ISSUE 314 | 21.4.14 16,000 delivered weekly to timber merchants, sawmillers, wood processors, foresters, members of national and state organisations and associations, builders, specifiers and selected architects.
Timber chemical sector shake-up
Koppers $460m purchase of Osmose catches preservation industry offguard
The NATIONAL voice for
By JIM BOWDEN
THE purchase of the wood preservation division of Osmose by Koppers Holdings Inc. – a $US460 million deal – has caught the industry Down Under offguard. In the announcement last Monday, Koppers Holdings Inc, based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US, signed an agreement to acquire the wood preservation and railroad services business of Osmose Holdings Inc, a private American company based in Buffalo, New York, and founded in 1934.
Industry experts agree the purchase will change the dynamics of the timber treatment sector in Australia; it certainly caught a lot of people by surprise. The purchase, expected to be finalised soon ‘after certain closing adjustments’, will still leave four operators in Australia – Koppers Holdings Inc, Lonza Wood Protection, TimTechChem
• Timber Merchants
International and NZ-based Kop-Coat. [Koppers Holdings Pty Ltd as such has no affiliations with entities Koppers-Arch, Arch Chemicals or Lonza]. Osmose Holdings, an Oaktree capital management portfolio company, has built a network of supplies and customers in 70 countries.
• Suppliers • Manufacturers Contact us on 1800 TABMA1
Cont P 3
TM
- New Age timber protection with longer lasting colour.
*UST 'O T
R SM
Osmose®, MicroPro® and MicroPro Sienna® are registered trademarks of Osmose, Inc. or its subsidiaries. Treated Wood Just Got Greener sm are slogan marks of Osmose Inc and its subsidiaries. MicroShades timber products are produced by independently owned and operated wood preserving facilities. © 2013 Osmose, Inc.
NE REE
4REATED
OO D 7
'
MicroPro Sienna® micronized preservative and pigment technology penetrates the timber to give the most advanced timber protection and longer lasting colour for a “one treatment solution”.
www.osmose.com.au Call: 1800 088 809 ISSUE 314 | PAGE 1
INDUSTRY NEWS
‘Wood first’ program still on ‘to-do’ list for Latrobe
Modern timber is cleaner and greener A MOVE to establish Australia’s first regional ‘wood preference’ policy is firmly on the ‘to-do’ list for the city council in Latrobe Valley in the heart of Victoria’s timber-rich Gippsland area. Latrobe City Council has unanimously voted to request federal government support for the establishment of research facilities in the valley to develop innovative technology for the forestry, wood and paper sector. Councillor Sandy Kam, who put forward the motion to highlight wood’s untapped potential, said the first round table on the proposal next month would deliver a recommendation to the council. “The ‘wood first’ idea has been strongly supported in the region, but we don’t want to overwhelm local businesses with the concept,” Ms Kam said. “The objective is not to rule out other building materials but rather to ensure that wood solutions are given due consideration. We want others to join us on the journey, and not think that they have been ambushed.” Supporting Latrobe’s initiative, ForestWorks CEO Michael
Councillor’s plan highlighs wood’s untapped potential Hartman said ‘wood first’ policies across Europe and Canada had been hugely positive for the industry, the environment, and regional economies. “Modern timber is cleaner and greener as a primary construction material than other options,” he said. “So it is absolutely appropriate that local governments in Australia’s key forestry areas should be doing everything possible to encourage its use.” Sandy Kam spoke at
PAGE 2
| ISSUE 314
Wood first .. Cr Sandy Kam, Latrobe City Council (right) joins in presentations at the ForestWorks industry conference with Michael Hartman, CEO, ForestWorks, Dr Alastair Woodard, director, Technical, Promotion and Consulting Solutions, and Kersten Gentle, executive officer, Frame and Truss Manufacturers Association of Australia.
the ForestWorks industry development conference in March, where her presentation sparked considerable interest and discussion. Cr Kam emphasised that the idea of a wood encouragement policy was not to be prescriptive or heavy-handed, but rather to simply ensure that wood gets considered after fully understanding its environmental advantages compared to other choices. Mr Hartman praised Cr Kam’s approach as a responsible first step. “The need to educate the community in a range of environmental issues is critical to the future of our planet and our society,” he said. “Here at ForestWorks we understand that the key to development is innovation through ongoing education and ensuring we have the relevant skills to foster that innovation. But to make this happen we need governments at all levels to recognise the opportunity that exists and to help stimulate
conditions under which it can occur. “Latrobe City Council has taken a significant and historic step towards that recognition now. I hope it provides food for thought across the country.” Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Agriculture Senator Richard Colbeck said forest science deniers in Australia continued to be debunked by the weight of global science and research that demonstrates the real value of a strong forest and forest products industry. He said the latest study to reinforce the overwhelming values of the forestry industry
Forest science demonstrates the real value shows again that timber should be embraced as the building material of the 21st Century. Senator Colbeck welcomed the study by Yale University and the Cont P 4
INDUSTRY NEWS
Sale comes at a time of advanced micronised technology at Osmose
From P 1
Koppers Holdings buys Osmose at a time of advanced technology development within the company – in December last year, Osmose gained a US patent for its MicroShades micronised colour technology which uses micronised iron oxide colour pigments for treating wood. This new patent complements other US patents that Osmose has received for its MicroPro micronised copper technology for wood preservation. Meanwhile, the industry is in a holding pattern, awaiting the outcomes and how the industry will re-shape after the Koppers Holdings-Osmose announcement. “This is certainly a long-term purchase,” industry experts reckon. “The company understands the wood preservation business – a better bet than an ‘outside’ investment company poking its nose in. “Koppers seems to be going back to its previous business model, a treater re-entering the industry as a chemical manufacturer.”
