In an effort to expand the use of B.C. softwood species within Vietnam’s furniture manufacturing segment, Forestry Innovation Investment (FII) Vietnam recently initiated a product trial with Foliot Furniture–an industry leader with over 25 years of experience designing and manufacturing custom, quality furniture for more than one million rooms in hotels, resorts, universities and colleges throughout North America.
For the trial, Foliot was interested in determining if western hemlock could be used to produce a sliding barn door product for several upcoming projects. After listening to Foliot’s requirements–such as the need for an aesthetically pleasing species with good workability and favourable finishing properties like that of White Oak–the FII team provided Foliot with the size and grade of western hemlock they felt would best suit the door application.
The results of the trial were a success, with Foliot indicating they were very pleased with western hemlock’s working properties and ability to accept a variety of coloured paints and stains. In addition, western hemlock’s strength-to-weight ratio allowed the doors to move more freely and reduce pressure on the hardware components. This added benefit will enable Foliot’s designers to envision larger doors without having to enhance hardware requirements.
Following this successful trial, Foliot placed an initial order for western hemlock for the door applications. Moving forward, FII Vietnam plans to continue to work with Foliot on future projects and product lines using Canadian wood products.
