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FEATURES
In some very exciting news for the Canadian forest industry, Madill logging equipment now has a new manufacturing facility, in Prince George, B.C. DC Equipment Canada has reunited the familiar Madill name to its provincial birthplace, with the new plant. It fits well in Prince George, as about 30 to 40 per cent of Madill’s sales are to customers in the B.C. Interior. That is complemented by DC’s partnership with the Prince George branch of equipment dealer Nors, formerly Great West Equipment Co. Read all about the new plant on page 22 of this issue. (Cover photo courtesy of DC Equipment Canada).
4 Spotlight: Tackling tree planting—and a shortage of treeplanters—with machines
A recent demo in Quebec of a Swedish mechanized seedling planting machine gave industry people a good idea of how, in part, the challenge of getting labour for manual tree planting can be tackled.
10 Upping its technology game
B.C.’s Richmond Plywood is in the midst of a major upgrade that will see the plant ramp up its equipment to incorporate robotic technology combined with Artificial Intelligence.
18 Deere six-wheel skidder ticks the boxes …
Copper Moon Contracting is finding that a new John Deere 768L-II six-wheel skidder is ticking the boxes when it comes to dealing with challenging work—and business—conditions in B.C.’s Central Interior.
31
Included in this edition of The Edge, Canada’s leading publication on research in the forest industry, are stories from the Canadian Wood Fibre Centre (CWFC) and FPInnovations.
34 Getting the most out of B.C.’s challenged wood fibre base
An innovative joint venture involving First Nations groups in B.C. is seeing underutilized wood used for products from post and rail to pulp, helping the forest industry to deal with a much-reduced wood fibre base.
38 A leader in leveraging logs—and knowledge
Valley View Industries is leveraging its knowledge of Western Red Cedar to supply customers in Canada, and overseas, with high quality wood products.
41 New and Noted—at DEMO and TP&EE shows
Published September/October 2024
“We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada”
22 New manufacturing plant for Madill equipment in its birthplace: British Columbia
DC Equipment Canada has opened a new manufacturing plant in Prince George, B.C. for producing iconic Madill logging equipment.
26 Taking care of sometimes royal forests
Forester Rainer Muenter has developed a business niche catering to private forest clients, such as German families, in B.C.— and his clients have included royalty.
Logging and Sawmilling Journal takes a look at two recent major forest industry shows, DEMO 2024 International and Timber Processing & Energy Expo (TP&EE), and what was new and noted at the shows.
46 The Last Word
Jim Stirling on the B.C. government’s headin-the-sand approach to forestry issues.
TACKLING TREE PLANTING —and a shortage of treeplanters— WITH MACHINES
Log Max Forestry recently held a demonstration of the PlantMax mechanized seedling planting machine in Amos, Quebec, and the equipment generated a lot of interest from representatives of the forest industry and government officials.
A recent demo in Quebec of a Swedish mechanized seedling planting machine gave industry people a good idea of how, in part, the challenge of getting labour for manual tree planting can be tackled.
By George Fullerton
Log Max Forestry recently took the opportunity during a recent demonstration of the PlantMax mechanized seedling planting machine in Amos, Quebec, to invite representatives of the forest industry, government officials and the media to a live demonstration.
Carl Tingley, manager of Log Max For-
estry, based in Moncton, New Brunswick, declared the live demonstration a success, adding that the PlantMax was scheduled to be operated in the Abitibi-Temiskaming region for the summer tree planting season.
The tree seedling planting machine was developed in Sweden by Plantma Forestry, and the prototype was called the Plantma X. Serial production of the
machine began in 2022 and it carries the moniker PlantMax. Some eight machines have been sold, and are now operating in various forest regions around the world.
The support team for the Quebec demo included Plantma AB staff Simon Eurenius and Markus Pettersson, along
spotlight
from page 4
with Log Max Forestry manager Carl Tingley, sales rep Matthew MacGillivray and Francis Nadeau—with Dominic St-Amand and Ryan Hunter providing technical support.
The mechanized planting machine is being seen as a solution to the challenge of securing labour for manual tree planting.
The PlantMax tree planter is designed to be mounted on a conventional forwarder with at least 268 hp. It consists of a rear facing cab, with seedlings in racks behind the rear facing operator, with two hydraulically operated planting arms which articulate from the back of the cab.
The PlantMax being demo’ed by Log Max Forestry was mounted on a 14-tonne, double-bogie EcoLog 574E forwarder. Tingley pointed out that while 268 hp is a minimum, more than 300 hp is a definite asset for operating the PlantMax in challenging terrain. He added
that while theoretically a six-wheeled forwarder can handle the PlantMax, a double bogie offers far greater comfort and traction in tough terrain. Again, he pointed out that tracks on the forwarder also help markedly for the traction requirements, adding that in really rough
Some eight PlantMax machines have been sold, and are now operating in various forest regions around the world.
terrain conditions aggressive tracks would be an asset.
“The bottom line on traction is if there is wheel slippage or spinning, it compromises seedling spacing. Cruise control offers even more control and planting
accuracy and consistency,” shared Tingley.
Log Max Forestry is currently consulting with other forwarder manufacturers to determine models which would work well with the PlantMax.
The PlantMax has a mid-forwarder, chassis-mounted disc scarifying unit on each side to expose mineral soil to create suitable planting sites. The scarifying units are trademarked as Midiflex, which is a subsidiary of Plantma AB. The Midiflex scarifier may also be carrier-mounted for more conventional scarification work.
The scarified ground is packed by the following rear bogie of the forwarder, in the process creating a firm planting site.
When the scarifier disk encounters rock, log debris or stumps, the scarification arm lifts and drops again after clearing the obstacle. The PlantMax computer is signaled not to attempt to plant a seedling where the obstacle was located.
Scarification quality is assessed by the rear cab operator, and adjustments can be made to the on-board computer to
On hand for the PlantMax demo in Quebec were (left to right): Ryan Hunter, PlantMax product specialist for Canada: Simon Eurenius, Product Specialist, Plantma Forestry; Matthew MacGillivary, Sales Rep., Log Max Forestry: and Francis Nadeau, Product Specialist, Log Max Forestry. Plans for 2025 for the PlantMax demo unit include four to six weeks planting in Nova Scotia, and filling out the season in different regions of Quebec.
change the scarification qualities.
Seedlings in their grow trays are loaded into the PlantMax seedling storage racks. The seedling rack is offloaded from the forwarder with a mounted crane and the empty trays removed, and full seedling trays loaded. Forwarder cranes can be modified to load the seedling racks, which hold up to 20,000 seedlings, or customers may opt to install a more compact crane.
Tingley pointed out that as long as the loader does not extend above the height of the two cabs, and both bogies fit flat on the low-bed deck, the PlantMax meets height requirements for highway transport.
The seedling storage rack is reloaded and secured on the forwarder directly adjacent to the rear operator station.
The rear cab operator is required to remove individual seedlings from the trays and place them in a series of transporter (conveyor) cups which move the seedlings to a funnel system attached to a hydraulically activated planting arm, which articulates vertically at the back of the rear cab.
Plant arms can be operated individually or in pairs. Arms can be operated manually by the operator or in automatic, computer-controlled mode. Automatic is most often used.
The seedlings are air pressure assisted to drop down the arm to the planting tip. As the planting tip penetrates the scarified soil, the tip releases the seedling and the soil is compacted snugly around the seedling.
The air pressure is supplied by an onboard two-cylinder air compressor. The planting module also carries a water supply through which water is dispensed, under pressure, to clean the planting tip after each seedling plant cycle.
The distance between seedlings is determined by the computer setting. Speed of the PlantMax carrier is determined by soil condition and terrain etc., with maximum planting speed being 2.5 kilometres per hour, but Tingley explained that the more typical planting speed is two kilometres per hour.
The PlantMax began working in Canada in 2022, planting in New Brunswick for J.D. Irving Ltd, in a variety of soil conditions, and seedling species.
The PlantMax has performed well planting spruce, jack pine and white pine seedlings. Tingley pointed out that the size of the root ball must fit the transporter cups. He added that seedlings produced in different styles of containers have worked well in the PlantMax, but to page 8
CALENDAR
January 14-16
BC Natural Resource Forum Annual Meetings, Prince George, BC 250-640-7469
www.bcnaturalresourcesforum.com
January 15-17
Truck Loggers Association Annual Convention, Vancouver, BC 604-684-4291, www.tla.ca
January 22-23
Mapping the Course: Timberlands, Forest Products & Fiber Issues, Portland, OR 503-226-4562, www.westernforestry.org
January 29-31
Western Forestry Contractors' Assoc. Conference & Expo, Victoria, BC 604-736-8660, wfca.ca
The PlantMax tree planter is designed to be mounted on a conventional forwarder with at least 268 hp. It consists of a rear facing cab, with seedlings in racks behind the rear facing operator, with two hydraulically operated planting arms which articulate from the back of the cab.
from page 7
allowed that seedlings with roots extending into the container slots can slow down the operators transferring seedlings to transporter cups.
“There is not a great deal of difference in planting quality or efficiency with different tree species,” he explained. “Shorter seedlings tend to plant more consistently, but with setting adjustments and continuous improvement and experience, we are able to adapt to most every species and size of seedling.”
The seedling rack system can hold 20,000 seedlings. The operator handles full containers from the rack system and loads individual seedlings into the transporter cups, and also returns the empty containers back into the rack system. Empty containers are returned to the tree nursery.
Tingley explained that the forwarder operator uses visual observation of the last planted rows to guide the forwarder for the next planting pass. He added that customers could secure GPS technology to aid operators in achieving the desired row adjacency.
Planting productivity depends on the experience of the operators, terrain, soil conditions, stump height and other factors.
“In good conditions, we are seeing around 2,600 seedlings well-planted per hour,” he said. “In more challenging conditions, we have witnessed production drop to around 1,200 seedlings per hour.”
In Amos, Quebec, Aménagement S.W.E is the company that engaged Log Max Forestry for the demo. Co-owners Lorenzo Cregheur and his business partner Sylvain Lariviere run a harvesting and planting business in the Abitibi region. They have about 20 manual planters currently, and are very interested in adding to their business with a PlantMax.
Log Max Forestry planned to work the PlantMax in the Abitibi region for about two-and-a-half months, through the summer of 2024, planting private, industrial and public lands. The Municipalité Régionale de Comté, (MRC) supported the PlantMax demo activities in the Abitibi region.