Osmose has network of buyers, suppliers in over 70 countries Koppers Holdings says it plans to finance the purchase through new and existing bank debt, including a new term loan and an increase to the company’s existing revolving credit facility. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2014, subject to regulatory filings and customary closing conditions. Osmose’s Wood Preservation business is a developer, manufacturer and marketer of wood preservation chemicals and wood treatment technologies. The business has operations and sales in North America, Latin America, Europe, and Australasia,
in Australia was a metamorphosis of Koppers and then KoppersArch. It is no secret in the industry that Lonza is prepared to carve out its interests in the wood business and return again solely as suppliers of pharmaceutical ingredients.
Australian industry in holding pattern awaiting outcomes
New directions .. timber preservation industry awaits outcome of Koppers Holdings-Osmose deal.
and accounted for about $US350 million of the acquired business revenue in 2013. Osmose is also a provider of railroad infrastructure services, including bridge inspection, engineering, maintenance and repair. Koppers Holdings is divided into two divisions – carbon and chemicals and railroad and utility. The company specialises in manufacturing carbon chemicals from coal tar. The five main chemicals produced are coal pitch for steel and aluminum production, carbon black for rubber vulcanisation, creosote for wood treatment, and napthallene and phthalic anhydride for plastics and polyester. The company has extensive operations making creosote treated wood products, especially railroad ties and switches, utility poles, foundations, decking materials, and wooden panels. Koppers Holdings operates facilities in the US, Canada, the UK, Denmark, Australia, China and South Africa. The timber preservation industry in Australia has been a ‘moving feast’ over the last 10 years or so. “Take-overs and ownership of the various preservation chemical manufacturers has been as mixed as a bowl of spaghetti,” one
industry observer said. The Lonza Group, a Swiss supplier of pharmaceutical ingredients seeking to diversify its product lineup, purchased Arch Chemicals in July 2011 for $1.2 billion in cash. The Arch operation
TimTech Chemicals Ltd was launched in New Zealand in 2001 and a year later in Australia. Last year, TimTechChem International Ltd purchased the business, assets and IP of TimTech Chemicals. Chemcolour Industries (NZ) Ltd, a major shareholder in TimTechChem, manufacturers Cont P 6
ISSUE 314 | PAGE 3
INDUSTRY NEWS
Melbourne investment conference pushes for greater forest research R&D development and jobs are in serious decline
PLANS to revive Australia’s forest products research have been outlined at a national forestry investment conference in Melbourne. The Forest Investment and Market Outlook conference heard funding for forestry research and development has collapsed from a peak of $100 million to $25 million this year. The cuts have seen 200 forestry research and development jobs lost, leaving fewer than 80 positions in Australia. But Forests and Wood Products Australia statistics show forest and timber harvesting activity is starting to rise with demand for softwoods for Australian housing and for woodchips in China. FWPA managing director Ric Sinclair said the industry was now
looking at long-term investment in research to drive productivity gains. “One of the challenges of the forest sector is that it is long-term investment,” Mr Sinclair said. “Making the right investments at the start of the cycle is about achieving that productivity.
Making the right investments at the start of the cycle “Some mills are starting to lift volumes by going up extra shifts; some are investing in new equipment. “Productivity growth in the forests though is really a 15 to 30-year decision. “There’s a proposal at the
Ric Sinclair .. research to drive productivity gains.
moment by the Australian Forest Products Association to create a research institute. “This is a long-term proposal about holding the research capacity in a new structure, whether that is in one location or across several nodes.” Mr Sinclair said FWPA was also in the process of developing a bid for a CRC, “which is very much
focused on how we transform the sector, given that we know the future markets and what are the type of products that are required.” He added: “It’s really aimed on the principle that we know the trees that are in the ground, for the next 15 to 20 years, and we know their qualities. What is the best way to process those to ensure a sustainable and profitable sector? “There are three themes we are looking at – solid wood products, as well as engineered products and new engineered biomaterials.” Mr Sinclair said a lot of work was happening overseas with bio-plastics and bio-refinery precursory materials. “But in Australia, we don’t really know from the nature of our industry and the diversity of our resources how well we are suited to this new range of products.” The conference was organised by the Forest Industry Engineering Association.
Forest safety review framework decided
NEW Zealand’s independent forestry safety review panel has agreed on an operation framework and work is well under way on the development of a public consultation document. Panel chairman George Adams
said the framework would help the panel engage with industry stakeholders and the public. The panel has drawn from the work of the Independent Taskforce on Workplace Health and Safety.
Latest study reinforces value of forest industry
From P 2
University of Washington which found wood-based construction consumes less energy than concrete or steel and has benefits for carbon storage. “The study found that using wood products for construction consumes less energy than
PAGE 4 | ISSUE 314
steel or concrete and could save between 14% and 31% of global CO2 emissions,” Senator Colbeck said. “The report also found that burning scrap wood for energy would save about 12% to 19% of annual global fossil fuel consumption.”
