Time Warp.

Shippers nail down a better way to protect wood on long voyages.

WITH PRICES AS HIGH AS US$15 A SQUARE FOOT, Brazilian wood's as good as gold for many importers-and as valued.

Wood is becoming one of the chief exports for South America, especially Brazil. That country, named after the abundance of fine brazil wood along its shores, has cultivated a reputation based on its woods' appearance and strength. It is especially prized for flooring and construction; the flooring wood for an average home in the United States can cost up to $20,000.

There's money to be made, obviously, from the wood trade. But there's also money to be lost from damage during shipping.

If the Parana Maple, Champagne Walnut or Saint Paul wood becomes warped, it's as worthless as sawdust. "The most important goal when shipping wood is to avoid altering its physical dimensions," says Wlamir Venturini, president of Miami-based wood importer Traditional Hardwood Floor Mills Corp. "If the wood is changed in any way," he explains, "then it's useless."

Almost nothing will change wood faster than water. It can alter its texture, grain and strength. Saltwater especially, can dry out wood, causing it to twist.

There's an ocean of saltwater between Brazil and the southern United States. During ship voyages that last two weeks to two months, it's almost impossible to keep saltwater-even the moisture from the air can ruin a wood shipment-from coming in contact with the valuable cargo.

After losing thousands of dollars per shipment, Traditional Hardwood started packing the wood in porous bags filled with silica gel, lining the container tops and bottoms with the bags, hoping to stop the salty moisture from seeping inside and ruining the cargo.

The gel worked fine for voyages of about two weeks. But the voyages frequently took longer. Once ships left Brazilian ports in Paranagua or Sao Francisco do Sal, the ships would stop in Venezuela before battling the weather and trade winds of the Caribbean. That meant up to a month in the tropical humidity, a dangerous length of time for expensive wood.

Wet wood. "There were times when cargo would arrive absolutely drenched," Venturini says. He estimates his company was losing about $5,000 per shipment. One shipment took 30 days to reach the United States. And when it did, 25% of the cargo had been ruined by moisture, a $20,000 loss.

"You spend all this time getting the best wood, cutting down trees, taking wood to the mill, selecting the best cuts, pre-treating, painting, packaging and shipping," he says. "Then, after all of this, your product is ruined."

The shipments needed more protection. Venturini found a product called Container Dri II, made by Sud-Chemie Performance Packaging of New Mexico, which claimed the material was effective for up to 40 days. He decided to give it a try.

Container Dri II absorbs moisture like a sponge through a flexible packaging film with tiny pores. It then concentrates the moisture into a thick gel. Sud-Chemie Performance Packaging says the bags can absorb up to three times their weight in water.

Traditional Hardwood tested a shipment by packing a 40-foot container of Brazilian wood in 64 bags of Container Dri II weighing 125 grams or 4 ounces each. The bags were placed on top of the wood or hung throughout the container The wood arrived in fine shape--100% dry, Venturini says.

Indeed, the company's had so much success with the Container Dri II that Traditional Hardwood has started to pack its wood in corrugated cartons. That's better for the wood and cheaper for Traditional Hardwood. The company had avoided it in the past, however, because the cartons fell apart from the moisture.

The real test for Traditional Hardwood has been with its clients. The complaints from importers about wood damage and quality problems have all but dried up.

Meanwhile, Traditional Hardwood's business has been growing. It says its operations have increased since its start about two years ago. And it hopes to continue the success. Knock on wood.

SECTION EDITOR: MICHAEL FABEY [e-mail]