Other provinces and regions will also be getting planting by the Plantmax. Following summer planting in Quebec, the PlantMax is scheduled to plant for a week in northwest New Brunswick and two weeks in Nova Scotia in the autumn. Plans for 2025 include four to six weeks planting in Nova Scotia, and filling out the season in different regions of Quebec.
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UPPING its technology game
B.C.’s Richmond Plywood is in the midst of a major upgrade that will see the plant ramp up its equipment to incorporate robotic technology combined with Artificial Intelligence.
Richmond Plywood Chief Financial Officer
Bhavjit Thandi.
By Paul MacDonald
There is a lot of buzz around engineered wood these days, and rightfully so as there is tremendous potential for market growth in engineered wood products.
But a Vancouver, B.C.-area company, Richmond Plywood (Richply), is ramping up its technology and production in one of the original engineered wood product areas: plywood.
Richply recently completed a new Con-Vey Argos panel repair system at their plywood manufacturing facility, located in Richmond, a suburb of Vancouver.
The panel repair system features state-of-theart machinery/equipment for repairing defects on plywood surfaces, combining robotic technology with Artificial Intelligence (AI) to perform work previously done manually, and is part of a $18.7 million upgrade at the plant.
Natural Resources Canada provided $6.7 mil-
lion through the Investments in Forest Industry Transformation (IFIT) program to Richply, and the company received a further $2.3 million in funding from the B.C. government, through the Manufacturing Jobs Fund program, to support its wood products manufacturing. Richply is employing this funding to purchase and install new equipment to enhance its manufacturing processes using second-growth fibre and waste wood.
The project will result in improving job skills for 24 employees and create 14 new jobs at the company.
“Having state-of-the-art technology reflects the commitment of Richply to minimizing material waste, reducing cost, and increasing production to stay competitive in today’s marketplace,” says Bhavjit Thandi, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Richply.
The company has a unique business model in an industry that is dominated by public and
privately-owned wood product operations.
Richply is a worker-owned plant, and was originally established in1956. Operating on a 27-acre waterfront property on the Fraser River, it employs over 400 people, including 248 shareholders who work in production. A non-shareholder management team of seasoned professionals working in tandem with a board of directors oversee the interests of the company, and results in what the company says is a winning combination that has established Richply as a leading manufacturer of value-added engineered wood products.
Today, the mill peels an average of 500,000 cubic metres of logs per year, and with two high-speed lathe lines, three dryers, four presses, and a full range of other sophisticated machinery, turns out annual softwood plywood production of approximately 225 million square feet on 3/8” basis, that includes almost everything from sheathing to high-end specialty panels.
Ongoing investments in plant and process, together with reliable management, product quality and flexibility continue to secure Richply’s success in the plywood industry, says Thandi.
The current upgrade project, he reports, is progressing well. “The patch line is in, and a composer and layup line are still to come,” he explained. The total costs of these upgrades and additions is about $18.7 million.
“We are also looking to install a new dryer—we have a dryer that is almost as old as the plant, that has been updated multiple times,” he added.
They are looking to start that project, which involves the installation of a Raute dryer, as soon as this fall.
With the current upgrade, Con-Vey Argos provided the panel repair system, Raute provided the layup line, with Japanbased Hashimoto Denki Co., Ltd. providing the composer line.
The projects were well planned out, notes Thandi. “This kind of machinery is custom built,” he notes. “It’s not like you are buying something off the shelf—then there is the engineering and installation.”
Richply uses the B.C. office of Mid-South
to page 12
Richmond Plywood (Richply) is ramping up its technology and production in one of the original engineered wood product areas—plywood—with a $18.7 million upgrade of its plant. The upgrade will incorporate robotic technology combined with Artificial Intelligence, and see the installation of new equipment to enhance its manufacturing processes using second-growth fibre and waste wood.
millupgrade
The five wood species that Richply works with—spruce, pine, fir, hemlock and balsam—come from their own tenures, those of Mosaic Forest Management, Western Forest Products (two major players on the B.C. Coast), as well as First Nations tenures.
from page 11
Engineering as a consultant on its projects, as was the case for this current upgrade.
The timeline for the completion of the project is mid-2025.
The upgraded equipment will help in several areas, including productivity and keeping product quality high, says Thandi—all of which are key to staying on top
in a very dynamic wood panel market.
“We have to stay competitive. We are using more second growth wood now, and have to work harder to produce a superior product.
“We face competition from South America, China and Vietnam,” Thandi said, which can produce plywood at lower costs, though it is not comparable in quality to Richply product.
In addition to its quality and selection, Richply also distinguishes itself in the wood products marketplace with third party certifications, such as FSC and Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC).
But it’s strategic investments that will
to page 14
millupgrade
Richply now peels an average of 500,000 cubic metres of logs per year, and with two high-speed lathe lines, three dryers, four presses, and a full range of other sophisticated machinery, turns out annual softwood plywood production of approximately 225 million square feet on 3/8” basis, that includes almost everything from sheathing to high-end specialty panels.
from page 12
help secure a solid future for the almost 70-year-old company, says Thandi. Since inception, Richply’s shareholders have applied a philosophy of continually reinvesting resources into the business to modernize and streamline its manufacturing processes, to remain cost-competitive,
and to consistently respond to the evolving needs of its customers and markets.
“In order to compete in the global market, we have to put in equipment that makes us more efficient, reduces waste and makes us more productive—we need to be able to deliver on the goal of doing more with less wood.”
While the new equipment in the
current upgrade is very automated, and makes use of some Artificial Intelligence (AI) features, it does not mean the operation will be reducing employees. “It’s not AI replacing people,” says Thandi. “People will have different roles—we are upscaling the work.”
to page 16
Richmond Plywood:
reinvesting in the business for 60-plus years
In 1956, 300 men shared a dream: self-sufficiency through their own hard work. They purchased a large tract of farmland on the banks of B.C.’s Fraser River, where logs from one of the world’s most prolific coniferous forests arrived by tow and were lifted onshore to a massive manufacturing plant, to produce plywood.
And that dream of a highly successful and enduring plywood producing co-operative came true with Richmond Plywood (Richply). The company shares a rich B.C. wood products heritage—the first Canadian plywood was produced at Fraser Mills, down the Fraser River, in New Westminster, in 1913.
That co-operative approach continues to be lived every operating day at Richply, says Bhavjit Thandi, the company’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO).
Thandi outlined what has been behind that success—starting with its employeeshareholders and employees, supported by the latest in equipment.
The current company president, Harbinder Athwal, is typical of many of the Richply employees. Athwal, who works as a boilerhouse engineer and is now 50, got his first job, at the plant, when he was 16-years-old.
These days, Athwal and his colleagues at Richply have new equipment to work with on the energy side: a newly installed energy-efficient Cleaver-Brooks back-up boiler. The back-up system accompanies the operation’s main boiler, which was supplied by Wellons, and installed in 2007.
“We originally put in the main boiler back in 2007 because we wanted to be steam-powered—even then we wanted to be ahead in terms of being clean, and
energy-wise,” says Thandi.
Ongoing strategic investments are expected to continue to secure Richply’s success in the plywood industry. Since inception, Richply’s shareholders have applied an approach of reinvesting in the business, says Thandi.
As a co-operative, the company puts any capital project proposals to a vote of members—and a 75 per cent approval rate is required for a project to move ahead. Co-op members elect a sevenmember board of directors, all of whom have to come from the rank and file at the plant—no member of management is on the board. The president also comes from the worker-members.
In the past 10 years alone, Richply has made multi-million dollar investments at the green end in the form of a log processing facility with Raute equipment, a new Nicholson debarker, increased log conditioning capacity, and more recently the approval and installation of a new Raute lathe line in response to changes in its fibre diet.
Inside the plant, major capital has been spent on a new composer, and automated patching (see main story).
The installation of the boiler with a three-stage electrostatic precipitator has drastically lowered the mill’s consumption of natural gas, reducing the mill’s carbon footprint, and contributed greatly to improved air quality in the region—now supported by the new backup boiler.
As a result of these investments, Richply has been able to use fiber more efficiently, increase production speed, and reduce waste.
All of this is part of planning for the future, says Thandi. “We’ve been here for
almost 70 years, and we want to be here for the next 70 years,” he says.
Through these projects, the company has worked with equipment suppliers, as noted, to improve their operations, and update equipment. It has worked closely with Raute to optimize machinery at Richply. The company integrated Raute machinery into various stages of the production process including veneer peeling, veneer drying, veneer patching, and plywood processing.
Willamette Valley Company is another supplier, on the paint, patch and sealant side, that the company has worked with to turn out quality plywood product.
The five wood species that Richply works with—spruce, pine, fir, hemlock and balsam—comes from their own tenures, those of Mosaic Forest Management, Western Forest Products (two major players on the B.C. Coast), as well as First Nations tenures.
Another business partner, this one on the water, Hodder Tugboat, does towing and storage of those logs for Richply. In addition to providing log and barge towing services, Hodder is also a leading company in the management and operation of log storage water lots. With a strong presence in the Canadian Marine Exchange (CME) Flats area, located at the entrance to the North Arm of the Fraser River, Seaspan Marine Transportation does towing of chip barges, for Richply. Much of the wood chips from Richply are transported to another co-operatively owned forest industry operation, the Harmac Pacific pulp mill in Nanaimo, on Vancouver Island.
millupgrade
Richply has a unique business model in an industry that is dominated by public and privately-owned wood product operations. Richply is a worker-owned plant, and was originally established in1956. Operating on a 27-acre waterfront property on the Fraser River, it employs over 400 people, including 248 shareholders who work in production.
from page 14
He noted that they have already successfully automated their paint booth.
“There will be a great deal of training with this new equipment—we have had our people go out to different operations, to see this equipment in action.”
State-of-the-art technology is only part of the equation, says Thandi. Richply’s people are also a key to their success. The workforce is highly motivated; since most are owners, they understand it is in their best interest to focus on producing quality value-added products in the most efficient way possible in order to earn customer business.
And because the business is 100 per cent employee owned, staff turnover is low; Richply doesn’t have to constantly train new people, and it is not prone to production disruptions from labour disputes. While there is some turnover, it is minimal, meaning that the company does not have to compete as much with other manufacturing operations for potential employees in the Vancouver market, with its low unemployment, and high living costs.