2014 AROUND THE CIRCUIT MAY 2014
19: Frame Australia 2014 conference and exhibition. In conjunction with the Engineered Wood Products Association of Australasia. Venue: Park Hyatt Melbourne. The conference theme is pre-fabricated timber and wood products in residential and commercial construction, including trends to using timber panels for buildings up to 5 and 10 storeys high. International speakers will provide global updates on equipment technologies and construction trends for timber frame and truss and wood panel systems in building. The exhibition display comprises 23 exhibitors from Europe, North America and Australia. For more information visit www.frameaustralia.com
JUNE
11-12: Wood Flow Logistics 2014 – Rotorua, NZ. 17-18: Melbourne (www.woodflowlogistics.com). This series will add a number of components from the steep slope wood harvesting event and will provide a practical update on innovations, strategies and technologies used by leading forest products companies to improve their planning, logistics and operations within the wood supply chain – from forest through to market.
AUGUST 2014
5-6: MobileTECH 2014: Primary Industries Future. Brisbane. 12-13: Auckland, NZ (www.mobiletech2014.com).
These events will profile the latest mobile tools, technologies and innovations driving the future of primary industries (farming, horticulture, forestry, dairy, meat, wool, fisheries and mining). MobileTECH 2014 will showcase a wide range of mobile technologies and innovations, including smartphones, tablets, mobile apps, satellite mapping and communications, robotics, aerial drones, remote sensors, electronic tagging, intelligent data, M2M, real-time analytics and cloud-based platforms.
6-9: AWISA 2014 exhibition. Brisbane Convention and exhibition Centre. Displays of panel processing, solid wood and timber machinery, tooling, manufacturing software, plus ancillary products such as dust extraction and materials handling equipment. Opportunity forn the cabinet, kitchen, furniture, joinery, timber, fit-out and panel industries to inspect new equipment. Inquiries about booking space: email info@awisa.com or call Geoff Holland. Tel: (02) 9918 3661. Fax: (02) 9918 7764. Mob: 0412 361 580. Email: info@awisa.com 7-8: DANA conference, Melbourne. The Australian forestry and forest products sector: its situation in 2014 and trends going forward. Bayview Eden Hotel, Melbourne. Speakers: Gavin Hoe, RISI China; Oliver Lansdell, global pulp specialist; Rodrigo Monreal, solid wood products chief of Arauco, Chile;
Matthew Wood, CEO Stora Enso Australia; Russ Taylor, president of WOODMarkets; Peter Barynin, lead economist with Boston USA- based RISI; Peter Zed (Australian sawmilling sector); Simon Dories, general manager, Engineered Wood Products Association of Australasia; Ross Hampton, CEO, Forest and Wood Products Australia; Steve Whitley, CEO, Forestry Tasmania. Conference includes panel of overseas plantation investors. Contact Pamela Richards at pam@prcc. com.au or visit www.dana.co.nz
11-12: DANA conference, Rotorua, NZ. The New Zealand forestry and forest products sector: its situation in 2014 and trends going forward. Novotel Rotorua Hotel, Rotorua. Web: www.prcc.com.au/ danamelbourne2014. Conference consultant: Pam Richards 61 3 5781 0069. Email: pam@prcc.com.au
SEPTEMBER
17-18: Wood Innovations 2014: Timber Preservation – Wood Modification – Composite Products – Rotorua, NZ. 23-24: Melbourne. (www.woodinnovations2014. com). Changes in new wood treatment formulations, processes and systems, standards, legislation with the focus also on wood plastic composites and modified wood products.
19-20: ForestTECH 2014. Rotorua, NZ. 25-26: Melbourne. (www. foresttech2014.com). Remote sensing, field Inventory, forest estate planning.
INDUSTRY NEWS
THE AUSTRALIAN FOREST PRODUCTS ASSOCIATION The lead voice in Canberra on policy affecting forest, wood and paper products industries. AFPA strives to deliver benefits for the complete industry value chain including those involved in: • Forest growing • Harvest and haulage • Sawmilling and other wood processing • Pulp and paper processing • Forest product exporting
Join us today and share the benefits Call (02) 6285 3833
ISSUE 314 | PAGE 5
INDUSTRY NEWS
Koppers ‘strategic partner’ for Osmose: understanding complexities of industry Company history began in Germany in early 1930s
OSMOSE Australia was pleased to become affiliated with Koppers Holdings, a large strategic partner that has an understanding and appreciation of the unique complexities of the wood preservation industry, general manager Elias Akle said in a letter to clients.
Obtained world patents for the osmosis recipe “The extensive industry knowledge and experience of Koppers and Osmose will put the combined company in a unique position to provide Osmose customers with new products and technologies and expanded market opportunities,” he said. Mr Akle said Osmose Wood Preserving would continue to operate as it had with very little
visible change to customers and markets. Osmose’s history began in the early 1930s when Dr Carl Schmittutz of Bad Kissingen of Germany invented a process and formula for the preservation of wood. Dr Schmittutz soon obtained world-wide patents for his ‘osmosis’ process and formed the Osmose Wood Impregnating Company of Leipzig, Germany. Also during this time, New York-based F.W. Woolworth Company (commonly known as the ‘5 and 10’) was accumulating large reserves of capital in German banks through their highly successful stores all across Germany. Then in 1932, foreshadowing the advent of World War 2, the German government froze the transfer of German currency outside the country.
Elias Akle .. new products and technologies.
To circumvent this, Woolworth would somehow need to convert some of the profits they held in German marks to assets they could remove from Germany. As a result, the Woolworth Company purchased the world-wide patent rights to the wood preservative developed by Dr Schmittutz.
