Each year, the Forest Products Society (FPS) honors individuals who have made exceptional contributions to forest products research, innovation, and education. These awards are presented during the Society’s Annual Convention to celebrate those who have significantly advanced the industry and strengthened the FPS community.

At the 2024 FPS Business Meeting, held June 18 in Fort Collins, Colo., the Distinguished Service Award—the Society’s highest service honor—was presented to Terry Liles, PhD of Huber Engineered Woods.

This award recognizes individuals who have demonstrated sustained dedication to both FPS and the broader forest products industry. Recipients are selected based on their long-term impact through leadership, research, and service to the profession.

A dedicated member and advocate for FPS, Liles served as the Society’s President from 2021–2022, chaired the 2021 FPS International Conference, and has been a key organizer of the FPS BTF-BPI conference. Over the course of his career, he has held leadership roles at major industry organizations including Huber Engineered Woods, Georgia-Pacific Chemicals, and BASF.

Beyond FPS, Liles has contributes to the advancement of industry standards and education, serving as chair of the ASTM D14 Committee on Adhesives and as a board member for the University of Tennessee’s Data Science Institute.

Hampton Lumber and affiliate, RedBuilt, are pleased to announce the appointment of Ted Osterberger as Chief Executive Officer of RedBuilt, effective June 1, 2025. Osterberger succeeds Don Schwabe, who will retire later this year after ten years of leadership.

Based in Boise, Id., RedBuilt is a provider of innovative engineered wood products and structural solutions. Osterberger currently serves as RedBuilt’s Vice President of Operations and brings over 25 years of industry experience to his new role.

“Ted’s deep knowledge of the business, his unwavering commitment to people, and his proven leadership make him the ideal choice to lead RedBuilt into the future,” says Randy Schillinger, CEO of Hampton Lumber, RedBuilt’s parent company.

Schwabe will remain with the company through September 1, 2025, to ensure a smooth transition of leadership.

“It has been the greatest honor of my career to lead RedBuilt and to work alongside such a talented and committed group of people,” says Schwabe. “I am also incredibly grateful for having had the opportunity to carry on the legacy of Harold “Red” Thomas, Tom Denig, and Kurt Liebich. And now, as part of Hampton Lumber and under Ted’s leadership, the best is yet to come for RedBuilt.”

Schwabe’s tenure included the successful acquisition of RedBuilt by Hampton Lumber in 2024.

Washington, D.C.-based law firm Wiley, on behalf of the Coalition for Fair Trade in Hardwood Plywood, has filed antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) petitions with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission, seeking relief from unfair trade practices by Indonesia, Vietnam, and China. These petitions have significant implications for the U.S. economy, in which hardwood plywood plays a critical role in producing numerous downstream products.

The Coalition represents a substantial majority of hardwood plywood production in the U.S., and its members include Columbia Forest Products, Commonwealth Plywood, Manthei Wood Products, States Industries, and Timber Products.

The petitions, filed May 22, allege that the governments of Indonesia, Vietnam, and China are actively subsidizing their industries through dozens of programs, including providing products at subsidized rates and multiple grant, tax, and lending programs. Additionally, hardwood and decorative plywood producers from the three countries are dumping their products into the U.S. at margins of up to 133.7% for Vietnam, 202.8% for Indonesia, and 474.2% for China, according to the petitions.

These unfairly traded imports have caused material injury to the domestic hardwood and decorative plywood industry, including reduced production, shipments, profits, and employment. Without trade relief under U.S. AD/CVD laws, the petitions argue, the domestic industry and the thousands of American jobs it supports are in jeopardy.

“Domestic hardwood and decorative plywood manufacturers have been harmed for decades by dumped and subsidized imports from Indonesia, Vietnam, and China,” said Timothy C. Brightbill, co-chair of Wiley’s International Trade Practice and lead counsel to the Coalition. “Trade remedies are necessary to restore fair competition for this essential U.S industry.”

The Coalition members operate more than a dozen facilities across the country, including in Arkansas, California, Michigan, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Virginia, and West Virginia.

The Wiley team representing the Coalition also includes International Trade partner Stephanie M. Bell and associate Stephen A. Morrison.