NZ Logger March 2021 by nzlogger

March 2021

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FIXING A FALLEN CROWN

ISSN 2703-6251

The fight against wildings continues

Last of the Kauri Bushmen

Just how many logging crews are there in NZ?

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contents MARCH 2021

FOREST TALK Consolidating trade access to China; Billion-dollar milestone; Marlborough celebrates 50 years of forestry; ‘Oldfashioned government interference’; Self-loading truck impresses; Revival of the West Coast logging industry; Drawing women to forestry; Southstar NZ takes on Logmax; Changes underway at CablePrice; Forestry awards return. SHAW’S WIRE ROPES FOREST FOCUS Mike Hurring had a secret weapon up his sleeve when he tendered to

harvest the entire Douglas-fir forest on the lower slopes of the famous Coronet Peak ski field – a lightweight and compact European tower hauler that makes an ideal tool for dragging in trees from steep and difficult country. 32

BREAKING OUT: LAST OF THE KAURI BUSHMEN Paul Mahoney, historian for DOC with a passion for our industry, takes us back to view the lives of the Kauri bushmen of the Kauaeranga from 1918-1928; revisiting his own journey of discovery of this fascinating piece of New Zealand logging history.

SPECIAL FEATURE: LOGGING SURVEY Researchers at the School of Forestry, University of Canterbury, managed to pin down just how many logging crews there are in New Zealand and ask what a used forestry machine is really worth.

DEPARTMENTS 2 editorial 44 fica 46 top spot 48 new iron 53 classifieds

March 2021 | NZ LOGGER 1

from the editor

March 2021

Where’s that list?

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FIXING CROWN

A FALLEN

ISSN 1176-0397

PHOTO: JOHN ELLEGARD

The fight against wildings continues

Just how many logging crews are there in NZ?

Last of the Kauri Bushmen

The lightweight, compact dimensions of the Koller K602 self-propelled hauler make it ideal for working on the fragile soils of the Coronet Forest.

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2 NZ LOGGER | March 2021

AS WE GO TO PRINT, AUCKLAND COMES OUT OF A THREE-DAY LEVEL 3 COVID lockdown, with the rest of the country at Level 2. Nothing remarkable there you may say as we all grow COVID-weary. But what is remarkable is that forestry, New Zealand’s third largest export, is still not seen as an essential service – and there is no essential update list in sight since it was last updated in May 2020. FICA CEO, Prue Younger, says this is “discrimination against forestry as a primary industry”. Her solution is to gain pre-approval for exemption for future lockdowns “given we have a full and credible set of Industry Protocols around Level 3 working”. Though the industry was able to continue working within those protocols, borders are relatively new in regional lockdowns and workers were not able to travel beyond the Auckland border to work or travel into the Auckland lockdown area. Given the remote nature of forestry, it isn’t hard to see why this is problematic. “They let truck drivers transfer backwards and forwards, so what makes them any different to our workforce operating at practical and safe guidelines?” Ms Younger asks. She is quick to point out that health considerations will, of course, drive any decisions. Granted, with a relatively short lockdown this time the effect was minimal, though still putting pressure on meeting crew and production targets. Of course this could still have a knock-on effect with thousands of dollar per day port charges if ships cannot be loaded in time. The Forest Industry Safety Council’s, Fiona Ewing, adds that the stress and mental health issues caused by the uncertainties around COVID-19, and the difficulties with the exemption processes required to travel across regional boundaries, have not been fully recognised. With new virus strains and longer lockdowns ever looming large, that essential update list for forestry is needed more than ever. Projects like the one highlighted in our Forest Focus feature this month illustrate why. In lieu of an Iron Test, we take a look at Mike Hurring Logging’s ambitious project to harvest the entire Douglas-fir forest on the lower slopes of the famous Coronet Peak ski field in order to prevent wilding pines spreading. When you turn the page, you’ll see they don’t make trees like they used to, as we go on a fascinating journey through the lives of the Kauri bushmen. And if you’ve ever wondered how many logging crews are out there in NZ or what a used forestry machine is really worth, our Special Feature might offer a few surprises. Until next time, stay safe.

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forest talk

Consolidating trade access to China THE RECENT UPGRADE OF THE CHINA Free Trade Agreement is a much awaited and vital step for the future of New Zealand primary exports globally, says the Forest Owners Association (FOA). Our forest and wood products industry exports $3.3 billion of forest products a year to China. Like most of the other parts of the primary sector, forestry relies heavily on China, says FOA President, Phil Taylor. “New Zealand signing the Upgrade on the Free Trade Agreement, not only brings immediate benefits to our industry, but is a reminder of the value of mutually agreed rules-based trade agreements globally. “The first impact in China will be through lower duties and streamlined documentation. In the longer term, it consolidates our trade access into China and opens the way for more processed timber exports going there and increasing our current 10% of imported market share in China of forest products. “Our industry participated in a major forest industry delegation to China in 2018, to play our role in improving our access to China, and this government-led effort then is producing results now.”

He adds that the global significance of the Upgrade lies in the context of threats to free trade in the post-COVID trading world: “Protectionism was gaining traction in so many countries before the pandemic, and it’s showing many signs of now getting worse in economies hit hard by COVID. “The New Zealand forest industry has been identified by government as increasing further processed exports by $2.6 billion in the next ten years. Our government needs to make sure that the markets which have the potential to buy these exports are not closed to us. More rules-based trade deals to keep those doors open are vital.” The upgraded free trade agreement is part of the Government’s Trade Recovery Strategy, in response to the economic shock of COVID-19. Key outcomes of the upgrade include new rules that will make exporting to China easier and reduce compliance costs for New Zealand exports, a better deal for our services exporters through expanded market access and most-favoured nation commitments, and the introduction of environmental considerations – the most ambitious trade

and environment chapter and the highest level of commitment that China has agreed in any FTA, says Minister for Trade and Export Growth, Damien O’Connor. The upgrade will also mean that 99% of New Zealand’s nearly $3 billion wood and paper trade to China will have tariff-free access to China. China is New Zealand’s largest trading partner, with two-way goods and services trade now exceeding $32 billion a year. NZL

FOA President, Phil Taylor.

Billion-dollar milestone FORESTRY AND ECONOMIC AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Minister, Stuart Nash, says the Provincial Development Unit (PDU) has now invested $1.26 billion in regional projects since 2018, working alongside councils, iwi, businesses, primary producers and community groups. “The PDU looks after eight distinct funds and manages more than 1,700 projects worth $4.460 billion across the country,” Mr Nash says. “It is central to our COVID-19 recovery plans which prioritise infrastructure, jobs and businesses. “Each region in New Zealand faces its own set of challenges, be it tourism infrastructure or water storage, skills training or airports, digital connectivity or marae development. The PDU was established to overcome the growing disparity between regions and major cities. “Northland, where the need is great, tops the list for regional projects, at $298 million, followed by the Bay of Plenty with over $176 million and Tairawhiti with $105 million. “Across the various sectors, tourism, skills training, forestry, rail and road projects make up the top five for government support in partnership with local communities and agencies.

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“The PDU manages $558 million in tourism related projects and has paid out $169 million so far around the country. In training and employment projects $497 million has been committed, with $129 million paid out. “In forestry $438 million is committed with $94 million paid out. Other sectors prioritised for support are small-scale water storage, aquaculture, agriculture, manufacturing and engineering, digital connectivity, energy, and airports. “The PDU also recently had its first loan to a horticulture business in Northland paid back in full, a little over a year since the $2.28 million loan was taken out. “The PDU is getting support to the regions where it is most needed. The one billion dollar milestone indicates that hundreds of projects the PDU manages are on track and that the full economic and social potential of our regions can be realised. “Projects are at different stages of implementation, and will take time to come to fruition, so the full benefits can be realised. Some of these initiatives will be real game-changers for their area and the communities that live there,” Mr Nash says. NZL

Marlborough celebrates 50 years of forestry

Above left: BEL Forestry tethered ground-based harvesting operation in Koromiko Above right: Tethered falling machine felling 30-year-old pruned stand in Speeds Road, Koromiko STYLE BACK IN IN THE LATE 1960s, SOME forward thinking people in Marlborough’s then local government bodies thought it would be a good idea to plant pine trees on large tracts of unproductive land to promote soil stabilisation and to generate funding from logging. In 1995 revenue from logging started to be realised, taking financial pressure off the region’s ratepayers and generating funds for a wide range of community facilities and projects. That original vision has reaped enormous rewards for the Marlborough region, says Councillor Gerald Hope, who chairs the Marlborough Regional Forestry Joint Committee. “Marlborough was lucky to have had forward thinkers such as Mayor Sid Harling who chaired the Marlborough Local Bodies Forestry Committee from May 1968. The committee’s arguments were persuasive but they had to jump through many hoops to get the idea off the ground. There were councillors to persuade on the four Marlborough councils and the Kaikōura County Council, and money had to be borrowed to pay for land purchases,” he says. “Ultimately, and through the great assistance of local MP Doug Kidd, the Marlborough Forestry Corporation Act was passed on 13 November 1970 in Parliament, creating a body corporate to establish and manage the forests. “Profits from successful harvests of our publicly-owned forests have benefitted major projects across the region, including helping meet the cost of the Picton and Renwick sewerage services, the Southern Valleys’ irrigation project and the Marlborough Convention Centre,” Mr Hope says. “In the nine years since 2012, Marlborough

has received $24.7M in contributions from Marlborough Regional Forestry. Recent log earnings have helped fund the new Picton Library and Service Centre, the Quays riverside redevelopment in Blenheim, water supply services, the Queen Charlotte Track and the Tuia 250 commemorations. “We have a current balance of $13.78M from forestry and land development, much of which is already allocated to community projects over the next few years. This sum will be needed as we are currently in between log harvest cycles,” he adds. The Marlborough Regional Forestry estate, at 5,011 hectares, is on the North Bank of the Wairau River on either side of State Highway 1. Of the total, 1,438 hectares is native forest managed for conservation purposes, with 3,355 hectares of mostly Pinus radiata planted in six forestry blocks. The largest tract is east of Koromiko and includes three blocks: Koromiko, Strachan and Pukaka. It encompasses the south end of the Robertson Range, about half of the Pukaka Stream catchment and foothills east of the Tuamarina River. On the western side of the river are two blocks: Speeds and Para, composed of hill country rising from the valley floor to mountainous conservation land behind. To the south-west is the Waikakaho Block, an area of hill country that spans both sides of the lower Waikakaho River. The native bush areas include a Significant Natural Area of 511.7 ha and a QEII National Trust covenant of 115.8 ha. Sid Harling died in 1977 and was replaced by Bill Bown, then George Robb (1983) and Tom Hickman (1989). The Marlborough Forestry

Corporation Act was repealed in July 1996 and ownership of its assets was vested in the Marlborough District Council and Kaikōura District Council, with shares split 88.62% to Marlborough and 11.38% to Kaikoura. Marlborough Regional Forestry contracts forestry specialists, Merrill and Ring, to manage the forests on ratepayers’ behalf. NZL

Eight-year-old Pinus radiata pruned up to 5.6m in Waikakaho Forest.

