Page 20 - FDMAsia MayJun 2025

18 FEATURES MAY/JUN 2025 FDM ASIA | www.fdmasia.com

Mr. Noah Li, Director from Quebec Wood Export Bureau (QWEB), China

FDM: Could you please start by briefly introducing the

Quebec Wood Export Bureau (QWEB)? We would also
like to know what positive contributions QWEB has made
to the development of China’s wood products and wood
structure industries. Additionally, given that wood structures
are now widely used in areas such as residential buildings,
cultural venues, and landscape architecture, could you
explain their main advantages?

Mr. Noah Li: I’d like to begin by introducing the Quebec

Wood Export Bureau (QWEB).
Established in 1992, QWEB is a global non-profit organisation
jointly funded by the Canadian federal government, the Quebec buildings such as stadiums, hospitals, nursing homes, and
provincial government, and Natural Resources Canada. government offices.
Our mission is to promote hardwood and softwood products A key innovation in this field is Cross Laminated Timber
from Quebec, Canada, along with advanced modern wood (CLT) technology, which enables rapid construction of residences
structure building technologies and products, to support while significantly reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Globally,

the rapid development of China’s wood products and wood very few enterprises offer complete CLT technology, but
structure industries. Quebec is home to two such providers.
QWEB operates across five sectors: hardwood, softwood, One of the greatest advantages of wood structures is their
hardwood flooring, wood pellets, and wood structures. The carbon sequestration ability, which contributes significantly to
hardwood and softwood sectors include materials such as energy conservation and emission reduction.
red oak, white oak, and SPF (spruce-pine-fir, abundant in For example, replacing one cubic centimetre of reinforced
Canada’s cork forests), which are widely used in furniture concrete with wood can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by
manufacturing, building materials, and packaging. 270 cubic centimetres.
Our hardwood flooring and wood pellet products are also Fire resistance, often a concern with wood buildings, is

highly favoured in European and North American markets. another strength: tests show that wood structures can withstand
Since entering the Chinese market in 2004, QWEB has fire without collapsing for over two hours, allowing ample time
actively promoted wood structures. Globally, wood structures for evacuation, whereas reinforced concrete buildings may fail
are categorised mainly into light-frame wood structures and within 30 minutes at temperatures above 200 deg C.
mass timber structures. In Canada, nearly 90 percent of Wood structures also outperform reinforced concrete in
residential homes are built using light-frame wood structures. seismic resilience. Beyond functionality, mass timber structures
In China, we primarily collaborate on light-frame wood are valued for their aesthetic appeal and environmental

structure projects with resorts and tourist attractions. Mass friendliness, making them popular choices for stadium domes
timber structures, on the other hand, are used for large-scale and other large-scale architectural projects.