Several years ago some domestic customers challenged us to find a less expensive substitute for American maple–a light-colored hardwood that would suit the growing trend for lighter finishes, that is in plentiful supply, has excellent machining properties and that is harvested in a sustainable manner. European birch met all these requirements admirably. Over the next few years the Challinors went to work to develop a new supply network, traveling extensively across northern Europe, inspecting woodworking factories, talking to industry professionals and developing a comprehensive understanding of the Baltic woodworking industry.

Over the last two years this groundwork has begun to pay off and our Baltic birch program has blossomed. Although the species of Baltic birch is still relatively unknown in the U.S., it is gaining recognition rapidly and is poised to become an industry standard, just as Baltic birch plywood has done in the plywood industry. CWP has quickly become perhaps the largest importer of solid birch products in North America, shipping some thirty containers/month of various birch products–lumber, components, mouldings, glued panels, flooring, plywood and veneer–to the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

Our birch program is reliable and professional. We have an established program with a select group of woodworking facilities, primarily in the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania). Our standards for our mills are quite high, but we have developed a reputation for honesty, fair-dealing and technical knowledge, so that we have become the favorite customer for many of our Baltic producers. In turn, our customers receive material that is delivered on-time, produced to the correct specification and in the correct quantity and they avoid the problems that have plagued many companies that have tried to buy from Russian producers or less reliable Baltic mills and agents.

As a species, Baltic birch is an excellent substitute for hard or soft maple or Canadian birch and is substantially less expensive than any of these species. Even when unselected for color, Baltic birch is almost uniformly white. This makes it an excellent material for kitchen/furniture doors, cabinet face frames, drawer sides, flooring and moulded parts.

From our beginnings in birch, our European hardwood program has expanded to include shipments of European aspen, beech and oak, from several excellent facilities located across the Baltics and eastern Europe.