Two-year-old Pinus radiata in Waikakaho Forest.

March 2021 | NZ LOGGER 5

forest talk

‘Old-fashioned government interference’ THE WAIROA DISTRICT COUNCIL (WDC) HAS IMPOSED A differential rate on forestry to raise an extra $334,000 a year because of what it calls ‘negative wellbeing effects’ from forestry, compared with hill country farming. At a meeting to discuss a differential rating targeting forestry, it was disclosed that the Council was providing a rebate of $150,000 a year to the Talley’s owned AFFCO works in Wairoa. Foresters in the Wairoa District are appalled that a part of their recent rate increase will go to propping up the local meatworks, says Forest Owners Association (FOA) President, Phil Taylor. He says foresters are prepared to pay a fair share of the rates, but as well as the Council failing to objectively examine the contribution forestry made to the Wairoa economy, the Council was effectively extracting money from forests to give to the local farming industry. He says the WDC is not considering any of the evidence of economic, social and environmental contributions from forestry – all of which make for positive well-being effects. “While the Council says an economic report on Wairoa, written by BakerAg and commissioned by Beef + Lamb in 2019, vindicates the Council backing farming, the report actually stated that, ‘the typical sheep and beef farm was found to be unable to compete with forestry returns over a 60-year period’.” Mr Taylor says another report, more recently commissioned by MPI and written by PricewaterhouseCoopers, had concluded that forestry’s value chain impact was much higher than that of farming hill country. “PwC worked out that the value-add by land use from forestry is nearly three times higher than from sheep and beef farming. The forestry labour force is twice as large.” “That is a huge difference. How the WDC can ignore that report I don’t know. They do have it. We sent them a copy.” He adds that the evidence on the ground in Wairoa also shows

forestry is beneficial for rural communities. “We’ve had a lot of news stories over the past couple of years about Wairoa farmland being turned into forests and how they are destroying the community.” “But the Real Estate Institute has just disclosed that house price increases in Wairoa in 2020 were the highest in New Zealand. The Wairoa Council has disclosed the population in Wairoa is increasing and the value of building consents in 2019-2020 was higher than in 2018-2019. “All the evidence is that forestry is economically, socially and environmentally good for Wairoa and towns like it. “Even just considering the effect of forests reducing the flood risk is major. The Wairoa River has flooded devastatingly a number of times. The main highway bridge was washed away in Cyclone Bola. Forests reduce that risk. The Council seems blind to these benefits.” “The Council should consider a more equitable road rating formula, based on facts and hard data, rather than relying on ‘anecdotal evidence’ which it admits to following at the moment. “The Council has made the inequity worse by exempting farm woodlots. Farmers won’t have to pay any extra rate for their trees. The Council thinks the roads the logs will travel on will know the difference. “Our industry last year vigorously opposed an attempt by the then Minister of Forests, Shane Jones, to tax forestry to subsidise domestic timber processing. The Wairoa Council is taxing forestry to subsidise farm processing. It’s the same old-fashioned government interference for which the community ultimately has to pay.” Mr Taylor says under the Local Government Act the Wairoa Council is required to take into account the diversity of interests in the community. “Instead, it has just listened to one sector. We will be taking the matter up with the Minister of Local Government, Nanaia Mahuta.” NZL

Self-loading truck impresses EARLIER THIS YEAR, THE EDENDALE VINTAGE FARM MACHINERY club conducted its annual ‘Crank Up’ at Edendale in Eastern Southland. While the event attracted thousands of visitors from all over the South Island, there was considerable interest in a piece of machinery that was neither vintage and, although related, not strictly farm machinery either. This was a display by a self-loading log truck. It was conducted by Wayne Thornley of Pukerau, who operates a big rig for the Dunedin Carrying Company, part of the Dynes group of companies. At the Crank Up Wayne demonstrated to a large crowd how to safely load and unload large posts onto and off the rig he operates by himself. He does this with logs too and believes this is the only one of its kind in New Zealand. What is really important about this rig is that it can be operated by the driver. No other assistance is required. Wayne says this is particularly useful when he is sent to remote areas to collect logs. This is often after a farm forestry plantation has been cleaned up or harvested. Wayne says this can often be “awkward” and skill is essential to carry out the task required properly. Wayne says he and other staff at Dynes Transport designed the truck-mounted crane with which the logs and posts are loaded and

6 NZ LOGGER | March 2021

unloaded. The unit consists of an Epscab mounted on the rig and an Epsilon crane is attached to this. The operator manipulates the crane from the Epscab. NZL

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forest talk

Above and facing page bottom: Typical logging country operations on the West Coast.

Revival of the West Coast logging industry Story: Peter Owens

PRICES ARE RISING AND THERE IS A growing demand in the export market and domestically for West Coast logs. Both of these markets are affected by the shortage of wood from both Canterbury and NelsonMarlborough. This has resulted in a massive increase in the number of logs railed from the West Coast to Christchurch and the Port of Lyttelton At present KiwiRail is running 14 log wagons every day for exports through the Port of Lyttelton alone. The introduction by KiwiRail of log wagons of increased capacity has meant that total capacity has increased to 90,000 tonnes and that the service is operating at total log capacity or very close to it. KiwiRail is also now aware that the transport of logs has become a very important factor on the Midland line, along with the traditional

8 NZ LOGGER | March 2021

cargoes of primary production and coal. This revival of the West Coast logging industry has resulted from a number of factors, foreign and domestic. A side effect of the COVID-19 pandemic has been an almost total shut-down of the logging industry in the United States, Canada and Russia. These countries had vigorously competed with the timber industry in this country in selling logs to China. Now that country is trying to buy up as much New Zealand timber as is available. Added to this are domestic factors. With a growing bio-fuel industry in Canterbury and an awareness of possible Government moves against fossil fuels, there is a growing demand for timber in that region. At the same time, it must be noted that in the 10 years ending 2012, over 20,000 hectares of Canterbury forest estate had been converted to dairy farming. With a steep increase in the

demand for housing in Canterbury there is a strong demand for suitable timber from the West Coast. It is generally accepted in the logging industry that until recently there has been excessive harvesting in the NelsonMarlborough Region. There is also a growing demand for timber in the building industry for Nelson and Blenheim and locally there is not sufficient wood for this purpose. According to Erica Kinder, Chief Executive Officer of the Canterbury West Coast Wood Council (CWCWC), Canterbury millers are looking to the West Coast as a source of supply. She sees the present situation as likely to last for at least 10 years. Ms Kinder says the present situation favours the West Coast logging industry with a growing increase in price. She points out that there is a strong demand for timber all over New

forest talk

Zealand and in the export market. This view is supported by Glenn Moir of the Christchurch-based arm of the Forestry Management Group. He says: “There is a building boom going on right now.” He adds that his company contracts crews in Canterbury and Nelson-Marlborough to supply International Panel and Lumber (IPL), saying the trucks hired for this operation then backload West Coast logs to Canterbury and Nelson-Marlborough mills. Promoting forestry The eighth Wood Council in New Zealand, CWCWC, is a combination of forestry, transport, processing, regional councils, contractors, nurseries and the Canterbury University School of Forestry. 54 members currently make up this diverse group that has formed to promote the benefits of forestry in our communities, careers in forestry, where our resource goes and what it is used for. Wood Councils have been around in New Zealand for more than 30 years. They were formed by individual groups in each region to support each other in the sector and provide information to the public and interest groups on forest activities and purpose, helping them to understand how trees function in our landscape. As we know, trees can be integrated into nearly any other land use and play a vital role in storing carbon and providing

carbon neutral products for our customers. In Canterbury and the West Coast some of the Wood Council members own forests and sawmills producing framing timber for houses, wooden pallets and boxes, wood chip for biofuels, MDF, joinery timber and packaging. Canterbury was one of the first regions to establish plantation trees. Some of those original families are still involved in growing and processing forests today. The West Coast has been based around forestry since the region was first settled and the industry is still a significant contributor to the Coast economy. The CWCWC has a vision to promote, encourage and coordinate the sustainable economic development of plantation forestry and the wood products sector. The first event for the Wood Council was a visit to Clarkville School in North Canterbury with SML Transport where all 200 students viewed a log truck, learned about safety around trucks and listened to a forester talk about a renewable resource, where our logs are going and why. Forest Management Group is made up of three independent companies with a common shareholding comprising Forest Management (FML); Tasman Forest Management (TFM) and Forest Management North Island (FMNI). The group provides the industry with experience and specialist expertise. NZL

Above: SML visits Clarkville School near Christchurch. Below: Canterbury West Coast Wood Council was launched last October.

March 2021 | NZ LOGGER 9

forest talk

Drawing women to forestry THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF WOMEN AND GIRLS IN SCIENCE last month was the perfect opportunity to acknowledge the leading professionals who are contributing their expertise to the success of the forestry and timber industries, says OneFortyOne’s Marion Hughes, Manager, Resource Planning and Analytics. The day is a reminder that women and girls play a critical role in science and technology communities and that their participation should be strengthened, she says: “We hope that by sharing the stories of remarkable women in the industry, girls and young women are inspired to pursue one or more of the varied and satisfying careers on offer, thereby promoting full and equal access to, and participation in, science for women and girls. “There are no barriers anymore for women wanting to get into any of the fields available in forestry,” she adds. “Often the only thing that gets in the way is perception.” Ms Hughes still recalls a career advisor at school telling her that forestry wasn’t for women, which made her all the more committed to following her passion, combining her love of the outdoors and data, and studying forestry at university. The ability to start working during her final year of studies was a boost. “I got to visit small forest owners, measure their trees and tell them how much they were worth and advise them on the best time to harvest them.” She says the forestry industry values the perspective that new graduates can offer. “People who are new to the industry give us the most insight. They question why we are doing things. The rest of us just think it’s normal because it’s been done like that in the past.” After obtaining a Bachelor of Forestry Science, she spent several years as a forestry consultant, working on projects in countries within Asia setting up GPS and GIS systems for forest measurement, providing information on wood availability to set up new pulp mills. She then worked as part of a forestry resources team in the Central North Island before joining OneFortyOne 19 years ago. Ms Hughes now supports the OneFortyOne business in Australia and New Zealand to accurately measure and value its forest estate, ensuring the forests are harvested sustainably and that the company knows the volume of wood by quality class it has available for its customers. She and her colleagues use a range of modelling and coding software to undertake repetitive or complex tasks more efficiently and effectively. This allows them to work out key information such as how fast trees are growing, how much wood is in the estate, and how much can be cut while maintaining a sustainable harvesting regime. Her current focus is developing a better way to work out how much high quality wood is within the forest resource before it is harvested. “It’s about working out the best ways that we can predict it going forward to make sure that our customers will have plenty of that wood, and also how we can grow more of that type of wood.” A highlight for her is working with trials: “One of my favourite things to do is trials, either out in the forest or at the sawmills, trying to adopt new technologies. We normally get an expert in, they show us how it works, then we do the trials, and then I get to analyse the results!” A current trial of a Resi tool (Resistograph) in the Green Triangle within the company’s Australian operation is exciting, she says,

