Australian timber industry news

The timber industry is reeling from ‘whiplash’ as high interest rates and sluggish new home construction have dried up demand following a boom period during the past several years. Source: The Australian In the long run, however, the forestry industry peak body said it needed support to expand soft­wood plantations, which took a significant hit during the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires. It said Australia faced a “supply cliff’ if it was to meet its housing targets as the nation struggled to keep pace with housing needs. At the centre of this double whammy is Tumut, a town of just under 7000, two hours west of Canberra in regional. NSW. It is situated in the Murray Valley, which itself was the nation’s sec­ond most productive softwood region – 18% of national production before the Black Summer fires, according to the federal agriculture department. “This facility was processing 500,000 cubic metres of logs, today we process 250,000,” AKD Softwoods chief executive Shane Vicary said at the company’s Tumut mill. AKD is the largest sawmill company in the country, produc­ing about a quarter of the nation’s timber consumption, according to Mr Vicary. “This mill is doing half the volume that it used to do, and it’ll do half for the next 20-plus years, based on the fact that those logs got burnt,” he said. Despite this dramatic re­duction in production, timber continued to sit on the shelf with­out being sold, he said. “We can’t get enough people to buy the timber,” he said. “At the moment, most of our employees are earning less because there’s less activity: we’ve got overtime bans, we’ve got employment freezes.” Long-time Tumut timber worker and CFMEU NSW manu­facturing president Sharon Mus­son said the industry was vital for Tumut. “It’s a trickle-down effect,” she said. “The whole structure of fam­ilies, they rely on the timber com­ing through. “We’ve got one family, there’s eight people all related to each other working together – you know, uncles, brothers, sons. “For them to lose their jobs, it wouldn’t just be the impact of one person losing their pay.” Mr Vicary said reduced supply and demand made them weaker. “You become more fragile,” he said. “You become a smaller oper­ation. You become more suscep­tible to cold winds. “The irony of our situation at a time when we need to be building more houses … we need the state governments to be investing in more infrastructure to enable more suburbs.” Australian Forest Products Association NSW chief executive James Jooste said the conditions for the industry had to stabilise amid the headwinds, especially if the nation was to meet its housing targets. “There is no other solution to meeting our housing needs other than making sure we have a stable supply of timber, and the demand needs to be stabilised,” he said. “It’s so important that we make sure that when we have these am­bitious targets, we also have a plan and a road map to get there, but under pining that all is making sure over the next 20, 30, 40 years we have a consistent supply of domestic Australian timber to meet those needs because timber. goes into 90 per cent of the new detached houses built every year.” The federal government has previously laid out ambitions to build 1.2 million new homes in the next five years. NSW Premier Chris Minns recently admitted the state would not meet its target this year. The Australian earlier this month reported construction industry chiefs warned the country was not on track to meet the target. “Targets are just targets without action so we need to make sure that we’re not seeing this boom-­and-bust cycle continue in our housing construction industry,” Mr Jooste said. ”We need an even pathway and we need investment in our most important material in that housing construction cycle, which is timber.”

Since the last ice age, the Earth’s forest cover has fallen by 20 million km2 or 2 billion hectares. Half of the loss occurred since the year 1900 due to expanding agriculture and industrialization. Source: Visual Capitalist Now forests cover about 30% of the Earth’s land, about 40 million km2, distributed unevenly across the globe. Data for article comes from the World Bank, using data for 2021 that was last updated in October 2023. Predictably, the largest country in the world also has the biggest forest area. Nearly 50% of Russia is forest, measuring roughly 8 million km2. This is bigger than the total land area of every other country in the world with the exception of China, the US, Canada, Brazil, and Australia. It also means one-fifth of the world’s entire forested area is in Russia. Most of Russia’s forests are boreal, to survive the colder, drier climes in the country, and are made up of deciduous and coniferous tree species including larch, pine, spruce, and oak. At second place, Brazil has nearly 5 million km2 of forest cover (about 12% of the world’s forests), thanks to almost two-thirds of the Amazon rainforest inside its borders. For context, Brazil’s forested area is almost twice the size of Saudi Arabia, the 12th largest country in the world. The Amazon also contributes significantly to Peru’s forest cover (ranked 10th on this list) along with Colombia (13th) Bolivia (14th) and Venezuela (15th). Canada and the US, rank third and fourth with roughly the same forest cover, 3 million km2 with several forests on both coasts extending across their shared border. China rounds out the top five, its forests covering slightly more than 2 million km2. Together the top five countries account for more than half of the world’s forests. When taking in the top 10, which adds in forest cover from Australia, the DRC, Indonesia, India, and Peru, this grows to slightly more than two-third’s of the world’s forests. Expanding the ranks to the top 20 will then accounts for 80% of the Earth’s total forest cover. Not all forests are created equal. Primary forests, forests undisturbed by human activity are better carbon sinks and have greater biodiversity than human-planted ones. Here’s how each country’s forest cover is divided between primary and naturally-regenerating forests (forest where there are clearly visible indications of human activities but are now slowly reverting back to their natural state) and human–planted ones. In countries like Bahrain and Kuwait, areas of extreme aridity, where forests would not occur naturally, human-planted forests account for all forest cover. But even across large parts of Europe, planted forests vastly outnumber primary and naturally-regenerated ones, indicating how much deforestation occurred on the continent in the last three centuries, which is now being steadily reversed. In China, which increased its forest cover by the size of Norway in the last three decades, nearly 40% of the total forested area is planted. Experts say that reversing forest degradation and protecting primary forests, holders of an incredible amount of carbon that would be released into the atmosphere when logged should be prioritized instead of just planting new forests. The full article with tables is at https://www.visualcapitalist.com/which-countries-have-the-largest-forests/

