Market Development

Welcome to the NHLA Family! As NHLA closes out 2025, we're celebrating our dedicated members whose volunteer work on committees and task forces strengthens programs, expands reach, and ensures the collective voice of the North American hardwood industry remains strong. From market advocacy to innovation and education, NHLA’s growing membership demonstrates the power of collaboration in shaping the future of American hardwoods.

The hardwood industry is facing shrinking markets, rising competition, and shifting customer demands—and surviving the status quo is no longer enough. This article explores why intentional innovation, strategic evolution, and data-driven advocacy are essential for rebuilding market share, competing with synthetic substitutes, and redefining the future of American hardwoods.

Thank You to Our Task Forces | NHLA honors the dedicated volunteers who served on committees and task forces throughout 2025, strengthening programs, advancing innovation, and protecting the competitiveness of North American hardwoods. From market impact initiatives to AI grading, structural standards, certification programs, and member engagement, their work is driving progress and shaping a stronger future for the hardwood industry.

NHLA’s new leaders, Dr. Sailesh Adhikari and Jared Klepko, are driving innovation and engagement in the hardwood industry. Adhikari is advancing Thermally Modified Wood and Structural Grade Hardwood standards, while Klepko strengthens corporate partnerships and member value—together creating new market opportunities, jobs, and sustainable growth for NHLA members.

NHLA and AHEC represented U.S. hardwoods at Tecnomueble in Guadalajara, Mexico, supporting exporters, showcasing sustainable and thermally modified products, and strengthening trade relationships in a key international market despite tariff challenges.

Workforce stability is market strength. Kretz Lumber’s Troy Brown shows how ownership, accessibility, and rural visibility attract and retain talent, even amid tariffs, labor shortages, and generational shifts. Transparency and engagement aren’t soft skills—they’re survival strategies for the hardwood industry.

John Hester, NHLA Chief Development Officer, shares a lesson from a doorman-producer and an Uber-director: always promote your value. Hardwood has a story—renewable, sustainable, beautiful, durable—but if we don’t tell it, others will. Every conversation is a chance to put hardwood in the spotlight.

Dallin Brooks, NHLA Executive Director, reflects on lessons from wood product innovation. Early failures like SIPs, CLT, and TMW slowed progress, while substitutes advanced. NHLA can lead by sharing risk and coordinating market development—so when innovations succeed, the whole hardwood industry benefits.