10 NZ LOGGER | March 2021

Marion Hughes, Manager, Resource Planning and Analytics, for OneFortyOne New Zealand. and if successful may lead to the technology being used within OneFortyOne New Zealand too. “The tool helps predict how much high quality wood you have in your stand before you cut it down. It works by using a small drill, to capture details of a tree’s wood variability and quality. Trials like this provide a way for us to take ideas from other parts of our business and make both of our operations better. “I love finding better ways to do things – ways that are easier or faster and provide a better outcome. We’re always striving to improve. I love that about our business.” She hopes that the International Day of Women and Girls in Science encourages young people who might not have considered a career in forestry to find out more about the sector. She says that it’s a great option given the number of scholarships that are available to support students during their studies and with work placements during university holidays and the wide range of roles in the industry. “Mapping, flying drones, photography, tree measurement, computer modelling – there are so many options for a career in forestry that most people aren’t aware of,” she adds. NZL

forest talk

Changes underway Southstar NZ takes on Logmax at CablePrice SOUTHSTAR NEW ZEALAND, A MEMBER OF THE QUADCO Attachments Group is now including LogMax Harvester heads as part of its product line up. This change complements the already significant array of attachments offered by Southstar NZ and the Quadco Attachments Group in NZ. The latest product line-up now includes the entire range of Southstar processors, harvesters and felling heads, the full range of Quadco disc saws, bar saws, shear heads and mulchers, along with the vast array of proven cutting tools and the full range of long-established Logmax harvester heads from Sweden. Southstar NZ now offers forestry attachments from the smallest thinning head to the largest felling heads and everything in between, says Dean O’Connor, Managing Director for the Quadco Group in this part of the world. He says the company is excited to be adding the Logmax product to its already significant product line-up and is currently organising parts and product inventory along with training for its team to support the product in NZ. He adds that 2021 will see some positive changes coming for Southstar products with new control systems being implemented along with many other innovations to further enhance performance, productivity and durability. NZL

CABLEPRICE CHAIRMAN, DAVID HARVEY, SAYS IT’S BUSINESS as usual in CablePrice’s equipment divisions and its South Island Daimler dealerships, following the end of its 30-year partnership with Scania New Zealand. “Our business is going through a period of change as we exit our Scania agreement, manage impacts from the end of our dealer agreement with John Deere Forestry and Construction, deal with the ongoing effects from COVID-19 and optimise our operating costs.” He adds that the changes are aimed at positioning the business for a more sustainable future. CablePrice is proposing to close its branches in Whangarei and Gisborne, close its North Shore site, and close its commercial vehicle operations in Auckland, Rotorua, Palmerston North and Hastings. It is proposing to establish local service dealer agents in Whangarei and Gisborne to support customers there, and to focus its North Island operations on expanding its construction machinery retail business. “Our Japanese owners, Hitachi Machinery Construction Company, are supportive of our plans and are backing us to turn the company around and secure new business growth and opportunities.” The company is in a strong position in the South Island, where it has been experiencing significant growth through new agreements with Mercedes-Benz, Freightliner, Fuso and Detroit, he says. NZL

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Contact us today to discuss your requirements. Gareth: 0274500041 Email admin@gwhitelogging.com March 2021 | NZ LOGGER 11

forest talk

Forestry awards return TWO YEARS AGO, THE EASTLAND WOOD Council celebrated a decade of Forestry Awards for the region and at the same time committed to staging the event biannually. The Awards in 2019 celebrated all the exemplar winners and many finalists over the ten years. Challenging times have created a challenging environment, so the awards are very much focused on resilience, on stepping up to meet the Safetree Contractor Certification criteria and integrating the best practises and training that are available in the workplace. They are intended to benefit the region’s forestry industry in several ways, namely: • to provide an opportunity for Eastland’s forest industry to celebrate its skilled professionals and recognise excellence, • to attract skilled employees to the region as valued forest industry players, • investing in and upskilling the forestry workforce, • to support and promote a professional standard of Safetree Contractor and Worker Certification for the workforce, • to advocate and support industry players with a focus on wellbeing and health, • to create sustainable and challenging competition within the industry.

Moving to a biannual event enabled a refresh of the award categories, with several new categories to enter this year including Emerging Leader, Logistics Excellence and the Good Deed Award. The Good Deed Award recognises a person within the forestry industry for a good deed, for paying it forward, going above and beyond, for helping others or for supporting a charity through an initiative or action – someone who does something for someone else without thinking about themselves. Those nominated will be available on the night of the awards, for the guests to choose their winner, votes counted, and the person acknowledged on stage. The Eastland Wood Council is one of eight councils around the country now operating at a regional level and advocating for the industry locally. The Eastland Forestry Awards are scheduled to be held on May 21 at the Farmers Air Showgrounds Event Centre, featuring TV celebrity, Jeremy Corbett from 7 Days and The Project. Nominations close 31 March so there is limited time to get working on entry nominations, with tickets to the awards available next month online. Sponsors include: • Gold – UDC, ISO, Transdiesel, Ernslaw

Kim Holland, Eastland Wood Council CEO, leaves the organisation this month. She leaves the industry having established several legacy projects including the Generation Programme and Tairawhiti Road Transport Programme. These projects are all about promoting the good of industry, the value of forestry and providing platforms to ensure the right training, the right skills and the right people; uplifting the skill foundation for the forestry sector. She is stepping out of the forestry industry and going into the not-for-profit sector as Funding Partnership Development Manager for the House of Science. We wish her well in her future endeavours. One, JNL, BDO, Eastland Wood Council. • Silver – Aratu Forests, Competenz, Eastland Port, Summit, MITO, Forest Enterprises, Pacific Haulage. • Bronze – Ngati Porou Forests, Universal Engineering, Bain & Sheppard, Shaws, Integrated Safety Solutions, Trimble, NZME, NZ Safety Blackwoods. NZL

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Forest Focus

Story & photos: John Ellegard

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Mike Hurring Logging is putting the first European tower hauler to work in New Zealand, harvesting Coronet Forest near Queenstown.

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Forest Focus

The lightweight, compact dimensions of the Koller K602 self-propelled hauler make it ideal for working in woodlots and on the fragile soils in places like Coronet Forest. It is equipped with a light motorised carriage and fast line speed allowing it to bring trees off the slopes in a speedy fashion.

UCH AS WE ALL LOVE OUR FORESTS, THERE ARE places in New Zealand where plantation trees currently just don’t belong. Take Central Otago. Anyone who has visited Queenstown in recent years can’t fail to have noticed the wilding pines sprouting up among the native flora. Wilding pines have become such a scourge that it’s now costing millions to eradicate them each year to ensure they don’t infest our beloved natural high country any further. Douglas-fir, in particular, loves the Otago climatic and soil conditions because it’s very much like their natural habitat in Canada. But in recognising the problem, we should resist any notions of banning exotic pine plantations from these areas. As local authorities, the Department of Conservation and landowners fight the infestations, there is light at the end of the tunnel because scientists at Scion have already bred pines that do not produce seeds, thanks to genetic editing technology. However, current laws do not allow for commercialisation of such technology and the government needs to urgently review the legislation so that we have the option of being able to plant pines across the country in the future without the risk of seeding natural habitats. That means taking on the powerful green lobby, which doesn’t want a bar of anything that smacks of genetics. My advice to our lawmakers; ignore the dogma and follow the science – just like we’ve done with COVID-19.

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In the meantime, the fight against wildings goes on. And loggers are pitching in to help win the battle. Queenstown Lakes District Council has enlisted a logging contractor to harvest the entire Douglas-fir forest on the lower slopes of the famous Coronet Peak ski field in order to prevent those trees spreading any more seeds. It was a somewhat controversial decision because the 172ha Coronet Forest was only established as a joint venture by QLDC and Central Otago District Council between 1984 and 1996 as a longterm revenue producer, so most of the trees have not yet reached their designated harvestable age and by removing them early, the ratepayers are being denied a chunk of future profits. But leaving the trees to grow on and continue to spread their seeds would certainly have created more costly and unsightly problems in the future. Once Coronet Forest is gone, the council will undertake a substantially large (to be confirmed in the long-term plan later this year) native tree and shrub planting programme to restore the land to its former natural glory. A secret weapon The job of removing the Douglas-fir has fallen to Mike Hurring Logging from Balclutha, after being put out to tender. It’s not a straightforward harvesting task. The slopes are very SERIOUS POWER FORofBIG steep in places and fragile. Part the TIME forest LOGGERS is planted on a 14 million-year-old slip that also needs to be managed carefully,

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Forest Focus

requiring minimal disturbance to the surface. And then there is the climate, which gets very cold and icy during winter when the south-facing slopes receive no sun. But Mike Hurring had a secret weapon up his sleeve when he tendered for the work; a lightweight and compact European tower hauler that makes an ideal tool for dragging in trees from steep and difficult country. Three years ago he acquired the first – and so far only – Austrian-built Koller 40-foot tower in New Zealand to put to work in woodlots around Otago. Long-time readers may remember that NZ Logger magazine featured the Koller when it was the subject of a Future Forest Research project carried out on the East Coast, north of Gisborne six years ago. The Koller had been imported by Swiss Above: A feature of the Koller hauler is that there’s no cab – it’s worked by businessman, Christian Welte, to harvest trees remote control handsets used by the poleman and breaker-out. on his land as part of an effort to introduce more Below: The Koller has been positioned on the edge of the landing to allow sophisticated European technology to logging in space for the trees to be dropped safely. New Zealand. Unfortunately, the large East Coast trees proved “Originally the job was to be split into three parts, the roading, to be too heavy and cumbersome for the Koller and it was sent south to Nelson for some lighter contract work before harvesting and cartage. We put in for the whole lot as one contract. Much more cost-effective for a job like this. We got the job because Mike Hurring bought it in 2018. “When this job came up for tender it really appealed to me, they said it wasn’t necessarily on price but through the way we were knowing that we had the Koller and it was a good fit for this job, so able to carry it out and the fact that we had all the health and safety systems in place and the gear to match.” that’s why I went pretty hard after it,” says Mike.

