Louisiana Forest Products Development Center

Director's Message

In the State of Louisiana, the forest industry contributes over 50% of the total value of all agricultural, animal and fish/wildlife commodities. In addition to lumber, plywood, OSB and the production of other primary products, valuable secondary products are also produced such as furniture and kitchen cabinets. In 1994 the LSU Agricultural Center established the Louisiana Forest Products Laboratory (LFPL). In 2003 we changed our name to the Louisiana Forest Products Development Center (LFPDC) to better reflect the breadth of our expertise and client base. The Center, now an integral part of the School of Renewable Natural Resources, provides technical assistance to the primary and value-added processing wood products industries in Louisiana. Since its inception, the LFPDC has made great strides and is currently firmly positioned as one of the most recognized and productive forest products research and outreach centers in the United States.

I'd like to thank you for visiting our website and would like to share with you some of the many activities we are involved in to support forest sector development in Louisiana, the Nation and the World. I hope you are as impressed as I am with the breadth and scope of our expertise and activities. Please feel free to contact us at the Center for more information.

Richard Vlosky
Director, Louisiana Forest Products Development Center

News

Vlosky Named to Endowed Professorship

Dr. Rich Vlosky, professor of forest products marketing and director of the Louisiana Forest Products Development Center, has been named to the Crosby Land and Resources, L.L.C. Professorship in Forest Sector Business Development. Continuing a commitment to those institutions that provide education, research and outreach to those in the forest community, Crosby Land and Resources, L.L.C. of Mandeville, La., is pleased to announce the establishment of an endowed professorship in support of the Louisiana Forest Products Development Center. The center, which is in the LSU AgCenter School of Renewable Natural Resources, provides assistance to individuals and companies seeking not only to improve their forestry practices, but also potential new economic opportunities through development of their forest resources. Crosby Land and Resources is the largest family-owned, non-industrial, private timberland company in Louisiana and one of the largest in the South. Operating in Louisiana for the past 65 years and with more than 100 years of family involvement in forestry related enterprises in both Louisiana and Mississippi, it continues today to provide forest resources for one of our state’s largest and most important industries. A fourth-generation family business, it is owned by the Robert H. Crosby Jr., Margaret Crosby Cox, Thomas L. Crosby, Richard C. Crosby and Mary Crosby McDuff families. “Through the LFPDC, we continue to support the LSU Ag Center and the School of Renewable Natural Resources in their efforts to offer assistance to Louisiana forest landowners.” said Robert Crosby.

Dr. Todd Shupe elected Vice-President of the Society of Wood Science and Technology.

Dr. Todd Shupe, a forest products professor at the LSU AgCenter’s Louisiana Forest Products Development Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, has been elected Vice President of the Society of Wood Science and Technology (SWST). Shupe will officially assume his new responsibilities at the Society’s annual international convention on June 24 in Boise, Idaho. In 2010, he will assume the role of President-Elect, followed by the the role of president in 2011. The Society of Wood Science and Technology (SWST) is an internationally-recognized professional organization of wood scientists, engineers, marketing specialists and other professionals concerned with science and technology of wood and lignocellulosic materials. Shupe will be the youngest President in the history of the organization, which was founded in 1958. The website for the SWST is: http://www.swst.org

New Publications

Rangika Perera, PhD student and her advisor, Dr. Richard Vlosky, Director, Louisiana Forest Products Development Center, LSU AgCenter, recently published a book on US wood product importing. The citation is: Perera, Rangika and Richard P. Vlosky. 2009. “An Overview of the Wood Product Import sector in the U.S”. VDM Verlag Dr. Müller Aktiengesellschaft & Co. KG, Dudweiler Landstr. 125 a, D - 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany. 92p. ISBN 978-3-639-13770-5.

--also in: Publications / Working Papers (click titles to view)! (updated 7/8/2009)

Working Paper 85: A Research Agenda for Forest Products Marketing & Business Development in Louisiana: 2009-2013. March 2009. Vlosky

Working Paper 86: Cooperative Extension Employee Satisfaction in the Workplace: Does Race Matter? March 2009, Vlosky, Dunn

Working Paper 87: A Comparison of the Primary and Secondary Wood Products Sectors in Louisiana: 2008. July 2009. Clément, Vlosky

Director's Message

News

Vlosky Named to Endowed Professorship

Dr. Todd Shupe elected Vice-President of the Society of Wood Science and Technology.

New Publications

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