Wayne Guthrie and I came back from a week in Japan earlier this month with a greater appreciation of why we must understand the unique needs of all customers – especially in international markets – so we can better meet them.

I joined Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver and West Fraser CEO Hank Ketcham today on a tour of the China-Canada Green Building Design Center in Langfang – one of China’s largest wood-frame buildings.

Today, I am in Beijing, joining Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s mission to China. The mission is an important initiative in further solidifying our trading relationship with China. Demonstrating Canada’s commitment to the Chinese market at the highest levels opens doors to Canadian businesses and builds on our reputation for reliability.

I’m Don Kayne, President and CEO of Canfor. Welcome to our new website, and my new blog. I’m going to use this space to talk about some of the new, interesting initiatives Canfor is working on. I’m hoping this will be a useful forum for Canfor staff, customers and partners to get a firsthand look at our presence in markets, some of the interesting trends we’re seeing, and new developments and projects on the horizon.

Canfor has been proudly supplying top quality building products to valued customers in Japan for more than three decades. Over the years, our business relationships have evolved into friendships - in Japan and around the world.