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As it turns out, there’s a lot of gear for a relatively small contract. When NZ Logger visited the site last month the complement of machinery on hand not only included the Koller tower but also a pair of processors, a forwarder, skidder, feller/buncher, winch-assist base machine, grapple loader, bulldozer, dump truck, grader and more. Serious stuff. There’s a good reason for throwing everything, including the kitchen sink, at a job like this, explains foreman Adrian Gillions. The complexity of the terrain and highly changeable climatic conditions means that you need a big toolbox from which to pluck the right tools for specific parts of the job. Otherwise, you risk falling behind your target and running into red ink. “It’s a very challenging environment,” says Adrian. “The ground conditions make for tough going – there is no bedrock, it’s all shist and very soft silty soil. Very powdery in hot sun and it turns to clag in the wet. So getting roads bedded in and hard, we’ve had to bring in a lot of rock to do that.” They also leaned on some local knowledge and support when setting up the job. While the Hurring team upgraded the council road leading into the forest, Wanaka-based contractor Dave Collett was contracted to build the tracks and pads across the remainder of the site, using his experience and intimate knowledge of the local conditions. Much of that work was carried out just before COVID-19 hit last year, with harvesting getting back under way just as winter hit. In spite of that interruption, the Hurring crew has managed to keep to schedule and within a year it had already cleared one-third of Coronet Forest, thanks to a clear plan of attack.

“When we started the job we put in two skid sites by the gate to get us underway and cleared an area two tree lengths around those sites,” says Adrian. “Now we are around the back of the forest we are going to bring this block home with us. We’re working the highest top point over the summer and coming back down to here (the main skid site halfway up the hill) heading into the winter months. “We can harvest year-round, even though it has been a challenge through winter to continue when the ground is permafrost and then thaws to the point where machines sink up to their axles. We have to work ways to channel the water into contained sites and get it away from the work areas. As we get lower down the hill the permafrost issue won’t be quite as bad. “We’ve been able to do around 90% of the work to date through ground-basing while we set the hauler up down the bottom, as it’s a new experience for us getting used to intermediate spars and the like. Using the Koller has been interesting and we are slowly getting faster and better at what we are doing with it – identifying the right trees to leave as spars and being able to make good use of what is available. The next hauler set will hopefully run a lot smoother than the early ones. “Ground-basing will slowly decrease. We’ve left patches of ground base so that we can run the two operations as one and we are not separated on two different skid sites, like we are now. When we finally get out the back with the hauler, the ground base will be feeding along with the hauler to the one skid. That means the skidder can work more effectively between the two operations.”

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Forest Focus

Above: Even the boss gets involved to help unchain the trees back down on the landing. Right: Breaker-out, Sylvester Reeves, chains up the stems. Note the crew’s winch-assist machine that is acting as the backline on this setting. An extensive operation Although the Koller is the main focus of this visit, we take the opportunity to see how the rest of this operation is going, starting with the main skid where the John Deere skidder driven by Bradley Walsh is bringing down stems for the Hitachi 330 to cut into logs with the Waratah 625, which is normally operated by Adrian. Then Grayson Bennett sorts logs into various piles for loading onto the truck with the Hitachi 250. Most are destined to go to the port, but the pruned logs are heading to a local mill. The logs sizes vary, as you’d expect for Douglas-firs planted ten years apart and still way off maturity. The forest has also been densely planted and under-thinned, so the average piece size of trees being harvested at the top of the forest is just 0.9 and some are very skinny, though Adrian says it gets better further down the hill, “but we’re not into the plum piece size yet”. He goes on to say: “The form of the trees is varied and there have been a lot of rubbishy trees left – it would have been a difficult thinning job. So there’s a lot of up-sweep and wobble. A lot of bent stems. We run into patches where it’s really top stuff and then there are patches where the trees are bent and twisted.” In spite of this, Mike Hurring says they are still able to make money for both themselves and the council, due to the recent rise in log prices. A steep walk up to the top of the forest brings us to where Nigel Kengen is felling and bunching the trees for the skidder in his John Deere 2454, equipped with a SATCO 630 head. Beyond the upper

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Forest Focus

line of trees are the bare rock slopes that lead up to the Coronet Peak ski field. The crew also includes contract faller, Ashley Mangnall, to manually bring down trees that the machine cannot reach. From up here, you get a fantastic view over the Shotover River basin, to the back of Bob’s Peak and then across to The Remarkables. Surely one of the most stunning harvesting locations in New Zealand right now. But then our attention is drawn down the slopes of Coronet to the red and yellow of the Koller tower, which has been set up on a landing much further down the hill to pull logs from the mid slopes. Prior to this job, the Koller has been working in some small woodlots managed by Ernslaw One and this is the first big job it has been used in. What’s it like to work with on a job like this? “You definitely have to pick the right places to make it work,” says Adrian. “I haven’t done a lot with the Koller and don’t do any of the operating myself but the guys we’ve got working with it are very good, although it is a bit of a challenge having to feed a carriage all the time. “And working with spars is quite challenging. There is a lot of finetuning with a spar to get the jack to sit properly, as well as where you position your guy ropes and your jack ropes. Once you get to terms with how that is supposed to sit and supposed to look it does function quite well. “They are slow to put up. Safety is an issue, because you’ve got to climb the tree, take off the top of the tree, get your guy ropes into the tree. That’s another element and it’s not a fast-paced job because it takes time to get it up safely and operating properly.

Above: Much of the early harvesting has been done with ground-based machinery, with Nigel Kengen in the John Deere 2454/SATCO 630 handling the lion’s share of the felling. Below: Bradley Walsh drags a bunch of stems down to the main skid site from the top of the Coronet Forest.

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“Where we do have our spars we have to make sure we leave high stumps for our people to put the guy ropes onto. Not easy to find those stumps when you have trees lying on the ground all around them. “In the younger parts of the forest it can also be difficult finding the right tree to use as a spar.” There are no spars being used in the current setting as the crew is making use of a track formed above the landing to drive the winchassist machine to act as a tailhold machine while it was parked up for a while. The perfect machine for the job Mike Hurring has arrived to check on the site and we drive down to watch the Koller and chat about its role in this job. Pulling up next to the Austrian tower, it still looks as good as the last time I saw it near Gisborne, where it was set up to drag Corsican Pine averaging 1-tonne piece size from a block in the Mangatu Forest. Very similar to the size of wood being harvested here in Coronet Forest. “It’s the perfect machine for this wood,” says Mike, adding that he was interested in European tower haulers before he purchased the Koller. “I did a trip with Rien Visser (Head of Forest Engineering at Canterbury University’s School of Forestry) to Europe the year before with the intention of seeing how a forwarder performed in a winchassist system. (See page 41 for Rien’s recent research.) “I saw the Koller and I was most impressed with these machines and thought there’s a place for them in our woodlots. Everyone here

has this idea that you have to be producing 300 tonnes per day to make a hauler pay, which is a crock….. “After I went on that trip I thought I’d love one of those, this is me, I’ve got to have one. When I got back and this one of Christian’s became available, ‘I said I’ll have that’. “We’ve done a couple of little jobs with it – we never had a specific place for it, so we’d just throw it in with a wheeled harvester and a couple of little crews and see how it went. Because they are reasonably simple, there’s a variety of jobs it can be used in. Although this job is not without its challenges, especially as we are downhill-harvesting.” It is easier to pull wood uphill with a tower like this, especially with intermediate spars providing extra height off the ground. Here at Coronet, the landing is wide enough to allow the Koller to be positioned right at the far edge to aid deflection. It also provides extra space for the old Cat processor to move in and pull the stems out of the way and bunch for the skidder – the Waratah head on the end is not being used to cut logs. What makes the Koller totally different from any other yarding system used in New Zealand is that there is no cab. It is operated by remote control units held by the two men working with the Koller. Mike explains: “The guy here on the ground with the machine sends the carriage back and it will return to where it was previously working automatically and the guy up on the top will take over the control. “He chains up the logs, sends them up to the carriage and signals for the wood to go down the hill. Down here the operator will get to it when he’s ready and unchain the trees.

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Forest Focus

Grayson Bennett fleets and loads out logs on the main skid site with the Hitachi 250 loader.

“On our last setting we had three jack trees set up. Young Drew (McBride) is an ex-arborist, so he’s the wee monkey up the tree. He tops them if needed, although it’s not really necessary under the ACOP. Because we have an arborist we’ve been able to hit the ground running with things like that. “But it still took a bit of time. When they first started working out the jack system it was time-consuming, taking up to seven hours sometimes. We didn’t have the Jacks sorted quite well enough, but we soon worked it out. It has been a real learning curve. Now we’ve brought the tailhold in to do this last piece before we move again and go back to intermediate spars.” Even positioning the machine to drag the wood took some figuring out on slopes this steep. “When the tower was sitting up on that pad over there the wood was coming straight at them and it was a real bugger, because the trees would come down and fly past the carriage and they pigtailed,” adds Mike. “We’ve changed our ways now and we won’t be doing straight up and down any more – we’ll do more of what we are doing here to get out from an angle. In the next setting we’ll push the rope around that face and we’ll come across the face to get the logs up and coming in nicer, not directly at us.” While the Koller is compact and weighs in at just 17 tonnes, it can haul over reasonably long distances, with the skyline drum capable

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of holding 945 metres of ¾” swaged rope, or 720 metres of 7/8” swaged rope offered by the factory. The mainline capacity is 640 metres of ½” swaged rope or 730 metres of 12mm swaged rope. The haulback line capacity is 1,180 metres of ½” swaged rope, or 1,350 metres of 12mm swaged rope, or 1,570 metres of 7/16” swaged rope or 1,600 metres of 11mm swaged rope. The New Zealand machine runs synthetic ropes with the mainline using half-inch dyna pack, with a three-quarter inch rope on the skyline. The strawline is 4mm Dyneema and is ridiculously light. “That’s fishing line,” laughs Mike. “To run the strawline out is a piece of cake, there’s no weight in it.” Mike says all the ropes are still original but with the odd breakage they are now shorter and the maximum length available now is down to around 400 metres. Powering the drums is a 6-cylinder, 7.15-litre, Deutz common rail diesel that has proved very reliable during its time in New Zealand and, compared to a traditional tower or even a swing yarder, it is very economical, using up one-quarter of a tank per day. The lightweight carriage is similarly cheap to run, consuming little more than 2 litres per day. When it comes to shifting the Koller, this model comes with its own propulsion system that can manoeuvre itself around the landing, but for moving to new locations it is normally towed by the bulldozer. There’s no need to move the tower at the moment, but the setting

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Forest Focus

Main: This particular Koller model is mounted on wheels, but a tracked base has been developed in Austria. Inset top: The Koller MSK-3 motorised carriage is a good match with the hauler. Inset bottom: The drums are neatly contained and easily accessible in the Koller.

