Creative Woodwork International (CWI) Embraces Eucalyptus as the Alternative Hardwood for its Lifewood Outdoor Furniture
Naturally Handsome, Earth-friendly Eucalyptus: a Reliable Choice for Casual Furniture Retailers
MINNEAPOLIS - September 1, 2004 - Creative Woodwork International (CWI), a
privately held U.S. company that imports eco-friendly, enduring outdoor wood
furniture from Vietnam, announces that it now manufactures all its Lifewood
furniture in plantation-grown, sustainably harvested
eucalyptus.
“Eucalyptus has been one of our alternative hardwoods, along
with balau. Harvesting of balau is controlled under strict quotas. Those limits
are being reached, so manufacturers have begun to encounter longer lead times
for timber delivery, and the price of balau on the world market is heading up,”
explains Bernadette Carroll, president of CWI. “In order to provide retailers
with a steady source of affordable, eco-friendly wood furniture, we decided to
take action now and standardize on eucalyptus, which has proven to be popular
with consumers.”
“In addition, by standardizing on eucalyptus, we
streamline our entire production, inventory management and importing process,”
says Carroll. “Thus, CWI will maintain our two-thirds wholesale price advantage
over comparable teak furniture and simplify product selection, display and sales
for retailers.”
Lifewood from CWI includes two distinctive collections of
earth-friendly wood furniture, Lifeware and Veranda, which bring natural
character and style to outdoor living, at reasonable wholesale prices. With its
exclusive and ingenious modular design, Lifeware enables consumers to select and
connect individual chair and table modules to create customized seating and
dining arrangements. Lifeware’s seven SKUs connect to create more than fifty
style configurations. The European-inspired Veranda Collection features clean
lines and simple elegance and includes more than two dozen intriguing styles of
benches and armchairs, collapsible seating, loungers and deck chairs, café and
dining tables, and dining sets.
CWI is exhibiting Lifewood at the Casual
Furniture & Accessories Market in Chicago at the Merchandise Mart, Suite
8G-238, September 18-22, 2004.
Eucalyptus is as strong and as durable as
teak and is 10 to 20 percent more dense. With its density, straight grain,
smooth finish, and honey color with subtle rose highlights, eucalyptus is a
first-rate choice for outdoor wood furniture that compares favorably to
teak:
Teak: Strong, Moderately Durable, Average Density of 640 kilograms
per cubic meter
Eucalyptus: Strong, Moderately Durable, Average Density
of 750 kilograms per cubic meter
Technical Definitions and
Sources:
Strength – Hardwoods rated as Extremely Strong, Very Strong,
Strong or Weak, based on a measurement in pounds per square inch of the working
stresses a wood can tolerate.
Durability – Hardwoods rated as Very
Durable, Durable, Moderately Durable or Not Durable. Durability relates to the
resistance to fungal decay of a wood species. The ratings are based on the
average life span of an untreated 50x50mm section of heartwood (middle of the
log) in exterior ground contact.
Density - Calculated in kilograms per
cubic meter. Tropical hardwoods can exhibit considerable variation around mean
density. The greater the density, the greater the exterior resistance.
Sources: Species of Tropical Hardwood Timber: Principal Uses and their
Equivalent Woods (Trade Development Board, Singapore) and the Timber Research
and Development Association (TRADA)
About Creative Woodwork
International (CWI)
Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn., Creative
Woodwork International (CWI) is a privately held U.S. company that imports
eco-friendly, enduring outdoor wood furniture from Vietnam. Lifewood from CWI,
including the Veranda and Lifeware collections, provides a superior alternative
to meet consumers’ growing demand for distinctive, durable, and affordable wood
furniture that brings comfort and style to outdoor living, naturally. More
information on CWI, including Lifewood product catalogs and photos, is available
at www.creative-woodwork.net.
Forest Stewardship Council
(FSC)
FSC-US-0040
Forest Stewardship Council™ (FSC™) identifies
products which contain wood from well managed forests certified in accordance
with the rules of the Forest Stewardship Council.
FSC Trademark © 1996
Forest Stewardship Council A.C.
Note to Editors: CWI will introduce its
new mixed-media Vienna Chair & Table (http://www.creative-woodwork.net/utility/vienna.htm) at the
Casual Market in Chicago at the Merchandise Mart, Suite 8G-238, September 18-22,
2004. A limited number of editorial appointments with Bernadette Carroll,
president of Creative Woodwork International (CWI), are still available on
Sunday, September 19 and Tuesday, September 21. For assistance, please send an
e-mail to e-mail protected from spam bots.
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/9/prweb153248.htm