Author: quesada
Center for Forest Products Business held its Annual Meeting in March 31
Blacksburg, VA. April 27, 2011. The Center for Forest Products Business (CFPB) at Virginia Tech held its 2011 Annual Meeting in March 31 at the Brooks Center in Blacksburg, Virginia. The meeting was attended by representatives of the industry, government, state, and industry associations. During the morning session graduate students from the Department of Wood … Continue reading “Center for Forest Products Business held its Annual Meeting in March 31”
Blacksburg, VA. April 27, 2011. The Center for Forest Products Business (CFPB) at Virginia Tech held its 2011 Annual Meeting in March 31 at the Brooks Center in Blacksburg, Virginia. The meeting was attended by representatives of the industry, government, state, and industry associations. During the morning session graduate students from the Department of Wood Science and Forest Products had the opportunity to present results of their research projects to the attendees (See Figure 1). Also professors Dr. Earl Kline, Dr. Bob Smith, and Dr. Henry Quesada summarized the future direction of the CFPB.
After lunch participants were asked to provide feedback to help the CFPB to create a strategic plan for next five years. Results of the strategic session will be posted later. At the end of the day the meeting participants were invited to join the Annual Banquet of the College of Natural Resources and Environment (CNRE) where graduate and undergraduate students of the CNRE were recognized for their scholarly efforts.
Annual Meeting Center scheduled for March 31, 2011 at the Brooks Center
The annual Meeting of the Center for Forest Products Business has been scheduled from 9:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M on March 31st at the Thomas M. Brooks Forest Products Center in the Corporate Research Park on the Virginia Tech campus. This meeting will be held in conjunction with the College’s annual banquet that evening. The invitation … Continue reading “Annual Meeting Center scheduled for March 31, 2011 at the Brooks Center”
The annual Meeting of the Center for Forest Products Business has been scheduled from 9:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M on March 31st at the Thomas M. Brooks Forest Products Center in the Corporate Research Park on the Virginia Tech campus. This meeting will be held in conjunction with the College’s annual banquet that evening. The invitation is for the current Center members but if your organization would like to join us at this event please let us know at quesada@vt.edu.
This is the tentative agenda for the meeting:
Morning Session
- 9:00 am. Welcoming, introductions and Center Update. Bob Smith
Research Updates
- 9:20: am. Energy Consumption in the Wood Products Industry. Omar Espinoza and Brian Bond
- 9:40: am. The VT Lean Project. Mathias Schmith/Wang Chao
- 10:00 am. Coffee Break
- 10:20 am. Supply Chain Management Characterization of the Pallet Industry. Scarlett Sanchez
- 10:40 am. Marketing Opportunities for Appalachian Wood Products in Central America. Scott Lyon
The new vision of the Center
- 11:00 am. Forest Products Marketing. Bob Smith
- 11:20 am. The WEI program. Earl Kline
- 11:40 am. Innovation-based Manufacturing. Henry Quesada
- 12:00 pm. Lunch (if you have special needs, please let us know)
Afternoon Session
- 1:00 pm. The Future of the Center (SWOT Analysis)
- 2:00 pm. Sum up
- 2:30 pm. Adjourn
- 6:00 pm. College of Natural Resources and Environment Spring Banquet
RESEARCH UPDATE: Opportunities for Appalachian Forest Products in Guatemala and El Salvador: A Case Study
Scott Lyon, swlyon@vt.edu MS Candidate Virginia Tech From November 17-24, 2010 Dr. Henry Quesada and Scott Lyon, graduate research assistant visited 8 forest product importers, 2 non-government organizations, and 2 governmental forestry agencies in Guatemala and El Salvador. The researchers were examining the forest products markets in these countries to identify opportunities for Appalachian … Continue reading “RESEARCH UPDATE: Opportunities for Appalachian Forest Products in Guatemala and El Salvador: A Case Study”
Scott Lyon, swlyon@vt.edu
MS Candidate
Virginia Tech
From November 17-24, 2010 Dr. Henry Quesada and Scott Lyon, graduate research assistant visited 8 forest product importers, 2 non-government organizations, and 2 governmental forestry agencies in Guatemala and El Salvador. The researchers were examining the forest products markets in these countries to identify opportunities for Appalachian forest products companies. The researchers used a structured interview to gain valuable information about the companies and organizations. The objectives were to: (1) identify main competitors of forest product companies in Central American countries; (2) investigate distribution channels of forest products; and (3) investigate local production, demand, and policy of forest products in Central American countries.
Continue reading “RESEARCH UPDATE: Opportunities for Appalachian Forest Products in Guatemala and El Salvador: A Case Study”
Center for Innovation-based Manufacturing launched its first workshop
BlACKSBURG, VA. December 6, 2010. On November 11, the Center for Innovation-based Manufacturing (CIbM) presented its first workshop on Innovation-based Manufacturing. The workshop was organized by Dr. Henry Quesada, assistant professor of business and manufacturing processes in the Department of Wood Science and Forest Products and member of the CIbM. The CIbm was created with the goal … Continue reading “Center for Innovation-based Manufacturing launched its first workshop”
BlACKSBURG, VA. December 6, 2010. On November 11, the Center for Innovation-based Manufacturing (CIbM) presented its first workshop on Innovation-based Manufacturing. The workshop was organized by Dr. Henry Quesada, assistant professor of business and manufacturing processes in the Department of Wood Science and Forest Products and member of the CIbM. The CIbm was created with the goal to help local industries to solve current manufacturing issues and to help the university commercialize new technologies that steam out research projects. The CIbM is supported by the Institute for Critical Technology & Applied Science (ICTAS).
Speakers at the workshop included Dr. Roop Mahajan, Director of ICTAS, Director of the Institute for Critical Technology & Applied Science (ICTAS), Dr. Darrene Hackler, VP at the International Economic Development Council, Dr. Allister James, Senior Expert Engineer from Siemens Energy, Dr. Julia Lane from the National Science Foundation, and Mr. Jose Vicente-Gomila from the Polytechnic Institute of Valencia in Spain and co-founder of TRIZ XXI.
The morning session of the workshop focused on discussing the basics behind innovation-based manufacturing, the relationship of innovation with economic development, innovation and science of innovation policy, and examples of innovation-based manufacturing in action. The afternoon session was focused on innovation tools such as TRIZ, innovation monitoring, and innovation intelligence. The workshop was attended by 45 participants and it was held at the Inn at Virginia Tech.
According to current research from Dr. Quesada’s group, the wood products industry sector needs to focus more on innovative ways to improve their manufacturing process and innovation-based manufacturing opens enormous potential for companies in this industry sector to increase their competitiveness.