NZ Logger October 22

October 2022

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Combining reach and power

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Going above and beyond

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FOREST TALK Cautious optimism for increased log demand; New Forests launches New Agriculture; Curbing deforestation; NZ wood chip bound for Japan; Towards safer roads; Government/ industry partner for sustainable wood processing; NZ Forestry Expo around the corner; Electric forest machine under way; Recognising training and excellence; Funding to break new scientific ground; Biosecurity in the spotlight; Built for extremes; No shortage of debate; Celebrating forestry’s highest achievers; Radiata pine: pest or progress?.

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SHAW’S WIRE ROPES IRON TEST As our Iron Test team drives onto the R.A. Douglas Harvesting skid in Southern Kaingaroa to test the Sumitomo 5040 processor fitted with a Waratah 625C head, it’s clear that this is an area of extremes – one that the Sumi tackles with gusto!

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NZ TIMBER Currently producing 120-150 cubic meters of timber per day, Sutherland Timber has a long and colourful history.

Five generations later, one thing that’s never changed is keeping it all in the family.

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LOGGING LEGEND Arriving at the scene of an early morning accident, Tolaga Bay log truck driver, Neville Green, had nearly 30 years of driving experience and up to date first aid training to swing into action.

DEPARTMENTS 2 editorial 48 fica 50 top spot 54 Sweeney Townsend New Iron 58 classifieds

October 2022 | NZ LOGGER 1

from the editor October 2022

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ISSN 1176-0397

PHOTO: TIM BENSEMAN

Combining reach and power

5

generations of timber talent

Going above and beyond

Iron Tester, Shaun Field, gets in the driver’s seat of the Sumitomo 5040 processor fitted with a Waratah 625C head at R.A. Douglas Harvesting in Southern Kaingaroa.

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Covering ground WE GO TO PRINT IN A SOMBRE MOOD THIS MONTH AFTER THE DEATH OF AN icon, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Appropriate then that the New Zealand Institute of Forestry (NZIF) conference followed shortly after, with King Charles and the Duchy of Cornwell always being strong supporters of the NZIF, even proposing the Prince of Wales Sustainability Cup which is awarded annually to a young forester.

However, it wasn’t only the Awards that drew attention at this year’s conference, held in Auckland. The Minister of Forestry Update presented by Minister Stuart Nash covered some interesting ground.

He began by taking a step back on his rejection of exotics in the Permanent Forest category of the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), moved on to his vision for the Forest Service and the importance of the Industry Transformation Plan for collaboration, touched on Forestry Advisers legislation and the need to register with the NZIF, and ended on the role of Government Wood Procurement.

Delegates were quick to read between the lines, asking: What will happen to Government’s plans for forestry if New Zealand’s Labour Party falls out of favour?

“We’ll brief the Nats for a consistent policy,” came the response.

Where are the native forestation incentives?

“The market is incentive enough. Labour and access to tree stock are the barriers.”

Why should forest owners have to be saved from themselves with the Forestry Advisers legislation and needing permits to own forests?

“This is about saying we need a higher duty of care in this industry and raised perception to do the industry good. I make no apology for professionalising the industry. We are keeping up with what the global market is demanding of us in terms of integrity and professionalism.”

Whether you take the Minister at face value or not, there is certainly already strong professionalism in this industry that deserves recognising, impressively illustrated by our NZ Timber feature this month. Five generations of hard work and passion have made Sutherland Timber what it is today, with no sign of stopping in the future.

Also, this month, we take a look at a humble hero. “I was up early and off to work again the next morning,” says log truck driver Neville Green, after making a world of difference to one person’s life when he came across a harrowing traffic accident on State Highway 35. He didn’t hesitate to draw on his first aid training and come to the rescue – selfless actions fit for a Queen.

Until next time, stay safe.

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forest talk

Cautious optimism for increased log demand Story: Scott Downs, Director Sales & Marketing, PF Olsen. crews. However, supply will not ramp up as quickly as it THERE ARE EARLY SIGNS OF INCREASED LOG DEMAND could, as there is less infrastructure in the New Zealand in China, but caution remains due to the real estate fiscal log supply chain due to the lack of sustained work. crisis and COVID lockdowns. Domestic log demand The July Caixin China Manufacturing PMI declined and prices have been stable. to 50.4 from the positive outlook of 51.7 in June.

At Wharf Gate (AWG) prices increased between 8 While COVID outbreaks are still a concern, the main to 13 NZD per JASm3 across ports in New Zealand in cause for the reduction in positive sentiment was the August. The wide variation in AWG price increases concern around energy supply in China. Producers in over the previous two months was due to some many regions have experienced electrical stoppages ports reducing congestion. The CFR sale prices in as officials have prioritised domestic consumption over China remained stable over the previous month, so PF Olsen’s industrial use. The power demand from air conditioning the increased AWG prices for the second month in a row Scott Downs. units has soared during the heatwave in China. in New Zealand are due to reduced shipping costs for log exporters. Softwood log inventory levels in China are also stable.

The PF Olsen Log Price Index increased $7 in August to $120 which is India $3 below the two-year average, $1 below the three year-average and $4 Relatively cheap kiln dried sawn timber from Europe is flooding Mundra below the five-year average. The August index is $3 above the one-year port in the range of 180 to 200 EUR. This is dampening the already poor average, which shows that log prices have been well below average over demand for the green sawn timber.

A couple of unsold pine log vessels from South America are adding the last year. negativity to the already depressed log market. Gandhidham green sawn Domestic log market timber price is INR 571 per CFT for South American sawn timber and INR Domestic log prices have been stable with little change as most domestic 621 for Australian sawn timber.

Kandla demand may increase after the Diwali holiday in November. pricing is agreed at least quarterly. Domestic demand for sawn timber Demand in Tuticorin market is slow, with pricing at INR 650 levels per has also been consistent. Most mills in New Zealand take this time to prepare for the generally higher domestic demand in spring and summer. CFT. European kiln dried sawn timber is sold at around 220 EUR levels.

Export log market

Ocean freight

China China softwood log inventory has remained stable at about 4.6-4.7m. Fresh pine logs are sold quickly after arrival in China, but some older stock is not moving. The current demand is in balance with supply, and log buyers obviously prefer to buy the fresher stock as it arrives.

Logs used in furniture manufacturing are also selling faster than logs used in the construction industry. The older stock will more likely be used in the construction industry but will be hard to move until construction activity increases. The CFR price for A grade logs still ranges between 145 and 150 USD per JASm3.

Log supply from New Zealand will start to increase as the weather improves. Due to improved log prices some forest owners will also release some of the production constraints they have placed on harvest

Shipping costs have continued to drop for log exporters from New Zealand. This is a continuation of existing factors: • Significant increases in fertiliser costs have reduced demand for shipping of fertiliser products. Approximately 25% of global fertiliser exports have previously come from Russia and Belarus • Higher efficiency of vessels due to reduced congestion globally increases freight miles available.

• Less demand due to the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

• Weaker China market, meaning less import of commodities.

• Stronger than expected domestic coal production in China.

• Industry commentators expect container rates to decline 20-30% over the second half of 2022. This means more freight will be shipped in containers than in bulk. NZL

New Forests launches New Agriculture NEW FORESTS HAS ANNOUNCED THE FORMATION OF A NEW business division, New Agriculture, and the appointment of four experienced investment professionals to the team.

The global investment manager of nature-based real assets and natural capital strategies says New Agriculture has been established to build a portfolio of agriculture assets globally, starting in Australia and New Zealand. It will also manage the Lawson Grains 100,000-hectare aggregation, which was acquired by New Forests and Alberta Investment Management Company (AIMCo) in January 2022.

Commenting on how New Agriculture aligns with New Forests’ vision, Mark Rogers, Senior Managing Director, Australia, New Zealand and the United States says, “Like forestry, agriculture is a real asset

which provides investors with a strong cash yield, a natural inflation hedge and is uncorrelated to other asset classes. By combining our experience in forestry with agriculture, we can seek to optimise the value of the land between sustainable food and fibre production, carbon sequestration, conservation, and community benefits. We believe that improving agricultural land management and optimising landscapes for multiple uses, will help the global economy transition to a sustainable future.”

The four appointments to the team are Bruce King, Director of Agriculture; Ben Mason, Portfolio Manager; and Ben Pickles, Manager, Operations, alongside existing team member Jamie Lord, Manager, Investments. NZL

4 NZ LOGGER | October 2022

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forest talk

Curbing deforestation STEPPING UP THE FIGHT AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE, Ministers responsible for forestry from Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member economies are pressing for more cooperation to curb deforestation and biodiversity loss in the region.

APEC economies (including New Zealand) account for more than 50% of global forest areas, 60% of global wood products and 80% of global trade in forest products.

Member economies have been working on their ambitious goal of increasing forest cover by at least 20 million hectares by 2020 across the region. This goal has been achieved and exceeded, as the forest cover in APEC increased by 27.9 million hectares between 2007 and 2020.

“Although we have been able to complete our mission in 2020, still these wake up calls — which include global environmental threats, particularly climate change and biodiversity loss, as well as economic and social consequences from the COVID-19 pandemic, and other global challenges — all remain as key concerns of forest policy,” said Varawut Silpa-archa, Thailand’s Minister of Natural Resources and Environment at the recent APEC Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Forestry held in Thailand.

Minister Varawut also urged member economies to strengthen

cooperation and continue sharing information and best practices on combatting illegal logging and associated trade among APEC economies: “As APEC is the top destination for global forest product trade, it gives the region an additional responsibility in ensuring that forests are sustainably managed.”

The Ministers recognised that forests play an essential role in tackling climate change, both in terms of mitigation and adaptation, especially in the process of moving towards carbon neutrality and net zero greenhouse gas emission. Therefore, action is needed to maintain forest cover and reverse forest loss, prevent forest degradation and sustainably manage forests.

“We are increasingly made aware of the impact of extreme weather, brought about by climate change, being experienced in many parts of the world, including in our region — drought, floods, heat waves — these are surely mother nature’s warning to us of the cost of inaction or slow action. It is in this context that our meeting here is of significance. Forestry, with its unique role and contribution to sustainable development, has the potential to be a leading sector in achieving green growth,” added Dr Rebecca Sta Maria, Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat. NZL

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forest talk

NZ wood chip bound for Japan ONEFORTYONE’S KAITUNA SAWMILL AND MARUSUMI Whangarei Co, have signed an agreement to export wood chip to Japan, with the first vessel expected to depart from Port Marlborough (Picton) before the end of the year.

Port Marlborough has been a critical partner in providing logistical support for the initiative, including 4,000m2 (0.4 ha) in the port’s Shakespeare Bay log yard currently for the operation.

