CEO Column for September 2025

I hope everyone had a great summer. Columbia Forest Products is gearing up for an exciting finish to the year!

In addition to celebrating the 20th anniversary of EPA award-winning, soy-based PureBond® Formaldehyde-Free Hardwood Plywood, we’ve been moving the ball down the field on a few big fronts. 

You may have seen the feature on Charlie Vaden in our last newsletter.  Since that was published, Charlie has been named Columbia’s new (and very first) Quality Control Director. He’ll be working closely with our customers, sales and manufacturing management teams and local plant QC departments.

This is a clear and committed signal that we’re emphasizing product and service quality like never before.  We want to ensure that the quality data we use in our plants truly reflects our customers’ experiences in the market.

Additionally, we’re thrilled to see so many of Columbia’s distributor team members taking advantage of the updated CFPU Online education program. It’s a wonderful resource for both beginners and experienced professionals that covers the fundamentals of hardwood plywood production.

Since June, well over 125 of these folks have successfully completed the nine-module, self-paced course. (If you’d like to sign up, contact your Columbia Field or Inside Sales Representative and ask to get registered!) 

Ongoing education is an active priority for us, from online offerings to in-person training sessions and more.  We’re working with the team at Material Intelligence to launch a new CEU about hardwood plywood’s great carbon story. As well as collaborating with other friends in the industry to deliver a special hardwood veneer grading workshop at scheduled trade events. 

Speaking of veneer grading, another exciting customer experience will be rolling out soon: CFP Select. A new high-resolution camera in Chatham’s veneer grading area will let customers view stacks of face veneers and discuss their needs and options with our grading specialists.

This will save a lot of time and trouble while providing a level of understanding and satisfaction that’s otherwise hard to achieve!

You’ll also see our social media featuring “Product Spotlights” to remind our audience about the breadth of our specialty manufacturing capabilities, which can all be shipped alongside the standard panels we produce.

One new product we’re especially excited about was covered in our last newsletter: our Maple-core domestic Baltic Birch alternative, DesignEdge.  

We were excited to see it being used in the U.S. rollout of fashion stores from England called “Seasalt Cornwall.” Thanks to our friends at Rugby Architectural Building Products for carrying this one through to completion! 

As always, thank you for your business! We’d love to hear how we can continue supporting your current and future needs.

 

Greg Pray 

Our Core Values 

Customer Service 

Absolute Integrity 

We are Family 

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