Achieving a well-run co-op business that has lasted for close to 70 years has required a lot of hard work on the plant
floor, and industry experts at the helm. This combination has steered Richply into position as the only surviving coastal plywood mill, with the closure, acquisition, or relocation of the other plants on the coast to the interior.
The current upgrades have created a sense of excitement around the plant.
“We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us,”
says Thandi, with a big smile.
With this latest equipment upgrade, Richply looks forward to not only surviving, but thriving, says Thandi. The company, he says, stands at the forefront of an industry that takes pride in turning B.C. wood into the original engineered wood product: high quality, world-renowned Canadian plywood.
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Deere six-wheel skidder TICKS THE BOXES…
Copper Moon Contracting is finding that a new John Deere 768L-II six-wheel skidder is ticking the boxes when it comes to dealing with challenging work—and business—conditions in B.C.’s Central Interior.
By Jim Stirling
There are still those out there who believe Climate Change applies to other people living in far-off lands. They need to talk to log harvesting contractors working in the forests of central British Columbia. These loggers would soon set them straight.
They could begin by explaining to the doubters what happened in the Mountain Pine Beetle epidemic in B.C. There were several factors contributing to its depth and severity, but the implications of a consistently warming climate influenced most of them. The warming atmosphere through the seasons turned endemic forest wood-boring insects like the beetles into epidemic ones. It’s making the seasons more unpredictable, wildfire and
drought conditions more frequent and weather patterns generally more intense.
For example, a metre of snow or more can fall these days before the ground freezes. It can force equipment to sit idle during parts of the normal working season of the loggers, who are already facing tight margins. The weather-induced changes in the bush force logging contractors to take a hard and critical look at some of the forest machines they’re using.
Randy Brook made that assessment recently and concluded a new skidder could help revitalize the efficiency of his logging operation. The skidder is the most mobile component of most logging operations and impacts all the downstream functions at roadside, which is dependent on a consistent flow of wood. Brook discussed his skidder requirements with Matt
Bruintjes and his staff at his local John Deere dealership, the Brandt Group, at Smithers in west central B.C.
“I wanted a machine which would handle deep snow and steep terrain,” summarized Brook.
The search for available wood fibre was forcing his operation to look for work further away from his home base in Telkwa, near Smithers. The John Deere 768L-II six-wheel skidder appeared to tick all the boxes.
But another vital decision first had to be made. Brook’s logging company, Copper Moon Contracting Ltd., is a small operation and buying a new piece of logging equipment these days represents a big investment.
“It was a big decision to take,” he recalled. “But it’s worked out pretty well.”
He is in a position to know. Brook’s Deere 768 skidder now has more than 3500 hours on the clock.
Making decisions as you see them is part of the interwoven pattern of a farming and logging life. It comes naturally with working on the land.
“We grew up around logging, it was part of life at the farm” said Brook.
After completing high school, young Randy gradually started assuming more of the day-to-day logging operation from his dad, Doug. Around 10 years ago he was pretty much running the operation. But the rest of the family was still very much part of the logging tradition.
Doug operates the trucking side of the business. His fleet of Western Star logging trucks in B-train and long logger configurations all sporting the Woodmere Cattle
Co Ltd., livery transport Copper Moon’s logs to wherever they’re bound. Randy’s brother, Rob, is his right hand man in the bush operation. The farm (and the logging) has been in the Brook family since 1950, a four-generation history. Today, the farm operates a beef cattle ranch of 250 head and puts up 650 acres of hay on around 2,100 acres of deeded land.
Copper Moon’s John Deere 768L sixwheel bogie skidder was the first to operate in the Bulkley Valley region. Other logging contractors have subsequently picked up on the machine’s versatile capabilities. Copper Moon runs a pretty tight operation machine-wise. The 768 skidder joins two Tigercat 870 C feller bunchers; a Hitachi 290 Forester hoe chucker; a second 290 doubles as a road builder for the usually on-block roads required; the line-up also
Copper Moon Contracting has found the John Deere 768L-II six-wheel skidder to be comparable to a fourwheel skidder in maneuverability in small areas, and they’ve been pleased with how tight an area it can work in.
includes a Hitachi 240 processor and a Hitachi 210 log loader. The ancillary equipment includes a lowbed for moving equipment to where and when it’s needed, to maintain harvesting continuity. These days a lowbed earns its keep.
The search for affordable timber volumes is a constant challenge for B.C. loggers. And it accumulates the paperwork. Like most loggers, Brook said he’s most at home out in the bush running a logging machine. Through the years, Copper Moon has worked for licencees like West Fraser’s Pacific Inland Resources Division in Smithers. “We also look regularly to woodlots, timber sales and the community forest for fibre.”
to page 20
BClogging
BC Timber Sales are a sore point in the region, with few of them being put out for bid. The Wezink’wa Community Forest was formed in 2007 with a tenure jointly held by the Town of Smithers, the Village of Telkwa with the Office of the Wet’suwet’en holding a permanent posi tion on the community forest’s board of directors.
“We look to private land for our vol umes quite a bit. We have a few woodlot guys we work for and regularly bid on community forest work,” Brook explained.
The variety of the company’s wood sources needed to maintain productivity in varying conditions is right in the Deere 768’s wheelhouse. The machine can generate 281 horsepower and its grapple opening is in excess of two square metres. It moves high volumes per turn depending on ground conditions and type and greenness of the wood.
“Most of our blocks involve clearcut ting with reserves/retentions. We mainly work in spruce, pine and balsam stands,” generalized Brook. “We have found the 768 to be comparable to a four-wheel skidder in maneuverability in small areas and we were pleased with how tight an area it can work in.”
The skidder has lived up to its billing on other levels. “The 768 has been great for side-hilling and working on steeper terrain in comparison to a four-wheel skidder. It has let us access areas we previously would have had to hoe chuck down to the skidder.”
Sometimes a new machine in the log production sequence can highlight wood flow and bottleneck issues. “The 768 has boosted skidder production and kept it more consistent,” reported Brook. “There has been less hoe chucking for the skidder so it has made for a better flow.” Fuel consumption is a major operating concern these days. “But it’s pretty decent on fuel. It definitely burns less than we expected.”
And as for the all-important back-up service component, the 768 had not experienced any serious mechanical issues. Brook said when help was sought, the Brandt Group’s crews were right there. The warming weather and its implications, however, continue to interfere with harvesting operations.
It’s more evidence for the warming climate doubters to better understand what is affecting the landscape now is not a “new normal”. That is a chapter in the story that has yet to be written.
Copper Moon Contracting runs a pretty tight operation machine-wise. The 768 Deere skidder joins two Tigercat 870 C feller bunchers; a Hitachi 290 Forester hoe chucker; a second 290 doubles as a road builder for the usually on-block roads required, and the line-up also includes a Hitachi 240 processor and a Hitachi 210
manufacturing plant for Madill equipment in its birthplace: British Columbia
In an exciting development for the equipment side of the logging industry, DC Equipment Canada has opened a new manufacturing plant in Prince George, B.C. for producing iconic Madill equipment.
By Jim Stirling
Excited. That was the word Dale Ewers
George in September 2024.
Madill equipment fits well in Prince George.
“About 30 to 40 per cent of Madill’s sales are to customers in the B.C. Interior,” points out Ewers. Geography plays an additional role: Prince George is near the centre of the province and at the heart of a well-established transportation network. It means serving Madill customers is faster and more efficient. That is complemented by DC’s partnership with the Prince George branch of equipment dealer Nors, formerly Great West Equipment Co.
“This is more than just a strategic move for us—it’s about preserving and continuing the legacy of Madill which has been a cornerstone of the logging industry for more than a century,” explained Ewers.
Madill has a long history and has maintained an enduring reputation for manufacturing reliable log harvesting machines. But forestry gear was not Sam Madill’s primary focus when he went to work in a blacksmith’s shop in Nanaimo on Vancouver Island around 1911. But that had all changed by the 1950s. Madill was astute enough to recognize and help
The opening of Madill’s new manufacturing facility in Prince George, B.C. definitely drew a lot of interest (above). Madill equipment will fit well in Prince George. About 30 to 40 per cent of Madill’s sales are to customers in the B.C. Interior, and it’s complemented by a partnership with the Prince George branch of equipment dealer Nors, formerly Great West Equipment Co.
loggingequipment
develop the first wave of mechananization in the Vancouver Island forest industry. Gradually, the company designed and built equipment like swing yarders, later tower versions and log loaders. The Madill nameplate then, as now, became synonymous with producing purpose-built technologically designed machines to work and continue working under B.C.’s log harvesting conditions.
DC Equipment began operation in 2010 but has and still maintains a log harvesting pedigree in its native New Zealand. The company is based in Bridgewater, near the northern tip of New Zealand’s South Island. Just like Sam Madill, the company has diversified with the changing times.
Progress has been swift but the focus for Madill remains clearly focused. “We’re not aiming to be the largest equipment manufacturer or anything like that. We’ll probably be building 20 to 40 machines a year in Prince George,” forecasts Ewers.
DC Equipment planned to have a couple of new log loaders on display for the Prince George outlet’s September opening. One of them, a Madill 3000B log loader, is well suited to fit the typical wood profile harvested in the region. Ewers has other new products in the pipeline.
For example, a remote controlled felling machine is undergoing prototype testing in New Zealand.
“We want to have increasing productivity over the next three years,” he continued. “We are looking at bringing back the 2250 leveller or similar. We are also upgrading the Madill 124 with running skyline and standing skyline capabilities and the 172 with integrated, computerized automatic control system. We are also looking at the reintroduction of the Madill 120 with electrification.”
DC Equipment began its business journey with the stated intention of making steep slope logging safer and more operationally efficient. The drive to improve safety is reflected through DC Equipment’s Falcon Forestry Equipment’s product lines. These include motorized grapple carriages, winch assist machines and camera system attachments.
There are plans to reduce emissions during the next five years and integrating some of Falcon’s product lines into specific Madill machines. Its seems there is much yet to come.
For more information, consult www.dcforestryequipment.com
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Madill has a long history and has maintained an enduring reputation for manufacturing reliable log harvesting machines. The Madill nameplate then, and
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TAKING CARE of sometimes ROYAL FORESTS
B.C. forester Rainer Muenter has developed a business niche catering to private forest clients, such as German families, in the province—and his clients have included royalty.
By Tony Kryzanowski
It would be a complete understatement to say that German-born, British Columbia professional forester Rainer Muenter has worked for some interesting clients throughout his career. Take His Royal Highness Duke Carl Herzog von Wurttemberg, for example.