Back in New York, Woolworth executives were searching for a way to use the patent when Lewis Surdam, who headed up Woolworth’s midwest operation, took interest. Surdam soon found four other investors and on November 28, 1934, the Osmose Wood Preserving Corporation of America was incorporated. They then began marketing their patented wood preservation technology in the US and Canada out of a humble storefront in downtown Buffalo, New York. Business evolved and by the end of the 1950s Osmose grew into three distinct divisions – railroad services, utilities services, and wood preservation. Osmose Holdings, Inc. was formed in 2003. In 2012, Oaktree Capital Management, an investment management firm based in Los Angeles, acquired the company.
Sale gives wood preservation industry a shake-up From P 3
most of the timber preservation products. Kop-Coat combines the cumulative experience of two Fortune 500 companies –
PAGE 6
| ISSUE 314
Koppers Co., Inc. and RPM, Inc. In 1988, Koppers was divided into several companies; the wood preservation technology for sawmills and manufactured wood was consolidated in Kop-
Coat, an acronym for Koppers Coatings. In 1990, Kop-Coat joined the RPM family of specialty coatings companies, one of America’s largest coatings groups which
includes Rust-Oleum, DAP, Carboline, Tremco, and Stonhard. The RPM group gives Kop-Coat access to 40 related technical staffs and over 60 manufacturing sites worldwide.
PASSAGES
You’ll be sadly missed Christopher Yule
Wood preservation industry loses a trusted friend FRIENDS and colleagues of Chris Yule says his death at 68 has seen the wood preservation industry lose its guru in Australia’s timber transmission pole business. Well-known industry identity Alan Mann recalls: “When I joined the company, then Hickson Timber Impregnation Co. Pty Ltd, Chris was handling the Newcastle area and developing a market for treated timbers in the Hunter Valley area. “Before joining Hickson’s I had been competing for treated timber sales against Chris in that market. “We hadn’t done as well as we’d hoped. Soon after my arrival, Chris took me on a tour of the vineyards where I discovered that Chris’s fantastic relationship with his customers was the reason why I and my colleagues at Celcure had had such little success.
“During this time Chris operated from an office in the Philippines. “On his return to Sydney, he was appointed general manager of the wood products division, a position he held until his retirement in 2007. “He was an easy going, friendly man with a great sense of humour. Chris and I became quarter shareholders in a yacht. We had plans to sail the Pacific but it remained bobbing in Pittwater for most of its career, and our friendship survived even that fraught experience.
“He was a good colleague and a true friend, and a longtime and loyal member of the company and I’m grateful for what I learned from him and for my relationship with him on and off over our working lives together. “Goodbye Chris.” Sharon Swan added her thoughts: “When I first joined KAP at Chatswood I was working on the transmission pole tenders, recalculating the price variations on every individual pole in the contracts and Chris was the person I worked with, and there were
months and months of delayed calculations to do when I started. “I remember Chris as always being smartly dressed in a well-cut suit finished off with a bow tie and a kerchief in the pocket. I think golf was his big interest, but how good he was at chasing that small white ball I don’t know.” Friends, colleagues, family members and his wife Marilou celebrated the life of Chris Yule at a ceremony at the St Mary’s Catholic Church, North Sydney, last Thursday, April 17.
ColourWood Available Now!
‘I am grateful for what I learned from him’ “Dick Smith recalls interviewing Chris and then offering him the job of selling pit props and vineyard stakes out of the Hickson plant at Thornton into the Hunter Valley, and later the nights out they had together in cities throughout Asia as Chris developed the Koppers wood pole export business.
China anti-dumping duty on pulp imports
CHINA’S Ministry of Commerce will impose anti-dumping duties on cellulose pulp imported from the US, Canada and Brazil. The duties will last for five years and follow an anti-dumping probe launched in February last year that showed these imports had substantially damaged the domestic industry.
Fencing Products
Landscaping Timber
Decking
Making life easier! Protection against decay and termites with the inclusion of a built in brown colour. The deep rich brown appearance provides a finish that is similar to popular hardwoods. In exterior applications, the appearance will slowly weather to a warm honey brown and in the longer term like popular hardwoods will become a natural silver grey. Suitable in exterior applications such as pergolas, balconies and decks, fencing and landscaping projects where built-in colour is desired at the point of installation. Environmentally friendly and ideally suited for use around families, playgrounds, schools, recreational areas and national parks. Single step custom treatment service also available. Proudly supported by:
LONZA WOOD PROTECTION
Produced by:
ColourWood
www.outdoortimber.com.au 1300 TREATED
ISSUE 314 | PAGE 7
INDUSTRY NEWS
The ETS now on life support
New Zealand has met its obligations by a whisker FROM 2008 to 2012, New Zealand’s 25% increase in carbon emissions was masked by carbon stored in forests planted in the 1990s. As these trees are harvested, forestry will move from being a carbon sink to being a carbon source “At that point, New Zealand’s environmental credentials will be delivered a double whammy,” says Forest Owners Association chief executive David Rhodes.
ETS is meant to encourage good behaviour “Our steady increases in gross emissions will no longer be masked by forestry and indeed, forestry emissions will add to the negative ledger.”