Tigercat Industries has built and shipped its 30,000th machine, just over 30 years into its existence. From humble beginnings in 1992 when Tigercat had a single product, very little dealer representation, and produced just a handful of machines, the company has grown steadily, expanding both its production capacity and product breadth. Source: Timberbiz Tigercat debuted the 726 feller buncher in April 1992 at a forestry equipment show in Quitman Georgia. By 1995, Tigercat had two drive-to-tree feller bunchers, two track feller bunchers, and two bunching shear models with distribution in Canada and the United States. By 1997, Tigercat had a full product line to offer southern US dealers with the addition of a knuckleboom loader and the industry’s first successful, serial production hydrostatic skidder. In 2000, Tigercat was well on its way to becoming the dominant player in steep slope harvesting applications, offering a six-wheel drive skidder and the L830 feller buncher. Both were destined to become flagship products for the company. In addition, Tigercat entered the vegetation management sector with its first mulcher carrier. The range of carriers and attachments that have followed are crucial inputs to wildfire mitigation strategies in many regions globally. By 2005, Tigercat was present in Chile, Brazil, Uruguay, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, UK and Sweden among other countries. In 2012 Tigercat had grown in 20 years from two to 1000 employees and introduced the 880 logger, the first in a series of versatile, forest duty swing machines. Today, Tigercat has the most complete full-tree product line-up in the industry, along with a growing range of CTL harvesters, forwarders and harvesting heads. In 2022 Tigercat launched a new brand, TCi and put the TCi badge on its first dozer, the 920. In the last four years, the company has been developing a line of material processing products with two launches to date, the 6500 chipper and 6900 grinder. Tigercat recently opened a new facility dedicated to the material processing product line and is currently building an additional facility. When complete the company will have over 1.4 million square feet of manufacturing capacity. That’s 130 000 square metres or 32 acres under roof. Over 160 dealer locations in 25 countries represent the Tigercat and TCi brands, along with an extensive factory support network. The company employs more than 2000.  

  Climate change is a major priority for the Biden administration, which has set a goal to reach net zero emissions by no later than 2050. As the army works to meet these goals and accomplish the objectives set in its own Climate Strategy, it has begun to focus more attention on one of its biggest emissions drivers: construction activities related to its vast inventory of buildings. Source: Timberbiz Embodied emissions, which occur during construction because of material manufacturing, transportation and assembly account for up to 10% of global emissions, according to the New Building Institute. Possessing the most buildings in the federal government, the Army has an opportunity to greatly reduce emissions by integrating sustainable materials in future construction projects and developing standards that enable others to do the same. The US Army Engineer Research and Development Centre (ERDC) is helping lead this charge through cutting-edge research to develop new materials, analysis tools and design guidance specifications. ERDC is also leading tri-service coordination of all pilot project activities and guidance updates. “ERDC material research in sustainable materials will inform our designers, and the construction industry as whole, how innovative materials can replace current materials with alternatives that are resilient and have low impact on the environment,” says Ed Citzler, Senior Architect and Engineering and Construction Sustainability Lead at the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). ERDC is directly involved with four tri-service pilot projects focused on using sustainable materials in construction, including three that were Congressionally directed in the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). ERDC is supplying subject-matter expertise through rigorous demonstrations and close collaboration with other government, academic and industry experts, as well as supporting project delivery and high-level tri-service coordination. It is also performing lifecycle analyses and cost assessments of these innovative pilots to determine broader applicability. “ERDC worked with each of the services to do a rack and stack of upcoming MILCON (military construction) projects and look across those to see what would be feasible for us to make a big splash and impact in sustainable materials while not introducing a lot of risk into the project,” said Dr Robert Moser, ERDC Senior Scientific Technical Manager for Materials, Manufacturing and Structures. Moser noted special care had to be given to balance improved sustainability with the need to meet the military’s elevated force protection and performance standards. That’s where ERDC’s world-class expertise in materials and force protection played an important role. “That is the big balance point we have,” Dr Moser said. “We still have to deliver these projects and we don’t want to make sacrifices either based on cost that jeopardize the number of projects we can build or based on performance that jeopardize the resilience for the mission. “But there are ways we can effectively integrate these and get at those sustainability goals and use the buying power of the government to lead industry to some of these trends.” These efforts also align with President Biden’s Federal Buy Clean Initiative, which aims to leverage the buying power of the federal government to propel the market for clean construction materials in federal infrastructure projects. “ERDC’s research programs are contributing to our collective knowledge base on leading-edge, low-carbon construction materials,” said Andrew Mayock, co-chair of the Federal Buy Clean Initiative and Federal Chief Sustainability Officer with the White House Council on Environmental Quality. “By increasing research in and use of American-made low-carbon concrete, asphalt, steel and glass products across the federal government, we can further innovation, scale up commercialization and deployment, and catalyse markets for clean construction materials.” Two of the pilot projects involve the construction of different Unaccompanied Enlisted Personnel Housing (or barracks) at Joint Base Lewis McChord (JBLM) in Washington state. One, directed by the NDAA, modified nine different construction specifications to use more sustainable materials. This included new types of more sustainable concrete, new insulation and roofing materials, and a redesign of the building’s exterior to use fewer bricks. “I’ve never seen a project where we accelerated that rapidly, directly working with the design team,” Moser said. “The modified design has the same engineering performance requirements and durability requirements. We are just reducing the embodied energy by using a different material.” The other JBLM project, directed by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment, calls for maximum use of mass timber in structural and architectural features. Mass timber uses special processes and new technology to bind wood products together in layers, creating a strong and durable material that is also more sustainable than steel or concrete. Because mass timber is so new, the project required extensive ERDC research into its feasibility for military construction. As part of the effort, ERDC developed new USACE design guidance on mass timber usage that will enable greater incorporation in projects across the country. “We want to demonstrate mass timber as a practical and sustainable material for military construction projects,” Moser said. “I think a big win will be if we can extensively use mass timber in this project, and along with doing that, demonstrate in a normal military construction project and the way we do business (…) that we worked through the whole design flow with our people and our language so it can inform upcoming updates that will maybe take down some of the barriers that limit us using these materials in projects,” Moser said. “I think that’s the big goal.” The other two pilot projects, both directed by the NDAA, include a communications facility for the Air Force/Space Force and a child development centre for the Navy. One focuses on concrete sustainability and the other on mass timber.  

