When Wood Central launched in February this year, the objective was to grow the industry and market with “creative and authoritative messaging”.
Earlier this week, Wood Central passed 30,000 users, which provides an opportunity to reflect on the truly diverse nature of timber, paper and forestry.
From converting biomass into rocket fuel to using flower cells in 3D-printed tree-less timber products, we operate in an ever-evolving and changing industry.
One of the most surprising aspects of Wood Central has been the increasing global interest in forest stories.
By the numbers, more than 32% of Wood Central’s user base (or just under 10,000, to be precise) are Australia-based, followed by 11% in the United States (3,500 users), 10% in India (or 3,100 users), Bangladesh (950 users), Canada (900 users) and New Zealand (900 users) at 3% apiece.
In fact, Wood Central articles have been read, shared and followed in more than 180 different countries and on every continent.
And of the 30,000 users, the website has been visited 76,000 times since mid-March!
Perhaps the most surprising of all has been the surge in interest in stories in Southeast Asia.
Last month, Wood Central reported that 91% of Australia’s softwood exports landed in India, which has emerged as one of the globe’s hottest markets for construction.
As a block, India, Pakistan and Nepal comprise 14% of Wood Central’s user base – or 4,400 users.
Perhaps, this shows a shift to southern Asia as global demand for timber is set to increase four-fold by 2050, according to the World Bank and FAO.
Behind the Asia Pacific region (37%) and Asia (20%), Europe (16%) and North America (15%) have emerged as markets hungry for Wood Central content.
The majority of our traffic in Europe and North America has been driven by our library of 70 (and growing) new and unique case studies, which are updated daily.
Last week was our strongest week yet, and as we continue to grow from strength to strength, the Wood Central team want to thank you, the readers, for your continued support.