The Duke owned a private managed forest in British Columbia called the Darkwoods Forest consisting of about 55,000 hectares in the West Kootenay area of the province.
Acquired in 1967, this remote parcel of land was sold in 2008 by the Duke to the Nature Conservancy of Canada to conserve its multitude of ecological values including important caribou habitat.
Muenter worked there as a forestry intern in 1980, helping to manage this private forest for the Duke.
“Like many visitors, I was just in awe with the scale and wideness of the country and the forest,” says Muenter, speaking about his first forestry experience in Canada.
He obtained a Bachelor of Forestry degree from Goettingen, Germany and then a Master of Science Degree in Forestry from the University of Idaho, becoming an expert in management of both unevenaged and even-aged forest stands.
Muenter’s first job after university was working in Germany as a forest manager at Hatzfeldt-Wildenburg’sche Kammer, which is a private estate that harvests about 70,000 cubic metres annually. His main job was to convert plantation forests into multi-story stands by applying evenaged and uneven-aged forest management techniques, with the goal of creating a long-term, sustainable, commercial forest for the estate owner.
Muenter returned to Canada with his wife, Maureen Muenter-Anderson, and their family and became a permanent resident in 1990. They established Monticola Forest Ltd. in Fruitvale, B.C., offering comprehensive forest management and consulting services to private forest land-
German-born, veteran B.C. forester Rainer Muenter (above) has focused exclusively on professional forest management through his company, Monticola Forest, for private forest holdings in B.C. owned by prominent German families.
For the past five years, Monticola Forest has been focused primarily on managing about 30,000 hectares, with 90 per cent of the business being with private managed forest owners with holdings ranging from 400 hectares to 15,000 hectares, much of it in B.C.’S Kootenay region. Monticola Forest markets 12 different conifer and three hardwood species for their West Kootenay private forest clients. Most logs are purchased by B.C. sawmills.
owners, woodlot licensees, Community Forest licensees, and ski hill operators, while also managing their own woodlot license areas. Among their clients were— and continue to be—several prominent German families with land holdings in the province.
Over his career, Muenter has worked steadily as a forest manager on various projects in B.C., such as managing the grassland-forest interface on the massive
Douglas Lake Ranch, managing the Texada Island Forest Reserve, and managing the Kaslo Community Forest. But for the past five years, he and his wife have been focused primarily on managing about 30,000 hectares, with 90 per cent of their business being with private managed forest owners with holdings ranging from 400 hectares to 15,000 hectares. The forests are located primarily in the Nelson, Creston and Rossland areas of
B.C.’s Kootenay region.
Beyond Monticola’s own forest holdings, the company only has 10 clients. All are German families and indeed, some are German aristocrats. They came to acquire various sizes of private commercial woodlots in Canada primarily because of the Cold War.
According to Muenter, Canadian to page 28
forestmanagement
One of the chronic challenges Monticola Forest faces is actually finding contractors with the right combination of specialized equipment and operator experience to achieve their harvesting objectives. One reason for that is that until recently, there was little interest in commercial thinning in B.C. “It’s still a niche market,” says Rainer Muenter.
from page 27
railway companies in the past were deeded thousands of hectares of private land by the government to provide rightsof-way for track.
In addition to providing professional forest management to private woodlot owners in south-central B.C., Monticola Forest is also the professional forest manager for the Texada Island Forest Reserve, on the B.C. Coast. Over his career, Rainer Muenter has worked steadily as a forest manager on various projects in B.C., such as managing the grassland-forest interface on the massive Douglas Lake Ranch, south of Kamloops.
“When the gold and silver rush was going on in the Kootenays, the government had no funds but wanted to put in infrastructure to develop it,” he says. “So they commissioned railroads and paid them with 10,000 hectares per mile, and that created the private land on Vancouver Island with Mosaic Forest Management, as well as in the Kootenays and a strip of land from Revelstoke all the way to Hope. This area (in the Kootenays) has the highest concentration of private forestland in the province.”
A significant amount of that private land was purchased in the 1960s by German families, the sales pitch being that they’d have a safe place to escape to in case Germany was attacked by the Russians during the Cold War and Cuba Missile Crisis. However, the Russians never attacked and they remained German residents, leaving them with ownership of all these parcels of private land consisting of many hectares of merchantable timber.
Given their European background and how private forests are managed in that part of the world, they understood the value of this forest resource, knowing that if it was managed in a sustainable manner, it could be passed from one generation
to another as a valuable asset. But they needed professional forest management and given his German background, his experience in forest management in both Europe and North America, residency in B.C., and experience managing his own private woodlot, that’s where Muenter and Monticola Forest entered into the picture.
Muenter himself understands the value of private woodlot ownership, going so far as to sell the family’s SUV to come up with the $10,000 down payment to purchase his first 32-hectare woodlot with a family friend in 1997.
“The idea of wanting to own a forest is every forester’s wish, but also to build a family asset,” he says. “It had very humble beginnings.”
B.C. requires that an individual be a private landowner before applying for a woodlot license, which Muenter finally purchased on his own in 2010.
The private managed forests under Monticola’s management are part of a group of private forests operating under the provincial government’s Private Managed Forest Land Act passed in 1988.
The goal of the act is to encourage
private landowners to manage their lands for long-term forest production, the carrot being that they can qualify for a special tax assessment category that provides them with favorable tax treatment if they meet certain management criteria.
B.C. has also established the Managed Forest Council, consisting of two government appointees, two private managed forest operators and an independent chairperson agreeable to both parties. The council provides the administration of the private managed forest regulations, which essentially ensures that members qualify and maintain regulation management standards through annual inspections. A managed private forest under this program must be at least 25 hectares.
The organization began with about 60 managed forests and now has several hundred. Private managed forests only represent about five per cent of the total commercial forest in B.C., but in some areas, the wood fibre harvested from them represents up to 20 per cent of the annual harvest for that area. Owners of private managed forests also market logs to buyers on the export market, although this is strictly controlled by the province.
forestmanagement
The West Kootenay wood basket under Monticola’s management consists of 12 different coniferous species and three hardwood species. In their Coastal management holdings, there are four different commercial species. They export about 25 per cent of their logs to U.S. and international markets, while selling the rest to local sawmills.
Muenter says that the motivation initially for many landowners who joined the Managed Forest program was financial because of the favorable tax treatment they received from the province. But over time that benefit has dwindled, he says, adding that local land assessment has evolved so that the tax break is not so favorable as it once was.
“There still is an advantage but it’s not a huge advantage compared to being just a rural residential taxpayer,” he says, adding that having protection under provincial legislation against local political decisions that could negatively impact sustainable forest management on these private woodlots is actually, in his opinion,
to page 30
forestmanagement
from page 29
the biggest benefit for landowners at present.
In terms of his forest management approach, Muenter says, “I’m actually as much influenced by my education in the U.S. as my German education because of the ecosystems I studied at the University of Idaho. The forests in Idaho are the same as in southern B.C.”
However, a fundamental ideal behind his approach is multi-generational ownership and having an asset to turn over to the next generation, and maybe even passed on in a better state.
“That is inherent in the European idea of owning land and forest, and that’s what our clients and investors demand in Canada,” he says. “That inter-generational wealth aspect is what really drives our management and allows me to do things that are not common.”
For example, he prescribes a considerable amount of selective logging and commercial thinning, with half the trees and the best trees left standing in many cases to maintain the long term health of the
forest. Doing this—if he only had a profit and rate-of-return target—wouldn’t be the best approach since it significantly reduces cash flow, he says. But with a longer term vision, there is an economic justification to pursue that approach and private landowners have an advantage in that they have valuable assets worth preserving in both the land and standing trees.
Muenter is not opposed to clearcut logging, which he calls “final harvest” and it is applied to about 50 per cent of their annual logging activities using conventional feller bunchers. But Monticola takes a different approach compared to other large leaseholders, choosing to leave significantly more younger trees standing, if they are vigorous enough, in their prescriptions.
Another 50 per cent of their annual harvest is selective logging in forests deemed vigorous and healthy enough to respond well to this approach. Muenter says that it takes some skill to be able to identify these opportunities.
Since they also put a priority on maintaining soil productivity as an asset, this influences their logging approach. A con-
siderable amount of their merchantable timber is on steep ground. So they use cable logging as much as possible, which also contributes to maintenance of soil productivity.
About 10 years ago, they switched to employing contractors with harvesters and forwarders in selective logging to replace a fleet of small Cat skidder owner/ operators who eventually retired. One of the chronic challenges Muenter faces is actually finding contractors with the right combination of specialized equipment and operator experience to achieve their harvesting objectives. One reason is that until recently, there was little interest in commercial thinning in B.C., where most harvesters and forwarders are used.
“It’s still a niche market and the three contractors we work with have a hard time finding operators,” Muenter says. Most are actually owner/operators or hire operators who come from Eastern Canada or Europe, where many operators have two or three years of formal training in forest machine operation.
ON THE CUTTING EDGE OF INDUSTRY INNOVATION
Drive the future: Considerations of zero emission trucking
One key sector that can make a significant impact in GHG emission reductions is transportation, which is an important contributor to global carbon emissions. Fortunately, the transportation industry is shifting from fossil fuels to alternatives with the adoption of Zero Emissions Vehicles (ZEVs).
These vehicles are no longer just a future vision—they are becoming a reality today for many aspects of heavy-duty commercial transportation. There is important information and experiences from the implementation of ZEVs on-highway commercial fleets that can be applied to the unique and challenging transportation requirements of the forest sector. FPInnovations strives to collaborate and innovate in the on-highway commercial transportation sector to support advancements in the forest sector.
THE IMPORTANCE OF ZERO EMISSIONS TRUCKING
Traditional heavy-duty trucks, powered by diesel engines, are major contributors to air pollution and carbon emissions. According to the Canadian government, the Canadian transportation sector (all types) is responsible for over 20 per cent of total GHG emissions in Canada. In forest operations, heavy-truck transportation accounts for approximately 35 to 45 per cent of its total GHG emissions, so one of the key measures to reduce GHG emissions in the forest sector is through the implementation of ZEVs in forestry transportation. ZEVs, which produce no tailpipe emissions, offer a solution by reducing greenhouse gases and improving air quality.
Governments are implementing stricter emissions regulations and providing incentives to support the transition to ZEVs. This shift is not only environmentally responsible, but also a strategic business decision, as adopting ZEVs now may provide longterm financial and regulatory benefits.