NSW Forestry Corporation staff have nominated some of the best experiences and state forests along the East Coast. From scenic trails and lookouts to free pet-friendly campsites, pristine waterholes and popular tourist attractions all bases have been covered. Source: Timberbiz The top spots on the South Coast Eurobodalla Regional Botanic Gardens – Mogo State Forest Bermagui State Forest Timbillica State Forest. Paddys River Dam – Bago State Forest Hunter Valley and Central Coast Tree Top Adventure Park in Ourimbah State Forest Strickland State Forest waterfall, arboretum and walking tracks Chichester State Forest Olney State Forest Mountain Biking in Ourimbah and Olney State Forests Paintball in Awaba State Forest Fishing and canoeing in Barrington Tops State Forest Heaton, McLeans and Hunter lookouts in Heaton State Forest Abbotts Falls in Olney State Forest Mid North Coast Guulabaa – Place of Koala in Cowarra State Forest – home of the ‘Big Koala’ and Wildnets Swans Crossing in Kerewong State Forest Coopernook HQ and the restored Foresters Cottage Longworths Historic Tramway Walk in Kerewong State Forest Mountain Bike Riding at Jolly Nose in Queens Lake State Forest ‘Old Bottlebutt’ in Burrawan State Forest Mt Boss State Forest id North Coast Paintball in Cairncross State Forest North Coast Orara East State Forest Styx River State Forest Wild Cattle Creek State Forest Wedding Bells State Forest Bom Bom State Forest Pine Creek State Forest Nambucca State Forest Newry State Forest Double Duke State Forest There are more than two million hectares of State forests across NSW.  

A New Zealand business owner who put motorists at risk when felling trees has been criticised for his ‘dismissive attitude’ toward health and safety. Kevin Howard Stratford, who operates Stratford Logging, was convicted in New Zealand’s Nelson District Court. Source: Timberbiz Over the course of 2021 Mr Stratford carried out tree felling in Takaka Hill at a site directly adjacent to State Highway 60. WorkSafe was notified in August 2021 by an experienced tree feller that the work was being carried out with disregard for industry standards, in particular that trees were being felled very close to the road with no traffic management in place. WorkSafe opened an investigation. An independent forestry expert who assisted WorkSafe’s investigation found felling techniques were of ‘very poor quality’, well below industry standards and posed a serious risk to all in the area. Several trees had been cut in a way which increased the risk of ‘barberchairing’. Barberchairing is an exceptionally dangerous situation where a tree splits vertically from top to bottom before breaking away. Workers on site also didn’t have the relevant qualifications do the work. “The way work was done with no warning signage or traffic management put people at great risk, including innocent bystanders driving along the road,” says WorkSafe Regional Manager Juliet Bruce. “There were steps Mr Stratford should have taken, including not felling trees within two lengths of a public road, putting in place temporary traffic management controls with authorisation of the Road Controlling Authority and ensuring all workers were adequately trained. He was also required to notify WorkSafe before he began tree felling.” WorkSafe issued Mr Stratford with four Prohibition Notices and 28 Improvement Notices since 2013 in relation to unsafe tree felling, failing to notify of tree felling work, workers having inadequate qualifications and having an insufficient health and safety system. Mr Stratford was also convicted in 1998 for failing to ensure the safety of an employee. “There has been a huge amount of enforcement action against Mr Stratford to motivate him to keep people safe, but he persisted in his poor practices and the only option left for WorkSafe was to prosecute,” says Ms Bruce. In sentencing Mr Stratford, Judge Jo Rielly was critical of his ‘dismissive attitude’, commenting ‘you are a person who has put your concerns around financial costs involved in completing work ahead of important safety considerations’.

