Tuesday, August 6, 2024
Cambium, the leading innovator in sustainable wood solutions, announced its acquisition of Forward Forestry, the largest network of arborists and tree care companies selling logs in the U.S. This strategic move aims to enhance Cambium’s sustainable supply chain, bolster the production of Carbon Smart Wood™, and introduce key logistics expertise into the team.
Enhancing the Supply Chain with Arborists
With the acquisition of Forward Forestry, Cambium plans to integrate a network of arborists into its operations, significantly increasing the supply of fallen trees used to produce Carbon Smart Wood™. This product, renowned as the world’s most sustainable wood brand, is a carbon-negative building material created by upcycling fallen trees instead of felling new ones. Carbon Smart Wood™ is trusted by sustainability leaders such as Patagonia, Room & Board, and Steelcase.
Addressing Ineffective Wood Waste Management
“Our work relies on dismantling legacy systems of ineffective wood waste management. Tree Care is a $163B industry that no one talks about. Forward Forestry has been a tremendous leader in showing arborists the value of working with sawmills,” said Ben Christensen, CEO and Co-Founder of Cambium. “Through this acquisition, we can add more source material to our supply chain and ensure our sawmill partners get the highest quality fiber. Ryan, Mike, and Yuval will be key in helping us expand the Cambium supply chain network across North America.”
Transforming Waste into Value
Traditionally, fallen trees due to decay, disaster, disease, or development are sent to landfills or turned into wood chips. Forward Forestry has been at the forefront of educating arborists about the financial value of turning “trash into cash” by selling fallen trees to sawmills. This process transforms these trees into sustainable building materials, aiding contractors, furniture suppliers, and corporations in meeting their decarbonization goals.
Expansion of Traece™ and Increased Production
Cambium will bring Forward Forestry’s 80 arborist partners and tree care companies onto Traece™, Cambium’s sustainable supply chain software. This platform tracks wood from its source to its final form, offering transparency about carbon impact and the supply chain journey. Arborists can now use Traece™ to identify the right sawmill partner and sell their inventory with ease, thereby increasing Cambium’s revenue by introducing new customers to the platform. With this expanded network, Cambium aims to double its production capacity of Carbon Smart Wood™ from three million to six million board feet in the first year.
Strategic Geographic Expansion and Logistics Expertise
Forward Forestry has established relationships with large sawmills across the Northeastern U.S. and Canada, which will now be part of Cambium’s expanded geographical footprint. The acquisition also brings strategic logistics expertise to Cambium through Forward Forestry’s platform, Mill Market, which manages the efficient transportation and handoff of wood from arborists to sawmills. Mill Market will now be powered by Traece™.
Leadership and Integration
Forward Forestry’s operations will be fully integrated into the Cambium ecosystem, with all three founders stepping into new roles within Cambium. Ryan Glossop, formerly a developer at Intel, and Yuval Levy, a UI design specialist, will join as senior software engineers. Mike Preminger, a forester and ISA-certified arborist, will take on the role of Cambium’s new director of business development for supply.
“This acquisition allows Cambium to significantly enhance their supply of Carbon Smart Wood as there are growing demands to find new ways to decarbonize the world we live in. We’re proud to support Cambium in this big step towards bringing innovation and transparency to the $200B lumber industry,” said Adrian Fenty of MaC Venture Capital, an investor in Cambium.
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Tags: arborists, Cambium, Forward Forestry, wood and panel, woodworking, woodworking and manufacturing, woodworking industry, woodworking USA
