Market Development

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.