The Forestry Corporation of NSW has closed burnt areas in Bibblewindi, Jacks Creek and Pilliga EastState Forests to the public following the recent Duck Creek fire. Source: Narrabri Courier Forestry Corporation’s cypress production and fire manager district, Conan Rossler said the damage is a potential safety risk to visitors. “Forestry Corporation staff are currently assessing burnt areas to make sure roads and fire trails are safe for the public,” Mr Rossler said. “Burnt and damaged trees are a particular concern and may pose a significant risk due to falling. “This risk is amplified during periods of high wind or when the ground is saturated after heavy rain sections of the burnt trees might drop or indeed the whole tree may fall over. Parts of the burnt forest in the Pilliga have experienced significant rain recently, so this risk is quite real.” The Duck Creek bushfire burnt through most of December, before being contained over the new year period. A total area of 130,000 hectares was burnt during the fire, covering state forests, national parks and freehold land. Just over 79,000 ha of state forests were burnt. Once a comprehensive assessment of all forest roads, fire trails and adjacent tree-lined areas, and any remedial works has been carried out, Forestry Corporation will look to reopen the affected areas.

It could only be a matter of time before a New Zealand grown indigenous and specialty wood species are seen on the outside of iconic buildings in the country if early research results are anything to go by. Source: Timberbiz Scion scientists have been researching whether thermally modifying tōtara could enhance its durability enough for exterior building uses, opening the door for a wider range of products and applications. Thermal modification is a well-established method in which timber is heated to high temperatures without oxygen. The process enhances wood dimensional stability – meaning it shrinks and swells less with changes in moisture content. A high degree of modification can increase wood durability making it more likely to be suitable for exterior uses like cladding and decking. Radiata pine is not naturally durable but has been successfully thermally modified to increase durability and this product has been commercialised for cladding. Scion’s research into thermally modified tōtara began around 2017 using relatively young trees from Northland – about 80-years-old. Tōtara (Podocarpus totara) was chosen because it has natural durability and tests have been done with both the generally nondurable sapwood – living, outermost portion – and potentially durable heartwood – dead, inner wood. Testing is also being done on the exotic species Mexican cypress (Cupressus lusitanica). Scion senior technologist Rosie Sargent says while any thermally modified species will have some improved durability, tōtara and lusitanica have been the most successful to date. To get sufficient durability for New Zealand conditions, the wood must be modified at very high temperatures. “It’s a question of does it perform for specific applications and can you do it without destroying the wood.” After thermal modification, the wood is tested for durability using long-term accelerated field tests and fungus cellar stakelet trials. The tests are chosen with the aim of being able to assess if the product can meet building and durability standards. The fungus cellar creates ideal fungus growing conditions to speed up decay. Small wooden stakelets are left in the controlled high-decay situation and the level of decay is assessed over time and can be compared to the performance of known products. The stakelets remain in test until all are rotted away. The thermally modified tōtara has been in the fungus cellar for about six and a half years, and the lusitanica for more than three years. In comparison, untreated radiata pine stakelets can severely decay in as little as six months. In the field, durability testing is being done on accelerated decking and L-joints made from thermally modified tōtara and lusitanica as per international testing protocols. Both species have been in field testing for about two years. Tests can take anywhere from five to 10 years and non-durable wood such as radiata sapwood will fully decay much quicker. While testing in both the field and fungus cellar is ongoing, early results are positive, Sargent says. “We’re finding that it increases the durability of both the sapwood, which isn’t durable, as well as the heartwood which is.” Interim portfolio leader (Trees to High Value Wood Products) Elizabeth Dunningham says it is important to have data about indigenous products and trees to make good planting and product development decisions, as existing data is limited. She says there were also strategic reasons for choosing tōtara. Scion is directly involved with Taitokerau Māori Forestry Inc. as partners in the Tōtara Industry Pilot. This resulted in new markets for the farm-based tōtara, with the view of developing a regional industry. Chairman of Taitokerau Māori Forests Inc, Ernest Morton, says the group supports Scion’s work: “Tōtara haemata (Lofty leader). He Rākau Rangatira o te Ngahere (Chief of the Forest).”

Those with experience in the wood machining industry are encouraged to participate in a short survey to gather insights into how current qualifications and being used and how they might better meet learner and employer needs. Source: Timberbiz Nationally endorsed training in wood machining is currently available through the furnishing qualification MSF30322 Certificate III in Cabinet Making and Timber Technology with a specialisation in wood machining and the forest and wood products qualification FWP31121 Certificate III in Wood Machining. Some stakeholders have expressed concerns about the title of the furnishing qualification, as it might be confused for a qualification in cabinet making. Feedback has also been received about the reduction of available wood machining specific units in recent years and whether future graduates would be competent in wood machining specific skills. Skills Insight is undertaking a research project and will produce a report outlining the complexities of the issue. Your input into the survey will play an important role in this research and the report. For more information, the project page here Begin the survey here  