Tracy Goss, Kaituna Sawmill General Manager, says this agreement has been three years in the making: “It is part of our growth strategy and an exciting opportunity for us to diversify our wood residues market. As a by-product generated during timber production, in the South Island, woodchip is primarily used for making medium-density fibreboard (MDF) and utilised in biofuel and wood energy markets.

This new export initiative complements our existing market in New Zealand, and we now have access to a growth market in Japan.

“The first loads of wood chip were delivered into Port Marlborough in August, and we will deliver from Kaituna to the port every day until November, where it will then get shipped off to Japan.”

Rhys Welbourn, Port Marlborough CEO, says the diversification of the Port’s forestry industry offering is important for Marlborough: “Port Marlborough supports and facilitates a number of Marlborough’s key industries, and we want to create and deliver long-term value to our customers through integrated services. This is an exciting opportunity for us to diversify our wood export offering and to develop our commercial partnerships.

Marusumi Whangarei Co has been exporting both softwood and hardwood chip from Marsden point since 1995, predominantly to its parent company Marusumi Paper Co, and other end users in Japan and China.

The first load is expected to depart Picton in November by sea and will be sent to Japan for use in paper production. NZL

Towards safer roads language and style that’s practical for transport. With the THANKS TO AN ACC WORKPLACE INJURY PREVENTION right systems and processes in place, workplace health Grant of $850,000, the New Zealand Trucking and safety incidents will reduce, creating a safer work Association (NTA) and National Road Carriers (NRC) environment that results in less claims to ACC.” HARMfree Transport wellbeing hub will soon take According to McGeady, HARMfree Transport will shape. not only deliver the tools and resources required to NTA and NRC, in partnership with AutoSense, create safer workplaces, but it will also provide an Fatigue Management Fit for Duty, and Success environment that encourages H&S and HR experts Formula (NTI) will be working together to create to reach out for support from their counterparts a set of tools, information, resources, and training across the transport industry, sharing knowledge. material that will be tailored to the needs of the General Manager, Justin Tighe-Umbers, CEO, NRC says, “It follows on transport industry. HARMfree Transport, will be focused NTA, Carol McGeady. that a key outcome of a safer workplace environment on improving workplace safety and worker wellbeing is safer roads. With stronger health and safety systems and includes the implementation of consistent processes, procedures and policies that can be adopted as a roadmap and processes in place, hazards and risks are reduced and this flows through to safer drivers and trucks travelling on our roads. to achieving a risk-free workplace.

“The programme is ‘human-centred’ in its design. It is designed The initiative will include the implementation of a Good Work Design approach to address psychosocial risks of workers in the transport by the transport industry for the transport industry, so we know this funding will make a difference.” sector to reduce injury.

Expected outcomes will include increased use of best practice “As an industry organisation we are closely connected to our members. Their health and safety (H&S) and HR staff often tell us it’s guidelines, greater engagement across all staff on the development really difficult to connect across different companies. They want to of Good Work Design and an enhanced understanding of dynamic risk learn and solve issues to create a safer workplace for their team, but it with a significant reduction of harm and injuries.

The ACC Workplace Injury Prevention Grants programme provides can be really challenging connecting with their peers to seek support, discuss issues and create better processes,” says Carol McGeady funding to organisations or individuals who are striving to solve workplace health and safety challenges. The grants are designed General Manager, NTA. “Creating a programme that is industry-designed, industry-led, and to be a vehicle through which to create impactful health and safety supported by ACC, means that the programme will be designed in a improvements. NZL

6 NZ LOGGER | October 2022

forest talk

Government/industry partner for sustainable wood processing A NEW PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT AND OJI FIBRE Solutions could boost the development of sustainable wood products, hydrogen and biofuels at the Kinleith Mill near Tokoroa, creating jobs and reducing emissions across the economy, says Minister Stuart Nash.

The partnership will create opportunities to develop the Kinleith Mill to commercially produce wood products such as biofuels – including sustainable aviation fuel – lignin, green hydrogen, bioplastics and fuel pellets.

“In order to build a low-emissions, high-wage economy, we need to explore innovative and sustainable solutions across all sectors.

In the wood processing sector, there is the opportunity to integrate biomanufacturing, which means producing bioenergy and high value biochemicals through the development of an advanced bioeconomy manufacturing cluster,” Mr Nash adds.

“Oji Fibre Solutions is a world-leader in pulp, paper and packaging products, and the Kinleith Mill employs over 500 people in the South

Waikato. This joint feasibility study is the perfect opportunity to think differently about the way we process wood in New Zealand, to tap into the bioeconomy, and harness the valuable by-products of wood fibre.

“Throughout this study, we’ll investigate how we can make highvalue and sustainable bio-products from wood. This could create high-wage, highly-skilled jobs as well as unlocking regional economic opportunities and ultimately building a productive, sustainable and inclusive bioeconomy.

“This partnership is one of the first tangible actions from the draft Forestry and Wood Processing Industry Transformation Plan I launched in August. A key focus of the Plan is how to add value to the forestry sector by processing logs domestically rather than sending them offshore for other countries to extract value.

“The forestry and wood processing sector has significant growth potential, and innovative ways of thinking, like this study, will help the sector decarbonise, support local job creation and drive the circular economy.” NZL

NZ Forestry Expo around the corner NEW ZEALAND’S FIRST FORESTRY EXPO event since 2011, the Fast & Forward Forestry Expo, is coming to Rotorua from 18-19 November 2022. The expo will showcase innovation and advancements, career opportunities and the contribution forestry makes to the New Zealand economy, while also providing a chance for industry to come together.

Brought to you by the Forest Industry Contractors Association (FICA), the Fast and Forward Forestry Expo is all about showcasing where forestry is today and where it’s heading.

Given that Forestry contributes an annual gross income of around $6.7 billion which makes up about 1.6% of New Zealand’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and employs around 35,000 people in wood production, processing, and the commercial sector according to the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), FICA CEO, Prue Younger, says: “Forestry has come a long way from chainsaws and pulling logs by horse. It’s time to celebrate and showcase forestry innovations and advances, to the industry as well as the wider public.”

The Expo will feature a range of trade

8 NZ LOGGER | October 2022

stands showcasing all things forestry, from heavy machinery, equipment, technology, safety gear, new advancements and innovations, to science, forestry support services, careers and more.

Entertainment will include demos and logging challenges, a children’s circus

and entertainers and food and beverage vendors. An industry dinner is also taking place at the Energy Events Centre on Friday 18 November, as part of the wider event.

It will include a Charity Auction to support funding further tools for the industry to manage mental health matters. NZL

forest talk

Electric forest machine under way THE PONSSE EV1 ELECTRIC FOREST MACHINE BY PONSSE AND Epec could be working in our forests before long. While the forest machine is not yet commercially available, Epec’s technology can already be used in electric or hybrid-electric commercial vehicles and non-road mobile machines.

The PONSSE EV1 concept has been developed for forwarders with a 15-tonne load-carrying capacity, the most popular Ponsse forwarder size category. The concept machine features a fully electric powertrain, as well as Epec’s power distribution unit and hybrid control unit. The machine’s powertrain operates fully with battery energy. Batteries are charged using a Range Extender, which is a combustion engine at this stage of development. Testing and development are advancing continuously. This technology provides significant improvements in fuel economy in this size category.

The PONSSE EV1 features Epec Flow, Epec’s electromobility system solution. The solution is based on the Epec Flow Power Distribution Unit (PDU), to which electric motors, batteries and various devices can be connected. The PDU’s integrated safety solutions enable effective manufacturing and maintenance of the machines, as well as their operations, in demanding conditions. The Epec Flow Hybrid Control Unit (HCU) controls the electric powertrain and includes software developed through simulations, enabling optimal energy consumption, productivity and usability.

Ponsse has been studying and developing new technological solutions for several years now. The PONSSE EV1 concept took its

first steps in 2019 when Ponsse and Epec started to investigate responsible power source solutions in line with sustainable development.

“Technological development is fast and offers us excellent opportunities to develop our solutions further, even in unexpected directions. We have worked hard with our technology company Epec to enable this concept. At the same time, both companies have developed their capabilities, and we have gained significant new knowledge during this project. This launch of a new technology concept is a peek into the future and one of the solutions offered by electric powertrains. Sustainable development is a significant future success factor for Ponsse,” says Juho Nummela, President and CEO, Ponsse. NZL

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DIAGNOSE • DESIGN • DELIVER

forest talk

Recognising training and excellence Hannah Lawson, Rayonier Matariki Forests, FORESTRY COMPANIES AND CONTRACTORS training courses in the region are now wellthroughout the lower South Island recently established and are providing a regular and Emma Diack, D and K Contracting, were announced as joint winners of the inaugural celebrated the 2022 Southern Wood Council stream of workers to the industry”.

As well as eight annual awards that have Women in Forestry Excellence Award.

Forestry Awards run in conjunction with the Over 300 National Training Certificates country’s industry training organisation, been celebrated now for eight years, this year marked the first time that a Women had been achieved in Forestry & Wood Competenz/Te Pūkenga.

In addition to profiling the contribution in Forestry Excellence Award was set up Processing across the region in the last 12 forestry and those working within the industry and recognised by the wider industry. Some months and 200-plus framed certificates make to the economic and social well-being outstanding nominations were received were awarded to top local contractors and of the region, the night was designed to and it was only fitting that for the first forestry and wood processing employees celebrate the success of those who had time, joint winners were announced on on the night. Twenty harvesting apprentices achieved formal training qualifications over the night, representing women working in that have been involved in the Mike Hurring the year. Through a series of nine major forest management and wood harvesting Logging Balclutha training school were also recognised at the awards ceremony. NZL awards, the event also recognised the operations in the South. forest industry’s top performers from across Southland, Otago and South Canterbury.

Some 350 forest managers, forestry contractors, wood processing and transport operators and product and service suppliers to the industry attended the awards evening at Dunedin’s Forsyth Barr Stadium.

“The turnout by forestry workers, their families and supporters on the night continues to reflect the momentum that’s been building with Women in Forestry (from left): Anne Bridger, Venture Forestry (Award Sponsor); Brittney training and safety in this region”, Kircher, Cable Logging Geraldine (Finalist); Hannah Lawson, Rayonier Matariki Forests says Chairman of the Southern Wood (Joint Winner); Emma Diack, D & K Contracting (Joint Winner); Tegan Anderson, Roxburgh Council, Grant Dodson. “In addition Contracting (Finalist); and Xshikarna Harvey-Ryder, Mike Hurring Logging (Finalist). to increased on-site training, two

The Winners Training Excellence Award – Apprentice of the Year (Sponsored by Southwood Export) Award Winner; Spencer Horsewood, Summit Logging 2020.

