OT: Importing Balsa Wood.............

MwTech Inc · Nov 3, 2014

Might be crazy to ask here but you never know.........

Looking to import balsa wood, in raw blanks as you can see on Youtube and various other sites.

No problem processing it once here, so.................

anybody know somebody??

Frederick Harvie · Nov 3, 2014

There can be a tremendous amount of paper work and inspections required to import wood into the U.S from South America. I once imported Cumaru from the U.S. into Canada and was required to have all the documentation that the wood entered the U.S. with . I am not familiar with the rules for balsa and the rules do vary somewhat with species but it likely that you will need a heat treat (kiln treatment in the county of origin ) report , an export permit from the country of origin , A USDA inspection on arrival , possible a sustainablity report . Not saying it can't be done but ask lots of questions first . In particular to the USDA and get the answers in writing. Almost for sure you will need to use a Customs Broker . Do not try to cut corners . To see what some of the perials of importing wood can be do some reading on the difficulties that Gibson guitar got into importing wood

atomarc · Nov 3, 2014

I have a customer that imports Honduran Rosewood in lumber form with not problems. The company I worked for imported Russian Radiata Pine and it was a horror story. The USDA made them unload the entire ship at the port and steam the lumber before they reloaded it into the containers for truck shipment. Needless to say that was a short lived endeavor. USDA is very concerned about little bugs that don't have a green card and try to sneak into the country.

Stuart

L Vanice · Nov 3, 2014

Maybe the answer is to avoid the hassle of importing and simply grow your own trees. Amazon.com : Balsa Wood Tree 10 Seeds - Ochroma pyramidale -Tropical : Tree Plants : Patio, Lawn & Garden

I am reminded of a wood often used in Japan for making little storage boxes for fine antiques and such mundane things as toothpicks. The Japanese is Kiri, western name is Paulownia. The seeds were used over 100 years ago to ship Chinese and Japanese porcelain ware. It was the forerunner of plastic packing peanuts. I have read that the seeds often escaped from the crates and the trees grew near railroad tracks in the Eastern USA. They are an invasive species because they were not native plants. But now the seeds and young trees are sold here and touted as exotic fast-growing shade. I sometimes think these stories are too weird to be true.
Paulownia tomentosa - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_s...,212&rh=n:2972638011,k:paulownia+empress+tree

Larry

Frederick Harvie · Nov 4, 2014

L Vanice said:
I sometimes think these stories are too weird to be true.
Larry

Invasive plants can be a huge problem. Any one who lives in or has visited the south east U.S.A. is familiar with Kudzu which is a plant with origins in Japan that was first brought to the U.S. as a display for a Worlds fair. currently It is been spreading at the rate of 150,000 acres annually

stephen thomas · Nov 4, 2014

If you are friends/closely connected to someone who imports lumber from SA as a regular buisness; it might be worth merely working through them. I personally know who I'd approach. But the connection might or might not transfer.

This mention is _not_ the personal connection today, they might or might not be receptive. But calling World Timber in Hulbert SC might get you some info and leads. 20 years ago when they were starting up in Easton, PA, Joe was not unwilling to at least talk, and pass on leads that were not of direct interest to his business. You may find someone already does it for fair pricing if your requirements are high volume.

World Timber Corp. Inc Company About Us

I'm told by others in the industry that WT is a lot smaller than they used to be up here. Nevertheless, they are familiar with the business & Joe was always courteous and interesting. Starting with a phone call or meeting with them or someone else who runs a similar business might be at least informative.

smt

KMoffett · Nov 4, 2014

Frederick Harvie said:
Invasive plants can be a huge problem. Any one who lives in or has visited the south east U.S.A. is familiar with Kudzu which is a plant with origins in Japan that was first brought to the U.S. as a display for a Worlds fair. currently It is been spreading at the rate of 150,000 acres annually

Also the eucalyptus in California: Eucalyptus: California Icon, Fire Hazard and Invasive Species | Science | KQED Public Media for Northern CA

Ken

WizardOfBoz · Nov 4, 2014

Reminds me of the time that Gibson tried to sell a modified Les Paul (solid body electric) guitar. Mahogany body, top sliced off, chamber milled, filled with a block of solid balsa wood glued in. Top glued back on. Lower weight, better sound. Gibson was careful to call the wood "Ochroma", but folks found out it was "cheap" balsa and (IIRC) it was not a market success.

Kind of stupid, really, as 1) the milled out mahogany was not salvageable - it was scrap and sunk cost, and 2) the volumetric cost of balsa was HIGHER than that of mahogany. And 3) and 4), as above (lighter and better sounding).

MwTech Inc · Nov 4, 2014

Thanks so far..........

Having balsa "raw blanks" would allow me to expand my business.........would be good if I could "mix" in with an importer already.

Stephen..Thks

Never know

stephen thomas · Nov 4, 2014

Just out of curiosity - how much at a crack?
Container full? More?

smt

Freehand · Nov 4, 2014

Might be out of the question to change species entirely, but have you considered domestic lindenwood (Tilia)?

henrya · Nov 4, 2014

You might need to look at the various tariffs involved with the particular species and the regulations of the location exported from.
Years a go this was not too complicated, but part of that was the form in which the wood was brought in. Sometimes something as simple as being milled or finished on even just one side can be the deal breaker or maker. Also whether the exporter had done proper work on the material. Kiln dried with heat and properly certified means all bugs are dead and maybe just a check of paperwork at the border instead of complicated problems involving detailed inspection and quarantine.

If you can find a reliable overseas supplier of what you want, check with a customs broker for determining the tariffs and duty of the particular items you want to bring in. You may also find a supplier who either is an exporter or is connected to one. They may have shipped their product into the US before.

MwTech Inc · Nov 4, 2014

Volume depends on cost.........?

Will need a bit to check out the process, make sure everything works...........don't want a container of balsa with no use. :eek:

Of course there is balsa being brought in as we speak.......from Ecuador.

Surf boards, hobby supplies, aircraft supplies etc,so it's readily available, but at retail cost.

From what research I have done it comes in dried, and in dimensional sizes.

I need low cost to make the idea fly.

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OT: Importing Balsa Wood.............

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KMoffett

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