AKD has announced a partnership with TIACS (This is a Conversation Starter) during their annual Safe StartUp events held across the nation, as part of the AKD 2024 ‘Healthy Body + Healthy Mind = Healthy Me’ campaign. Source: Timberbiz AKD is honoured to be a member of the TIACS Alliance, a collective of businesses who share a common vision to support blue-collar communities by funding easily accessible mental health counselling. AKD acknowledge that there are factors both in and outside of work which can have an impact on yours or your loved one’s mental health. With a workforce of 1100 people, there is someone that will have something they are dealing with personally, whether that is financial stress, relationship issues, or health issues. “There can be challenges with being able to access mental health support at times due to the cost associated with it, the time, or inability to get into a counsellor when you need it most, navigating the system with referrals etc,” Toni Kirkup, AKD’s National Health & Safety Manager, said. “We are really pleased to be able to assist in providing our entire AKD team and their families with access to support by removing some of these barriers. Along with access for our customers, suppliers and the wider community. “It’s a real vicious cycle. If you’re having health issues, that can have a big impact on your mental health, and if you’re having mental health issues, that can have a big impact on your physical health. Both impact your livelihood.” It’s easy to embrace your own physical health these days, and it’s time that we start prioritising our mental health too. Ed Ross and Dan Allen, Co-founders of TradeMutt and TIACS, share the sentiment that maintaining mental health is integral to overall well-being. TradeMutt, renowned for its funky work shirts designed to start conversations about mental health, making the invisible impossible to ignore. What they soon came to learn is that starting the conversation sometimes means that you need to continue that conversation with a professional. TIACS was born out of this realisation, with the aim to help remove the physical and financial barriers associated with counselling, by offering a straightforward text and call service connecting individuals directly to professional counsellors to provide support to those that need to be able to better handle the challenges life throws at all of us. Since its inception in 2020, TIACS has supported over 18,000 clients through 18,500+ hours of conversation. “TIACS is funded by the industry for the industry. There’s no way that we can do the critical work for the industry without that support,” Ed and Dan said. “We are stoked to welcome AKD to the TIACS Alliance Partnership. The funding that AKD provides not only allows us to ensure we can support every teammate at AKD but also the wider blue-collar community right around Australia when they need that support the most.” As part of this launch, AKD handed out TradeMutt funky lunch bags to every employee. The lunch bags feature a QR Code for direct access to the TIACS contact options, creating a visible daily reminder of the resources available to those seeking support. Together, AKD and the TIACS Alliance aim to make a meaningful impact. Join AKD as they try to break down the barriers surrounding mental health and foster a community where well-being is prioritised, one conversation at a time. If you see tough times ahead or have been going through a life challenge and don’t know what to say or who to contact reach out and say hi a TIACS counsellor. Call or text TIACS on 0488 846 988 Monday-Friday 8am-10pm AEST to speak with a counsellor. In case of immediate danger or harm, please call 000.

Private Forests Tasmania has appointed a new chair and two directors to the board. The new chair is Jim Wilson who replaces Mr Evan Rolley. Source: Timberbiz Bob Rutherford has been appointed as a new Director for three years, coming onto the Board with extensive expertise in forestry and related natural resources sciences while Alice Herbon has been reappointed as a member representing non-industrial private forest growers for a further term of one year. Minister for Resources, Felix Ellis, said that after a widespread search, Jim Wilson has been appointed as the new Chair of PFT. “Jim Wilson has extensive leadership experience in the private forest sector and will step strongly into this leadership role having previously been a Director on the PFT Board,” Mr Ellis said. “Alongside this appointment, I am also delighted to announce that Bob Rutherford has been appointed as a new Director for three years, coming onto the Board with extensive expertise in forestry and related natural resources sciences. “Additionally, Alice Herbon has been reappointed as a member representing non-industrial private forest growers for a further term of one year.” More than 70% of Tasmania’s wood harvest by volume now comes from the private estate. Our sustainably managed private native and plantation forests provide the wood needed to build our houses and fibre for a plastic-free future. “Private Forests Tasmania is supported by the Rockliff Liberal Government to actively promote the private forests sector and help shape its sustainable growth,” said Mr Ellis. “This includes the provision of $600,000 through our Climate Change Action Plan to support landowners in increasing commercial tree plantings on their properties, sequestering carbon while providing future wood and fibre for our community. “I congratulate Mr Wilson, Mr Rutherford and Ms Herbon on their appointments and wish outgoing Chair, Mr Evan Rolley, all the best for his future endeavours and thank him for his service as Chair of PFT for more than five years,” he said. PFT’s chief executive officer Dr Elizabeth Pietrzykowski congratulated Mr Rolley on his term as PFT Chair. “We extend our gratitude to Evan for an impactful five-year tenure,” she said. “Evan’s commitment to the private forest industry has left an indelible mark on our organisation and his leadership has placed an important focus on innovative whole-farm planning as well as continuing to meet the demands of the emerging wood markets. “I look forward to working closely with PFT’s new Chair, Jim Wilson, and welcome Bob to the organisation as our new director.”

On average, Swedes are prepared to pay SEK 360 (approx $50) per person per year to protect more biological diversity in Swedish forests, according to a new report from the Norwegian Forestry Agency. Source: Timberbiz This corresponds to an annual value of SEK 2.6–3.7 billion this is of course very difficult to value and many believe that biological diversity is priceless. But in order for society to be able to make well-founded decisions in a situation with increasingly fierce competition for land use, we need to have values for all the benefits of the forest, says Tina Nilsson, investigator at the Swedish Forest Agency. With a demand and price for biodiversity, there are also opportunities to develop new business models for forest owners. A proposal that the Norwegian Forestry Agency has previously submitted in the latest in-depth evaluation of the environmental quality objective Living forests. Biodiversity is nature’s wealth of variation, and a certain level is a prerequisite for all life. The wealth of nature is a foundation for our economy and for our physical and mental health. More than half of the world’s GDP depends on nature and its ecosystem services. In the long term, our prosperity is threatened if we do not have enough biodiversity. A national economic explanation for the negative development of biodiversity is that its contribution to the economy is often underestimated by decision makers because it does not have an economic value that makes the benefit sufficiently visible. Therefore, the Swedish Forestry Agency has now tried to dial in the value based on previously published valuation studies of forest biological diversity in Sweden, Finland and Norway. The reviewed studies show, among other things, that: the annual willingness to pay of citizens to preserve biological diversity in Swedish forests through additional forest protection is an average of SEK 360 per year. the total annual willingness to pay to preserve biological diversity in Swedish forests through more forest protection amounts to SEK 2.6–3.7 billion per year. “We must be able to use all the values of the forest and at the same time preserve biological diversity. That conflict of goals will be easier to describe in decision-making documents if we also know the value of biological diversity. Now we have an indication of that and thus an important knowledge base,” Ms Nilsson said.  

