The European Timber Association (ETTF) and the European Organization of Sawmills (EOS) announce that the 68th International Softwood Conference, originally planned to be held in Helsinki from October 6-9, 2020, will now take place digitally in a concentrated form on October 8, 2020.

The international Softwood Conference will be held digitally in October 2020 as the world industry sees many disruptions due to the covid-19 pandemic. Image credit: ETTF

The international Softwood Conference will be held digitally in October 2020 as the world industry sees many disruptions due to the covid-19 pandemic. Image credit: ETTF

“The spreading COVID-19 pandemic, which has been keeping Europe and the rest of the world in suspense for a few months, gave us the feeling that we should take responsibility and choose a new ISC format,” said Silvia Melegari , EOS Secretary General.

The Finnish Sawmill Association will host the 69th International Softwood Conference 2021 in Helsinki next year.

The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting trade and has negative effects on the supply chain. It is still unclear whether these measures are temporary or will have a lasting impact. As part of the digital ISC 2020, there is the opportunity to discuss the situation on the international timber markets after the COVID 19 pandemic with high-ranking speakers.

The digital ISC will take place on October 8, 2020 and will focus on a maximum of four hours, in which essentially global market reports will be presented. It is also planned to offer a report on the banking sector and the European construction industry. The digital ISC 2020 will also be moderated by our timber market expert Keith Fryer.

“With the relocation of the ISC to the Internet, we see an excellent opportunity to hold this important event in the pandemic year 2020 and to report on the global softwood timber markets, so a complete failure of the event would not have been an option for us,” said Thomas Goebel, ETTF Secretary General.

Registration procedures for the digital ISC 2020 will take place on a specially designed website from summer this year. To see more about this conference, click here: https://sahateollisuus.com/isc2020/?lang=en