Released April 21, 2009
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Gone are the days of thumbing through the phone book or hoping to stumble upon the right Web site to find a needed product or service - at least in the hardwood industry.
Eva Haviarova, a Purdue University assistant professor of wood products design and manufacturing, developed the Indiana Forest Products Community Web site and launched it earlier this year. The idea is to bring Indiana hardwood industry suppliers and service providers under one umbrella to advance the industry.
"They are facing international competition and have realized they must work together to compete," Haviarova said. "We are a non-biased entity here at Purdue that can pull together the entire industry."
The site, located at http://www.indianaforestproducts.com, features individual sites for the more than 1,600 companies listed, business development information, news about companies and products, industry association information, and more. There are multiple search functions on the site that allow for easy navigation.
For example, someone looking for veneer could type the word into the search box, look for a specific company in the directory, navigate through the showroom or click on a map that can whittle down businesses to those that specialize in veneer and show their locations across the state.
"This is an opportunity for more than 1,600 businesses statewide to promote themselves and their products in a virtual showroom," said Ray Moistner, executive director of the Indiana Hardwood Lumbermen's Association. "This site can provide a portal for global outreach for our members who are increasingly realizing the significance of working in the global marketplace."
Individual businesses can update their profiles to include contact information, a map of the business location, news about the company's products or services, a link to the company's Web site, and pictures of products. Haviarova sees it as an opportunity for businesses in the forest products industry to network, as well as advertise themselves to potential customers.
"This gives every company its own profile page, even if it hasn't developed its own Web site," Haviarova said.
According to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, the hardwood industry has an economic impact of $17 billion in Indiana.
For her effort, the Indiana Hardwood Lumbermen's Association presented Haviarova with its President's Award this year.
"She's created something that could have a significant impact on Indiana's hardwood industry," Moistner said.
In the future, Haviarova envisions adding functions that would allow interested businesses to work together on another level and share more information, such as their inventories.
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http://news.uns.purdue.edu/x/2009a/090421HaviarovaWebsite.html
Contacts: Eva Haviarova, (765) 494-3619, ehaviar@purdue.edu
Ray Moistner, (317) 875-3660, raym@ihla.org