FPINNOVATIONS AND TRANSPORT
CANADA’S
ZERO EMISSIONS TRUCKING TESTBED
To help fleet operators transition to ZEVs, FPInnovations and Transport Canada have launched the Zero Emissions Trucking Testbed. This program supports truck and
fleet owners by addressing the challenges of adopting heavy-duty ZEVs and providing data-driven solutions. Over a year of daily operations within the Greater Montreal area, this Testbed will monitor the operation of five Class 8 battery electric and five diesel trucks operating with two commercial transportation fleets.
The Testbed helps fleet operators evaluate ZEV performance, reliability, and operational requirements. By offering real-world data and feedback, the initiative mitigates the risks associated with adopting new technologies, making the shift to zero emissions trucking smoother and more predictable.
Key Objectives of the Zero Emissions Trucking Testbed
The mission of the Zero Emissions Trucking Testbed is to build awareness and confidence in ZEV technology. It does so by focusing on four key objectives:
1. On-road Pilot Testing
The initiative conducts on-road pilot tests to evaluate ZEV performance in realworld conditions. These tests measure crucial factors like battery life, energy efficiency, and durability, providing fleet managers with a clear understanding of how ZEVs perform under typical operating conditions.
2. User Experiences
Driver and operator feedback is crucial to improving ZEV technology. By collecting input from those who use ZEVs daily, the program gathers insights on vehicle handling, comfort, and operational logistics, helping manufacturers improve their designs and deployment strategies.
3. Safety Considerations
ZEVs must meet the highest safety standards. The program ensures that all vehicles are rigorously tested for safety, including emergency handling, terrain navigation, and accident prevention technologies. Safety is a top priority, and the Testbed ensures ZEVs are as safe as or safer than traditional trucks.
4. Operational Best Practices
The initiative identifies best practices for integrating ZEVs into existing fleets. This includes evaluating optimal routes, maintenance schedules, and infrastructure needs. These best practices help fleet operators
maximize the benefits of ZEVs, such as reduced fuel costs and lower maintenance, while minimizing operational challenges.
A GLIMPSE INTO THE FUTURE OF TRANSPORTATION
The Zero Emissions Trucking Testbed represents more than just research—it’s shaping the future of sustainable transportation. By collaborating with industry leaders and fleet operators, FPInnovations and Transport Canada are paving the way for widespread ZEV adoption. This initiative plays a crucial role in reducing carbon emissions and creating a cleaner future for the freight industry.
ZEVs offer an unprecedented opportunity to transform trucking, aligning businesses with global sustainability goals while providing possible long-term cost savings. Fleet owners who embrace this change will not only reduce their environmental impact but also future-proof their operations.
ADVANCING ZERO EMISSIONS TRUCKING IN THE FOREST SECTOR
By participating in programs like the Zero Emissions Trucking Testbed, organizations can gain firsthand experience with ZEVs and prepare for the future of freight transport.
The road to zero emissions is paved with innovation and collaboration but in the short- to medium-term, the forest sector faces specific challenges in implementing ZEVs in forest operations transportation. By participating in initiatives involving the broader commercial freight sector, the forest sector can learn from and gain an advanced understanding of the challenges and solutions to decarbonize their operations, and where short-long term opportunities exist.
FPInnovations is active in many projects and initiatives to advance the decarbonization of transportation. This is an exciting time to embrace zero emissions trucking opportunities, and with this knowledge, we can drive the future of transportation.
For more information on FPInnovations’ initiatives related to Zero Emission Vehicles, please contact Mark Partington: mark.partington@fpinnovations.ca
Site preparation and regeneration systems x xWood Fibre Centre/Canadian
BY TONY KRYZANOWSKI
Over the past few years, approximately 16 million hectares of productive forest has burned as a result of catastrophic wildfires in British Columbia and Alberta, demonstrating the impact a changing climate is having on this forest, as well as the immediate need to adapt forest management practices—such as strategic forest cover retention and reforestation site preparation techniques—to develop more resilient forests.
The changing climate is influencing the growing conditions and resilience of the commercial forest with increased temperatures, increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, as well as changing wind, climate, and weather patterns, resulting in different ecosystems evolving in Canada’s productive forests.
Reforestation site preparation techniques commonly used by industry today were introduced or developed over the past 40 years by the forest industry and regulators, and tested and refined by the Canadian Wood Fibre Centre (CWFC), the Canadian Forest Service (CFS), and their partners, starting with the highly successful national backlog reforestation program.
Over time, intensive forest management techniques have been developed and refined to improve the growing environment for seedlings. This included improving growing stock, development of productive micro-sites with enough moisture, controlling competition, and enhancing rooting environments—the goals being to increase reforestation effectiveness, forest production and overall forest health.
“Now, due to our changing climate, the focus should be to adapt our well-developed site preparation practices to mitigate or reduce risk of wildfire, drought, pests, pathogens, blow down and flooding, while shrinking the rotation so that we don’t have to wait as long to access commercial wood fibre,” says Derek Sidders, Program Manager, Technology Development and Transfer at CWFC. “We should also consider product line diversity, to reduce risk by looking at both deciduous and coniferous tree species that match and mimic the natural forest, and give us the best bang for our buck as it relates to healthy forests.”
What has become abundantly clear is that the current management of forest disturbances, whether immediately after harvest, through resource extraction or other natural disturbances, are not effectively laying the groundwork to prevent the ignition of fires.
Too often, aggressive native grass species take over sites quickly after disturbances, particularly in the Prairie provinces. They have been the main wicking point for some
of Alberta’s most catastrophic fires over the past 20 years.
Change is required and here are two forest management and site preparation techniques for consideration that could significantly improve both forest health and resilience.
First, going forward, it is important to consider management of the non-commercial trees during harvest by retaining trees that have no present commercial value and maintaining cover whenever possible. This, in itself, is a form of site preparation through patterned harvests as it creates an advantage for the next generation, and enhances the growing environment while at the same time managing moisture, habitat, and diversity.
“Site preparation is not just mechanical,” says Sidders. “It is also the use of vegetation and the patterning of it as well as the organic layer as we disturb the soil to try and enhance the growing environment, just like we would in our garden.”
Secondly, let’s consider managed and controlled deciduous forest retention in reforestation.
“Let’s not consider them as competitors, but moreover treat them as natural species that have significant value,” says Sidders.
That’s because from a fire mitigation
standpoint, living broadleaf plants and species, perennials, brush, and trees offer significant mitigation value on disturbed sites over aggressive grasses.
“The hardwood component manages moisture much better than the coniferous because they are full of water in the leaves, transpire every night, drop leaves in the fall, don’t die in winter, and catch the snow and impose a natural albedo effect by reflecting all that heat in the winter,” Sidders says. “That really changes the dynamic when we look at winter desiccation, winter snowpack and spring moisture. That’s the key to a lot of these site preparation and planting regimes, managed for plantation pattern, diversity and consistency in growth and forest health.”
The goal should be to maintain these living components but reduce growth by applying appropriate site preparation techniques to allow valuable coniferous species to establish themselves without being overwhelmed by more aggressive deciduous species.
“We are looking at two to three years,” says Sidders. “We want our seedlings to get ahead of the game by that amount of time, so we want a nice micro-site to grow them, but we also want to eliminate hazards and enhanced risks associated with flammable materials on the ground.”
He says a site preparation package should initially include a ground pattern that only disturbs 15 to 20 per cent of the site, done in a manner that creates some form of a soil/organic mixture and/or elevation of the soils and decomposing organic layer, as well as strategic placement of slash, to reduce the speed that competing vegetation can impact a coniferous plantation.
It is possible to limit the aggressiveness of deciduous trees by disturbing the soil adjacent to them and manipulating their root systems, slowing their preliminary growth and density but not eliminating them.
“That enhances the ability of the coniferous trees to efficiently establish because we are giving them a preferential place to grow and we are giving them separation between themselves and the native competitors in the form of deciduous species,” says Sidders.
The photos and captions included with this article illustrate some results or impacts that site preparation has on forest regeneration and risk mitigation, showing physical characteristics, width, and depth of the site prep, how to manipulate the soil, and the appearance of the final product.
For more information about these site preparation options and others to enhance forest health and resilience, contact Derek Sidders at derek.sidders@ nrcan-rncan.gc.ca.
41 Year-old Disc Trencher Planted to Jack Pine Ear Falls.
40 Year-old Winter Blade and Plant to White Spruce 50% Mixedwood Perrault Falls.
to adapt to a changing climate by Canadian Forest Service and its partners
Getting the most out of B.C.’s CHALLENGED WOOD FIBRE BASE
An innovative joint venture involving First Nations groups in B.C. is seeing under-utilized wood used for products from post and rail to pulp, helping the forest industry to deal with a much-reduced wood fibre base.
By Jim Stirling
It was in early-2023 when British Columbia Premier David Eby announced the Forest Enterprise Society of B.C. (FESBC) was to receive an additional $50 million in funding for forest enhancement projects in the province.
The focus of the funding was to be on creating a higher level of wood utilization for wood fibre and wildfire risk reduction. The FESBC project review and approval process clicked smoothly into high gear.
It was early in 2024 when the FESBC announced the cumulative approval of 66 projects valued at $47.9 million. A total of 39 of those projects were led by or involved First Nations.
“We are very proud of the project partners in local areas all over B.C. who have stepped forward with creative and thoughtful projects which not only utilize more waste wood or reduce wildfire risk, but also drive additional benefits,” observed Steve Kozuki, then FESBC’s executive director.
“FESBC projects show that there doesn’t need to be a trade-off between
the environment or the economy—it can and should be a win for both,” added Kozuki.
A project in B.C.’s Southern Interior region demonstrates the symbiosis well. The project’s partners are Stuwix Resources, a First Nations’ owned and operated fibre management company, and Valley Carriers, a well-established diversified transportation enterprise owned and operated by the Klassen family, based in Abbotsford, B.C.
The initiative for the co-operative venture came from the First Nation peoples involved and was facilitated by the FESBC.
The under-utilized wood project’s partners are Stuwix Resources, a First Nations’ owned and operated fibre management company,
woodutilization
“The community members have made it clear they wanted a better job of utilizing the resources provided by the forests,” summarized Lindsay Tighe, general manager of Stuwix Resources.