Training Excellence Award – Forestry Trainee of the Year (harvesting) (Sponsored by Log Marketing) Award Winner; Bradley Walsh, Mike Hurring Logging.

Training Excellence Award – Forestry Trainee of the Year (silviculture) (Sponsored by Port Blakely): Award Winner; Eddie Collins, Proforest Services Skilled Professionals Awards – Forestry Excellence (establishment, silviculture, fire, harvesting) (Sponsored by Rayonier Matariki Forests): Award Winner; Alistair McKenzie, Johnson Forestry Services.

Skilled Professionals Awards – Wood Processing Excellence Award (Sponsored by UDC): Award Winner; Jayden Lamb, Niagara.

10 NZ LOGGER | October 2022

Skilled Professionals Awards – Women in Forestry Excellence Award (Sponsored by Venture Forestry): Award Winners; Hannah Lawson, Rayonier Matariki Forests & Emma Diack, D and K Contracting.

Industry Excellence Awards – Forestry Environmental Management Excellence Award (Sponsored by Ernslaw One); HWH Logging.

Industry Excellence Awards – Training Company/Contractor of the Year (Sponsored by City Forests): Award Winner; Roxburgh Contracting.

Industry Excellence Awards – Forest Products Health & Safety Award (Sponsored by Wenita Forest Products): Award Winner; Dynes Group.

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forest talk

Funding to break new scientific ground A PIONEERING SCION PROJECT MONITORING the physiological processes inside trees in realtime and another, 3D printing scaffolding for tissue culture will receive investment funding totalling $1.9 million over three years through the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s 2022 Endeavour Fund.

The ‘Implanted sensors monitoring tree health and carbon capture efficiency’ project, in partnership with the University of Cambridge, will receive $1 million over three years to design sensors to measure the nutritional status, vitality, carbon capture efficiency and microbiome fitness of growing trees.

Precision forestry uses remote sensing tools such as satellites and drones, combined with sophisticated sensors, to detect subtle variations in plant health, nutrient and water status.

Monitoring the physiological processes inside trees in real time is the only way to fully understand how trees are responding to the environment around them and to future-proof their resilience to climate change, says Scion.

To implement this in practice, Scion will develop sophisticated low-cost bioelectronic sensors which can be implanted inside trees.

These types of sensors have been used in biomedical research – but rarely used inside trees for forestry. Their use in New Zealand Radiata Pine will be pioneering.

Data generated by these sensors will be transmitted from the trees via a wireless

network in the forest.

Fusing data from remote sensing together with physiological sensors within trees, combined with genome and climate data, can provide the most complete insights into a growing forest anywhere in the world.

Successful too, was the proposal, ‘Plantinspired 3D-printed scaffold for tissue culture’.

Awarded $900,000 over three years, Scion scientists will explore new technology that aims to improve the tissue culture technique that makes clonal forestry possible in conifers.

Commercial forestry relies on producing vast numbers of trees – often elite clones. Somatic embryogenesis is the tissue culture technique that is used to create embryos for this purpose, but it has some limitations.

Somatic embryos can have trouble maturing on a flat surface effectively when they are sitting on a dish on a laboratory bench. In nature, these embryos would mature in a complex threedimensional structure as they interact with other cells and respond to different gradients and signals of temperature, mechanical force, nutrients and plant hormones.

Replicating this environment is extremely challenging in the laboratory, yet it is the key to successful tissue culture, says Scion.

This project will adopt sophisticated 3D printing techniques using hydrogels to create a scaffold with gradients of hormones, nutrients and porosity along its length. To visualise this scaffold, imagine a large cardboard tube with

round holes in the sides and complex gradients of hormones and nutrients along its length.

While the immediate application is in the forestry industry, the same technique can be applied to other plant species, mammals and to create new biomedical opportunities.

Science leaders at Scion will also contribute to six collaborative projects that received a total of $5,754,700 from the Endeavour Fund. They involve joint research with Auckland University, WSP Research NZ, Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research, Lincoln University, Auckland University of Technology and Massey University.

“Forests will be at the heart of a low-carbon future New Zealand. At Scion, we’re proud to lead research that will unleash the power of forestry, tackle climate change and help transition New Zealand to a circular bioeconomy,” says Scion Chief Executive, Dr Julian Elder. NZL

Scion Chief Executive Dr Julian Elder.

Biosecurity in the spotlight A NEW CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE AT LINCOLN University will bring together more than 100 of the world’s top biosecurity researchers and stakeholders to solve some of the toughest challenges facing the forestry, agriculture and environmental sectors in New Zealand and worldwide.

The Centre for One Biosecurity Research, Analysis and Synthesis (COBRAS) will be the first of its kind in the world, and will consolidate myriad global efforts to predict and mitigate the impact of invasive weeds and pathogens into a centralised hub at Lincoln University.

The COBRAS multi-disciplinary team comprises highly-respected researchers from the domains of animal, environmental and plant health, Mātauraka Māori, economics and climate change, and is led by Professor Philip Hulme, one of New Zealand’s leading

12 NZ LOGGER | October 2022

biosecurity scientists.

COBRAS will also work closely with relevant Ministries, industry, regional councils and iwi, as well as international partners – for example the Australian Centre of Excellence for Biosecurity Risk Analysis.

Professor Hulme says COBRAS was established to answer a pressing need for a coordinated global response to address the growing biosecurity risks to animal, plant and environmental health.

“The Sars-CoV-2 pandemic has highlighted the need to more effectively protect international and national borders against invasive species which can have multiple impacts on people, plants and animals, with significant sociological, political and environmental implications,” he says.

“We recognise that we need to act

collectively and cooperatively to mitigate these impacts, yet strong and enduring sectoral silos persist, severely limiting our ability to mount an effective ‘one biosecurity’ holistic approach.

“COBRAS will deliver that ‘one biosecurity’ response, and will at the same time establish Lincoln University as the international leader in land-based interdisciplinary biosecurity policy and research.

“We have already established links with new interdisciplinary centres in the USA and Chile that are addressing the interface between biosecurity and disease biology as well as biocultural diversity.

“Longer-term milestones will include establishing an international collaborative biosecurity research network, a corpus of interdisciplinary publications in high-profile journals and securing ongoing funding.” NZL

forest talk

Built for extremes TIGERCAT HAS DESIGNED AND BUILT ITS FIRST PRODUCTION grinder, the first in its material processing category, in the form of the 6900 heavy-duty upswing grinder. It is designed for high throughput material reduction and mulch production.

It is built for extreme duty and long life. The upswing rotor and large infeed opening with outward wing walls maximise processing capacity. The grinder’s upper frame pivots on the undercarriage, allowing the operator to adjust the infeed angle or discharge height for different material lengths. The adjustable angle eliminates the need for outriggers. The pivoting upper frame allows transport on a 46 cm (18 in) lowboy trailer without the need to fold the discharge conveyor.

The machine also has remote control functions for simple operation and mobility on site, along with an easy-to-use 25 cm display screen for machine monitoring and function adjustment.

Maintenance is made easy with convenient service access. The split hog box opens over centre to fully access the rotor and screens.

The anvil and screens are hydraulically retractable. The single discharge conveyor is open on the bottom for clean operation and easy servicing. A tool storage area is mounted on the side of the machine that hydraulically raises and lowers for added convenience.

An optional large diameter magnetic head pulley is available to effectively remove metal from the end product. The machine is also prepared to accept over-band magnet systems. NZL

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NZIF 2022

No shortage of debate Story: Hayley Leibowitz

THIS YEAR’S NEW ZEALAND INSTITUTE OF FORESTRY (NZIF) CONFERENCE theme was ‘The Ngahere (forests) sustaining the people’. Held in Auckland, speakers dove right in on everything from carbon to bioenergy opportunities, the potential of mass timber, biodiversity, land uses for correct balance, the challenges of establishing indigenous forestry both at a local and national level, the role of exotics, updates on research in sustainability, sobering lessons in legal frameworks and insights into the circular bioeconomy.

There was no shortage of debate among the delegates, starting on Day 1, with hard-hitting questions like whether the carbon market is artificial, how much biodiversity is too much, whether or not farmland should be retired for forestry, and if foresters are in the business of storing carbon or producing wood.

While there are no solid answers, one of the conclusions was that the industry is no longer just driven by ‘stale, pale males’. Social licence is a reflection of the values of the majority and when it comes to land use, politicians and those in forestry need to face and manage risks that are equally owned.

The use, management and ownership of land was a hot topic overall. The use of forest to contain and protect Auckland’s water supply in the Hunua Ranges while transitioning from exotic to indigenous forest, showed what can be achieved. Then there was the dual use of two attractive income streams – manuka honey and carbon.

While establishing indigenous forests can be a step forward in sustainable development goals and biodiversity, in New Zealand historical, spiritual and social perspectives are also key. The example of Woodhill Forest which has been returned to its rightful owners and will remain as plantation forest for decades to come, made for interesting listening.

Also in the spotlight was the question of Kauri Dieback and its best management on a large scale, looking at social and scientific approaches.

Forest Growers Research put its emphasis on the critical role of science and innovation for improving and future-proofing our forests. Not to mention collaborative research and influence of environmental changes, societal expectations and technological developments.

A look at law changes took delegates back to contentious issues with the

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Overseas Investment Act, the Forestry Amendment Bill, the Log Traders bill and the ETS among others, coming under scrutiny.

Allowing exotics into the Permanent category of the Emissions Trading Scheme is not only about potential and options, but also trust and choice said Te Kapunga Dewes, CEO of Whenua Oho, emphasising that we are all in this conversation together.

Some impressive timber builds demonstrated the potential of exotics and what can be achieved when expertise, technology and knowledge come together to drive changes, along with innovative and sustainable design solutions lowering carbon footprints.

The final focus for the day brought all these aspects together on the subject of the circular bioeconomy with a look at Oji Fibre Solutions’ approach, as well as a take on regional bioenergy supply of biomass, with Ahika Consulting and Fonterra showing just how much our forests just keep on giving.

Day 2 started with the Minister of Forestry Update by Minister Stuart Nash raising some hackles (see Editorial, page 2) and then the conference concluded appropriately on the subject of the role of wood. Globally wood is our low carbon future, said Red Stag’s Marty Verry with an eye on Government’s Carbon Neutral by 2025 goal. While demand for wood isn’t a problem, capacity is, he explained. The solution? Invest aggressively in large-scale wood processing. The obstacles to this have been dealing with fluctuating currency and shipping costs, dropping prices in Asia and competing with heavily subsidised sawmills in Asia and Australia. The solution is in adding carbon value to the wood processing sector as per the growing sector, he said – finding a mechanism to bring wood processes into the ETS. With the focus on wood, the final offering from the conference before embarking on field trips was the launch of a new initiative – the Wood Our Low Carbon Future Campaign. With the goal to educate and get the word out about the virtues and values of wood – not only its role in carbon storage, but also the contribution of harvested wood products – the Campaign is set to roll into 2023 and beyond.