Soon, music and sports enthusiasts in Switzerland will be drinking beer from renewable, compostable wooden cups and their beer will come packaged in fibre bottles if it’s Carlsberg. Source: Timberbiz In Switzerland, Feldschlösschen – maker of Carlsberg beer –  has teamed up with Swiss start-up Arboloom to trial innovative wooden cups as a potential alternative to the millions of single-use plastic cups vendors use to serve beers at festivals, concerts and sports events. The cups are made out of thin veneer, which requires very little processing as it is cut directly from the trunks of trees – a renewable resource. After use, the cups can be returned to the environment through composting, recycled into other products or incinerated as a renewable fuel source. Across their lifecycle, these wooden cups have a carbon footprint three times smaller than single-use plastic cups. “As the leader in the Swiss beer market, it is great to see that Feldschlösschen is partnering up with sustainable start-ups to get rid of one-way plastic by using locally produced, sustainable beer cups,” said Natalia Arboloom, CEO, Arboloom Cup AG. Carlsberg has gone a step further partnering to rethink its beer packaging. After starting the Fibre Bottle project in 2015 with several partners, in 2019 it matured into a formal partnership with Paboco. In 2022 it made bio-based and fully recyclable bottles available to consumers in the largest ever trial. A significant milestone for the new generation fibre bottle is its plant-based PEF polymer lining, which has been developed by partner Avantium, a leading expert in renewable chemistry. PEF is made entirely from natural raw materials, is compatible with plastic recycling systems, and can degrade into nature should it end up outside national recycling systems. Beyond its sustainable packaging benefits, PEF functions as a highly effective barrier between the beer and the fibre outer shell, protecting the taste and fizziness of the beer better than conventional fossil-fuel-based PET plastic.

The European Woodworking Industries and the Timber Trade has issued a statement regarding the Red Sea crisis escalation that jeopardizes trade with Asia and Africa. Source: Timberbiz The Red Sea route is a pivotal maritime route for global trade, including for the European woodworking industries and the timber importers. The escalating crisis in the Red Sea has profoundly negative implications for the European economy, not least for the European wood sector. At a time of subdued demand for wood products across Europe, swift and unimpeded access to Asian and African countries is vital to keep our businesses afloat the statement said. As a result of the crisis, our companies are confronted with many issues that are making extremely challenging the sourcing and supplying of our products from and to Asian and African markets. Some of our challenges are listed below: Higher costs for insuring vessels transiting the Red Sea Partly as a consequence, shipping companies are introducing extremely high surcharges Very high uncertainty and price volatility Cargo delays and cancellations Extended transit time, lack of information about delivery time. The European Wood industries and the trading sector demand that urgent action be undertaken by the European institutions and relevant partners to ensure that safety and stability in the Red Sea is restored. Targeting cargo ships is unacceptable and should be suppressed not least to ensure that firing rockets at cargo vessels is not an inspiration for other terrorist groups. For both imports and exports, the overseas markets especially in Asia are crucially important and, together with trade routes to east-African ports, the Red Sea route is by far the most important connection and needs to be safeguarded.

Timber Unlimited, TDS, SESOC and CLT Toolbox (Australia) have teamed up to develop NZ-specific design software that will make it easier to carry out structural designs in accordance with the new Standard NZS AS 1720.1:2022 and international best practice for mass timber, engineered wood products and connections. Source: Timberbiz The announcement comes hot on the heels of CLT Toolbox announcing in October that the first tranche of their software offering relevant to designers within the Australian market was launched. One of the long-standing obstacles to making it easier to choose and use more timber in the built environment has been the steep learning curve required to understand the required design methods and material-specific properties of timber to carry out robust member and connection design confidently and on time. The new, New Zealand specific part of the software is presently under development through this collaboration will provide a new suite of design tools and local supplier grades and sizes, facilitating efficient design to the latest Standards. A very important additional feature will be the inclusion of the CLT Toolbox core principle of “embedded learning” – the calculators are not presented in the all too familiar “black-box” format, meaning that you get outputs without knowing what formulas or Standards were used; rather, the calculators and routines identify the expressions, factors and Standards being applied so it’s easy to identify the basis and relevance of the calculated outputs. Timber Unlimited has also teamed up with the NZ Timber Design Society (TDS) and the Structural Engineering Society NZ (SESOC), who will assist with the review and validation parts of the programme. It’s the power of this four-way collaboration that will help unlock the benefits of timber to the New Zealand design and specification community and make it easier to use more timber in the built environment. The target is to have NZ-relevant part of the software available to NZ designers by the end of April 2024.  