Mr Rhodes says the government is portraying the ETS as a success because the Crown had a surplus of credits at the end of 2012. “But that has little or nothing to with the ETS,” he says. “It’s all due to a boom in forest planting in the 1990s. Since then we have moved to net deforestation, a trend that appears to be gathering pace.” In its report to the United Nations Climate Change Convention in December last year, the government predicted the line from carbon sink to carbon source would be crossed in 2017. “With large areas of harvested forest lying fallow and tree nurseries reporting falling demand for seedlings, Mr Rhodes says this line could be crossed much earlier than
life support. It’s meant to be a vibrant and alive, encouraging good behaviour like planting trees and discouraging excessive emissions, but it’s not achieving anything.
Government needs to provide income stream from carbon
David Rhodes .. ETS is not achieving anything.
this. It may have occurred already. “New Zealand has escaped by a whisker,” he said. “The Kyoto reporting years from 2008-2012 portray the ETS in a good light, so long as you don’t look too closely. “Our ETS is like a patient on
“If the government truly believes the planting of new forests is a good thing for New Zealand – as it has said so many times – it needs to provide forest owners with an income stream from carbon. A good example is California which has just issued its first carbon credits to a forest owner. “Forest offset credits there are selling for $US10 a tonne. In New Zealand, a forest owner would struggle to get more than $NZ3 a tonne.”
Home building activity on the road to recovery
Being a TABMA member gives you: • Group buying discounts • Assistance with the placement of trainees & apprentices • CoC certification advice • Industry specific staff recruitment at competitive rates • National networking opportunities • An exclusive trade credit insurance plan • Technical advice and assistance • Industrial relations advice • WH&S audits • Annual Timber Industry Dinner Call 1800 822 621 for membership enquiries PAGE 8
| ISSUE 314
NEW ABS housing data points to an ongoing new home building recovery. In seasonally adjusted terms, the number of dwelling commencements increased by 8.2% in the final quarter of 2013. Detached house commencements declined by 0.7% in the December quarter of 2013 while multi-unit commencements increased by 21.3% in the quarter. “The ABS figures provide confirmation of what leading indicators had been implying – the new home building industry rounded out 2013 on a strong note,” HIA economist Geordan Murray said. “Original figures show there were 47,326 dwellings commenced in the December quarter, which was the
strongest quarterly result since 2002, even surpassing the highs during the period impacted by the GFC stimulus.” Mr Murray said throughout the duration of the recovery to date, growth had been driven primarily by the NSW and WA markets. Given that the level of activity in these two markets had now reached historic highs, growth beyond the current levels could be more difficult. But the most notable contributor to the strong growth in dwelling commencements in the December quarter was Victoria, where commencement numbers jumped 11.3% in the quarter owing to a 33% jump in multiunit commencements
INDUSTRY NEWS
Experienced team develops plan for sector investment
THE team of four consultants appointed by the Queensland Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry to support an industry-based advisory committee has broad experience in the forest management and the forest products sector. The team will assist the committee to develop a research, development and extension strategic investment plan for the Queensland forest and timber industry sector. Led by Braden Jenkin, managing director of Sylva Systems Pty Ltd, team members include Dr Lyndall Bull, principal, Lynea Advisory; Dr Michael Blyth, director, Four Scenes Pty Ltd; and Dr Russell Haines, a private consultant. The collective experience of the team includes domestic and international research, development and extension across the whole supply chain of forest products, through processing and the supply of goods into the market. Based on previous senior roles in a range of blue chip research providers, the team has a thorough understanding of the process of developing research questions and the detailed research programs to address
and solve the questions on behalf of the target beneficiaries. “This is underpinned by experience held by some team members in the commercial and operational aspects of forest management and forest products as a business,” Braden Jenkin said. Development of the investment plan will help ensure that future forest and timber industry sector RD&E investment is aligned with industry priorities. In particular, the plan will guide investment of $1.4 million by the state government over two years in response to the industry plan to align current RD&E with identified future directions, in addition to existing funding of around $3 million a year. Mr Jenkin said the team had received comprehensive early responses following interviews with sector stakeholders. “The committee is interested in the views of sector participants (from the forest to the final products) on current and future issues and needs which could be addressed and improved through investment in R&D and extension,” Mr Jenkin said. Editor’s note: Titles given to the consultants in T&F enews, P. 9, issue 312, were in error.
Sunshine AusTIS lunch in Brisbane
Timber & Forestry e-news is the most authoritative and uickest deliverer of news and special features to the forest and forest products industries in Australia, New Zealand and the Asia-Pacific region. Weekly distribution is over copies, delivered every Monday. Advertising rates are the most competitive of any industry magazine in the region. Timber&Forestry e-news hits your target market – every week, every Monday
HEAD OFFICE Correspondence to Custom Publishing Group P o rmeau Phone PUBLISHER ennis Macready Phone dennis@industrye-news.com
MANAGING EDITOR ditorial correspondence to im owden P o amilton Central Phone Mobile cancon@bigpond.net.au ADVERTISING Phone im Phone ennis dennis@industrye-news.com
ENJOYING a lunch at Tattersall’s Club Brisbane to celebrate 32 years since the Sunshine AusTIS 82 (Australian Timber Industry Stabilisation Conference) was held in Caloundra are members of the original committee – foresters Keith Jennings, Dr Gary Bacon and Dick Pegg and timber journalist Jim Bowden (standing right).
pinions e pressed on Timber & Forestry e news are not necessarily the opinions of the editor, publisher or staff. We do not accept responsibility for any damage resulting from inaccuracies in editorial or advertising. The Publisher is therefore indemnified against all actions, suits, claims or damages resulting from content on this e news. Content cannot be reproduced without the prior consent of the Publisher - Custom Publishing Group.
