INTERVIEW WITH MARK PATTERSON, VICTORIA/TASMANIA SALES MANAGER OF STORA ENSO
How long have you worked for Stora Enso?
Six years, starting September 2010 – a great year of course, with the mighty Collingwood Football Club winning the Flag!
How long have you been in the timber industry?
On and off for 10 years. I started out with a carpentry apprenticeship from 1992 to 1995, with a family Business, Blue Hills Construction. I decided to travel the world at the end of my apprenticeship and upon returning was looking for a change of scenery. I worked variously in the hospitality and fitness industries and now I’m back to where l started, but in a different capacity.
Tell us a little about Stora Enso.
Stora Enso Wood Products division provides versatile wood-based solutions for building and housing. Our product range covers all areas of urban construction including massive wood elements and housing modules, wood components and pellets. Our customers are mainly construction and joinery companies, merchandisers and retailers. Wood Products operates globally and has more than 20 production units in Europe. We have a distribution centre in Melbourne, which is our head office and offices in Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide and Fremantle.
What is the primary focus for business day-to-day?
Our focus is bringing in stock containers into our warehouse and sending deliveries out to our customers. Our focus is on quality and service. Our customers have confidence we will deliver in a timely manner. We promise a 48 hour maximum turnaround from time of order to delivery.
Framing is our main commodity and we complement this with a range of other products – wide section beams, weatherboards, lining board and (DAR) dressed board (truck fillers).
What projects Stora Enso has been working on lately?
Stora Enso supplied CLT and glulam for the first public timber building project in 2013, called the Library at the Dock in Melbourne. This building was the first public building in Australia to achieve Six Star Green Star rating and has won numerous architectural and sustainability awards. We are currently delivering the last loads of CLT and glulam to the largest timber construction project in Australia. It’s a seven storey office building in Barangaroo, Sydney, and another example of fast, efficient and sustainable construction using wood.
How has technology changed the way you have done business over the years?
Engineered Products are in higher demand e.g: LVL, GL10 & CLT. We can’t keep up with the demand for GL10. We currently bring in stud lengths only, but going forward from early 2017 we will have a spread of lengths to 6.0 metres as well as wide section beams. We have recently opened an LVL plant in Varkaus, Finland. We also introduced an online ordering system called MySupply which allows our customers to log on and place their own orders.
What new developments do you expect to see in timber in the coming years?
More use of engineered products. Innovation is the key. You need to be ahead of your competition in developing new ideas. Stora Enso is at the forefront of this.
What do you think makes the timber industry so special?
Timber is a natural living product and it is also sustainable. Sustainability is vital for our ongoing viability and ensuring our future success within the Building Industry. I believe the timber industry will remain strong for many decades. We mustn’t stay stagnant, though, and rest on our laurels. Developing new ideas for building in both residential and commercial construction is paramount.
