July 20, 2002 - IPSWICH, UK, and VANCOUVER, Canada -- TIMBERWeb, the world's leading business-to-business (B2B) eMarket for timber and lumber, and Forintek of Vancouver, Canada's National Wood Products Institute, are pleased to announce a strategic partnership and co-marketing agreement, through which the two companies will promote each other's brands within their respective web sites.

Under the terms of the agreement, TIMBERWeb will place strategic web links and advertisements for Forintek within its website, in exchange for similar promotion on Forintek's website.

TIMBERWeb chairman and chief executive Keith Richmond said: "We are delighted to e partner with Forintek in this way and see our strategic partnership as a way of widening our marketing and increasing traffic to both our web sites and, simultaneously, adding real value to our respective online web site visitors."

Forintek's Webmaster & Eastern Communications Coordinator Lorraine Gagnon said: "Forintek and TIMBERWeb are both leaders in their respective fields. We believe the partnership will be a tremendous help in growing the traffic and membership of both web sites in two overlapping sectors of the timber and lumber industry."

About Forintek

Forintek is Canada's National Wood Products Institute. A world-class timber and lumber research organization Forintek was founded in Montreal in 1915 as the first Canadian Forest Products Laboratory. Forintek was privatized in 1979 and has main offices in Vancouver and Quebec City.

About TIMBERWeb®

TIMBERWeb (www.timberweb.com) is the world's leading B2B eMarket for timber and lumber that enhances and facilitates the trading relationship between buyers and sellers by creating a strong trading community and 'networking' environment.

TIMBERWeb offers a range of memberships to buyers and sellers of timber and lumber, logistics, and machinery and other companies providing services to the industry. Membership gives access to trading systems, valuable contact information and focused content on market sectors such as China, the United Kingdom and Germany.

Clearly focused on serving the global timber and lumber industry, TIMBERWeb's eMarket enables buyers and sellers to benefit from efficient trading systems, broader customer and supplier reach and timely, relevant market information.

TIMBERWeb is the preferred global trading marketplace for timber and lumber, offering a compelling portfolio of services to members across the world, delivered in many languages.