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will need to be adjusted because breaker-out, Sylvester Reeves, is unable to reach any more trees with the chains. So he climbs up to the backline machine to re-position it further over and completes the task in a few minutes. That short timeline wouldn’t be possible with intermediate spars. It’s a win-win While Sylvester is shifting the tailhold, I take the opportunity to chat with Drew about their experiences with the Koller and his shift into logging after a career as an arborist. “I worked in the bush before I was an arborist, I used to cut windfall,” says Drew, adding that it has still been a big learning curve coming back to logging and working with this technology just a year ago.” Drew is the only Queenstown-based member of the crew, with most of the others staying in a house owned by Mike Hurring in nearby Cromwell during the week. And is he enjoying a return to tree climbing as part of the job? “Yes, my arborist skills are being used regularly and it’s a good skill to have for this.” While he has driven plenty of diggers, Drew has “never run a machine like this, never worked a hauler before, either”. But he is impressed with the way the Koller works, saying: “This machine has a lot of technology, but it is simple to control. We’ve learnt a lot about it since we came in here. “The challenge is upping production now – learning about the intermediate spar trees. It will be pretty awesome around here and offer a lot of options.” One thing that stands out is the speed of the drags. The carriage is

quick, and so is the line speed, with the mainline able to travel at up to 500m/min. Even with just one person on the hill chaining up logs, it still means that a turnaround of less than 5 minutes is achievable as they get more familiar with the machine. For Mike Hurring, the Kohler has already repaid his faith in the European technology: “It’s magic. I knew what I was getting because I had seen them working in Austria. “They’ve got a track-mounted model now, which would be really good in our terrain and an electric one, which would be the next stage. They are great for woodlots. They are not a big hauler and you don’t need to produce – on a good day the guys will do 120 JAS with this machine.” And it will need to do those figures much more regularly as the ground-base harvesting reduces. But Mike is confident that will happen. “The job is tracking pretty well if you look at what we’ve produced to date and where we’re at,” he says. “We are sitting at around 157 JAS a day and we’ve done around 30,000 JAS since we started at the beginning of last year.” In addition to roading, harvesting and organising the cartage on this site, the Hurring team is also contracted to over-sow each block with grass in the Spring to keep the weeds suppressed, prior to the native planting getting underway. Mike gestures to a logged area to the side and says: “The area that we over-sowed first was 35 hectares. We recovered 30,000 JAS off that 35 hectares. Of that 30,000 JAS, there’s been just 1,000 tonnes of firewood – we’ll get a contractor in to take the firewood off, so the non-merchantable wood has been very minimal.” If Mike’s team can continue that sort of effort for the remaining

Forest Focus

Above left: Crew owner, Mike Hurring and Koller operator, Drew McBride, wait for the carriage to bring down the next stems. Above right: The Mike Hurring Crew working on Coronet Peak. Back row from left: Ashley Mangnall, Neville Muir (trainer), Bradley Walsh, Nigel Kengen, Adrian Gillions and Mike Hurring. Front row from left: Sylvester Reeves, Drew McBride and Grayson Bennett. Below: The main skid site close to the western edge of Coronet Forest. In the distance is The Remarkables, which received a covering of snow on the top only days before our visit at the height of summer!

two years it will take to complete the harvesting of Coronet Forest they’ll be very happy. So will Queenstown Lakes District Council and everyone who loves the natural environment in places like this. What this experience will also have shown is that there can be a win-win for landowners and local authorities by utilising experienced

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loggers to remove troublesome trees and still seeing some financial return instead of it being a cost And it will, no doubt, have raised interest in what a European tower hauler can do in New Zealand when used on the right harvesting jobs. NZL

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NZ TimberOut Breaking

N THIS PICTORIAL, PAUL MAHONEY, historian for DOC with a passion for our industry, takes us back to view the lives of the Kauri bushmen of the Kauaeranga from 1918-1928; revisiting his own journey of discovery of this fascinating piece of New Zealand logging history. * Photos are directly related to the Kauaeranga unless marked with a star. These others are deemed suitable to illustrate activities in the Kauaeranga.

32 NZ LOGGER | March 2021

Scene is set High up in the Coromandel Ranges behind Thames, from 1919 to 1928, the Kauri Timber Company, called the KTC, runs NZs last large-scale Kauri logging operation. The forest in the Kauaeranga Valley behind Thames has an estimated volume of two million cubic metres. This forest has survived until now because of the difficulty of log transport. The KTC is forced to build a costly bush tramway because the downstream land owners oppose the KTC application to float the logs out in ‘log drives’.

Kauri bushman By the 1920s the Kauri bushmen have gained a legendary status in the NZ industry. Each day they apply their own brute force to harvest some of the world’s largest logs, equivalent to the mighty Redwoods. Skidding and log transport is mechanised elsewhere in NZ, but this modern steam

gear is not suited to precipitous Kauri country like the Kauaeranga. Lunch smoko is in progress on this big stump. Two of these men are fellers, two are headers (log makers). No one is following along behind planting young Kauri, so this extraordinary harvest is a one-off.

George Murray contractor George Murray, in the foreground, is one of several contractors working Kauaeranga bush areas concurrently. The men live in camps close to their felling area. They work six days a week for six months before taking

a break. A key member is the cook who works from 4am to 9pm. Hearty tasty meals are a necessity to sustain the daily workload. Food cooking and clothes drying take place in the enormous chimney in the background.*

March 2021 | NZ LOGGER 33

Breaking Out

Axeman skills The Kauaeranga Kauri grow on steep slopes and here (right) a platform is constructed to support the axeman cutting the scarf from the downhill side. This scarf is being oriented to precisely direct the fall of the tree towards a creek. It is being cut extra deep to enable the saw to fit such a giant tree. The bushman, Tudor Collins, takes many photos of Kauri bush work as a hobby. With the bushmen here there is a sense that this is the end of an era. They will soon have to downsize to ‘the small stuff’.

Crosscut skills Kauri are felled with 2.4m long hand cross-cut saws. The Disston saw company in the USA manufactures a saw with special Kauri teeth to sell in NZ. Larger size Kauri require saws 3m long with four men as shown above. The lad hammers wedges to ease the weight off the saw. The very largest Kauri require 3.6m long saws. In 1923 such a huge Kauri is felled at Dancing Camp; its stump remains there today.*

Earning a crust Timber jacks The logs are skidded by hand methods into the creeks by two ‘breaker-outers’ using timber jacks weighing up to 35kg. The steep terrain enables gravity to help. Logs are often jacked into steep log chutes where they hurtle down into the creek bed far below. From there the power of water is harnessed to move hundreds of logs out of the mountains in ‘log drives’.* 34 NZ LOGGER | March 2021

By the 1920s the Kauri bushmen have tools of the trade on the stump in the foreground; the axe and crosscut on a tree just felled by George Murray and his Croatian sawing partner. The KTC tally man is up on the log estimating its volume, which will be the basis for what George and his men get paid. The two men soon to start ‘heading’ are also standing on the trunk working out how they might safely saw it into logs on such steep ground. Heading is a dangerous, challenging task.

Log driving dams Huge wooden ‘driving’ dams are constructed to provide the immense water power required to drive the logs out of the mountains in artificial floods. All the timber for this dam is pit sawn on the site and is accurate to be watertight. This Kauaeranga Gorge main dam is even larger than that surviving today at Dancing Camp. It is 60m wide and 11m high. The second horizontal stringer from the top is a single length cut 40m long and 1m square.

The log drive When the dams are full of water, and the creek beds are full of logs, and it is pouring with rain, the gates of several dams are tripped in a timed sequence and the mighty log drive begins. Old timers recall the low thunder of the flow, the thumping of logs on the move, and the ground trembling. These logs are about to disappear through the gate of Dancing Camp dam.

Grooved Drums and Sleeves

DIAGNOSE • DESIGN • DELIVER

Breaking Out

The tramway The Kauaeranga bush tramway proved expensive to build. Logs driven through the gorge are transferred onto the tramway for the 14km journey to tidal water near Thames. This tramway camp provides meals and beds for the gang of men who run the tramway – bunkhouse on left and cookhouse on right, both with the characteristic big chimney. It is run by Elizabeth McIsaac second from left. Next, on the logs, is her daughter Ruth who has left school aged 11 to work as a waitress.

Kauaeranga Gorge In 1921 the KTC uses blasting to widen the narrowest sections of the 6km long Kauaeranga Gorge to enable some big log drives to succeed. A main dam has been built to boost the water flow from dams upstream into something even more substantial. Despite this preparation some log jams occur. This jam is being loosened by using brute force devices and blasting. The economics of log drives were offset by the cost of log jams, dependence on high water flows, damaged logs, and damage wrought on property downstream.

Packhorse teams The various bush camps are supplied with food on a weekly basis. Supplies ordered by the cook come up the tramway to its terminus and are transferred to a team of four packhorses. They will clamber high up in the ranges on specially formed horse tracks. Some are so steep that steps are cut out of the rocks. These horses will carry 60 kilograms and trek 11 kilometres to reach Dancing Camp.

Raft-making Logs coming down the tramway are dumped at tidal water near Thames and assembled into rafts of 200 logs. Raft-making is done on contract. Each log is drilled on one end and a chain slipped through to attach it to the main tow rope. A large paddle steamer tug boat takes two days to tow these rafts to Auckland.*

36 NZ LOGGER | March 2021

The log pond

The destination in Auckland is the viaduct basin, today the home of plush waterfront apartments, bars and restaurants, and the America’s Cup yacht race. The Basin was purpose-built as a log storage pond and is fronted by four large sawmills. The Basin is the premium location for NZ Kauri timber production.

The sawmills For most of its 70-year life the KTC sawmill at Auckland is NZ’s largest. Machinery is steam-powered by burning sawmill waste; note the smoke from the tall brick chimney. In the left background are two city landmarks that still stand today: St Patricks cathedral and the Farmers Trading Co. Few Aucklanders would be aware of this forest industry history.

The mill slipway Floating logs are hauled up this slipway into the sawmill. At the head of the slipway is the breaking-down saw. It is a sturdy vertical blade tensioned in a frame driven up and down at 60 strokes per minute. It was one of the biggest of its type in the world and could make a cut 2.2m deep. Larger logs could be cut by positioning then off-centre on the carriage. The rare log that was just too big was ‘carefully’ split by blasting. March 2021 | NZ LOGGER 37

Breaking Out

The timber yard These stacks of Kauri (above) would be worth a fortune today. Timber off the saws is pushed by hand on rail trolleys to the stacks for air-drying, hence the huge inventory. It looks like a dangerous place to work and it is. Around NZ, collapsing timber stacks take too many lives and eventually the government has to regulate.

