Insights from a tropical hardwood buyer with Anthony Traina

Join me today as I speak with Anthony Traina, Co-Founder of Tropical American Timber, a value-added producer and distributor of tropical hardwoods. We talk about lesser-known species as well as household names in tropical hardwoods. We discuss sustainability and trust—two key factors in determining where Anthony has sourced his wood to date and where he is looking to expand in the future. We also discuss the conundrum of certification relating to market demand and administrative and cost burden. "Really look at the people on the ground and talk to them and get to know them to build that trust to see where the investments are going and being directed and that the projects are coming along as talked about. How are the communities interacting with the project?"Show notes:Host: Shauna Matkovich - The Forest LinkProducer: Magdalena Laas - https://www.linkedin.com/in/laasmagdalena/Important links:Tropical American Timber: https://tropicalamericantimber.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-traina-974b2753/Details:01:43Overview of Anthony's professional journey05:19Species of trees sourced and markets09:26Where timber/trees/wood is sourced from12:39Legal requirements for importing tropical hardwood18:52Interesting anecdote of Martin Guitar company requiring a single tree20:10Certification, sustainable harvesting, and forest investor (asset) requirements25:47Source countries in South America27:50Quality of product, sustainability, trust, and marketability29:47Business challenges30:35Main buyers32:10Actionable advice for forest investors Sound Library:Nature by MaxKoMusic/SoundcloudSopwell Woodlands and Scohaboy Bog SAC, Cloughjordan, Co Tipperary, IRELAND by wild_rumpus/SoundcloudSign up now for the ForestLink’s newsletter, where you’ll receive technical advice, reflections, and best-practice guidance to support you with your forest-linked investment strategy or business straight to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.