GEA Forestal has developed a list of the countries involved in the European Union timber trade, both by volume and economical value, and the most common species commercialized in it. Some of these countries were confirmed from the ones previously identified during the Phase 1 but others are new. On the basis of the data obtained from different specialized Internet sources (Table 2) and more than a hundred of personal and phone interviews, GEA prioritized the most common species and geographical origins to be sampled.
We have taken measurements under real conditions using spectrophotometers with different specifications to compare their results. With this aim, GEA Forestal contacted with more than 30 sawmills in Spain to find an agreement of collaboration to allow us to carry on the NIR analyses in their installations. At the end, we could sample in 25 sawmills located in northern and central Spain.
To evaluate the risk of illegal logging in every country, we did a review of their forestry situation, taking into account the reports from different sources, normally non governmental organizations related with environment protection but also official documents from each country. Forestry state policies, degree of corruption, law enforcement, previous environmental denounces, maps of deforestation, international environmental agreements, surface of certified forest, gave this information to try to reach the most risky countries and regions about illegal logging or smuggling. We identified the main companies working in the timber sector in each one of the targeted countries.
At the end, we have a wide list of near 1.070 sawmills around the world that are certified or at least have been certified in the last years, plus a number of local contacts through environmental organizations and institutions. The list includes contact persons, phone numbers and email addresses to start the communication with them and reach agreements of collaboration as soon as the prototype was ready.
Three commercial NIR devices were tested to determine the optimal features of Nirwood Prototype. The spectra obtained during the Test Sampling in sawmills from Spain were treated statistically by Spectrapply’s chemometricians.
A preliminary commercialization plan was designed by GEA during this Task taking the opportunity provided by the contact with a large number of companies and entities involved both in the test sampling and the global data base sampling campaign. Relevant information about the market needs, the distribution channels, the potential of the NIR technology as a dynamic tool for timber analysis, the possible competence and how to overcome it, the type of consumers and the way to reach them, and the realistic budgets to invest in quality control measurements was taken. It improved our SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) and started to put in clear our commercial strategy.