Woman of talents A family affair My Kauaeranga history hunt starts in 1985. I am inspired by several photos of a father and his two sons working huge Kauri logs. They are George Murray, logging contractor, and his sons Ivan and Jack, all three around 1.9m tall. This photo is taken by Irene Murray, wife, mother, and bush worker in 1925. The Murrays live in a series of bush camps located high up in the Kauaeranga valley, following the work. 38 NZ LOGGER | March 2021

Irene Murray relaxes at a bush camp on a Sunday, her arms around George. In the Kauaeranga she is known as a hardworking woman with many talents and a friendly attitude. She cooks for 22 men, does the business accounts, home-schools two boys, takes interesting photos, and is respected for her skills in resolving workplace disputes. Best of all she maintains a happy mood in camp. George looks happy enough too.

Woman at work

Bush boy gets lucky

This new Murray camp in the Kauaeranga is initially set up with tents. The wooden bunkhouse is under construction in the centre. The big lower tent is the cookhouse, and Irene stands in front. George and Irene live in privacy in the upper tent. The wooden tool shanty has two over-size saws hung on the outside. You can tell it’s a Murray camp because double sheets are on the clothes line. There are no tablecloths in bush camps!

This is young Jack aged 14 (right) soon after he has run away from school to work in the bush in 1922. On his first day his dad sacks him for not listening. Jack then works for Irene in the cookhouse for six months, which turns out to be his luckiest break. He is at camp when Ruth McIsaac, also aged 14, walks to visit from Tramway Camp, 12 km up a steep pack-horse track. This visit starts a teenage romance in the Kauaeranga bush. March 2021 | NZ LOGGER 39

Breaking Out

Timber jack action

The Murray trio is concentrating on coordinating this arduous work lining up huge logs in the creek bed to ensure they will carry away when the log drive comes. It is 1925, Jack (centre) aged 17 is back working for dad and he is also carrying on his romance with Ruth. After a tough six-day working week, he treks 12km down to visit her at the Tramway Camp. They marry aged 19.

Married 62 years

Family adventure

This is Jack and Ruth as I tracked them down at Te Puke in 1985. Their first-hand recollections and photographs helped to bring back to life this Kauaeranga Kauri story. The fact that Ruth was a great cook had little influence on my decisions to visit them many times. In 2004 DOC gave Ruth a helicopter ride back into the ranges to the bush camp where she started work aged 11.

Today you can visit this timber industry heritage if you enjoy tramping. DOC runs a modern, comfortable hut in a spectacular mountain top setting on the site of Dancing Camp. There you can see the preserved remains of the last surviving driving dam. You can also see the stump of the huge Kauri tree that gave Dancing Camp its name. A stump so big you could hold a dance on it. It’s a great outing. NZL

40 NZ LOGGER | March 2021

Special Feature: Logging Survey

How many logging crews are there in NZ? Story: Professor Rien Visser

HE SHORT ANSWER TO THE QUESTION above, according to two recent surveys, is 743 – split between 318 cable yarding and 425 ground-based crews. Researchers Rien Visser and Hunter Harrill at the School of Forestry, University of Canterbury, carried out a survey on Cable Yarders in 2018 and on Ground-Based systems in 2019 (both projects were funded by Forest Growers Research). The 2018 survey recorded 318 cable yarding crews working at the time, with the highest concentration in the Central North Island with 78 machines, then 53 in the Southern North Island, 49 in Nelson Marlborough and 43 on the East Coast. This was an increase of only 15 machines (4%) from a comparable study in 2012. Over 80% of the yarders were manufactured in North America; the most common makes being Madill (120 units) and Thunderbird with 93. New Zealand manufacturers, Brightwater and EMS, were in third and fourth place with 32 Bellis machines, and 21 excavator-based Harvestlines. While the TMY 70 and Madill 071 tower yarders were the most common models in 2012, the large Madill 124 swing yarder was most common in 2018 with 32 units operating. The sharp increase in 124’s from 2012 was from Brightwater building 6 new units in that time under licence, and about 3 new and 6 used units imported from North America. There were a few new manufacturers as well, with six new T-Mar 650 in a similar class as the Madill 124. There was only one European manufactured machine, also the smallest, being the Koller 602h currently working with Mike Hurring Logging in Southland. The yarder study showed on average 8.5 workers per logging crew, ranging from just 4 for the Koller system all the way up to 14 for a larger 2-stage swing yarder crew. As we might expect, tower yarder crews were a bit bigger on average with just over 9 crew compared to swing yarders with just under 8. Interesting is that the actual cable logging volume harvested increased by about 30% between 2012 and 2018, which means the push to mechanisation increased the

Above: Humboldt State University’s Hunter Harrill visiting the T-Mar factory on Vancouver Island when the second New Zealand-bound T-Mar 650 was under construction. The Lew Prince crew in Hawkes Bay were the second to receive a T-Mar 650. average output of our yarder crews by 26%. A number of supporting factors showed up in the survey, including that the proportion of swing yarders increased from 30 to 36 percent, that most crews now preferred to use carriage systems (mechanical grapple or motorised carriage most common in 2018, compared to North-Bend and Scab in 2011), and that 35% of the crews were supported by winch-assist felling. On that last point, the 2020 FGR UC Benchmarking

database shows winch-assist continues to increase and is now over 60%, a very rapid development! There are a few older surveys to compare with as well. An unpublished yarder database in 2002 by the late Don Finnegan and John Faircloth showed 214 yarders, and a LIRA survey published by Bill Liley in 1985 recorded 82 yarders – of which only 44 were integral, but 38 were just drum sets using independent spars.

March 2021 | NZ LOGGER 41

Special Feature: Logging Survey

The survey on ground-based crews actually recorded 385 crews, but the researchers found it really hard to find every last crew in the regions – especially woodlot type crews that are not necessarily well known in the plantation industry. A couple of extensive micro-region ‘spot checks’ revealed about 10% were ‘missing’ – hence the final estimate was put at 425. Again, the largest number of crews were identified in the Central North Island with 66, 57 in the Lower North Island and 53 in the East Coast/Hawkes Bay area. Obviously ground-based systems are more mobile than yarders as there were a number of crews identified, but no knowledge of where they might be working (25 in the North Island alone). For 250 of those ground-based crews additional details were available. In terms of their preferred primary extraction machine, 62% were using grapple skidders, followed by forwarders at 16% and shovel at 7%. Only 6% of crews still use a tractor/arch and 4% cable skidders. The average daily target was 291m3/day. As we might expect, this had a big spread; there were 17 crews with targets greater than 600m3 per day, but also 25 crews with targets less than 100m3 per day. There was also a notable difference between extraction methods, with a grapple skidder crew average target at 331, but a cable skidder only 165m3/day. Crews tend to be highly mechanised, with an average of 5.4 workers and 4.2 machines. Multiplying this up, it means we have 2,150 workers operating 1,680

machines in ground-based logging alone. In comparison the 1985 Liley survey showed just 2.3 machines per crew, and a Lyon and Raymond study in 1991 indicated 6.9 workers per crew. So in 2018 we actually had fewer workers than the late 1980’s, but double the number of machines. If we add in the yarder crews, we end up with approximately 4,500 forestry workers employed directly with logging crews, operating 3,000 machines. The total number of logging crews, at

743, is only 22% higher than the number identified in 1985. However, our annual harvest has increased threefold in that time. This is the strongest possible indication of the increase in efficiency. Using survey results the researchers calculated the average productivity of ground-based crews to be 6.3m3 per worker per hour, which increased from previous estimates of 3.5 in 1991 and 2.3 in 1974. It also means that moving forward, although we are likely to increase our annual cut by another 20%, improved productivity means that it will be done by the same number of logging crew workers, although perhaps with more machines in the forest. Rien Visser is Professor and Director of Studies for Forest Engineering at the University of Canterbury. Dr Hunter Harrill has since moved back to northern California where he is now the Assistant Professor of Forest Operations at Humboldt State University. Rien and Hunter thank all the company people and loggers who helped provide the information. Note: The reports referenced above can be downloaded from the FGR website. NZL

Above: The Madill 124 swing yarder is now the most common yarder in NZ. Left: Mike Hurring’s crew: Trevor, Sylvester and Drew operating the Koller 602 in Coronet Forest.

42 NZ LOGGER | March 2021

Special Feature: Logging Survey

What is a used forestry machine worth?

Story: Professor Rien Visser and Connor Fahey

ORESTRY MACHINES ARE EXPENSIVE TO BUY AND OPERATE, that is an easy statement to make. They are purpose-built, designed to work hard in a rugged environment and yet provide safety and comfort for the operator. Forestry machine values depreciate quickly and logging contractors must decide whether to buy new or used when replacing or upgrading their machines. Improving our understanding of typical rates of machine value decline is beneficial for a number of reasons, including that the used price, coupled with total machine hours, is used for setting machine day rates. As part of his final year Forest Engineering dissertation project, Connor Fahey (now with Ernslaw One in Gisborne), and his supervisor Prof Rien Visser, collected and analysed published used machine cost data. The NZ data came from advertisements listed in NZ Logger, as well as websites like AB Equipment and Trade Me. They were also able to collaborate with colleagues from the USA (at Virginia Tech), to investigate differences in US and NZ data. Data was obtained for more than 800 machines – with detailed analyses completed on grapple skidders, feller-bencher, processor and excavator-based loaders. Like most new equipment, forestry machines depreciate quickly in the first few years – with an average of 50% after 4,000 hours, 35% value after 10,000 hours of operations, or 25% of value after 10 years. Average machine prices were lower in the USA, about 20% for new machines, but also much lower for used equipment.

new after 10,000 hours. This might be attributed to the value of the attachment, but also that the processor excavator base is mainly working on a landing and not travelling over the cut-over. The study also captured additional details such as machine power rating. Again, very logical results show that larger machines are more expensive to purchase, but also retain higher value over time.

Used skidder values as reported in NZ by size class (kW). In terms of common point of sale, it was noted that most machines listed are in the 8,000 to 10,000 hour category, indicating that crews who prefer to operate relatively new equipment will be looking to upgrade at that point. It was rare to find NZ logging equipment that was 20 years or older, but some of the US machines listed were more than 40 years old. There are obviously some very passionate loggers in the US that love to keep machines going! Connor Fahey’s complete dissertation report can be downloaded from http:// forestengineering.org, under UC student projects. NZL

A sample of data showing used grapple skidder values as reported in NZ and the USA, including the trendline. New price difference can be attributed to the larger market in the USA and it being the origin for much of the equipment, but used machine prices are also affected by NZ having a sustained increase in total volume harvested and hence a strong demand for equipment, where in many regions of the USA there is a depressed market for timber. This was also clearly seen in the average number of hours machines were used per year, with NZ averaging 1400 hour per year, but the US machines only clocking up 875 hours per year. In comparison to the skidders, feller-bunchers and loaders, processors held a higher resale value over time, at about 35% of

A grapple skidder working hard in a rugged environment: So what is it worth after 10,000 hours?.

