Why Myanmar?
Myanmar carries 50 to 70% of the world's natural teak forest. The country's surface is covered with 42% of trees (Myanmar Times). Additionally, Myanmar teak is set apart from the rest of the world through its higher quality.
What are the currently regulations regarding teak in Myanmar?
In April 2014, Myanmar banned the expiration of the raw teak log. Therefore Teakcell developed an expertise in wood sawing for its' clients.
Myanmar followed by the implementation of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation (MONREC and plan to reforest 600,000 acres over the next decade.
2017-2018, MONREC & MTE create the Myanmar Forest Certification System (MFCS) and the Myanmar Timber Legality System (MTLAS)
Replantation demands heavy investment with very long returns when talking about Myanmar Teak.
Myanmar Teak takes 60 to 100 years to grow before being harvested. Hence, its extraordinary botanicals and technicals advantages over most other wood species.
Forest investors in the world usually favor replantation of fast growing trees like pines, palm trees, teak from plantation harvested after less than 25 years. That is of course, because the faster the harvesting, the faster the financial return on investment.
Why does TEAKCELL, (a 100% foreign investment company) decide to invest and stay in Myanmar since 2002?
When a fast developing country like Myanmar, choose to replant slow growing trees like Teak wood instead of fast growing trees, like palm trees for example, that means to TEAKCELL a very positive move for the environment.
Teakcell care for the environment and believe that being at the source of Teak raw material to manufacture with a minimum carbon footprint is the best solution.
When exporting Teak as a raw materials, the carbon footprint jumps for no reason.
Myanmar is a fast developing country and when you grow fast, you manage things with priorities.
Teakcell, being a foreign investor in the wood industrial area in Yangon shows that Myanmar Teak is precious. Anything precious is valuable. Anything valuable will attract more investors and the demand will rise. If the teak demand rise, companies will invest into reforestation and find solution to waste Teak as less as possible. The demand will get closer to the final buyer.
That is what we do at Teakcell: serve worldwide final users like carpenters, builders, Pro's & diy's, and small scale distributors.
We also sell locally quality custom ''Made in Myanmar'' goods and wish to promote the ''Made in Myanmar'' label for evident economical reasons.
Do Myanmar replant more trees?
As shown on the article above, Myanmar replant 600,000 acres (2400 KM2) over the next decade (starts 2016/2017).
It takes 60 to 100 years before you can harvest a Myanmar Teak tree. Investing in Teak forest is a very very long term investment.
Recently Myanmar has made possible for any foreign investor to participate in the reforestation of some areas in the country.
Teakcell sent an application to MTE to apply for Teak replantation.
Teakcell wants to be part of the Teak forest growth for the future generations.
Any prospective investor is highly welcome to join us in our efforts.
How can TEAKCELL, or any foreign investor contributes to a better future of the Myanmar forest and Myanmar as a whole?
-1- By investing in Myanmar, paying rent, taxes, duties, training local staff and continue to invest significant amounts on the right machinery as well as research & development,
-2- By applying to MONREC for plantation of teak tree,
-3- By exporting highest value added products made in Myanmar,
-4- By focusing on designing best LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) Myanmar made products,
-5- Manufacture exclusively with traceable Teak logs raw materials bought on public tender basis to the only legal source in the world: MONREC & MTE.
-6- Internally manage the factory with a maximum transparency to enable customer purchasing with Due Diligence
How does Teak grows? Should the forest be left alone?
Pretending that a forest should be left alone without any human management is a strange belief!
To unable a proper photosynthesis for the younger trees in a primary forest, human must harvest the older, bigger trees as well as the undesirable trees.
That leave the younger trees a chance to grow.
It is a responsible management to harvest the mature trees. We buy those old trees logs from the areas that we select.
Why is LCA the priority for TEAKCELL when making a decision?
Because that criteria is the main one that matters for my kids and my future grandkids to enjoy a better environment.
Please, make your own calculation of the best Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for a natural Myanmar Teak decking solution versus a synthetic decking and see by yourself.
You can also make the same with Teak boat hull or any furnitures versus grp or most polymers and see by yourself!
TEAKCELL aim at designing products using the wonderful Myanmar Teak and encourage anyone to use Teak rather than any polymer substitutes.
How do we help any of our business partners on the due diligence for any sold product from Teakcell?
The EU Timber regulation (EUTR), the US Lacey Act, and Australia's illegal logging Prohibition Act (ILPA) require companies to perform DUE DILIGENCE to ensure that the timber they're buying is of sustainable and legal provenance.
Even if Teakcell product are not timber products, we follow on the same company policy as we do with TEAKZOOM when selling Teak Timber.
TEAKCELL, TEAKZOOM, TEAK VENEER LOG BY LOG can be traced for any single piece of TEAK from the official documents solely provided by MTE & MONREC to the final buyer.
All TEAKCELL products are stamped and shows the official parcel number, log number within the parcel, product number within the log and the recovery of each log. We process our products log by log, not only to guarantee a unity of grain and pattern but to ease the traceability. Our minimum quantities does not come per m2 or m3 or any units that implies wastage but we supply by half or full log. 1 crate for export, 1 log or half log: not more, not less.
Each crate or each log, includes the 1 or 2 butt end Teak log so that you can home check the depot stamps, check if the wood grain is the same as the Teakcell products that comes from the log and also make your own calculation on the logical recovery. If you have any suggestion to make the due Diligence more irrevocable, please let me know and if that adds transparency, be sure that we'll use your suggestion.
Any of Teakcell business partner can see easily and fast if any products comes from the same log. The log out turned recovery is known to our business partners with full details log per log in a chain of custody using the blockchain technology (under development).
Thanks to the record of MTE, MONREC, Third party and Teakcell internal blockchain, chain of custody, TEAKCELL believes that transparency will be at its best.
We'll let you know more details about that within Novembre 2019.