable Natural Resources, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center in Baton Rouge and Kelsey Short, Director of Agriculture, Forest and Food Cluster Development for Louisiana Economic Development. The website was built by Transformyx, a Baton Rouge company.

“This is a perfect example of cluster development,” said Don J. Hutchinson, Secretary, Louisiana Economic Development. “Forests cover 48 percent of Louisiana’s land area, and make up much of our rural regions. Supporting and providing growth opportunity for this core industry in Louisiana through collaboration among industry, academia and government will help grow individual companies and the forest products industry as a whole. This site will allow small businesses to interact with other Louisiana companies, both big and small and will encourage entrepreneurship.”

“Forestry and forest products are significant to a predominantly rural state like Louisiana,” said Dr. William B. Richardson, Chancellor, LSU Agricultural Center. “Forests cover approximately 13.8 million acres of Louisiana’s land area with 59 of Louisiana’s 64 parishes capable of producing sufficient timber to support forest industry activities. Having one website that provides comprehensive information about Louisiana’s forest industry and the individual companies invested in forestry will have significant impact on expanding the industry.”

“A major component of the website is the Request for Proposal tool,” said Short. “Each industry sub-sector in the Community has the RFP tool that facilitates targeted product buying and selling. This will be a key element for connecting businesses.”

Vlosky explained “the website is divided into five industry sub-sectors: Primary Products, Secondary (Value-added) Products, Engineered Wood Products, Logging and Harvesting, and Equipment Manufacturers and Distributors. Companies should self-enroll in the sub-sector most representative of their products and/services. The directory part of the Louisiana Forest Products Community will ultimately be the most comprehensive state-wide company and product listing in the country.

Over 19,000 people are employed in forest manufacturing with an estimated 5,000 employees harvesting and transporting timber. There are approximately 148,000 owners of Louisiana forestland.

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For additional information on site specifics you may contact:

Richard P. Vlosky, Ph.D.

Professor, Forest Products marketing

Director, Louisiana Forest Products Development Center

School of Renewable Natural Resources

Louisiana State University

Baton Rouge, LA 70803

Phone: 225-578-4527

Fax: 225-578-4251

Email: vlosky@lsu.edu

http://www.rnr.lsu.edu/lfpdc