March 2021 | NZ LOGGER 43

www.ﬁca.org.nz

Let’s Use the Tools Prue Younger, CEO Message

More so than any time of the year there are probably many of you renewing and negotiating contracts. Whether you have robust models, systems or a very good accountant it is important that you have a strong understanding of what your business is costing, as it makes sense then to understand how far you can go with your negotiations. There are many tools out there to help and just recently the old LIRO costing model – Business Management for Logging Handbook (BMOL) was worked on extensively by our partner accountant Blackburne Group – accolades to the work that Mark and Craig did on this project. This initiative was supported through funding from the Forest Growers Levy Trust which was a good message as forest growers want to see their contractors well equipped with business knowledge. The LIRO costing programme was last published in 2009 and was actively promoted through FICA work-shops and many copies of the workbook and costing disc were sold. Pulling out a very old version in black and white off the shelf, was testament that the BMOL Handbook has realistically not been used or promoted by FICA as a useful tool. The world has moved on in expecting everything to be online or app format and FICA agreed it was time to make the costing programme and handbook more user-friendly and available to the industry. It needed to be made much more relevant and usable, so a review of both content and delivery in converting to an online format was carried out and we have now made it available through the FICA website and equally being able to share it with other organisations. The revised format will enable easy updates to recognise future changes in industry requirements. Content has been enhanced in some areas and streamlined in others as with the considerable developments in H & S. The presentation is simplified not attempting to replicate much of the detailed content but instead providing appropriate direct links to more detailed relevant sources e.g. Safetree. Similarly, regarding environmental standards, referencing to appropriate sources and NES guidelines would appear appropriate. The preceding would streamline the handbook and enable more focus on direct business issues. In that regard there have been very significant updates regarding reporting tools e.g. online accounting packages such as Xero and cash planning models. Reporting on these changes, options available and costs would undoubtedly be beneficial to many in the industry. Meanwhile, updating the other content to be relevant to current circumstances. 44 NZ LOGGER | March 2021

Feeding into your costs you need to be aware of changes in your general expenses like fuel and how, over the last few months, a steady drop in the price of fuel has cross-credited the additional cost of high equipment investment. Even aspects such as bank loan rates dropping significantly over this last 12 months can give you the confidence to make better informed decisions around investment of new equipment. These are all good reasons to review your business, use the tools available. Also available are Forme Consulting Group’s annual Informe Daily Rate Estimate reports for Engineering, Forestry and Harvesting equipment and crews https:// forme.co.nz/services/informe/ A new addition to the reports this year is the introduction of an initial labour rate survey of harvesting and forestry positions through FICA contractors and building these results into Forme’s labour rate models. Forme is looking to widen the labour rate survey through FICA within the next few months – watch this space. The other space for support and financial modelling is the finance companies. I really applaud the support our partnering finance companies like Crediflex, UDC and Finance NZ gave during COVID-19 as they were out there advising you all and their focus was to see the industry continue business with lesser challenges. With contractors that are aptly equipped with credible business costings, they are more likely to be sustainable through challenging times of market variations. Finally, another exciting project being supported by Worksafe, is a project this year around building a model contract that will provide a template to be used as base foundations. From the onset a win-win for all parties will be the focus. The benefit will be to see a more sustainable industry with some acknowledgment of good business practices. The offer of tools for contractors to use and support their businesses and ensure their sustainability for the future of the industry, will support a profes-sional sector that will, in turn, be available for the long term. I know it takes time to get to even open these tools up and it’s even harder to consistently use them, but it will save you time in the long term and give you some space to increase your bottom line. Check out our BMOL on the front page of our website – give it a go! www.fica.org.nz

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top spot

Stepping into 2021 Safety/performance/quality

WHILE WE GET INTO THE SWING OF THINGS in 2021 over the next couple of issues, we bring you photographs of some of the folk who featured in 2020. It’s always a pleasure to be able to get out and meet these guys while getting a few photos and having a chat to them and their bosses about what they are doing and the competition. The positivity and friendly banter are a great reminder of what this competition is about! In December 2020 our team discussed how and where we may be able to challenge people a bit more, so you can expect to see a few tweaks here and there as we continue to lift the bar in terms of knowledge and performance in 2021. We know you guys are good, we want to recognise that and see you get even better! As an aside, we always talk about professionalism and how forestry people go the extra mile. I saw a good example of this recently while travelling to Napier – an unusual sight, a loaded log truck towing a Jeep (which was towing a large boat) to get this vehicle to a safe pull-off section of road. As I passed this spectacle, it became obvious the log truck had dropped its trailer at the top of a hill, turned around and travelled back down the road to assist the owner of the Jeep towing the boat, who had broken down on a steep section of road generally travelled at speed by motorists. So, thanks to Cat Wilson for showing the type of professionalism/assistance that many truckies show but rarely get recognised for. I’m sure there is now at least one Jeep/boat owner that thinks log truck drivers are pretty friendly on the road!

They believe in what we do and what you do. So a big ongoing thank you to our Strategic Partners – STIHL and NZ Logger and sponsor SWAZI. The best way to keep our industry working is to get out and support those businesses that support New Zealand. Participating Companies This competition wouldn’t be what it is without our participating companies. We understand the commitment it takes from them to be part of Top Spot and value their ongoing support and feedback. Our ongoing thanks to Rayonier/Matariki Forests, Wenita Forest Products, Port Blakely, Crown Forestry, Brand Logging, CMH Logging, Hauraki and Moehau Logging,

Thomassen Logging, Te Waa Logging, Inta-Wood Forestry, Otautau Contractors, Heslip Forest Contracting, Waikato Forestry Services, Atamira Ltd, Makerikeri Silviculture, XMen Forestry, Central Forestry Services, Mangoihe Logging, Kohurau Contracting, Kuru Contracting, Dennis E Hayes Logging, Swain Logging, Lumberjack Logging, Ernslaw One, Blue Wood Logging, Mike Hurring Logging, McCallum Harvesting, Whisker Logging, Kaha Logging, Lahar Logging, Dempsey Logging, Moutere Logging, JBD Harvesting, McDougall Logging, Forest View Logging, Kimberley Logging, Dewes Logging, Manaia Logging, Storm Logging, Eastside Logging, Veal Forestry, McHoull Forestry, Pride Forestry, Bay Pine, Penetito Forestry, FM Silviculture, Forest View Forestry, Wayne Cummings, Rodco Forestry, Johnson Forestry, Pro Forest Services, Eastside Logging. Into safety? Into performance? Into quality? Contact Shane Perrett on 0274 781 908, 07 3483037 or at primefm@xtra.co.nz. NZL

Sponsors – they don’t have to do this but they choose to! Awesome companies, awesome people and awesome support! They back you and your workmates to succeed as professionals, so why wouldn’t you support them?

46 NZ LOGGER | March 2021

X Men Forestry – Top Crew Silviculture 2020.

top spot

Safety/performance/quality

Brett Watt (left) and Des Church (crew foreman) Thomassen Logging 13.

Laurence Teka – Te Waa Logging.

Rob Hogarth – Te Waa Logging.

Ron Clarke – Te Waa Logging.

March 2021 | NZ LOGGER 47

new iron

NEW MACHINERY FOR HOHNECK The Hohneck Family has been a name connected with logging in New Zealand for many years around the Central North Island. Hohneck Tractor Logging has purchased several Komatsu Forest machines, this EMS built PC300 with a Woodsman Pro 750 head being the latest to join the fleet – its second Woodsman Pro head. Hohneck Tractor Logging is using the Loggic control system for the first time in both of its harvesters, providing the operator with ease of operation and increased productivity. Guarded by EMS Rotorua. Head sold by Adam Aldworth of Woodsman Pro/Ensign.

DUXSON FOR DOUGLAS This Duxson GX181HD Grapple fit-up was completed for Douglas Logging, fitted to its CAT548 GF machine.

FIRST WOODSMAN PRO FOR LOGGABULL

DT KING GETS KOMATSU

Loggabull, working in Kinleith Forest in the Tokoroa area, recently took delivery of its first Woodsman Pro head. The Woodsman Pro 750 harvester is attached to a Sumitomo SH350-5 TLFS. Sold by Adam Aldworth of Woodsman Pro/Ensign.

DT King Southland recently took delivery of a new Komatsu PC220LC-8. Pedro Symons operates the machine, guarded by Active Engineering with an Ensign fixed grapple plumbed out by Total Hydraulics Rotorua.

48 NZ LOGGER | March 2021

new iron

NEW EQUIPMENT FOR PJ & MJ OLSEN JDT ENGINEERING GETS BOAPOD JDT Engineering can now deliver greater hydraulic uptime to clients in Whanganui with its new BOApod, delivered by Oliver Boakes, Regional Business Development Manager for BOA Hydraulics. With the BOApod the company now has a complete hydraulic hose repair and maintenance solution onsite.

Paul and Megan Olsen of PJ & MJ Olsen have taken delivery of a new Weiler B758 track feller buncher with a SATCO 3L2 head. Crew foreman and operator, Scoota, had a big influence in the purchase. Having come off the previous Cat 552 track harvester, he says nothing could compete with the power of these machines. Weiler track feller bunchers provide powerful lift capacity throughout full reach, a key benefit in big wood. A robust undercarriage uses proven components, customised for demanding forestry conditions while maintaining ground clearance. The unit was sold by Brent Van Der Burg from Terra Cat.

KOMATSU PC 300LC-8 FOR STR LOGGING Steve and Liz Rowling of STR Logging from Opotiki have recently taken delivery of a new Komatsu PC 300LC-8. The Komatsu PC 300LC-8 has an EMS guarding package and is fitted with an Ensign 1730 Grapple. Operator, Brody, commented to John Kosar (Komatsu Forest NZ) that he is very happy with the new machine... “a wee bit different to the old girl I just got off”. Tipene, Liz and Steve’s young fella, was pretty impressed too. Pictured are Komatsu Forest NZ's John Kosar and Ryan du Toit with the STR Logging team: Emanuelle Hohepa, Dave Anderson, Brody Mitchell, Tipene Rowling, Kale van der Hulle, Steve Rowling, Violet Rowling, Liz Rowling, Toiroa Kamete and Jude Wilson. Absent: Fletcher Crawford, Tom Waikato, Willie Rowling. Photographer, Mick Brown.

NEW DUXSON FOR AGROWQUIP Agrowquip recently took delivery of this Duxson GX181HD grapple fitted onto a John Deere JD2156G.