As always, the NZIF conference didn’t disappoint! NZL

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NZIF 2022

Above left: Jack Palmer receiving the Prince of Wales Sustainability Cup from NZIF President James Treadwell.

Above centre: The New Zealand Forester of the Year Award went to Don Hammond who was unable to attend.

Above right: Ian Page was honoured with the Kirk Horn Award.

Celebrating forestry’s highest achievers THE NZIF ANNOUNCED THE WINNERS OF ITS THREE MOST prestigious awards at the conference Awards Dinner. The 2022 recipients were acknowledged for their diverse range of skills and experience – from hard graft and commitment at grass roots level, to high level policy planning and execution, as well as academic leadership.

“Forestry continues to be a significant contributor to the New Zealand economy. The industry is working hard to benefit New Zealand, and we are particularly proud of the high calibre of this year’s award contenders,” says NZIF President, James Treadwell.

The Prince of Wales Sustainability Cup was awarded to Jake Palmer. This award recognises the achievements of a young New Zealand forest professional who lives and breathes the principles of sustainable forest management. In addition to sound sciencebased land stewardship, the awardee must demonstrate a commitment to raising the profile of the wise use and conservation of forests and their ecosystems.

Mr Treadwell says, “This award was instigated by the then Prince Charles in 2017. It’s especially poignant timing this year following the death of Queen Elizabeth II. The mantel will pass to a new Prince of Wales, Prince William, to continue to champion environmentally positive forestry practices.”

The New Zealand Forester of the Year Award winner was Don Hammond. This highly coveted industry prize rewards a person for their exceptional contribution to the forestry sector throughout the past year. Hammond’s work this year has been

fundamental to ensure that log export markets have remained open to forest owners in New Zealand. “The entire forestry sector is very fortunate to have had the right person in the right place.

Mr Hammond has navigated through very difficult waters to improve the lot of foresters across the nation,” Mr Treadwell says.

The Kirk Horn Award, New Zealand’s oldest science award, was awarded to Ian Page. This prestigious award is made biennially.

It acknowledges outstanding contribution to the field of forestry.

Mr Page has been a highly successful professional forester in New Zealand for over 40 years. He has made a significant contribution across the industry: in research, as a forester, in forest contracting, and as a forest consultant in one of the country’s first forest consulting companies.

The NZIF has also appointed two new Fellows, Simon Rapley and Tim Thorpe for their tireless work over decades to help grow and improve the New Zealand forestry sector.

“As the forestry sector continues to mature, recognition is dawning of its growing range of positive impacts for New Zealanders beyond financial returns. Its social benefits, such as carbon capture, recreation opportunities, clean water, biodiversity and general wellbeing are coming into full focus too.

We’re fortunate with our high-calibre industry professionals who set the standards for others to aspire to. The NZIF relishes the opportunity in 2022 to celebrate with ‘the best of the best’ and to proudly champion the recipients of NZIF’s awards,” says Mr Treadwell. NZL

October 2022 | NZ LOGGER 15

Opinion

Radiata pine: pest or progress?

NEW RESEARCH SAYS INVASIVE RADIATA PINE IS SPREAD MORE widely across New Zealand than was previously appreciated, with modelling showing that up to 76% of the country’s land is climatically capable of supporting populations of the trees.

The authors say their findings demonstrate “pervasive and ongoing invasion of radiata pine outside plantations”, with more work needed to manage current invasions and prevent future ones. They recommend a levy on new non-native conifer plantations to offset costs of managing invasions, and stricter regulations to protect vulnerable ecosystems.

The Science Media Centre (SMC) asked experts to comment.

Dr Cate Macinnis-Ng, Associate Professor and Rutherford Discovery Fellow, University of Auckland; and Principal Investigator and Theme Co-Leader, Te Pūnaha Matatini, comments: “Radiata pine invasions have a significant impact on natural ecosystems in New Zealand. They change the biodiversity and ecosystem services of invaded areas. This research has looked at currently invaded sites and uses projections of climate change to determine areas that may be invaded under future climates.

“The work identifies three types of uncommon ecosystems that are already invaded – geothermal, gumlands and inland cliffs, scarps and tors. These uncommon systems often include rare plants and other organisms so have high conservation value.

“Invasions of radiata pine will also change ecosystem processes such as carbon uptake and storage and water cycling, even in ecosystems that are more common. Therefore, more intensive management of invasions and prevention of future spread is a very important next step.”

Professor Euan Mason, New Zealand School of Forestry, University of Canterbury, comments: “The authors have done a good job identifying where radiata pine will grow, and also the instances where it is a wilding problem. Ability to grow and ability to reproduce are not the same thing, however. Natural regeneration of radiata pine is much more severely restricted by frost than that of other, more problematic wilding species such as lodgepole pine, Corsican pine, Douglas fir and Scots pine. It is also intolerant of shade and will not prosper under an existing forest canopy. This means that radiata pine is much less likely to be a wilding problem in the high country, even on open sites, where low grazing pressure often favours wildings of other species. Moreover, on unforested, lower elevation, warm, wet sites where it might reproduce easily, high grazing pressure on neighbouring properties usually keeps it in check.

“However, there are instances, as identified in the paper, where grazing pressure is low on warm, wet, open sites, and in those places radiata pine wildings can be problematic. About 90% of our exotic plantation area is occupied by radiata pine, and as a proportion of plantation area, it is much less frequently a wilding problem than those other, more hardy species, some of which are gradually spreading across our high country. People who plant trees that reproduce as wildings on neighbouring properties should be held responsible for the control of those wildings. Imposing a levy on all exotic plantation owners for the control of wildings that have emerged from just some of the planted area, and most commonly from species that are only rarely planted, would be unfair however.”

Dr Sarah Wyse, Lecturer in Forest Ecology, School of Forestry, University of Canterbury, comments: “In my opinion this paper is a very valuable, and timely, and much needed review of the ecological threats posed by Pinus radiata to many

16 NZ LOGGER | October 2022

native New Zealand ecosystems, and represents an exhaustive and thorough review of the topic.

“The authors phrase nicely that there is ‘a view that Pinus radiata is relatively unimportant as a biological invader’. This view is likely to have arisen perhaps from an assumption that wilding conifers are an issue of the high country, where there are large tracts of vulnerable land.

In such habitats, other conifer species are indeed worse than radiata, being more suited to the climate and having been planted in abundance in those areas. Radiata, in contrast, is often planted surrounded by landscapes that are less vulnerable to invasions, such as highly managed landscapes, farmland with high stocking densities, or native forest.

“However, as the authors illustrate, radiata certainly has the ability to pose quite a threat to vulnerable habitats such as sand dunes, gumlands, geothermal communities, and systems in the early stages of forest successions (e.g. following a fire or other disturbance) if they are nearby.

“We also need to recognise the lag phase in biological invasions: species do not invade as soon as an individual is introduced to an area.

The authors discuss the effects of residence time on our view of the species as an invader. A species that wasn’t a problem in the past can certainly become one in the future.

“As the authors highlight, radiata is structurally and functionally very different to the native plants of the ecosystems or successional stages that it invades, and it is therefore likely to have considerable effects on the ecosystems and future forest successions. As the authors discuss, the work is likely a conservative estimate of the current and potential future situation. Due to the nature of the modelling, which uses occurrence records of where the species has been recorded, they cannot over-estimate suitable habitat, but are likely to underestimate it if locations where the species is present simply haven’t been documented.

Likewise, there may be other ecosystems impacted by radiata that have not yet been documented.

“I strongly suspect that the levy suggested by the authors will not be well received by industry! In my view I think ecologists and the forestry industry need to think carefully about where we are siting plantations, and perhaps any incentives could best be used to encourage monitoring and management, and discourage planting near vulnerable habitats.

We need to learn from our Southern Hemisphere neighbours who have been dealing with radiata as an invader for a longer period of time.

Certainly, an area that I think is of particular concern is where carbon plantations may well be put into more marginal or inaccessible lands that are not economically suitable for timber plantations and potentially more vulnerable to wilding pine spread. As the authors point out, forest managers need to be aware that radiata is capable of long-distance dispersal, as has been observed in New Zealand and also widely reported overseas.

“The authors acknowledge the importance of the species for the forestry industry and New Zealand’s GDP, and are not saying that we should stop planting it by any stretch of the imagination. Likewise, in terms of carbon sequestration, it is one of the best tools in our tool box for rapidly sequestering carbon. But we need to be mindful of the wider context of the species and where we are planting it, and the ongoing monitoring and management that is required. Scion is engaged with work with Douglas fir to reduce the seed production – such work would be valuable for radiata too.

“This paper highlights that we need to stop underestimating the capabilities of this tree as a wilding conifer.” NZL

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Iron Test

REACH, STABILITY AND POWER Story and photos: Tim Benseman

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THE THE THE SUPPLIER SUPPLIER SUPPLIER TOTO NEW TO NEW NEW ZEALAND ZEALAND ZEALAND HEAVY HEAVY HEAVY INDUSTRY INDUSTRY INDUSTRY 18 NZ LOGGER | October 2022

The 13+ metre reach of the Sumitomo 5040 processor anchored by 50+ tonnes of steel is an impressive combination.

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Above left: Hands-on boss, Ross Douglas, straightening things out.

Above right: Phil Gibson and Shaun Field open up the doors for inspection.

HE SOUTHERN KAINGAROA FOREST, SOUTH OF THE Napier Taupo Highway is an area of extremes with annual snowfall, bitter frosts, blizzards, heavy fog, dangerously cold wind chill and heavy rain as clouds step up off the lake, rutting out the pumice-based roads. Then the summers can be almost desert-like and turn the place into a dust bowl. Sometimes the deep bulldust from ground-up pumice requires four-wheel drive to get moving on the main arterial routes and passing doubles require light vehicles to stop in the ensuing white-out. So, it is a very challenging environment for forestry gear and operators alike.

Hands-on boss As we drive onto the R.A. Douglas Harvesting skid in Southern Kaingaroa to test the Sumitomo 5040 processor fitted with a Waratah 625C head, crew owner Ross ‘Spud’ Douglas is carrying a spanner and helping an operator and service technician do some maintenance.

“That’s what I really like about Ross, he is a hands-on boss,” says Iron Tester Shaun Field as he parks the Hilux. Shaun worked for Ross about five years ago running an older Sumitomo SH350 felling and processing.