Public comment has been invited on the proposal by Borg Manufacturing to expand its timber mill in Mount Gambier. Source: SE Voice According to the documents lodged with Plan SA, the company is seeking multi-million-dollar alterations and additions to its existing timber processing facility on Commercial Street West. It includes a warehouse expansion, an automated panel picking and packing line, a MDF moulding processing and painting equipment, a Joinery product shelving line, additional laminating, cut to size and paper treatment equipment and an automated strapping and particleboard flooring processing line. Borg Manufacturing is looking to install an extra eight weighbridges and create an office and amenities within the main building and associated infrastructure.

Achieving New Zealand’s net carbon zero goals by 2050 requires looking at every aspect of life – even the roads. And work that Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency is doing with support from Scion and other industry partners could help bridge the gap between now and 2050. Source: Timberbiz For the first time in 50 years, Waka Kotahi is piloting the construction of timber bridges, representing an exciting step in its transition to a low-carbon transport system. Waka Kotahi chief engineer Sulo Shanmuganathan says the organisation’s vision is for a low carbon, safe and healthy land transport system and Scion’s knowledge about the durability and longevity of Glulam has been key to informing the timber bridge pilot and helping achieve its wider vision. “Through the government’s Carbon Neutral Government Programme, we are focused on playing our part to accelerate emissions reductions in the public sector by lowering our embodied carbon materials and using more sustainable construction options than what we conventionally used,” she said. “The mahi we’re doing with Scion is very important because the far-reaching positive impacts of using more sustainable materials will benefit both the community here and now and will carry forward for future generations. “We want the right people involved and of course Scion is very important for the development of timber bridges because they already have the depth of expertise and research developed over more than 70 years.” Scion’s Tripti Singh and Dave Page advised Waka Kotahi on the durability of preservative-treated Glulam in New Zealand. Preservative-treated, radiata pine, glue laminated bridge beams have been in service for 60 years in New Zealand and show few problems with durability associated with decay. Shanmuganathan says these findings gave Waka Kotahi confidence in Glulam and the ability to press ahead with its wooden bridge pilot. Any bridge would likely take a hybrid approach combining other materials for fixing. “Long term we want to see Glulam readily available and designers capable of using the product and timber like they use other conventional materials. Raising awareness in the sector for designers and construction is crucial for us as we transition to a low carbon, climate resilient transport system that will create a better tomorrow for us all,” Ms Shanmuganathan said. Timber is also lightweight and more sustainable as it can be sourced locally. A timber bridges focus group has been formed with Scion, the Scion-managed Timber Unlimited brand, Timber Design Society, and government ministries. The group meets quarterly and earlier in the year members visited Norway to learn more about timber bridges at the World Conference on Timber Engineering. Waka Kotahi was also invited to a meeting of government agencies about barriers, opportunities, activities and possibilities for collaboration regarding using timber in the built environment. Singh, who leads timber durability research at Scion part-time, says interacting with industry professionals in the timber focus group with Waka Kotahi has been “incredibly rewarding and enriching”. “It has allowed the exchange of valuable knowledge and insights.” Ms Shanmuganathan says there has already been plenty of interest in timber bridges with designs for Onetai Bridge between Paeroa and Kōpū due to go out for tender for construction. It will be the first bridge built using timber in New Zealand in 50 years. Councils are also interested. Waitaki District Council has a 120-year-old timber bridge due for renewal and would prefer replacing it using materials, such as timber, that have a resilient history and may perform for another 120 years. Council major transport projects project manager Mike Harrison says the council included the bridge renewal in its 2024-2027 National Land Transport Plan funding application and is engaging a design consultant to explore options that deliver a whole of life best value and cost-effective structure. “While the build funding is not locked in yet, council and Waka Kotahi are investing in the design and consenting phase to become a deliverable project, as shovel ready as possible,” Mr Harrison said. “This project is of a scale where all the industry partners can gain experience and knowledge for the future. Learning from the past where materials and workmanship has stood the test of time will inform future decision making.” Scion Forest to Timber Products general manager Henri Bailleres says timber bridges have the potential to be “one of the most impactful showrooms for timber in the country. “The engineering requirement is extreme. Materials have to survive for 100 years; they have to bear dynamic load and they are exposed to many hazards. If we can make timber bridges, we build proof of the high value of timber as a construction material.” Scion principal researcher Doug Gaunt says timber bridges provide an opportunity for creative and statement architecture. “Everything we do to trap a bit of carbon from the atmosphere into permanent structures is a good thing.” Timber Unlimited technical manager Bjorn Stankowitz was in the group that travelled to Norway. He says the group toured bridges in Europe looking at structures and durability and spoke with overseas practitioners to inform Waka Kotahi. If proper maintenance plans and protective detailing are used, wooden bridges are extremely durable. They also pulled together a “bridge CV” containing statistics and specifications of multiple bridges for comparison purposes. “That gives a good idea of the difference in approach to certain structural systems and ways to approach durability.”