ISSUE 314 | PAGE 9
INDUSTRY NEWS
Hodgman beats up new state forest plan in Japan trade talks
Ta Ann position on wood supply made clear to customers TASMANIA’S newly-elected premier promoted the state’s new forest industry plan to Japanese interests on a trade mission this month. The bulk of Will Hodgman’s trade talks related to forestry interests. Mr Hodgman said FSC certification was an important part of the plan, despite concerns that the Liberal plan to open up 400,000 ha to future logging would threaten the sough-after FSC status. Areas described as contentious would be “ringfenced” and kept aside and used after at least six years, if needed, Mr Hodgman said.
Smart way of attacking the resource issue That land would be managed by Crown Land Services instead of Forestry Tasmania, reducing the certification risk to FT. “Our plan guarantees that it will not be compromised and we have proposed a smart way of attacking the issue of providing resource security,” he said.
Will Hodgman .. reducing the certification risk.
Evan Roilley .. company will meet its obligations.
Mr Hodgman said paper, which uses woodchips, would be the biggest use for Japan but there was potential in re-engineered timbers and high-level products including furniture. “We’re talking about the largest economies in the world, with a voracious appetite for quality product,” he said. Veneer producer Ta Ann Tasmania has welcomed the opportunity of Will Hodgman’s visit overseas to meet with customers in the company’s Japanese markets. Executive director Evan Rolley
said national and international markets needed certainty and stability in resource supply and hearing first hand from the new government was vital to improving understanding of what forest policies would specifically mean for customers. “It was made very clear to Ta Ann Tasmania’s customers that wood supply agreements which the company entered into, which had been based on the agreed forest areas of supply under the Tasmanian Forest Agreement, would be strictly honoured by the new government,” Mr Rolley said.
“Customers of Tasmanian hardwood high value products were assured that the new state government was confident and supportive of Forestry Tasmania making progress to achieve FSC, which the Japanese customers strongly appreciate.” Ta Ann Tasmania has assured its customers of its commitments to meet lawful supplies under the terms of the Tasmanian Forest Agreement legislation and the surrender agreement with the federal government. The company can also meet its obligations under the amended wood supply contracts with Forestry Tasmania to only process logs from the agreed forest supply areas (agreed by the signatory environmental groups to the TFA) for the term of its contracts which expire in 2028. Ta Ann Tasmania has obligations to work closely with governments and it has reconfirmed that it will continue to work closely with all stakeholders including the ENGOs with whom it has support for its current wood supply arrangements.
Don’t WASTE an Opportunity FR See AM yo EA ua us t .. tra lia PAGE 10 | ISSUE 314
Loggo Pty Ltd has developed possibly the world’s CHEAPEST and most COST-EFFICIENT engineered wood product for floor and house frame building. A world breakthrough in EWP technology .. a proven concept in its infancy set to revolutionise production costs using the ‘throw-away’ waste timber market. Joint venture partnerships as well as license agreements will be considered.
Don’t WASTE time visit www.loggo.com.au
Engineered Timber Products
ENGINEERED WOOD
High density in the suburbs
The future of affordable medium- rise housing
INCREASED density of housing in the middle suburbs surrounding city centres is becoming the strategy for growth in most states. This increase in density can take many forms including medium-rise housing of around five levels. However, this type of construction can only occur if it is economically viable for a developer to undertake the project.
Creating an affordable housing choice Prefabricated timber panel systems have become the preferred building method in residential construction projects by Australand Property Group, with a 57 apartment, five-storey building in Parkville completed in only 11 months.
Density in the ‘burbs .. prefabricated timber panel systems have become the preferred building method in residential construction.
This all-timber project will be a topic of discussion at the Frame Australia 2014 conference and exhibition to be held at Park Hyatt Melbourne on Monday, May 19, titled ‘Prefabricated Timber and Engineered Wood in Construction’. Craig Muse, Australand’s built form development director, said in particular the
lightweight prefabricated floor cassette system was a fast and safe method of structural floor erection that resulted in a significant reduction in construction programming, and lowered overall development costs. “This method of construction takes full advantage of utilising domestic labour and materials,
which in turn produces more cost effective building developments for large-scale residential projects,” Mr Muse said. “We achieve savings in the order of up to 25% when compared to concrete. This cost advantage will bring more medium-rise, pre-fabricated timber apartment buildings to the suburbs and revitalise sites previously unviable; it will create an affordable housing choice that middle Australia can afford to buy”. Australand will be presenting construction details of its fivestorey timber framed Parkville project at the conference, along with a presentation by Tilling SmartStruct the designers and suppliers of the Tecbeam joist engineered timber panel systems used. For more information visit www.frameaustralia.com
Engineered Wood Products Association of Australasia Plywood House, 3 Dunlop Street, 4006 Queensland Australia Tel: 61 7 3250 3700 Fax: 61 7 3252 4769 Email: inbox@ewp.asn.,au Web: www.ewp.asn.au
ISSUE 314 | PAGE 11
INDUSTRY NEWS
Forest jobs on the line in South Australia as new minister says ‘let’s see what happens’ SOUTH AUSTRALIA’S Forests Minister Leon Bignell has confirmed Forestry SA may have to cut almost 100 jobs in South Australia over the next two years. Meeting with Forestry SA officials at Mount Gambier, Mr Bignell said the government would now consider the organisation’s proposed cuts.
