UK expert working group launched to champion wood panel industry
3 July 2018An expert working group on the contribution of one of the UK's largest manufacturing industries has been launched at an event in Westminster.
The announcement was made as the Wood Panel Industries Federation (WPIF), which includes Norbord, hosted a reception to mark the reconstitution of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for the Wood Panel Industry.
The working group will be chaired by Stephen Kerr, MP for Stirling. Alastair Kerr, director general of the WPIF, will be the working group's secretary, with further members to be announced in coming weeks.
The group will report to the APPG, and its findings will be presented to Claire Perry MP, Minister of State for Business and Energy, in the autumn.
It will assess the challenges facing the sector due to lack of security of domestic wood supply, how the industry can meet 100% of UK demand for wood panel products post Brexit, and how it can coexist with the wood processing and wood fuels sectors which also rely on a finite wood source.