“It was a hot machine that one, I remember sitting in it in my undies and I was still sweating. By the look and sound of this new one they have moved up quite a few levels,” says Shaun.

In the next few minutes Ross is using a rattle gun, socket drive and a sledgehammer. Definitely a hands-on boss: “I’m getting a bit old for this sort of stuff full time. I used to do all the maintenance work. My first job out of school was as a mechanic actually, then when I was 20, I started working in the bush locally between Rotorua and Napier. Did some contract falling and have

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been on harvesters for about 20 years. I worked for four different crews before going out on my own about 15 years ago. I started out with an older harvester and forwarder doing thinnings in Kaingaroa. I sold a car and ticked up some money on the house to get going. UDC Finance love me mate.”

He goes on: “You can’t do this job with rubbish gear. As well as the new Sumitomo 5040 we bought three months ago, we have a fairly new 800 hours Yuchai grapple digger… reliable as. It’s got all the good stuff… Cummins engine, KY pumps, quite an aggressive machine, and there’s a month old Tigercat 630 skidder… it’s going beautifully, much bigger grapple than previously, really have to watch the tyres don’t get bit by that grapple though – at $10k a tyre we treat them pretty carefully.

“That skidder has 22 lights on it. I often start at 3 or 4 in the morning on that thing and I can tell you the lights are mean.

I often can’t sleep so I just come out here and get stuck into skidder work or processing… whatever needs doing really to catch up or keep ahead. Might go home at 9 o’clock too. That skidder is easy to drive as well. But once skidders get to around 6000 hours and out of warranty it’s time to trade them really. I do have tyre insurance as well just in case, but we have been lucky so far.”

Ross and several of his crew are from Taupo, while two others commute in from Rotorua each day. “Travel costs are definitely an issue in the current fuel price climate, and at 260km per round trip those Road User Charges seem to mount up surprisingly quick too, but they are good guys, so they are worth it.”

The maintenance work today is on a second, 2019 model Sumitomo running a Waratah 625 used for felling in the broken pumice country – the sort of place that looks flat until you walk POWER BIG TIMEgullies LOGGERS into theSERIOUS cut-over and see all FOR the washed-out and craters.

“Even with new gear you get issues in this ground and dealing

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with trees in general, a lot of knocks and sticks going in strange places,” Ross says as he swings his sledgehammer to straighten a steel plate on the Waratah. “We haven’t quite figured out how that is getting bent yet, whether it’s pressure from the hoses or what. But when we do, we’ll work out a way to stop it happening.”

Shaun notes another area of the head has been plated over aftermarket and Ross explains that without doing that, sticks find their way in and get jammed: “It’s just the nature of the wood here, this is all unpruned so very hairy stems. Lots of small diameter sticks close to the stem where the head is running, unlike thinned and pruned stands where there are far fewer branches and they are too big to get stuck in the head cavities.

“We are only getting 0.8 tonne piece size average for this month. The target is 500-tonne a day and depending on the block, that’s going to Tenon just down the road on doubles, hauling 100 to 120 tonne which is a good economy of scale. Other logs go to either the Port of Tauranga via the Murupara Log Rail yard or Napier Port, sometimes with some S30 going to Red Stag sawmill in Rotorua,” explains Ross.

product. I also have a really good QC. These trees here just get hammered by the snow and the cold conditions which is probably why they didn’t bother pruning it, they probably just figured it’s not going to grow that big. I think they just pick the better blocks to prune and leave the rest to grow out. “ All the Waratah processing data gets sent to Timberlands each day now from the machine, so they know exactly what is being cut every day and can plan trucks accordingly, he adds. “We have night loadouts here, so it gives us a nice run all day to build stocks. Only see the odd bin wood truck here during the day.” The bin wood trucks take 1.8-metre up to 3-metre billets to Kinleith usually and occasionally Kawerau.

After applying a bit of Loctite Threadlocker, Ross gets on the Metabo rattle gun again and tightens up a pin-retaining bolt.

Milwaukee battery grease guns are discussed and approved whole heartedly, and Shaun mentions that he has started using a reciprocating saw running on the same Milwaukee battery for

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Rough stuff The block they are in is about 15 minutes up the Napier Taupo highway and after starting it five weeks ago they are already finished felling, have another week of processing and loading, then it’s off to Straightline Road to an even more broken ground block behind Lake Taupo. “It’s a block I priced up two or three years ago and kept missing it because they found other blocks for us to do in between. That’s the good thing about the big corporates, they keep plenty of work in front of you that’s for sure.”

And they have dealt with this block’s challenges, he says: “I don’t actually mind this rough, unpruned stuff, it’s a lot less stress than pruned wood. We do have to be very particular to make sure no nodes are present with pruned wood, to the point we don’t put any processed prune away until daylight – we lay it all out and go over it to make sure we are sending in top quality

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Opposite top: The processor/grapple loader/wheel loader combination works well in Kaingaroa and the Sumitomo 5040 is stable like it’s concreted to the ground.

Opposite bottom: Operator, Phil Gibson, briefs Iron Tester, Shaun Field, on the cut selection.

Above left: Operator, Phil Gibson, likes the cooling system on the 5040.

Above centre: The twin electronically controlled 300LPM pumps.

Above right: The spacious engine bay houses the 27- to 31-litre-per-hour Isuzu diesel engine.

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1: Bigger radiators should make this summer a cool one for operator, Phil Gibson.

2: The view from the operator’s seat.

3: The business end of the PFS aircon system.

4: The Waratah Mobile data transfer unit sends daily production reports to the forest managers.

5: Wider catwalks get the thumbs up.

cutting slash out of harvesting heads. “It makes life so much easier being able to carve up the sticks and clear them out much faster.”

We get ready to head up to the next skid to test drive the new Sumitomo 5040 but ask Ross his views on it before we go. “It’s just heaps faster man, the previous one we traded, we had done 10,000 hours on it. The PFS cab on this new one is really good, the PFS aircon in the roof is brilliant. We have their new cabs on a few of our machines now and the air conditioning is so good that when you hop out of them in summer you are shocked by how hot it is outside and have to start removing layers. The one in the 5040 is a lot quieter now too so they are improving things for the operators as time goes by. PFS in Hamilton is getting huge, building all sorts including boats as well now I hear.”

Hot Texas aircon PFS uses a RedDOT R-9750 air conditioner headliner unit out of Seattle, Washington to deliver that impressive air conditioning performance, which includes quality components such as Sanden compressors out of Wylie, Texas where people ought to know a thing or two about cooling down cabs. Sanden use environmentally-controlled chambers and wind tunnels to simulate the conditions of almost any temperature, humidity and vehicle speed. The chamber at Wylie is large enough to accept a Class 8 truck or other large unit of equipment and then computercontrolled vibration shaker tables can precisely replicate a variety of road or skid conditions. Noise Vibration Harshness (NVH) tests

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are performed on the air con compressors alone and on vehicle applications so they can supply a long-lasting, quiet-as-possible unit.

Additionally, PFS has fitted a six-point harness for negotiating steep terrain without being swept out of your seat, and an upholstered carpet interior also helps to reduce engine noise and add comfort to the interior.

The PFS cab comes with three front-facing light bars, a sidefacing light bar and two rear-facing square LED lights so as to give some rear light without frying the skidder operator’s retinas. The cab is also fully rubber mounted to the machine base at PFS for greater cushioning and noise-deadening.

Ross is impressed with the finished product PFS provides, saying, “Their harvester cabs are top notch too”.

“We are very impressed with the 5040 as a whole, it’s smoother, quieter, faster, has more reach and is more powerful – we reckon at least a 20% improvement on the last machine. And on top of that the fuel consumption is down while production is up.”

The engine is Isuzu’s AQ 6 HK1X which is actually 3hp smaller than the old SH350 that the 5040 replaces, but from what operators are saying, that power is supplied in a smarter and smoother fashion than previously via the two new 300 LPM hydraulic pumps. The engine also has a heap of gadgets fitted to it including cooled Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR), Intercooler, Variable-Geometry Turbocharger (VGT), Diesel Oxidation Catalyst (DOC) and Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) system with Dosing Control Module (DCM) and heated DEF lines and tank.

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AB Equipment’s Rob Fuller notes the Sumitomo 5040 machines they have operating with harvesters are burning between 27 and 31 Litres an hour of fuel: “One of the main advantages is with the increase in size of the control valve and the electronic control of the hydraulic pumps, we are able to be more efficient with the use of the power available. This means we have more hydraulic horsepower available for the same amount of fuel consumption.”

‘Everything is better’ Regular operator, Phil Gibson, is also impressed by the 5040, although a bit reluctant to be interviewed, Phil obviously has a vast wealth of forestry experience, starting out as a tree faller and trimming in-forest with chainsaws 45 years ago in Nelson, then

breaking out for haulers and moving up the ladder into machines here and in Perth – so he has seen machines progress from rather frail early examples up to today’s Sumitomo 5040.

“It’s great, this machine,” Phil says. “Faster, more powerful, longer reach. Everything is better. Even the stereo. Smoother controls. It even looks nice. Really looks the part I reckon. You can’t go wrong with a new head and a new machine. It’s got bigger radiators as well and although it’s not summer yet I can see it will handle the heat a lot better than the previous machine.”

This is the fourth Sumitomo in the crew, and they have obviously been all good so far for Ross to keep going back for more.

We throw open the doors that we are able to and notice a major CNC operation has taken place to turn the doors into

SERIOUS POWER FOR BIG TIME LOGGERS

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ALWAYS SWING A BIG STICK

EST EST 1909 1909 | TOCALL WWW.SHAWS.CO.NZ JONNY EDWARDS 021 944 894 THE THE SUPPLIER SUPPLIER NEW TO NEW ZEALAND ZEALAND HEAVY HEAVY INDUSTRY INDUSTRY 26 NZ LOGGER | October 2022

Opposite top: Doosan wheel loader operator, Rob Hay, collects bunches from Sumi SH 240 operator, Jeremy McNeish, while Phil processes more logs in the background.

Opposite bottom left: Phil Gibson adds another billet to the pile for Kinleith.

Opposite bottom right: Iron tester, Shaun Field, puts another stem through the Waratah 625C Above left: Regular operator, Phil Gibson, is impressed with his new machine.

Above centre: Shaun Field chats with QC, Sonny Pouwhare, while Crew Owner, Ross Douglas, goes over paperwork with harvester operator, Shane Hohneck.

Above right: The 820-litre fuel tank gives the Sumitomo 5040 a big presence on the skid.

