“The cypress is a unique tree. It thrives in a number of harsh environments and is much admired by foresters, environmentalists, sportsmen, woodworkers and outdoor enthusiasts,” explains Harold Hawley, CII VP of Marketing. Just as the foresting community values the Cypress tree, the Cypress timberland inventory and investment management database is expected to receive similar accolades from its users.

Direct Access To Integrated Data

Cypress is an exceptional system for several reasons. Historically, most timberland databases have been split between spatial data (GIS maps of timber tracts) and attribute data (numbers and other information pertaining to the tracts). These two seemingly incompatible types of data are the information equivalent of oil and water, and the traditional process of relating attribute data to tract maps is complex and time-consuming.

Accordingly, forest industry leaders have been trying to build integrated systems for years, with varying degrees of success. “Temple Inland, Union Camp, Westvaco, and Georgia Pacific have developed systems that are slightly similar,” acknowledges Damon Houghton, CFR Forest Biometrician and key member of the Cypress team. However, the Cypress system will blend the two types of data with unprecedented efficiency and speed. “Cypress integrates spatial and attribute data as no system has ever done before," Harold Hawley explains. “It’s a stand-alone, central repository of key land management, financial and economic information.” But Cypress’ true competitive edge lies in its innovative method of access. “Cypress is unique because it will provide secure Web-based delivery,” enthuses Damon Houghton. “Cypress will directly benefit the end user via easy access, quicker response, and faster update of information.”

The Entire Forest, Online

Extensive market research shows that a wide variety of users will find great value in a Web-based integrated database. “There has been a tremendous amount of demand identified for Cypress and its features,” Harold Hawley notes. Thanks to the new method of delivery, the system will be a useful tool for technical foresters & forest managers, financial and lending institutions, TIMOs (Timberland Investment Management Organizations) and many others. Says Hawley, “Cypress will provide users with online, real-time and secure remote access to virtually all of the information relative to the land that they own or professionally manage.”

The information available through Cypress is vast and comprehensive. Users will be able to access inventory, silvicultural, and mapping information on the new database. Users will also be able to perform economic “what-if” scenarios, asset valuation, timber growth inventory projections, and other key analyses in an environment that is both user-friendly and instinctively navigable. “The up-to-date info that Cypress will provide to clients is a great economic selling point,” remarks Harold Hawley.

Strategy For Growth

CFR has set ambitious goals for the next two years, and the new system is an integral part of its strategy. “Today we professionally manage approximately 500,000 acres in the Southeast. Cypress is expected to help Canal double its land management business,” says Robin Jolley, president of CFR.

Because timberland as investment property is becoming increasingly popular as a means of diversifying a portfolio, the playing field is rapidly leveling. A year and a half ago, there were only four TIMOs; today there are eighteen. “The returns generated from land that is professionally managed are generally twice that high as the returns from land that is not managed at all,” Harold Hawley reports.

After a year of working almost exclusively on Cypress, Damon Houghton has an intimate understanding of the new system’s value for CFR. “Cypress provides a way to attract – and keep – new clients,” he remarks. “The up-to-date info and ease of access it will provide to clients are both great selling points.”

It should be noted that Cypress is a feather in the cap of a company that is already an industry leader. “CFR does not restrict itself to land management,” notes Harold Hawley. “Thanks to an integrated portfolio of services which includes GIS mapping, timberland due diligence and appraisal, timber inventory, and environmental services, CFR offers a turn-key solution that is not available from most consulting firms. The depth and breadth of our capabilities, combined with the innovative features of the Cypress system, will enable us to provide customers with an unparalleled new level of service. This will uniquely position CFR as a leader in the industry.”

A Commitment To The Future

In increasing numbers, companies around the globe are using new technologies to conduct business with unprecedented innovation and speed. Harold Hawley observes that Canal has positioned itself as a technical pacesetter in the timber industry. “Cypress exemplifies our commitment to becoming a more technically innovative company, and to our role as leaders in the information age.” The new system has great significance in Canal’s vision for CFR, as well. “It is also an example of our commitment, as an organization, to growth and to the future of Canal Forest Resources,”states Jerry Lowe, COO of Canal Industries.

Cypress is being developed in several distinct stages. The design phase of the new database, led by Debi Randolph, Vice President, IT, was completed by the technical team earlier this spring. The actual programming of the system has now begun. CII Database & QA Manager Larry McElveen, who has helped coordinate and support the Cypress project, says that several recently developed programming languages will come into play. “Our biggest challenges have been web deployment, and using newer technologies,” he explains. “Oracle’s PL/SQL, HTML & XML, Visual Basic, and Java will all be used for this project.” To ensure complete system security, a VPN (Virtual Private Network) is being created for the new database. When programming is completed, a period of testing and implementation will follow, and CFR internal employees will be using Cypress as early as autumn of this year. Then, in January 2000, CFR’s clients will receive access to the new system.

The anticipatory buzz in the timberland industry is already unmistakable. As part of the marketing plan led by Harold Hawley, Cypress was showcased in April of this year during the American Pulpwood Association’s New Products and Services trade show. Using flip charts and PowerPoint illustrations, Pete Stewart, Cheryl Tillery, and Harold Hawley demonstrated the new system’s ease of use, security, and reporting capabilities.

Fran Gilbert, Senior Vice President of Marketing, reports that observers were absolutely intrigued by the new database. “I went to lunch with several industry contacts and institutional investor representatives,” she says, “and they were very excited. They kept saying, ‘There isn’t anything like this out there!” Thanks to an innovative use of the very latest technologies, and a successful integration of mapping and attribute data, Cypress promises to be the standard by which all others are measured.