The University of Georgia Center for Forest Business recently received a data collection program from forest industry consulting firm Forisk Consulting. The firm donated its Wood Demand Research Program, which tracks and analyzes the consumption of raw materials by companies and manufacturers in the forest industry.
The program’s data is invaluable to timberland industry researchers who can use it to estimate the health of the forest industry and track trends in wood usage. The Center for Forest Business, under the direction of Bob Izlar, is housed in the UGA Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources. The center integrates academic research and sound financial methods to support the forest industry, investors and landowners throughout the world with educational and outreach programs.
Because the center is a leader in forest industry and timberland investing research, it was a natural fit to house the Wood Demand Research Program, according to Brooks Mendell, president of Forisk Consulting. The firm created the program several years ago and expanded its scope from the Southeast to the entire U.S.
Mendell decided to donate the program to UGA because he felt the center would be better able to take advantage of the data it offers. “We are thrilled with this match,” he says. “Our Wood Demand Research Program has grown in size and scope, and we recognized a benefit in donating it to the Center for Forest Business, which has the resources to expand the use of this data to benefit the forest industry and forest owners.”