Jeremy McNeish, pencils a bunch of logs while operator, Phil Gibson, processes more stems.

well-ventilated screens while retaining guarding capability. That fixes a lot of issues with overheating that come from the rugged logging environment of high hydraulic flow and large volumes of dust, seed heads and foliage clogging the coolers and the hot air being further trapped by old school solid panel doors. Shaun uses a remote to raise the bonnet and it goes up a long way with the assistance of two electric hydraulic rams. The catwalks must be

some of the widest in the industry and climbing up to the engine bay you can see there is heaps of room around the engine for maintenance compared to the smaller Sumitomo loader we tested earlier in the year which was very compact in the engine bay. This machine has a much bigger presence and a big, stable footprint. * Some photos were taken in a non-active area in a service situation.

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EST EST 1909 1909 |TOCALL WWW.SHAWS.CO.NZ JONNY EDWARDS 021 944 894 THE THE SUPPLIER SUPPLIER NEW TO NEW ZEALAND ZEALAND HEAVY HEAVY INDUSTRY INDUSTRY 28 NZ LOGGER | October 2022

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iron tester: Shaun Field

A BIG MACHINE! IT’S GOOD TO BE BACK ON PUMICE for a change in Southern Kaingaroa. The prescription for my regular logging job further north states that the soil type is “mud”.

Literally. Although talking to Spud earlier he mentioned that with the recent record rainfall, even here on the pumice things got so bad that the wheel loaders were parked up as they couldn’t operate effectively on the skids. Trucks couldn’t get on the skids, so for a few weeks there it was just loading units at the edge of the skid with grapple loaders. The big heavy-duty tracks on this new Sumitomo 5040 machine mean it will operate in far worse conditions if required, and as we can see from the dirt on the track frames there is still a fair bit of walking required through soft ground here to get from one skid to the other and crossing the cutover is the shortest, most efficient route. During that record rainfall an older earthmoving tracked machine probably would have struggled to get out of some of the gullies in this forest for sure.

First impressions of the Sumi 5040 are it is huge, it has a very large presence on the skid with that high cab and 820-litre fuel tank in place of some of the counterweight which is up from the previous SH350’s 580-litre fuel tank.

It’s a very big machine to get into, and that’s not a negative, it’s just part of having a big machine. Sumitomo have put an extra step on the track frame to help with that access issue though.

The toolboxes Spud has had fitted front and rear for bars and chains are in really thoughtful places too.

I can’t get over how stable this machine is. I have never run a 50-tonne processor before. Not that long ago it was common for them to be on a 370 or something like

that and you just got used to them rocking and swaying, but this thing is so big that it just doesn’t move. Once you get in it and run it for a bit, you realise you could be as rough as you wanted to and it still wouldn’t move.

Maybe in bigger wood it might be different, but it is so much easier to operate a machine when it isn’t giving you feedback and just sits stable like this. They have obviously set the point of balance very well because it does feel like it has been concreted to the ground and then when you go to walk it, the power is impressive.

The PFS cab is so much better than the previous Sumi I drove. The placement of the seat is spot on. With the older one it always seemed like the seat was too far back in the machine, it just felt like the seat should have been way further forward than it was.

That’s just my personal preference though.

Operator comfort is far better with the PFS cab. This new model looks nicer as well.

The camera is a crucial addition as you can’t see a lot behind you with that impressively large tail on it. Good quality camera… having the increments of distance marked is great too.

This machine is fitted with all the newest generation of Waratah computers and the

Iron Tester, Shaun Field. genuine Waratah sure grips which are primo… way more comfortable than the knock offs I have seen in some machines.

Picking up the head to get the first log doesn’t affect the machine stability at all, you just don’t feel it. No lag in power either. Heaps of power. Multi-function power is awesome, like your boom and feeding at the same time is better than I have experienced previously.

It would be good to get this unit out falling actually. A bit of a buzz to operate for sure.

The Waratah main saw cuts quick and the log feed speed and strength is awesome.

These 25-inch heads are nice. It’s a shame they are looking at stopping making them.

These guys have a primo cut selection here as well, makes my job easy as I am used to tethered felling on a JD 959 off a Falcon/Sany and don’t spend a lot of time on processors these days.

The reach at over 13 metres is just wicked – this explains why fuel consumption is so much better as you are slinging a 5-tonne head versus pushing a 50-tonne machine around. I imagine the track gear on this machine will last a bit longer as well because of that.

What I found surprising as well was with its reach, stability and power, it is also really quick. That is unusual. NZL

Iron Tester, Shaun Field, puts the 5040 processor to work in Kaingaroa.

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IFICATION

SPEC S

SUMITOMO 5040 WITH WARATAH 625C PROCESSOR – SPECIFICATIONS ENGINE 7.8 Litre Isuzu AQ 6 HK1X Final Tier 4 turbocharged diesel engine with electronic control (ECM) and high pressure commonrail fuel injection, 6-cylinder, water-cooled.

Peak power 200kW (268hp) @ 1900rpm Maximum torque 729 lbf-ft (988 N-m) @ 1,500 rpm HYDRAULICS Main pump Pilot Pump pump Aux pump Swing speed

2x 300 L/pm 28LPM 35LPM up to 7.6rpm

UNDERCARRIAGE Model

Sumitomo High-Wide track gauge with x-pattern carbody, Full-length track guards (2 piece, bolt-on)

BOOM / ARM Model Max reach

Sumitomo’s own 13.61 metres with head on.

PROCESSOR/HARVESTER Model Rotation Max delimber knife opening

Waratah 625C 360 continuous 800mm

Max feed roller opening Weight Main saw max cut

850mm 4390kg 900mm

REFILL CAPACITIES (LITRES) Fuel tank Hydraulic tank Hydraulic system Final drive (per side) Swing drive Engine oil DEF Tank Cooling system

820 175 350 15 10.5 48 152 38

DIMENSIONS (MM) Length 16,560 Width 3,590 Height 4,840 3,890 Shipping height (cab folded) Tail swing radius 3,740 Ground clearance 720 Track shoe width 700 Operating weight 51061kg without processor (55,451kg with Waratah 625C)

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NZ Timber

Story: Hayley Leibowitz

S

EPARATED BY WORLD WAR 1, TWO brothers (Jonnie and Norman Sutherland) nonetheless shared the same dream – to start producing lumber after the war. While one was sadly killed in action, the dream lived on and Sutherland & Co was born over a century ago in 1920 in the Happy Valley Tuatapere.

The mill, Sutherland Timber, moved a number of times, with a second mill set up in The Catlins until the family made the move to Cheviot to start the milling of pine timber.

Finally in 1956 it was moved to its current site in Kaiapoi where it has developed in leaps and bounds over the years milling, drying and treating on site.

As the years passed, it was third generation, Jack and Ian Sutherland who took Sutherland Timber native production into the soft woods of Pinus radiata. Next came Murray (‘Muzz’) and

34 NZ LOGGER | October 2022

Annie Sutherland who took the company to the next level, building up local and international relationships which are still vital to the company today. And it’s relationships that matter in this, the oldest sawmill in New Zealand that is still 100% family-owned and operated and has stayed in the same family since it was established, now in its 5th Generation.

Now Annie and Muzz’s children, two brothers and a younger sister, are now at the helm. There’s General Manager of the Sutherland Group, Jonathan (‘Jonnie’) Sutherland; David (‘Davie’) Sutherland running the ITM operations and Amy Sherwin coordinating the marketing for Sutherland Timber and the ITM stores.

Customer-centric “Our Dad, Murray, has been able to take a step back now, although he is always our go-to man

Above from left: Retired Mill Manager/Loader Operator, Rocky Scott, Murray (‘Muzz’) Sutherland, Jonnie Sutherland and Loader Operator, Mark Smith, pictured with Sutherland Timber's original Volvo and the new one on the right.

Opposite top: The fillet/de fillet line with the sawmill and the chip bin and round table in the background.

Opposite bottom: From left: Davie Sutherland, Amy Sherwin, Muzz Sutherland, Annie Sutherland and Jonnie Sutherland

October 2022 | NZ LOGGER 35

NZ Timber

for anything! His knowledge and experience is something we all rely on,” says Jonnie.

“Customer service is the biggest and most important part of our process, that’s why we have our own delivery trucks. This way we can deal with meeting customers’ needs and requirements quicker. Our father introduced building material supplier, Independent Timber Merchants (ITM), to our company to secure our supply lines, starting with the Kaiapoi store and more recently adding the Ashburton and Timaru stores to the group, which also includes our own frame and truss manufacturing plant. We now supply our stores as well as many other building merchants throughout New Zealand.”

Currently producing 120-150 cubic meters of timber per day, the mill cuts New Zealand radiata pine and Douglas fir to produce structural framing for the domestic building market, with an annual output of 25, 000 m3.

All logs are sourced locally throughout the South Island using local contractors.

Jonnie says while export has been a large part of the business in the past, shipping timber to Australia, Asia and America, Sutherland Timber now predominantly supplies the domestic market which has “been very strong”.

“Post-COVID, we still have export commitments that we fulfil when we can get containers and an available booking on a ship (getting the containers has been the main issue). We have a great team of staff who have all stepped up when we have had 36 NZ LOGGER | October 2022

Above: The Sutherland Timber Head Rig showing the Southern Cross built Ilse Forge 60-inch band mill.

Below: Wood chip bin at Sutherland Twimber.

Bottom: Aerial view showing the sawmill site with the dry sheds in the foreground and sawmill and log yard in the distance.

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people off with COVID. Everyone helps out to cover each other,” adds Jonnie.

As to the process, “we run a pretty standard head rig carriage line to a slabber edger, gang saw and resaw through an overhead trimmer to a round table. We have three drying kilns on site as well as a CCA and boron treatment plant. Along with our trusty Weinig planer and Stenner resaw, we have an Iveco Stralis delivery truck which goes all over the south Island.”

Loading up Jonnie is particularly proud of the latest addition to the mill, a new Volvo loader L90H purchased through TDX: “For many years It has been a goal of mine to replace the loader our dad purchased with a brand new one. As a nine-year-old boy having watched a new Volvo loader roll in the gate and now with that loader still working on site, it has proved it has been a quality piece of equipment and investment as it has stood the test of time over 30 years.

At the time, it was the first piece of machinery Muzz bought brand new for the company as well as being the first Volvo in forestry application in the South Island.

Jonnie remembers learning to drive it at age nine as it was “something you could do back in those days”.

“Muzz approached three different companies with the view to supply us with a new machine rather than a second-hand one. The result being Mike McSkimming from Volvo who stepped up to the mark and convinced us that some of their new technology was the go-forward. This was backed up with Mike’s sound knowledge of his product.

“The L90B came complete with genuine Volvo Logging head, air-conditioning and advances in hydraulics. The purchase was also connected to the fact that servicing would be done locally through their agent.

This local service simplified the decision, which proved its worth.”

