CalCedar’s Ecoslat® Basswood slats supply chain reliability and improved product quality over other sources
Basswood, also known as Linden in some regions, has long been used in China and other parts of the world for the production of pencils. Basswood, is characterized by several species under the Genus Tilia which distributed throughout the Far East, Eastern Europe and even in the US. Basswood has been historically used in China as a primary species to meet the needs of more price conscious pencil market segments. Since introduction by CalCedar in 2000, Ecoslat® Basswood slats have been optimized for efficient production of higher quality pencils by adapting the company’s strong capabilities in wax treatment and wood machining. As forest restrictions have increased in China along with concerns in other regions for this species, the company has worked diligently to understand and assure the wood sources for our product range are appropriately managed and controlled.
Ecoslat® Basswood slats are available in a variety of grades, sizes and certification options.
The Ecoslat® brand was established in the late 1990s to meet the industry’s growing need for pencil slats produced from alternative wood species as Incense-cedar experienced rapid inflationary cost and declining market share due to globalization and highly extractive timber resource practices of new wood supply competitors in Asia. Ecoslat® product lines have been developed to offer “Eco-nomically” and “Eco-logically” sound high quality alternatives to a growing number of inferior species that have generally been poorly controlled from a quality, sustainability and ecological management basis, but do meet the growing demand for more competitive wood costs. Ecoslat® is a registered trademark of California Cedar Products Company.