Forest SA wants government OK to cut workforce “Forestry SA obviously has a view that they want to reduce the workforce here by 45 staff next year and 50 the year after to save between $8.5 and $9 million,” Mr Bignell said in an ABC News report. The minister says he plans to meet the forestry workers’ union, the CFMEU, to hear its
PAGE 12 | ISSUE 314
concerns. The union says it was told at a meeting with Forestry SA last week that the organisation wanted government approval to halve its workforce within a year and use more contract work. Union official Brad Coates fears up to 150 jobs could be at risk across the southeast, mid-north and Adelaide Hills regions. “The other concerning thing is that the government has reduced the redundancy entitlements for a public sector employee, dropping the level of redundancies from 116 weeks down to 52 weeks so if these redundancies go ahead then they would only be entitled to half of what they would currently,” he said. Mr Coates says any redundancies would be a breach of government
Leon Bignell .. government will honour its commitments.
promises. “The Government made some very strong commitments during the forward sales process to maintain the current level of employees with Forestry SA,” he said. Leon Bignell says the government will honour its
commitments but has stopped short of saying the jobs are safe. “What we’ve agreed to do, given I’m a new minister in the role, is to go over all those commitments that were made and to see what can happen from here on in,” he said. South Australia’s new agriculture minister has a strong stance on genetically modified crops. The Member for Mawson, Leon Bignell has taken on the agriculture, food, forestry and fisheries portfolio in addition to tourism and sport in the new Cabinet announced by Premier Jay Weatherill. The 12-year-incumbent Australian Labor Party government won its fourth consecutive four-year term at the March 14 election, defeating the Opposition Liberal Party led by Steven Marshall.
HHI JIV CONVENTION
Bunch of happy Hoo-Hoos gathered in banana capital for JIV convention
New committee elected to boost Norton Ladkin Award HOO-HOO cats went bananas in Coffs Harbour this month when a bunch of JIV members peeled away inhibitions to celebrate their 44th annual convention in the mid-north coast NSW city. More than 50 members from every state along with HooHoos from New Zealand and the US gathered at the Novel Pacific Bay Resort, not far from the Big Banana, a popular tourist attraction that promotes the region’s iconic status as the hub of Australia’s banana industry. A busy program from April 3 to 6 included the president’s barbecue dinner, Hoo-Hoo International Jurisdiction IV annual general meeting and convention dinner, the ‘HooHoo Challenge’ and visits to a H2 treated frame and truss plant operated by the O’Brien family, timber pioneers in the region. JIV president Pieter Verlinden of Brisbane Hoo-Hoo Club 218 will stand for another year and Heather Gattone of Sydney Hoo-Hoo Club 215 has accepted the position of first vice-president. The AGM agreed to rejuvenate the Norton Ladkin Fellowship Award and submissions for a special awards committee are being considered. The awards recognise a dedicated career and service to the timber and forest industry by the late Norton Ladkin. The first chief executive of the Radiata Pine Association of Australia, Mr Ladkin made significant contributions to the establishment and acceptance of radiata in the southern hemisphere. He was a great supporter of Hoo-Hoo, playing a key role in the establishment of the order in Australia. When Jurisdiction IV was designated in 1970, Mr Ladkin was elected inaugural president.
Deputy Mayor of Coff’s Harbour Rodney Degens (left) gets the Hoo-Hoo message from re-elected JIV president Pieter Verlinden.
Happy couple .. Norm and Leila Forbes from Bribie Island.
Val and Slim Fennell from Mount Gambier Club 214.
Top bananas in Hoo-Hoo Doug Maurie and Kathy Drewer of and Sigrid Howick, representing Mount Gambier Club 214 get in Melbourne Club 217. the mood at Coffs Harbour.
JIV convention award winners: Convention Attendance: Mount Gambier 214. Club Media Award: Brisbane Club 218 Meeting Attendance: Mount Gambier 214 Newsletter: Auckland 248 (Area 8) Club President’s Report: Alfred Chapple, Brisbane Club 218. Club Activity: Hobart 235. Club Meeting Attendance: NW Tasmania 272. Vicegerent Snark Shield: John Scholtens, Auckland Club 248. Charity Award: Auckland Club 248. Hoo-Hoo Challenge: John Scholtens, Auckland 248. An idea floated by North East Victoria Hoo-Hoo Club 236 to stage the 2015 JIV Hoo-Hoo Convention aboard ship was unanimously supported. The club will host the cruise from Brisbane to tourist ports and islands in north Queensland, departing on March 28 and returning on April 4. JIV secretary Trish Waters said while bookings would be taken after May 20 next year, the prices listed could not be guaranteed beyond this date. Contact Trish on 0418 358 501 or for bookings and information email Nicci Bettles at nbettles@ mtatravel.com.au
The Cats Get Wet
North East Victoria Hoo-Hoo Club 236 Convention Cruise
All smiles at Coffs .. Jeff and The Merry Morlings .. Lindsay Jenny Loton, Leschenaultia Club and Lorraine from Launceston 274. Club 239.