Forestry Australia has poured water on the latest bushfire research that suggested prescribed burning could make Australian forests more flammable. Source: Timberbiz “Scientific consensus amongst bushfire scientists confirms that prescribed burning is a key tool in managing bushfires,” Forestry Australia Science Policy Adviser Dr Tony Bartlett (AFSM) said. “While there is no panacea for reducing the impacts of catastrophic bushfires, prescribed burning is a scientifically proven part of the solution. Simply, reduced fuel levels in forests will reduce the severity of bushfires on all bar the most catastrophic fire weather conditions. “Any criticism that prescribed burning can make Australian forests more flammable is misguided. Criticising prescribed burning is like dismissing the value of seat belts in cars because people still die in car accidents. Both seat belts and prescribed burns are highly beneficial most of the time. “Forestry Australia’s view is that using cool burning to reduce fuel hazards is critical to good forest fire management and very consistent with the way Aboriginal people managed these forests for thousands of years. “Reducing the risks from bushfires in forest areas should include well-planned, risk-based strategic programs of prescribed burning, silvicultural management, fuel breaks and track maintenance, with appropriate public consultation. “Importantly, Australia’s bushfire management is based on decades of on ground research and lived experience. While new ideas on how to improve bushfire management are always welcome, it is essential that untested theoretical concepts are carefully considered in light of the existing knowledge on how wildfires behave in Australian forests.” “Increased investment in prevention and preparedness is essential to achieving enhanced management of fire and to address the increased risk of more frequent and severe bushfires.”  Dr Bartlett added that “the claim that further investment in drone technologies can contain bushfires has not been proven.”  

New Zealand’s Forest Industry Contractors Association (FICA) says it is hugely concerned about the viability of forestry contracting businesses in the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle. Source: Rural News The organisation says pressure has been exacerbated by the cyclone which hit New Zealand in February 2023, but that pressure comes on the back of a tough three years characterised by Covid-19, fuel hikes, high inflation, and continuous wet weather. Compounding those issues are additional problems that are impacting the primary sector overall, including increased operational costs, staffing issues, market instability, and contractual issues. FICA spokesperson Ross Davis says the already low log price, which is expected to drop once again next month, will mean a reduction in harvest targets and cancelled contracts, something many cannot afford to endure. “A recent survey of our members showed a widespread reduction in production over the past year,” Davis says. He says 57% of respondents suggested their production had been reduced by 20% or more and 16% said their production was down by more than 30%. “When asked if they could survive at an 80% production level for a year, only 26% of respondents indicated that they could,” Davis says. He adds that currently, 21% of respondents do not have a current contract and a further 40% only have a one-year contract. Recently, two larger Gisborne-based contractors have ceased operations after operating in the region for 15-20 years, he says. “Each day we are getting phone calls that confirm more and more contractors are falling over. Our role at FICA does not stop at the forestry gate – we want to support our members.” Davis says that working with the wider industry and the Ministry of Social Development on subsidy schemes is imperative. He adds that FICA is working with the Ministry for Primary Industries, particularly Te Uru Rakau Forestry New Zealand to get better recognition at the Government level. Davis says the forestry sector is the third biggest contributor to NZ export earnings alongside dairy and meat, and there is concern for contractors, workers, families, and communities that rely on it for income. “We’re still seen as a turn-on, turn-off industry,” he says. “It’s not a blame game at all, but if we want logging contractors to be around in another 12-24 months then something needs to change now. “We employ thousands of people, and we cannot keep operating at a loss. Jobs will be lost. Homes will be lost. Communities will be lost,” he says. “Without enough contractors, the industry will really slow down and that is not something any of the sector groups want. It is a matter of becoming more business savvy and having a good partnership between contractor and principal with any negotiation being fair and demonstrating the sharing of the risk.”

Firewood, fence post and specialty timber cutters will be banned from harvesting standing and fallen timber from 5 February – five months ahead of the planned mid-year cut-off. Source: Weekly Times Fifty licensees, who operate under Victoria’s community forestry program, were told last May they had until June 30 this year to wrap up their operations, with some likely to gain exemptions to continue beyond that date. But VicForests chief executive Monique Dawson wrote to all forest product licensees this month warning all harvesting would have to stop in less than a fortnight, due to Supreme Court action by the Wombat Forestcare group. “We are disappointed to let you know that VicForests will not defend the current court proceedings brought against it by Wombat Forestcare, in which injunctions are being sought to prevent operations collecting windthrown timber following the 2021 storms in the Wombat State Forest, as well as other small community forestry operations throughout the Midlands and Bendigo forest management areas. “Unfortunately, what that means is that we can no longer continue the community forestry program because of the risk of litigation to VicForests and to licensees and the associated direct legal cost. “The court is also requiring what in VicForests view is a disproportionate survey effort for the type of operations encompassed by community forestry. “As such, this means all community forestry operations will cease by February 5, 2024.” The Weekly Times understands VicForests was put under legal pressure to survey harvesting sites for up to 50 threatened species, which it regarded as unviable given the staff time and cost. Firewood cutters Dale Tiley and Gary Kirby, who were salvaging fallen trees from the 20ha Wombat Forest site that was subject to the legal action, said the government could have acted to protect the industry. “(But) the government has done nothing,” Mr Tiley said. “We’ve been thrown to the wolves.” The government has set up a community forestry compensation program, which includes training assistance to find other work. But Mr Tiley said a lot of wood cutters were “battlers”, aged in their 50s or 60s who had only ever worked in the bush. The early phase out means about 500,000 tonnes of windblown trees will be left lying on the Wombat forest floor, despite warnings it is a ticking fire bomb set to engulf nearby towns. It also means Victoria’s firewood shortage will worsen this winter, forcing yards to source timber from interstate, forcing up prices for rural and regional families who cannot afford soaring electricity.