Company and the Environment

At Scandian we realize our business has a direct ecological and economic impact on the environment. Therefore, we have designed and implemented policies and programs demonstrating our commitment to the environment.

Ecological Environment:

Respect for the natural environment through sustained forest management is at the core of our values and business philosophy. Wood is a renewable resource that needs to be handled with care and consideration for the continued supply and enjoyment of future generations.

Sustained forest management can be achieved with selective harvesting which begins with an assessment of all trees in a given area to determine which will be chosen for removal. Only mature, fully-grown native species are harvested. The removal of these trees provides ideal growing conditions for those remaining by allowing more light, nutrients, and water to reach them. Once the harvest is complete, the process is finished with an inventory of the forest being taken to assist with future harvest cycles.

Scandian Industries’ commitment to ecologically minded business is practiced on all of our properties. The Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Natural Resources (IBAMA) closely monitors sustained forest management practices to ensure that Brazil's forests are replenished and capable of supporting wildlife for future generations.

Economic Environment:

At Scandian our most valued economic resources are our employees and their families. As such, the company has taken serious steps to protect this precious commodity by providing onsite family medical and dental health care and by employing safety engineers whose sole responsibility is to ensure the safety of our workers.

Employees in Brazil also get a monthly allotment of food staples such as rice, beans, and oil, as well as the option to participate in a dividend distribution program for the fair allocation of profits.

We believe in the benefits of exercise as preventative medicine and encourage our people to be involved in athletics and other physical activities. Each factory has recreational areas where our employees and their families can participate in athletic and leisure activities geared toward better physical and mental health.

The company also supports involvement in competitive sports by sponsoring several factory soccer teams and a marathon team. We are proud to say our soccer teams lead the divisions in which they play, and one of our runners finished 3rd in the 2004 Sao Silvestre; Brazil's largest Marathon race. Scandian employees are winners, whether at work or at play.

As active members of our local community, we serve on development boards in Brazil and make contributions to support better infrastructure development and educational opportunities for the entire community.