The eight First Nations in the Stuwix joint venture are based in and around the Nicola Valley region of the southern interior and include: the Lower Nicola Indian Band; the Coldwater Indian Band; the Nooaitch Indian Band; the Shacken Indian Band; the Upper Nicola Indian Band; the Siska Indian Band and the Upper Similkameen Indian Band. Stuwix manages the bands’ non-replaceable forest licences which have a collective annual cut of around 170,000 cubic metres of primarily lodgepole pine forests, explained Tighe. The plan was to truck the First Nations’ timber to a central location in Merritt. The timber was reviewed there, and sorted and processed into end products and uses.
These ranged from use by the region’s three main licencees—Tolko, Aspen Planers and Weyerhaeuser—to post and rail use, pulp wood and fibre for energy production. The pilot part of the project began in 2023 and involved about 10,000 cubic metres of wood. “We wanted to test our concept operationally,” explained Tighe.
There were positive early indicators that the joint venture was on the right track. For example, shortening post and rail stock to eight foot lengths increased volume by about five per cent, reported Tighe. Clear cutting and moving the tree length volumes to a central location for processing had indicated a potential of 95 per cent of log utilization, he added, in accordance with Stuwix’s wishes.
woodutilization
The project’s plan called for trucking the First Nations’ timber to a central location in Merritt. The timber was reviewed there, and sorted and processed into end products and uses. These ranged from use by the region’s main licencees to post and rail use, pulp wood and fibre for energy production. The pilot part of the project began in 2023 and involved about 10,000 cubic metres of wood. The project included funding from the Forest Enterprise Society of B.C. (FESBC).
from page 35
Valley Carriers, the other principal partner in the venture, began modestly in 1963. Neil Klassen started his own trucking business with a single vehicle and a strong willingness to work. Now, four generations later, the Klassen family remains closely involved with running a business that’s thrived and diversified. Building and maintaining working relationships has become a hallmark of the Klassen business model. It has helped the past slot neatly with the present.
“The vision for this project is to eliminate the forestry residual waste that is normally under-utilized, piled and burned,” pointed out Kate Colman, Klassen’s marketing manager. Instead, the project partners have adopted a more sustainable solution.
“This approach would salvage the stem
tops, lower value logs and burnt timber to be used for products such as post and rail, pulp, firewood, pellets, briquettes, sawdust and shavings, wood chips as well as biofuels,” she continued.
On arrival at the Merritt merchandizing site, the tree length log loads are weighed and the utilization process gathers momentum. A Barko 270B hydraulic excavator equipped with a Quadco Southstar 500 processing head was used during the pilot project. The Southstar head’s 360-degree rotation can operate in wood from 18 to 24 inches in diameter.
Supporting the Barko was a Hyundai 3026C forest excavator and a Cat 966C wheel loader.
Material unsuited for solid wood product manufacture was processed by a CBI 6800C horizontal grinder with a Keestrack K6 deck screener. Supporting that phase of the operation was a LinkBelt 240 excavator and a Cat 980G wheel loader.
On the trucking side of the operation were two Western Stars—a tridem drive with a tridem pole trailer and a tridem with a triaxle wagon configuration—and two Peterbilt trucks, a tridem with B-train and a tridem with a hay rack.
Colman noted that in today’s environment, the wood bioenergy, bioproduct and agriculture sectors all require a creative fibre supply. The forest sector in B.C. is characterized by AAC reductions and mill closures primarily due to the effects of the mountain pine beetle and spruce beetle infestations, wildfires and a reduced land base for timber harvesting.
B.C. harvest levels went from 55 million cubic metres in 2021 to 34 million in 2023, reflecting the much reduced fibre base.
“These changes are causing supply constraints and increased prices for wood fibre,” observed Colman. More complete wood fibre utilization has rarely been more vital including the elimination of in-bush burning and greenhouse gas emissions.
The last word is from FESBC’s senior manager, Gord Pratt: “Exploring new ways to optimize the delivery and use of forest fibre is long overdue and will only help the economy of the Merritt area.
“Lessons learned here will help other regions of the province,
The vision for the project is to eliminate the forestry residual waste that is normally under-utilized, piled and burned. Instead, the project partners have adopted a more sustainable solution, to salvage the stem tops, lower value logs and burnt timber to be used for products such as post and rail, pulp, firewood, pellets, briquettes, sawdust and shavings, wood chips as well as biofuels.
and assist in building a more stable and diverse forest industry which is critical for the future of rural B.C.,” he added.
smallsawmilling A LEADER
in leveraging logs —and knowledge
B.C.’s Valley View Industries is leveraging its knowledge of Western Red Cedar to supply customers in Canada, and overseas, with high quality wood products.
Cedar is a highly-valued building material known for its appearance, durability, and pleasing aroma. Simply walk on to any freshly installed cedar deck or relax in a sauna, and its value is obvious.
Valley View Industries is located in close proximity to Western Red Cedar timber in Kamloops, British Columbia, and it is leveraging both its location and extensive knowledge to supply high-quality cedar wood products throughout North America and Japan. The business also works with Douglas fir, maple, and oak, but cedar is their bread and butter, representing about 85 per cent of production. Both a building contractor and cedar wood product supplier, Valley View Indus -
tries’ building materials are manufactured either from raw logs or from rough lumber that they remanufacture into cedar fencing, decking and more refined lumber products, from their two-acre site.
“Cedar is very good for its natural resistance to rot and decay,” says Nick Price, the owner of Valley View Industries.
Nick is carrying on the family tradition started 30 years ago by his father, Norm, who founded the business. He is maintaining the company’s reputation for installing products like log gazebos, decks, hot tub enclosures, saunas, pergolas, sheds, cabins, fences, and more. About half of their business is custom cutting and installation while the other half is stockpil-
ing popular cedar products for retail sales.
Valley View Industries operates with several pieces of Wood-Mizer sawmill equipment, which gives them the capability of producing all of their own structural building components in-house. They now have control over both product quality and delivery. With their Wood-Mizer LT40 portable sawmill and supporting equipment, they have reduced delivery times of their building structures and building materials to customer sites by a month. Operating with 16 employees, which includes three installation crews, Valley View Industries generally offers installation within a couple hours of their location, but they have gone as far as Saskatchewan and the Yukon to satisfy client needs.
Nick says that he chose Wood-Mizer sawmilling equipment because the company has a good reputation. Prior to purchasing his Wood-Mizer, he used a smaller brand.
“With our Wood-Mizer sawmill, we can cut in three or four hours what used to take us a week,” Nick says. “It’s night and day. Even though we are so busy and we are booked for so many weeks ahead, we are still producing much quicker, at a higher volume and at a higher quality than we were previously. With its hydraulic
Nick Price of Valley View Industries of Kamloops, B.C.
capabilities and the price point, we just felt it was the way to go. We have been very happy with it.”
They have evolved from only producing about 15 per cent of their product needs in-house to 100 per cent, and there is also a lot less waste with their new operation. “Before with our old sawmill, we’d have really wavy cuts on some boards that we’d just have to reject,” Nick says. “We’d basically have to throw quality wood into the scrap pile. With the new mill, you know that you are going to get an accurate cut every time.”
The company selected the wide LT40 model which can saw logs up to 36” in diameter into 34” wide boards. The smallest diameter log they process has about a 12” top, but on average, they deal with logs that are about 24” diameter. The logs are shipped to the yard in 65’ lengths and then they are bucked by hand according to the company’s needs. Most building material is manufactured from logs measuring 8’ to 16’. “We have the bed extension on the mill for longer material that allows us to go up to 26’ long,” says Nick.
The sawmill is powered with a diesel engine and is equipped to hydraulically load, clamp, and turn logs on the sawmill bed. Nick says that leveling, clamping and rotating logs now takes seconds compared to several minutes with his old sawmill. The Accuset 2 setworks and Command
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Nick Price is carrying on the family tradition started 30 years ago by his father, Norm, who founded the Valley View Industries business. He is maintaining the company’s top notch reputation for installing products like log gazebos, decks, hot tub enclosures, saunas, pergolas, sheds, cabins, fences, and more.
Logs are shipped to the Valley View yard in 65’ lengths, and are then bucked by hand according to the company’s needs. Most building material is manufactured from logs measuring 8’ to 16’. The operation has a bed extension on the mill for longer material that allows them to go up to 26’ long.
smallsawmilling
In addition to the LT40 sawmill, Valley View Industries also own a Wood-Mizer EG200 twin blade board edger to improve any boards that have wane or bark on the edges.
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Control systems on the mill manage sawing functions like automatically setting the blade location for specific cuts in 1/16” increments. “This is really a great feature for custom orders where a customer maybe wants a 7/16ths inch thickness,” says Nick. “We can just set the head and then knock out production.”
Nick’s sawmill also has a debarker, which Nick says is an essential component for his operation because cedar is notorious for accumulating rocks and mud around the base of the log. The debarker helps to extend saw blade sharpening intervals and lifespan. In terms of blade selection, he uses a standard, economygrade, 1-1/2” blade for the first cuts to create a stack of cants. Then he will switch to a RazorTip blade for sawing the cants into final lumber products. “We find that by taking this approach, the blades last a bit longer and we get a nicer finish on our products,” says Nick.
In addition to the LT40 sawmill, they also own a Wood-Mizer EG200 twin blade board edger to improve any boards that have wane or bark on the edges.
Valley View Industries selected the wide LT40 Wood-Mizer model which can saw logs up to 36” in diameter into 34” wide boards. The smallest diameter log they process has about a 12” top, but on average, they deal with logs that have about a 24” diameter.
“From our sawing and edging process, we create a stockpile of wood measuring anywhere from 1” X 4” lumber to 6” X 6” timbers,” says Nick. “From there, our employees, who are actually working on building projects, will pick out of those piles. So, if they are building, for example, a pergola, they will pick out all they need for that order, and then take the pieces into our shop for preparation.”
Producing cedar structures often involves more than simply producing dimensional lumber and timbers. Debarked and custom-tapered cedar logs are often part of a construction project and have great customer appeal as a retail product. So the company has invested in a LatheMizer and tenon kit add-on for their mill. The lathe allows them to produce tapered and specially shaped cedar logs directly on the mill that can be fit together for either structural support or appearance applications. For example, the Lathe-Mizer can produce perfectly round, hexagon, octagon and triangle log shapes.
Fundamentally, Nick says that they have a variety of equipment they need from Wood-Mizer to carry on all aspects of the wood product side of their business to continue to operate efficiently and successfully.