The longevity of the machine was put down to the regular servicing and smooth, experienced operation by Retired Mill Manager/Loader Operator, Rocky Scott. It remained a front line machine until 2013 and was replaced with a second hand L90E which is still being used on site today.

3

4

5

1: Sutherland & Co in Happy Valley, Tuatapere, showing the steam power log hauler that brought the logs in. It would be started with dry timber from the mill.

This photo shows the harsh environment the men worked in. The rail line in the foreground was also vital for production.

38 NZ LOGGER | October 2022

2: Sutherland & Co in Happy Valley, Tuatapere, showing log extraction on the rail tractor from the bush to the mill.

3: The Kenworth T600 purchased by Muzz in 1992 and used to cart logs from Hanmer and Ashley back to the Kaiapoi Mill. It was sold and Jonnie has just

repurchased it for restoration back into the fleet.

4 & 5: The original loader purchased

by Muzz. Mill Manager/Operator, Rocky Scott, is driving the loader with Steve Murphy of Steve Murphy Limited pictured standing by the truck.

With the need to source new equipment to keep up with the increased sawmill production, the decision was made to upgrade the log loader this year.

“It was a proud moment to watch the new loader roll in the gate with my dad and own sons present,” says Jonnie. “While some investigations were done on other brands, the history of Volvo on site proved too strong of a force which is why we went

with them. We have always favoured the Volvo brand, due to its durability in our harsh conditions, having three working loaders on site today. This is a very special milestone for our company and family. We have had our previous loader operator, Rocky, work for us for 30 plus of those years and our new Loader Operator, Mark Smith, is ecstatic about the new purchase.”

With the original Volvo having a Volvo log

Muzz and Jonnie Sutherland with loaders old and new. head on it, after a short discussion with Matt Holloway from TDX, it was decided to equip the new L90H model number with genuine Volvo parts which included quick coupling, log head and bucket.

Another upgrade in the works is the restoration of the company’s Kenworth T600.

NZ Timber

It was purchased by Muzz in 1992 and used to cart logs from Hanmer and Ashley back to the Kaiapoi Mill. It was sold and Jonnie has just repurchased it back into the fleet.

It is currently being restored with great excitement for the family.

Future forward Asked about the discontent in the industry and the closure of so many mills over the past few years, he says for some time now there has been a mismatch between the cost of production and market returns: “For a long time returns in sawmilling have been marginal with increased costs, and a struggle to compete with export log pricing and land value increase has led to a lot of people questioning the viability of their operations, with many of them answering that question through closure.”

The Sutherland mill, on the other hand, is thriving, adapting to change on both the practical and human fronts. Health and Safety is an integral part of the company and “something we prioritise”, says Jonnie.

“Having lost a family member in the logging industry, health and safety is at the forefront of everyone’s minds.” Along with that vital focus, staff saving initiatives, weekly cooked lunches and breakfast available for staff daily, and an on-site vegetable garden are just some of the staff initiatives at the mill.

“There are so many great people who have worked for us over the years,” Jonnie adds. The company celebrated its Centenary by gathering their stories into a book, titled Mill Power. “Dad (Muzz) started working on the book a few years ago and then Amy

Above: Planer in feed system in the dry shed.

Centre: The re-saw in action.

Right: Janice Ormiston documenting packs for export.

40 NZ LOGGER | October 2022

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NZ Timber

joined him to help finish the project. It was about preserving the history while we could – there weren’t too many people from the early days who could talk about the processes and how things really worked back then. It was about capturing those moments.

While celebrating the milestone 100th year of sawmilling last year was delayed a while thanks to COVID, they did manage to sneak the celebrations in between lockdowns, along with the publication for the book which has been described as: “A beautiful production written in the voice of the fifth generation descendent detailing 100 years of Sutherland & Co business, historically detailing early sawmilling in Southland, the Catlins and Canterbury.

A startling compilation of photography

42 NZ LOGGER | October 2022

through the century of sawmillers and of milling innovation. An excellent and candid rendition of family business through six generations, of positioning family personnel, complex products and competitive markets.”

While the past is a matter of chronicling stories and experiences, Jonnie has this to say about the future: “The future of the industry looks exciting with the launch of the Industry Transformation Plan (ITP) through Te Uru Rakau – NZ forest service pushing the case for domestic production of an amazing, renewable and sustainable resource.

“No doubt robotics, automation and streamlined systems will see the need for a technology-based workforce, however there will still be the need for good-oldfashioned operators to help programme cut

patterns and monitor recoveries.”

And the future for Sutherland Co? No doubt that lies in the sixth generation, Jonnie, Davie and Amy’s children (pictured above). NZL

Above: “We see these wee people as the next generation to be looking after our forests, sawmilling and producing the best sustainable product for future generations to come,” says Amy Sherwin.

Below left: Grant Brown loading packs to be exported.

Below right: The Iveco Stralis delivery truck and trailer loaded with timber for delivery.

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Logging Legend

Neville Green in front of his Kenworth T659.

Above and beyond Story: Colin Smith

E

ARLY ON A MID-JUNE MORNING NEVILLE Green was taking a pre-load of logs south on State Highway 35 from his Tolaga Bay home to the Eastland Port in Gisborne. It’s a familiar run for Neville in the 2018 Kenworth T659 he drives for log transport company, Pacific Haulage.

“The port opens at 4am so I left home about three-ish. It was about 3.20am when I was climbing up the hill which we call B5.

I keep my lights on low beam going up there because it’s easy to blind the drivers coming over the top of the hill,” he says.

“In the moonlight I could see something up ahead and as I got closer, I could see four tyres and the underneath of a car sitting on

44 NZ LOGGER | October 2022

its side. All its lights were out.”

Neville says the car was sitting across the centreline of the highway with a significant amount of debris and broken glass strewn across the road.

“I pulled up, switched my hazards on and put my lamp on my head before I jumped out.

About the time I got to the car another truck was coming the other way and it stopped.

“When I walked around the car, I could see the roof was caved in, the windscreen was all smashed and then I could see a hand.

“The driver’s side window had blown out and when I peeked in, I could see there was an older guy in there.

“I called `are you alright in there?’ and I

heard him groan.

“I ran back to my truck to get my gloves and started to remove the windscreen. I could see he had a big gash on his head, and he was bleeding profusely.”

Neville made sure the other truck driver had called an ambulance and had the scene under control, then he found jackets that had been inside the crashed car.

“The guy was hanging from his seatbelt across to the passenger side with his head kind of up against the roof.

“With my left arm I tried to prop his head up and I used my right hand to hold the jackets and apply enough pressure to slow the bleeding.

A fleet of 90 log trucks runs six days a week at Pacific Haulage.

“It was about half an hour later that the fire brigade arrived and cut the roof off.”

Adrenalin kicks in Neville has been back at home on the East Coast for about three years, after driving trucks and road trains in Australia for 20 years. He’d previously driven for Pacific Haulage before heading to Australia.

“I have been at a lot of accidents, and I’ve done a lot of training both in Australia and at Pacific Haulage,” he says.

“One time in Queensland I pulled a guy out of a car that was on fire. He was knocked out.”

He says a combination of training and experience kicks in when faced with an accident.

“The adrenalin kicks in and you secure the scene and work out what to do next from there,” he says.

This story has a much happier ending than some of the accidents Neville has attended.

“After I drove into town, I unloaded and went over to my daughter’s house to have a rest. By then the adrenalin had gone and that can be a funny thing.

“I decided to ring the hospital. I told them what had happened, but they’re not allowed

to give out any details. But they did ask if I wanted to give my details to the family.

“Within about half an hour I had a call from them thanking me and saying the guy would be okay.

“That’s the biggest difference for me with this accident. The guy was in hospital for a while, but I knew he was going to recover.

“Other times I never knew what happened and that can really affect you.

“Knowing he was going to be okay made a really big difference for me,” Neville says.

“I was up early and off to work again the next morning.”

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First Aid First!

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ACIFIC HAULAGE SAYS IT PUTS A HIGH PRIORITY ON ITS STAFF being up to date with first aid training.

“Like many businesses in the forestry and transport sectors, Pacific Haulage recognises that there is an increased likelihood of our staff encountering a situation requiring first aid treatment during their careers,” says Mitchell James, Pacific Haulage Operations Manager.

“This is why we put a heavy emphasis on all our staff maintaining current first aid and we organise three to four first aid courses per year to ensure everyone is current.

“In this instance, Neville really came into his own when he came across the vehicle on its side in the early hours of a winter morning. He assessed the scene before returning to his truck to get his leather

gloves, and then returned to the injured driver to assist and support him until help arrived.

“Neville is a thorough worker who takes pride in his role, and it was reassuring to hear that the first aid training had paid off when he described to me how he treated and supported the driver inside the vehicle until emergency services arrived.

“It’s comforting for us as a business, and all road users alike, to know we are sharing the roads with people like Neville who know how to react and assist when things go wrong.

“I think anyone who has received first aid care from the general public or emergency services will agree – you are forever grateful for the care you receive when you need it most.” NZL

Pacific Haulage places a strong focus on first aid training for its staff.

46 NZ LOGGER | October 2022

FICA.ORG.NZ

your voice The voice of forestry contractors since 2002

Transformation Plan with Expectations A MESSAGE FROM PRUE YOUNGER, CEO, FICA

Te Uru Rākau hosted an industry-wide workshop on 30 October 2020. The purpose of the workshop was to set the foundation for a successful collaboration between industry and government to support the development the Forestry and Wood Processing Industry 4/7of On-site Transformation Plan (ITP); and identify opportunities and Hose Repair barriers to lifting productivity across the supply chain across short-, medium-, and long-term horizons.

0

little point in reviewing what’s been when the industry could be getting better outcomes by looking forward. Would it be valuable to share with the supply chain the wood flow statistics at a regional level which drive the harvest capacity and workforce requirement? Would discussions with 24/7 O forest owners around the predictions for harvest estimates Hose and technology changes in more detail be valuable? This could make a huge difference to a contractor around their financial investment decisions, their increase in workforce and skills requirements with an expectation of business www.pir expansion.

747 0800 The objective of the workshop was to identify835 the key

7

w.pirtek.co.nz challenges facing the sector and opportunities to transform @pirtek.co.nz sales@pi it across short-, medium-, and long-term in order to TING help inform the focus of the ITP. The Te Uru Rakau team I believe the ITP must review its emphasis on the people collaborated with some 50 industry stakeholder participants including FICA and some robust discussion was had with the key takeaways from the workshop as a whole including: • Speaking with a unified voice and telling the story of wood • Increasing the use of wood in the built environment • Bio-services, bioenergy and bio-products

rtek Trained • GMO/Gene Editing se Specialists

– align it with the skills required and the harvest volume – and give the industry the right predictions on the future ahead. It’s all very good to promote increased valued and technology investments to process more logs domestically but how will that change the demands on infrastructure, logistics and truck drivers and markets for these valueadded products, again with an expectation along the supply chain.

