Headwaters awards $750,000 for lumber marketing project; Forest Product Initiative seeks to promote redwood for decks

The Headwaters Fund board approved a grant for a project aimed at convincing California residents to choose redwood over wood-plastic composite lumber when building decks.

Six members of the fund board awarded a three-year $750,000 grant -- $250,000 a year -- to the Humboldt Economic Development Division, which is working with the California Redwood Company and the Humboldt Redwood Company on the Forest Products Initiative marketing project. Board member Jackie Deuschle-Miller, a former Green Diamond Resource Company employee, recused herself.

The economic development division is sponsoring the grant and managing the project, said Jacqueline Debets, economic development coordinator and project manager. Under the grant's conditions, the board will review the project in two years and will have the option to withdraw funds.

The board overseeing the Headwaters Fund -- created by the county to utilize $22 million in state and federal funds given to offset the sale of the Headwaters Forest Reserve -- also required the economic development division and the two companies to give annual budget reports.

The California Redwood Company -- a subsidiary of Green Diamond Resource Company -- and the Humboldt Redwood Company will match the Headwaters grant by contributing another $750,000 toward the project cost, Debets said. The total project cost is estimated to be $1.5 million.

The goal is to increase the volume of redwood sales and thereby stop

The Forest Product Initiative will focus on redwood's durability and strength over composite lumber for use in decks, according to Carter Welch, vice president in marketing for the Humboldt Redwood Company. The marketing will be done primarily via 30-second television commercials. Welch said his company and the California Redwood Company plan to target men -- primarily ages 35 to 55 -- and will air the commercials during sports programs.

Both companies and the economics development division plan to gauge consumer response by doing a quantitative study after next year's building season, Welch said. He added that both companies conducted a study using 1,000 California residents on who would use composite lumber versus redwood lumber. After viewing the companies' video, more residents said they would use redwood lumber versus composite.

We'll constantly evaluate it and tweak it, he said, referring to the project.

California is the primary market for redwood, Debets said. Over the last 10 years, the composite lumber industry has grown and has waged an aggressive and successful marketing campaign against redwood. Up until now, redwood lumber manufacturers haven't responded, she said.

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Headwaters awards $750,000 for lumber marketing project; Forest Product Initiative seeks to promote redwood for decks