45th annual JIV HHI Convention March 28-April 4, 2015 Bookings, inquiries: nbettles@mtatravel.com.au
ISSUE 314 | PAGE 13
HHI JIV CONVENTION Pictures by HEATHER LUCK
The days of wine and bananas .. Hoo-Hoo Challenge team David Didwell, Mount Gambier Club 214, Ray Lamari, Far North Queensland Club 261 (VG Snark Area 4 and Rameses 97), Doug Howick, Melbourne Club 215, and Ali McGregor and John Scholtens, Auckland Club 248.
Relaxing at the convention .. Julie James, wife of Melbourne Club 217 president Garrie James, and US Hoo-Hoo Gary Gamble from the famous Black Bart Club 181, which serves the northern bay area of California.
Conventioneers .. Jenny Wiseman, Auckland Club 248 and Harvey Stack, Leschenaultia Club 274.
Danny and Angela Gattone, representing Sydney Hoo-Hoo Club 215.
PAGE 14 | ISSUE 314
Hoo-Hoo ladies coming up through the bunch .. Angela Gattone and Heather Gattone, Sydney Club 215, and Sigrid Howick, wife of Hoo-Hoo historian Doug Howick of Melbourne Club 217.
Catching up at Coffs .. Helen and Tarmo Toreinus of Hobart Club 235, and Norm Forbes, Bribie Is, Qld, member at large.
JIV board chair Val Fennell and Maurie Drewer, both from Mount Gambier Club 214.
Enjoying the start of the HHI JIV convention in Coffs Harbour .. Grant Williams, North East Victoria Club 236, and Pat Shelton and Ron Harrington, Ballarat Club 256.
Banana benders at the convention .. Brisbane Club 218 president Alfred Chapple and supportive wife Beverley.
Supporting the attendance strength from Mount Gambier Club 214 are Lew and Robyn Parsons.
Melbourne Club 217 president Garrie James ‘treats’ his wife Julie to a stay in Coff’s Harbour.
Joining in the convention fun .. Jenny and Jeff Loton, Leschenaultia Club 264 and Colin and Raylee Moreland, Mount Gambier Club 214.
INTERNATIONAL FOCUS
Global forest biomass industry pushes sustainability credentials Call for detailed independent audits with third parties
THE global biomass industry is pushing for a standardised form of sustainability criteria for solid biomass, according to panelists at the Argus European Biomass Trading conference held in London this month. A stable policy framework was the most important economics issue, Belgium-based energy research centre Laborelec’s chief technology officer Yves Rykmans said. Environmental issues such as climate change as well as social issues such as health and safety also needed to be continuously addressed in order for the industry to adopt and maintain a standardised form of sustainability criteria. European biomass association AEBIOM is involved in a continuing debate with the European Commission to develop forest sustainability criteria. The US had a sustainable supply of wood and forest
The biomass industry should not set itself apart from the mainstream forest sector.
certifications that had provided the country with “accredited and transparent assurance of sustainable land management”, US wood pellet producer Enviva’s director of marketing and communications Elizabeth Woodworth said. But the country’s states and counties employ very different market dynamics, and the vast
network of privately-owned forests means it might be difficult to track sustainability in the case of a standardised form of criteria being introduced, she warned. “The biomass industry should not set itself apart from the mainstream forest sector,” Sustainable Biomass Partnership director Peter Wilson said. The SBP is piloting sustainability for
the industry, and Wilson says there needs to be more of an uptake of forest certification in wood baskets. SBP’s aim was to develop a biomass assurance framework and create SBP-certified biomass. Danish state-owned Dong Energy hopes to be able to use SBP-certified biomass this time next year, Dong thermal power asset management and development director Jens Price Wolf said. “Aside from the consensus that forest certification is a necessity, the industry needs to show that it is sustainable by reporting how it uses biomass and what type of biomass it uses, as well as carrying out detailed independent audits with third parties,” UK Department of Energy and Climate Change senior policy adviser Elizabeth McDonnell said. – Canadian Biomass
North American lumber industry ‘looking solid again’: Rabobank
AS US housing, and more importantly housing starts, continue to recover, the North American softwood lumber industry is expected to see both demand and price increases. The current outlook of Rabobank Food and Agribusiness Research is very optimistic, but the bank notes a number of potential challenges. A severe decline in housing demand in the US was a key reason for the lumber market crash in 2009 “US lumber production and imports are constrained at the moment,” says Rabobank analyst James De Jong, the report’s author.
Housing upswing in the US .. softwood lumber benefits from recovery.
“This limited supply, in addition to overall economic recovery, is the reason we expect to see softwood lumber prices increase 10 to 15% over the next two years.
“The biggest challenges we see are the headwinds in the Chinese economy and the US housing market transition. “The housing market in particular is still in a significant
transition. The adjustment from an investor-led recovery to one driven by ‘real’ homebuyers will create bumps in the road but our expectation is that this will affect, but not derail, the lumber recovery.” Rabobank Group is a global financial services leader providing wholesale and retail banking, agricultural financing, leasing, real estate services, and renewable energy project financing. Founded over a century ago, Rabobank is one of the largest banks in the world, with nearly $1 trillion in assets and operations in more than 40 countries, and ranks among the safest banks in the world.
ISSUE 314 | PAGE 15
297x210mm Vertical 254x93mm Horizontal 125x190mm Vertical 125x93mm Horizontal 73x190mm Horizontal 73x190mm Vertical 140x44.5mm 110 Vertical 34x44.5mm
297x210mm Vertical 254x93mm Horizontal 125x190mm Vertical 125x93mm Horizontal 51x93mm
PAGE 16 | ISSUE 314