New Senior Appointment in Timber Industry Standards

Forest and Wood Products Australia Ltd (FWPA) announced the appointment this week of Neil Evans to the new senior management role of Timber Standards Manager commencing in late October.
The role was created by FWPA, the industry owned services company, after a lengthy discovery and review process. A year-long involvement by the Board in the issues surrounding standards development culminated in a workshop held in Melbourne and attended by more than 50 Industry stakeholders.
The workshop – designed to address whether Forest and Wood Products Australia should play a stronger role in the development of industry standards – uncovered a clear need for a long term strategy. After reviewing the workshop outcomes, the Board supported the creation of the Timber Standards Manager senior role as part of a coordinated approach.
“The recruitment of Neil Evans will allow FWPA to get an immediate head start of the development of a standards coordination strategy,” said FWPA Managing Director, Ric Sinclair.
“Neil Evans brings to the organisation a strong understanding of the building sector and key standards from an end-users perspective and has been an active participant on some of the key technical committees,” Mr. Sinclair explained.
In his previous role with the Federal Government, Mr Evans played a key role in establishing a trial to use lightweight timber construction techniques for housing in remote communities. Prior to this position, he was National Director of Technical and Regulatory Policy with the Master Builders Association based in Canberra. His strong background in developing national policies that encompass the needs of industry stakeholders while ensuring future development makes him a welcome addition to FWPA.
Mr. Evans was selected from a very strong field of candidates who demonstrated a wide range of technical and management skills.
“As an added advantage, Neil was also a member of FWPA’s Market Access and Development Industry Advisory Group and is a well known supporter for the expanded use of timber in a range of building solutions,” Mr Sinclair said.
The appointment of Mr Evans as Timber Standards Manager represents the first step in FWPA providing a new value-added service to industry. FWPA was established as the sector’s service company to provide investment in research and development, generic promotion and other services as required.