This story originally appeared on the Wood-Mizer website (www.woodmizer.ca).
NEWandNOTED
@ DEMO and TP&EE shows
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Logging and Sawmilling Journal takes a look at two recent major forest industry shows, DEMO 2024 International and Timber Processing & Energy Expo (TP&EE), and what was new and noted at the shows.
It’s not often that you get two major shows happening within a week of each other in the forest industry—but that was the case in September with the DEMO International show held in Ottawa/Gatineau and the Timber Processing & Energy Expo (TP&EE) held in Portland, Oregon.
The 2024 DEMO International show concluded on September 21 after five full days of groundbreaking displays, industry networking, and the latest in forestry innovation. Hosted by SBC Cedar and organized by the Canadian Woodlands Forum, the event marked the successful return of DEMO International, continuing its 55-year legacy as one of the world’s largest live, in-forest equipment demonstrations.
With over $150 million in forestry equipment and machines on display from top manufacturers and suppliers internationally, over 6850 attendees had plenty to see and experience along the 3.2 km loop.
Becky Geneau, Executive Director of the Canadian Woodlands Forum, reflected on the success of the event.
“The scale of DEMO was truly impressive, bringing together forestry professionals and innovators from around the world,” she said. “This year’s show provided a unique opportunity to explore the future of sustainable forestry and witness firsthand the incredible advances in technology and equipment that are transforming the industry. We are proud to continue the legacy of DEMO and are already looking forward to the path ahead.”
At the TP&EE, held September 25 to 27 at the Portland Expo sition Centre, exhibitors ranged from small consulting and software firms to major hardware and machine centre suppliers, all gathered in one place. This was the seventh biennial (every two years) event produced by Hatton-Brown Expositions LLC, and for the third time in a row, exhibition space was sold out, with well over 170 domestic and international exhibitors occupying over 45,000 square feet of display space.
Logging and Sawmilling Journal was well represented at both events, and we made note of the new products and technologies present at both DEMO and the TP&EE show. Following is a snapshot look at what was new and noted at DEMO and the TP&EE show.
With on-thefly track speed adjustments, operators can seamlessly adapt to varying terrains without hassle. The system also provides better downhill control, enhancing stability and safety during descents, says the company. Additionally, the increased starting torque ensures a powerful and smooth start every time. These features are said to make the D7 traction system an excellent choice for those seeking reliability and performance. www.alpaequipment.com www.landrich.com
OTR Engineered Solutions
OTR Engineered Solutions (OTR) staff talked about a number of its products at DEMO 2024, including its recently introduced 32-inch, three-piece wheel for log skidders and forwarders in forestry applications. The unique multi-piece design offers many benefits, including increased productivity, reduced downtime, and enhanced efficiency.
NEW AND NOTED AT DEMO 2024
Landrich/ALPA
At the DEMO International show, Landrich/ALPA Equipment talked with loggers about choosing the D7 traction system with their next Landrich 2.0. The D7 traction system offers increased tractive effort, ensuring the machine performs optimally in challenging conditions.
“The new three-piece wheel is a real game changer in the forestry industry,” said Tom Rizzi, President and CEO. “This solution can help customers increase their load carrying capacity, while simplifying the process of changing tires in the field.”
The robust design of the three-piece wheel allows tires to simply slide on and off the rim when mounting and dismounting, without the need for specialized equipment. Not only does this process reduce downtime, but it also minimizes the risk of bead damage since the tire does not need to be pried over the rim. to page 42
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Furthermore, tires with higher ply ratings can be installed to help maximize the productivity of the power unit. For instance, a skidder may be able to add 28,000 to 42,000 pounds of additional tire load capacity with 40,000 to 60,000 pounds of additional headroom, by upgrading to higher ply tires and OTR’s new wheels.
www.otrwheel.com
LogVend
At the end of a logging job there always seems to be one log species or grade that is hard to sell, or you find that you missed a sale for more money or closer shipment. A hardwood log exporter gets a high paying order and has a hard time filling it because they can’t find anyone with inventory quick enough to meet the deadline. Enter LogVend, which was an exhibitor at DEMO 2024. This app is designed to connect buyers and sellers, and puts the right person locally or across the continent in the palm of your hand, says the company. Stop spending valuable time searching for what you need. The company says LogVend connects you with the market to see what is available, resulting in smarter log sales.
www.LogVend.com
Vallée
Vallée unveiled its renewed Canadian-made compact series: the 4DA20E, 4DA25E, and 4DA27E at DEMO 2024. With lifting capacities from 20,000 to 27,500 lbs, these rugged, rough-terrain lift trucks are said to be ideal for sawmill yards. Powered by a Stage 5 Cummins engine and advanced hydraulics, these 4x4 machines are built for demanding conditions. Engineered with over 70 years of industry experience, they combine the best of forklifts and wheel loaders, offering exceptional operator comfort, compact design, great maintainability and repairability, and unparalleled long-term value, says the company.
www.vallee.ca
Olofsfors
It was another successful DEMO International for Olofsfors. From its static booth full of new and exciting products to all its products showcased amongst the show— in many of its dealers’ booths on demo and statically—the company wants to express its thanks.
Exciting new products at DEMO this year for Olofsfors were:
• KovaX+
• ECO HD HarvX
.404 bars with replaceable tips
• SuperGrip Grapple 310S
• SuperGrip Grapple 360RS
• SuperGrip Grapple 500S
From Olofsfors tracks to Iggesund Saw Bars and Hultdins Grapples, details of new and existing products customers trust for quality can be reviewed on their websites.
www.olofsfors.com
www.iggesundforest.com
www.hultdins.com
NEW AND NOTED AT TP&EE
KEITH WALKING FLOOR
At the TP&EE show, KEITH WALKING FLOOR demonstrated how their conveyors provide a cost effective, low maintenance solution to fuel receiving/storage/handling requirements. Their systems automate the feeding process, delivering material in a consistent manner, and storing it until needed. Powered by a
hydraulic drive, floor slats convey material to the discharge end of the bin.
WALKING FLOOR
stationary systems are custom engineered, handle a variety of fuel stock and are designed to move tons. Configurations are based on customer specifications and include large and small storage bins, loader-fed bins, pit-mounted systems and DrivOn solutions. WALKING FLOOR systems can also be constructed to include multiple bins, walls and roofing. www.keithwalkingfloor.com
Comact
At the Timber Processing & Energy Expo, Comact not only showcased groundbreaking technologies like OPER8, AI-powered Smart Vision, and advanced robotics, but also unveiled its new brand identity, which received an overwhelmingly positive response.
Obituary — Wayne Farenholtz
Wayne Farenholtz, the founder of B.C.based logging equipment company, KMCKootrac, passed away in September.
Wayne was born and raised in Nelson, B.C., and after graduating from LV Rogers High School there, he attended college at Michigan Tech on a hockey scholarship. He returned to Nelson, and met the love of his life, Sharon Farenholtz (Fisher) and they were married on June 17, 1961.
Always community minded, Wayne played first base for the Nelson Baseball team, was Assistant Trainer for the Nelson Maple Leafs Senior Hockey team, as well as serving as President of the Nelson Maple Leafs. Wayne also had a passion for curling, and he curled at a high level, even scoring an eight-ender in 1969.
Wayne was also an incredibly innovative and successful entrepreneur. He
The company’s fresh look reflects its commitment to innovation and the future of wood processing. Visitors experienced how these cutting-edge solutions are revolutionizing production processes and boosting efficiency, while also engaging with Comact’s renewed brand vision. The company suggests those involved with the forest industry stay tuned for more updates on how Comact is shaping the industry’s future.
www.comact.com
Tru-Cut Sharpening
At the TP&EE show, Tru-Cut Sharpening featured:
• Duralife Sawblades – Tipped with Duralife saw tips (comprised of a unique alloy), performs like Stellite, but is tipped and serviced like carbide. Impact Resistant, “If You Are Experiencing Carbide Tip Damage Then Duralife Saws Are The Solution”, can be fitted to trims, rips, splitter saws (for solid wood applications) any tooth profile (Flat, ATB, VTOP, TCG), says the company.
• Hyper-Cut Thin Kerf Bandsaws – Carbide tipped thin kerf bandsaws, available up to 4.5” wide, down to 0.060” kerf. Decrease waste, increase yield of dimensional lumber in re-sawing applications. Longer run times (compared to stellite/bi-metal), less saw changes, decreased noise (available in stellite as well). https://www.trucutsharp.com
worked with his father in the logging and mining equipment business until venturing into his own business, with KMCKootrac. Wayne purchased the manufacturing, sales distribution and patents of the FMC Skidder.
With the purchase of FMC’s patents and a large inventory of FMC’s designs and parts, Wayne’s company KMCKootrac became innovators as manufacturers of specialized track equipment to be used in difficult terrain for specialized logging, mining, and fire-fighting demands. This equipment has been sold globally and is a credit to Wayne’s incredible ingenuity and innovation at the helm of KMC-Kootrac. Wayne, and KMCKootrac, have left a permanent footprint in the industry.
Wayne was a loving father, role model,
and friend, to sons, Darren (Michele) and Robert (Sayle). He was also a devoted grandfather to Sheldon and Justin and great-Grandfather to Oakland. He will be missed by everyone who knew him.
SUPPLIERNEWSLINE
Kodama Systems unveils machine teleoperation platform at American Loggers Council in collaboration with Weiler Forestry
Kodama Systems, an innovator in forest management and wildfire mitigation technology, announced the launch of its cutting-edge machine teleoperation platform, Kodama Autopilot, at the American Loggers Council conference.
The debut took place at the Mother Lode Fairgrounds in Sonora, California, in front of a national audience of loggers and other forestry industry professionals, showcasing what Kodama says is a significant step forward in logging efficiency and safety.
During the demonstration, a machine operator controlled a log skidder from hundreds of miles away via satellite. The Kodama team also showcased its Autopilot hardware on a 2024 Weiler S340 wheel skidder. The S340 is a versatile, mid-size skidder well-suited to tackle the varied terrain that loggers encounter and is easily tailored to individual customers through factory options.
This exhibit was made possible through a strategic collaboration with Weiler Forestry, a leading equipment manufacturer based in LaGrange, Georgia. Weiler builds purposebuilt forestry machines that increase productivity and reduce operating costs.
