Crandall adds expertise to Maine Public story about manufactured wood products
Mindy Crandall, assistant professor of forest management and economics at the University of Maine, was cited in a Maine Public article about the growing demand for manufactured wood products. While Maine has lost more 2,400 papermaking jobs over the last six years, Crandall said businesses in Maine can do well by focusing on Lincoln Logs, baseball bats, kitchen utensils and other high-quality items that require skill to make. Changes in the Chinese economy also are affecting the demand here, says Crandall. “As China progresses and has higher incomes, their labor costs are also rising, so when we can compete on things like quality, that’s where we can start having some of that manufacturing moving back over to the U.S.,” she says. “We tend to forget about secondary wood manufacturing and its role in the state, but there are an amazing amount of these small companies that are adding a lot of value to a primary product.”