March 2021 | NZ LOGGER 49

new iron

NEW DUXSON FOR ENDURANCE LOGGING JENSEN LOGGING GETS A NEW CAT The team at Jensen Logging has received a new Cat 548FM log loader that features an Ensign heel and 1730 grapple. This machine will be mainly used for shovelling in the company’s Rotorua region operations. Operator, Wi ,was very impressed with the power of the big Cat and the reach that the logger boom provided. Sold by Mark Costello from Terra Cat.

A successful field ser vice fit-up, on-site in Nelson for Endurance Logging, as the company acquires a Duxson FX142 Felling head onto its Tigercat 855E.

CAT 336GC FOR H&R HARVESTING HARVESTLINE PUTS KOMATSU TO WORK Harvestline Logging recently took delivery of a PC400LC with EMS Harvestline package delivered into the Wanganui. Brett, Erni and Jason Ashworth put her to work in the steep Waiototara Valley hill country.

50 NZ LOGGER | March 2021

This new Cat 336 GC traction line is proving a game-changer for the steep slope forestry operation of H&R Harvesting in the Rotorua region. The Next Gen 336 GC package combined with the innovative traction line winch system works with a Cat 552 Series II Track Harvester to carry out safe, productive steep slope harvesting with comfort and stability. For owners, Rodney and Ngahuia Hubbard, it’s the perfect combination for high production clear-cut and for clear or select-cut in rough terrain forest plantations. Sold by Mark Costello from Terra Cat.

new iron NEW CAT FOR ROTORUA FOREST HAULAGE This new Cat 982M wheel loader is the latest addition to Rotorua Forest Haulage. The unit has been put to work at Red Stag in Rotorua and Steve, the operator, says he is pleasantly surprised with the new updates featured in this Cat series loader as well as the smooth, comfortable ride and great lift capacities. The Logger version of the 982M features a reinforced rear frame, larger tilt cylinder and heavier counterweight which contribute to this machine having more payload than the standard 982M. Sold by Mark Costello from Terra Cat.

ALL SMILES ON THE SKID GT Harvesting of Wairarapa is stoked with the recent delivery of its brand new FX3230G from territory manager Josh Hunter. Owner, Geoff, says he loves the look and operation of the Porter Group, while Foreman Shaun loves the Hyundai brand – a win-win all round!

PICTON PORT SMARTENS UP A fit-up of Duxson BX440 Bunching Grapples for C3 onto two Volvo EC140 machines for use in the Picton Port.

DUXSONS FOR NAPIER PORT Fit-up onsite of two Duxson BX440 Bunching Grapples onto CAT 313FL machines for C3, this time at the Napier Port.

March 2021 | NZ LOGGER 51

new iron

BOAPOD FOR HEI JONSEY

NEW KOMATSU FOR FISKEN WOOD Fisken Wood recently took delivery of a Komatsu PC300LC, fitted with a Southstar supplied Quadco QB4400 fixed head. The machine was delivered to a tough block in the Venlaw Forest, east of Invercargill. Build is from HER Tapanui.

Hei Jonsey, hydraulic hose repair provider in Opotiki, is helping companies save dollars and downtime on hydraulic machinery with a new BOApod. Hei Jonsey can now offer a full hydraulic hose repair and maintenance service onsite as part of its mechanical engineering service to customers. This mobile, all-terrain facility was delivered by Oscar Boakes, Regional Business Development Manager for BOA Hydraulics.

2021

Brand Manager - Mercedes-Benz Trucks Theo Ferreira m. 0278 089 697 e. theo.ferreira@cableprice.co.nz

s h t n o m 3 N d e r r e e f c e n Fina s d ents optioabnle paym t O deposi

avail

IN STOCK NOW! AROCS 3263 8X4 LOGGER UNIT • • •

Mercedes-Benz OM473, 16L 630Hp, 12-Speed Powershift Transmission 1 only complete unit available for immediate delivery! Call Theo today to discuss a deal!

7 CAB CHASSIS AVAILABLE FOR IMMEDIATE BUILD!* $00,000

POA LOCATIONS:

Christchurch | Timaru | Greymouth Invercargill | Nelson | Dunedin

0800 555 456

cableprice.co.nz sales@cableprice.co.nz

* Terms & Conditions apply. Trucks displayed are for promotional purposes and may or may not include optional extras

NZ LOGGER classified

Mount Machinery Limited

www.chains.co.nz HEAVY PLANT & MACHINERY VALUERS

ENGINEERED WITH EXPERIENCE... Clark Tracks from Scotland Single tracks Bogey Tracks 30.5x32 750/55-26.5 35.5x32 780/50-28.5

Chain Protection have been selling these brands of forestry Chains & Tracks for 20+years

Contact: James Peacocke 0274 222 476 Email: infomountmachinery.nz Mail: PO Box 4254 Mt Maunganui 3149

LG30793

Trygg Ring Lug Chains from Norway are available from 16mm to 25mm 23.1x26 30.5x32 24.5x32 35.5x32 28Lx26

Chain Protection Services Ph: 03 338 1552 • E: chainpro@xtra. co.nz • www.chains.co.nz

Forestry Insurance Solutions LG23616

0800 55 54 53 info@stal.co.nz

www.sweeneytownsend.co.nz

Forestry Insurance Solutions

56 NZ LOGGER | March 2021

NZ LOGGER classified

STRONG & RELIABLE GRAPPLES STRONG && RELIABLE RELIABLE GRAPPLES GRAPPLES STRONG Made in NZ

Grapplesand andall allspares sparesinin Grapples stockwith withovernight overnightdelivery delivery stock

LG31252

SERIES852 852and and864 864 MMSERIES STRONG&&RELIABLE RELIABLE STRONG GRAPPLES GRAPPLES

Knight Logging Ltd

• M SERIES 852 AND 864 – STRONG & RELIABLE GRAPPLES • GRAPPLES AND ALL SPARES IN STOCK WITH OVERNIGHT DELIVERY • PROVEN AFTER SALES SERVICE

ProvenAfter AfterSales Sales Proven Service Service

ContactMarty MartyororBruce Bruce Contact Ph027 027324 3249091 9091 Ph 79Chambers ChambersStreet, Street,Tokoroa Tokoroa 79 enquiries@cdlloggrapples.co.nz enquiries@cdlloggrapples.co.nz

A DIVISION OF

March 2021 | NZ LOGGER 57

NZ LOGGER classified

BLACK DUCK SEAT COVERS

INTRODUCING THE NEW & Revolutionary

LG30437

MUD GRABBA 4ELEMENTS SEAT COVERS

FLoOR MATS

• 650gsm/19.2 oz Cotton Twill Composite • Heavy Protection • UniqueDuty locking system keeps them in place • Easy to remove for Cleaning • 100% Waterproof Fabric • Moulded to fit your vehicle perfectly • Cotton Soft to Touch • Both front & rear available • Machine Washable • Made from quality PVC • Full replacement Warranty • UV Resistant • Tailored Fit for Comfort and Style • Available in Black or Grey • Protect Your Vehicle Investment

EXPOSE YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE

Get the right exposure through NZ Logger magazine and capture the Forest industry buyers directly.

5% Ph: 0800 158 479

Shareholder Rebate

INTRODUCING THE NEW & Revolutionary les@blackduck.co.nz www.blackduck.co.nz

4ELEMENTS SEAT COVERS

Ph: 0800 158 479

CONTACT TRISH TO ADVERTISE

sales@blackduck.co.nz www.blackduck.co.nz

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NZ IS ON THE MOVE ARE YOU?

March 2021

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NZ IS ON THE MOVE ARE YOU?

The Official Magazine of the

ISSN 1174-7935

Issue 243

If you held off buying a new truck last year, we completely understand, but if you are ready to put last year behind you, we would love to help you turn the corner in 2021 in a new Isuzu.

CALISUZU.CO.NZ

Last of the Kauri Bushmen

Just how many logging crews are there in NZ?

If you held off buying a new truck last year, we completely understand, but if you are ready to put last year behind you, we would love to help you turn the corner in 2021 in a new Isuzu.

CALISUZU.CO.NZ

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LG18594

• UV Resistant 650gsm/19.2oz ozCotton Twill Composite •• 650gsm/19.2 • Tailored Fit for Comfort CottonDuty TwillProtection Composite • Heavy and Style HeavyWaterproof Duty Protection •• 100% Fabric • Available in Black or Grey 100% Soft Waterproof Fabric •• Cotton to Touch •• Machine Washable • Protect Your Vehicle Cotton Soft to Touch •• UV Resistant Investment Machine Washable • Tailored Fit for Comfort and Style • Available in Black or Grey • Protect Your Vehicle Investment

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58 NZ LOGGER | March 2021

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NZ LOGGER classified

PROTECT YOUR POLYCARBONATE WINDOWS

Polycarb windows are prone to scratching causing severe reduction in visibility for the operator creating health & safety issues.

By applying our protective window film to your machine windows, you will: ► Extend the life of the polycarbonate, ► Restore visibility for operator, ► Reduce need for screen replacement, only film when necessary

LG30961

► Enable use of windscreen wipers

BEFORE

MOBILE SERVICE NATIONWIDE

AFTER

CONTACT: SHANE 027 626 2231

@ExtremeWindowTints

extremewindowtints@xtra.co.nz

Extreme_Window_Tints

FORESTRY TRACK GROUPS Stay on track & get more grip with our single bar Forestry Track Groups Available to suit all makes & models of forestry machines from 20-40 tonne size

D y

Track Shoes with square or clipped corners & mud holes to prevent material packing Grouser Relug Bars can be welded on for extra lug height & traction Track Shoe bolt up & relugging service

Call 0800 654 323 now to order your track groups, ready to roll on! 0800 654 323 sales@west-trak.co.nz Find your parts at: www.west-trak.co.nz

March 2021 | NZ LOGGER 59

NZ LOGGER classified

IN FORESTRY, IT’S THE SIMPLE THINGS

DONE WELL THAT REALLY WORK

ENQUIRE NOW Nick Andrews New Zealand Sales

027 548 7761 dcforestryequipment.com

Built to banish downtime. For heavy tyres, there’s no such thing as an easy job. That’s why the entire Nokian foresty tyre range is built to stand up to the harshest of conditions and heaviest of applications. To get the best from your gear, choose Nokian.

STAYS ON THE JOB. Tyres that mean business. Phone us on 0800 NOKIAN (0800 665 426) or email info@nokian.co.nz to find a dealer.

60 NZ LOGGER | March 2021

CALL US NOW TO LEARN HOW WE CAN HELP YOU EXTEND THE LIFE OF YOUR TAIL ROPES! ANDY PALMER

+64 9 272 1951