“We are excited to collaborate with Kodama and see our machine used for introducing this new and pioneering technology to the forest industry,” said Pat Weiler, owner and founder of Weiler Forestry. “Weiler’s history is full of engineering innovations based on customer input. Loggers are looking for safer, more productive equipment.”
“Weiler Forestry’s collaboration has empowered us to bring a game-changing product to the industry,” said Merritt Jenkins, CEO of Kodama. “Autopilot eliminates long commutes, improves operator safety, and reduces physical strain by enabling machines to be controlled off-site. We have been working with the logging community to develop this product over the past three years, and we’re thrilled to demonstrate our system on a national stage.”
The demonstration offered attendees a first-hand look at Kodama Autopilot, which is available for pilots in 2025. Autopilot enables business owners to run double work shifts and opens new employment opportunities for the next generation of loggers. Kodama plans to also introduce autonomous capabilities later in the year.
For more information about Kodama or to inquire about a pilot, please visit www.kodama.ai www.weilerforestry.com
Milestone 1000th Volvo Penta engine-powered Eco Log harvester hits the bush
Swedish OEM Eco Log helped put the very first Volvo Penta engine into a forestry application. A decade later, this Volvo Penta D8 Stage IV engine is still running, and the 1000th Volvo Penta-powered Eco Log machine was recently delivered
This exemplifies not only the durability and reliability of Volvo Penta industrial engines, but also the importance of partnerships with OEMs and customers, says the company.
Whenever a Volvo Penta engine is sold, a partnership begins. Almost 10 years ago, the first Eco Log 580E harvester was fitted with the first Volvo Penta engine ever installed in a forestry application and
Stop the Presses! New addition to Logging and Sawmilling Journal!
Logging and Sawmilling Journal is very pleased to welcome a new member of the LSJ team.
LSJ owners Hannah and Anthony Robinson are happy to welcome a baby boy, Ari Willis Robinson, to their family, born July 30, and weighing 6 pounds 8 ounces.
Family are doing well and baby Ari is keeping Hannah and Anthony very busy.
Be sure to drop by our booth at the Truck Loggers in early 2025 to meet our new staff addition!
By Tony Kryzanowski
sold to Swedish forestry specialists, Nitta Rundvirke AB. In 2024, Nitta Rundvirke ordered another harvester, the Eco Log 590G with the latest D8 EU Stage V Volvo Penta engine. The sale marked a new milestone in the companies’ long-standing relationship, as well as the delivery of the 1000th Eco Log machine powered by Volvo Penta.
www.volvopenta.com
BID Group is now… Comact
BID Group, a leader in manufacturing equipment serving the wood processing industry, now has a new identity as Comact.
The company says that this transition marks a significant evolution in its journey, and reflects its commitment to innovation and excellence.
From its origins as an OEM, Comact has been instrumental in transforming the wood processing industry. The company has consistently invested in research and development, addressed customer challenges, and adapted to their evolving needs. Through strategic alliances and acquisitions of leading brands, Comact has established itself as a world-class leader and pioneer renowned for its high performance technology and equipment and its exceptional customer engagement, says the company.
“The decision to transition to Comact aligns with our strategic plan to expand as a high tech OEM with key customers worldwide,” says Alistair Cook, President and CEO. “This new identity signifies the beginning of a transformative phase for us.
“We are reaffirming our commitment to being the premier OEM in the industry by delivering cutting edge technologies, world class project services, and unparalleled dedication—qualities that have cemented Comact’s reputation as a market leader in high performance, innovative solutions,” said Cook.
As Comact, the company will continue to focus on what matters most to its clients: optimizing operational performance, leveraging advanced technologies, and delivering exceptional field support. Its comprehensive project services, including construction and installation, will continue without interruption.
www.comact.com
Strongco and Great West Equipment unite under the Nors brand
Two leading names in heavy equipment in Canada, Strongco and Great West Equipment, will become one through the Nors brand transformation process, says the company.
Based on a legacy of more than 90 years, Nors is uniting its portfolio of brands—to which the former Strongco and Great West Equipment belong—and which will now become one single brand: Nors.
Nors is now an important player, covering more than 80 per cent of the Canadian market, where it has a total of 37 branches and more than 750 employees.
At a recent launch event, held in Portugal and broadcast to 3,000 employees, Nors unveiled its new brand strategy.
This brand will replace the previous 17 brands of all Nors’ companies in seven countries, from three different continents, including Great West Equipment and Strongco in Canada, and will be organized into five segments: Trucks and Buses; Construction Equipment; Agro; Aftermarket; and Ventures.
This new strategy and brand architecture will boost Nors’ differentiated offer globally which, together with the main brands represented in the sectors in which it operates, will add quality service and technical knowledge.
Tomás Jervell, Nors Group’s CEO, said that “Nors’ brand embodies what we have been for over 90 years and our even greater ambition to be recognized for our exceptional quality service and teams, boosting future growth in all the geographies in which we are present.”
The implementation of the new brand in the different geographies will take place from the launch on October 11, guided by a strategy and an action plan that meets the needs of the business, segments and different geographies.
Nors operates in the heavy equipment sector. It comprises the former Strongco Corporation, a major heavy equipment dealer in Canada, which sells, rents and provides after-sales service for equipment used in various sectors, such as forestry, construction, infrastructure, mining, oil & gas, utilities, municipalities, and waste management. The company has approximately 500 employees spread across 26
branches in Canada. It represents the main equipment manufacturers with globally recognized brands, including Volvo Construction Equipment, Case Construction, Manitowoc Crane, National and Grove, Terex Cedarapids, Terex Trucks, Fassi, Sennebogen, Konecranes and SDLG.
The former Great West Equipment has been part of the Nors Group since March 2024, and is also part of Nors’ Construction Equipment segment. It is a dealer in construction and forestry equipment and also represents leading equipment manufacturers with globally recognized brands, including Volvo Construction Equipment, Madill, Metso, Sennebogen and Falcon. It currently has 250 employees, spread across 11 branches in Canada.
www.nors.com
B.C. government’s head-in-the-sand approach to forestry issues
By Jim Stirling
Frustrations are growing monthly with the British Columbia government’s continuing lack of action on the provincial forestry file. The issues are numerous, growing and urgent. The focus for several of them surround basic subjects like wood fibre availability, the high costs of operating and forest land use planning and priorities.
But the government’s head-in-the-sand lack of response is unlikely to change any time soon. Little of significance tends to happen during the government’s long summer adjournment. And in 2024, the season is anchored by a provincial election on October 19. The outcome is unknown at the time of writing but whatever the voters have decided, little in the way of policy changes can be anticipated until well into 2025.
Meanwhile, B.C.s forestry dilemma deepens. Sawmill and wood processing plants continue along the all too familiar path of production curtailments and permanent closure. Witness the latest with Canfor’s announcement to close sawmills in Fort St. John and Vanderhoof. More people are losing their jobs and communities throughout the province are withering economically as displaced workers are forced to leave their homes.
The Eby Government responds with another stirring performance in its series of fiddling while Rome burns.
“Access to economic fibre has fallen from 60 million cubic metres in 2018 to 35 million cubic metres of actual fibre in 2023, about 42 per cent below the allowable annual cut for the year,” Linda Coady reminded the government in May 2024. Coady is president and CEO of the B.C. Council of Forest Industries (COFI). “Each time a mill closes in B.C., there’s a substantial direct impact on employees and their families, with further consequences for local communities as well as across supply chains.”
A month later, Coady helped the government out, suggesting “a portfolio of changes” to help indicate a way forward for the provincial forest industry. The changes included fixing the current
development process for permitting log harvesting on Crown land in B.C. “Delays in issuing harvesting permits can take three years to process,” she complained.
This in a sector struggling to regain its stature in an increasingly competitive global environment. B.C. is one of if not the highest cost lumber producer in North America. Coady suggested the government encourage regional planning to discuss and evaluate issues like old growth forests, biodiversity and cultural protection.
She said other moves the government could and should make include the support of forest management practices like thinning, prescribed burning and timber salvage. She supplied another important aid for the government to consider: “Develop a long term road map of B.C.’s forest sector. We need a strong, consistent and aligned message that B.C. has a plan for forestry.”
The B.C. government has received pleas for action from across the forestry sector. A recent meeting held in Prince George illustrates the point. It was cohosted by George Lampreau, chief of the Simpcw First Nation near Barriere in the north Thompson region, and Dolleen Logan, chief of the Leidli T’enneh in Prince George. They didn’t mince words. They claimed the provincial government was killing the forest industry in B.C. by its delays in processing timber harvesting applications. The system is broken, they charged. The Prince George gathering was also attended by regional mayors and, significantly, by representatives from regional forest companies. The list included Canfor, West Fraser, Carrier Lumber, the Sinclar Group and Dunkley Lumber.
How long their respective operations can continue in their present form without government changes is moot.
The benefits of hindsight present a parallel situation from B.C.’s recent past. The circumstances are different, of course, but the situation illustrates how a government’s overriding priority can trump all others. For generations, the people of Haida Gwaii, off the northwest coast of B.C., witnessed a never ending flotilla of barges laden with island timber heading
south for processing. Making matters worse, too often the value of the exported wood was unrecognized in its end uses. The island’s Haida residents gained little to no benefits from the harvesting practice. It made extensive used of off-island loggers operating from fly-in camps.
The Haida Nation decided to put an end to the practice once and for all.
The Haida used and further developed its influence in Victoria to effect changes in land use on the islands. New protected areas and no-go zones were strategically established. Their net effect was to make any large scale industrial forest operation unprofitable because of high transportation and other costs. The Haida tightened the legislative noose until they alone controlled what happens, where and how on the islands in terms of natural resource extraction on the islands. The Haida’s strategy was highly successful.
And there are no more barge loads of Haida logs heading south down B.C.’s northern coastline.
Large tracts of land have been withdrawn from the provincially owned forest land base in recent years at the request of First Nations. In other cases, land has been withdrawn for the establishment of parks and other protected areas. Large wildfires have also removed land on a temporary basis from potential log harvesting land inventories. Added together, these annexations are significant. And, as with the Haida, other First Nations in B.C. are equally determined to wrest back more control of traditional lands in their quests for self-determination.
Perhaps as a consequence, the NDP government is happy enough with a much- reduced role and influence for the forest industry in B.C. and its action—or lack of it—is simply an expression of that sentiment.
But still, it seems unlikely that a responsible government would permit such an action to continue considering the profound collateral harm that would reverberate as a consequence throughout the provincial economy.