Pirtek While we collaborate to fundamentally design our forestry Hose Sp training and education programme that will deliver what we • Commercialisation need or think we need, it seems quite realistic to take into echnician round New roles Zealand available now! aroun account where the industry will be in five to ten years’ time. reers out www.pirtek.co.nz/career • Building and attracting a skilled workforce All roads lead to Rome so it doesn’t matter how something • Government support and regulatory settings is done, but rather what the end result is. We need to get this right on all fronts as we have a workforce that is tired, FICA applied for a seat at the table of the ITP Advisory feeling beaten up with a perceived shaky future, so the time Group given there was a strong focus on building and is right to put some surety back. attracting a skilled workforce, but understandably there were only so many seats and we were told we would be well The NZ Forest Service – Te Uru Rakau and ITP Advisory connected with, and part of, the development process of Group are calling for submissions and yes we will be one the Plan. of the first to get one in, as a diversity of opinions is what’s needed to get it right for everyone not just those that have But more disappointing has been the lack of engagement, been able to input in at the Advisory table. and the recent launch of the official Plan clearly mentions that the Group and Te Uru Rakau have spoken about the Check out the ITP plan at https://www.mpi.govt.nz/ inclusion of workers – on page 15 of that document there dmsdocument/52669-Draft-Industry-Transformation-Planwas a list of forestry stakeholders with every expected web. However, unfortunately this process closes 30 acronym we recognise but not FICA. September before this column comes out in NZ Logger but FICA has your back on this and we will clearly be expressing The fact that both the introduction by the Forestry Minister our desire to consider the people and the best outcomes and the ITP Advisory Group Chair reference people and for us all. the workforce, but there is actually only one page out of a 110-page Plan that is dedicated to the workforce (and a The focus of the ITPs is to support industries to transform few pictures) around the current environment, but nothing from volume to value and to lift aggregate productivity future forward is a bit of a double disappointment. to enable the scaling up of highly productive and internationally competitive industries. For the ITPs to be I wonder how these advisory groups imagined the successful, they will need to be developed in workforce of today is going to cope with the roles of partnership with industry as well as broader tomorrow and whether the workforce has any idea what stakeholders and be founded on a robust the future may look like. Most of them live in the current evidence base. world where, as it should be, they are looking forward, with predictions having some long-term goal that they can manage their business strategies based on. There appears 48 NZ LOGGER | October 2022

your voice The voice of forestry contractors since 2002

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top spot Safety/performance/quality

‘Off the hill’ THIS ISSUE WE THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT pearls of wisdom we may be able to bring to you while we work through the second half of the year’s assessments.

Instead, we’ve included a couple of photos from Lahar Logging setting up a line change in Waimarino Forest and a few general photographs of ‘off the hill’ activities logging folk get up to.

What do you do when you’re not logging?

The folk at Kaha Logging decided to help a mate out and do a bit of a team building exercise with a bit of a difference. They went shearing.

What’s this got to do with logging, you may ask. Well, as an industry we talk a lot about health and wellbeing. What better way to relieve a bit of stress, help a mate and do something as far away from logging as you can!!

The other photograph you need to take a close look at is that of a six-year-old boy who set up a yarder system (below).

This is what Aaron Wallace from Kuru Contracting came home to one afternoon. His son, Cameron, had been busy setting up a cable logging system in the back yard based on what he had seen dad doing at work. I don’t know about you folk, but this is not something I would have even contemplated when I was six years old!

No joke, this is what we need to encourage to keep young people interested in going logging!!!

Ka mau te wehi! Awesome individuals, awesome teams and awesome people behind the scenes supporting them in what they do!!

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?

They believe in what we do and what you do.

So, a big ongoing thank you to our Strategic

50 NZ LOGGER | October 2022

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, Ernslaw One, OneFortyOne New Zealand, Crown Forestry, Forest View Contracting, Makerikeri Silviculture (2020), Mitchell

Silviculture, Puklowski Silviculture, Gutsell Forestry Services, Johnson Forestry Services, McHoull Contracting, Wayne Cumming Contracting, Howard Forestry Services, IntaWood Forestry, Heslip Forest Contracting, Otautau Contractors, X Men Forestry, Proforest Services, FM Silviculture, Tane Mahuta, Waikato Forestry Services, Rai Valley Silviculture, Thomassen Logging, Forest View Logging, Griffin Logging, Penetito Forestry, Pride Forestry, Mangoihe Logging, CMH Contracting, Kaha Logging, Roxburgh Contracting, Te Waa Logging, Mike Hurring Logging, Bluewood Logging, Storm Logging, Onward Logging, Down and Out Logging, Forest Pro Logging, Eastside Logging, Lahar Logging, Moutere Logging, JD Harvesting, Whisker Logging, Kimberly Logging, Dewes Contractors, Dempsey Logging.

Into safety?

Into performance?

Into quality?

Contact Shane Perrett on 0274 781 908, 07 3483037 or at primefm@xtra.co.nz. NZL

Six-year-old logging.

top spot

Safety/performance/quality

Kaha Harvesting after-hours team building After spending your day working in rain, snow, wind, thunder, lightning and even a bit of sun you would normally be very keen on getting home to relax. Well, today the guys at Team Kaha Harvesting got together at one of the boy's farms and had a shearing session. For most this was their first time ever shearing. Top Spot tagged along for a bit of learning as well.

Corey Carmichael shearing his first ever sheep.

Gun shearer Brad Scarrow demonstrating how it’s done. Brad would do at least five sheep to our one.

Newest member to the crew, Anton Waara, also shearing his first sheep.

William Stevenson doesn’t just make a bloody good rewana, he’s not bad at shearing either.

As all the first time shearers completed and walked away arched over and sweaty as buggery, they each made a decision that Logging was way easier.

October 2022 | NZ LOGGER 51

top spot

Safety/performance/quality

HBO Simon Katene (right) and L3 breaker-out Shaquille McIlroy of Lahar logging working together to safely complete a twister/tie-back set up.

Shaquille McIlroy assisting in a line change on the Lahar backline.

Overlooking the Whanganui river.

52 NZ LOGGER | October 2022

32020 L

32020 LG John Deere A4.indd 1

18/10/21 3:21 PM

NEW IRON

TWO CATS FOR GOLDPINE Goldpine has taken delivery of two new Cat 924K wheel loaders with log forks. These machines will be hard at work on the front line stacking and sorting raw wood and finished products, as well as loading and feeding the different product lines as they go into processing. Corey Eggers, Engineering Manager (right) is pictured alongside Jamie Dowding, Mobile Fleet Coordinator, at the Golden Downs processing plant in Nelson. Machines sold by Territory Account Manager, Andy Bunny.

NEW TIGERCAT FOR SPEIRS LOGGING

JOHN DEERE FOR FREEDOM LOGGING

ELTEC/SATCO COMBO FOR MAHUTA

When it comes to logging machinery, Glen McSporran, owner of Freedom Logging says, “Green for Go”. He has recently taken delivery of this John Deere 2656G log loader, fitted with a live heel, low side entry cab and Ensign 1730C grapple. The machine was spec’d out for shovelling duties for the Wairoa-based crew.

Machine sold and supported by the Hawkes Bay AGrowQuip team.

Another new toy for Hayden, Sarah and the team at Mahuta Logging. This time an Eltec FHL317L fitted with a Satco 630E falling head. The first comment from Hayden after he had been running the machine (falling and shovelling stems) was, “The 630 has plenty of grab power”. This machine joins the Mahuta Logging fleet alongside a Sany harvester, log loader, winch and Madill 123, all supplied by Shaw’s.

54 NZ LOGGER | October 2022

Speirs Logging had a change of configuration and added a new Tigercat LS855E with a 5195 falling head to its ground-based operation on the East Coast. They say they are rapt with the Drive power and how it gets around the hill.

NEW IRON

NEW FELLING GRAPPLE FOR B.E.L. FORESTRY

TIGERCAT FOR TE WAA LOGGING

B.E.L. Forestry has taken delivery of a 630H felling grapple into the woods. The machine is working up the Wairau Valley, Marlborough.

Cory says he is impressed with the upgrades that have been carried out on the 630H to make it even more robust and user-friendly.

Waa Owens from Te Waa Logging, Turangi recently took delivery of a new Tigercat 632H log skidder which replaces a Tigercat 630E log skidder. Foreman, Scott Wise, says he is rapt with the new 632H log skidder's much-improved cab. He says the extra lift in the arch is quite noticeable and with the bigger 23-foot grapple it is also pulling bigger loads.

JOHN DEERE FOR MIKE HURRING LOGGING

TIGERCAT FOR TAINUI LOGGING

Another John Deere 768L-II bogie skidder delivery from Drummond & Etheridge – this one for Mike Hurring Logging and Contracting in South Otago. Sold and supported by the team at Drummond & Etheridge.

Phil Hemopo, owner of Tainui Logging, recently took delivery of a new Tigercat 635H log skidder which replaced an earlier model Tigercat 635G log skidder. We caught up with operator Dave a few weeks after the delivery to see how things were going and he said he was impressed with the extra room in the cabin, better visibility and the new style 220 degree more comfortable seat. Another new feature that he liked was the cruise control option.

October 2022 | NZ LOGGER 55

NEW IRON

JOHN DEERE/WOODSMAN PRO COMBO FOR BEECH LOGGING Brent Beech (aka Bro) of Beech Logging has recently taken delivery of a John Deere 3756G/Woodsman Pro 850 combo. Working hard at the company’s new Stoney Creek operation in the Wairarapa, the machine is a perfect fit for the crew. Dhruv, pictured with the machine, is stoked to be at the controls. The 3756G is the largest in the John Deere swing machine range with a huge amount of power and reach, making it an obvious choice for big wood processing, he says. Machine sold and supported by AGrowQuip Lower North Island.

HYUNDAI/WOODSMAN PRO COMBO FOR FLAVELL LOGGING This all new Hyundai HX400L forestry machine fitted with a Woodsman Pro processing head is bound for Flavell Logging in Taupo. This beaut machine was sold and is soon to be delivered by Porter Equipment Territory Manager, Colin Duley.

56 NZ LOGGER | October 2022

WEILER B758 FOR BLACKSTUMP LOGGING Blackstump Logging’s Wayne & Ange McEwan have added a new Weiler B758 track feller buncher which complements an extensive fleet of modern Cat machines in their East Coast forestry harvesting operations. Using the latest technology to ensure safe and efficient log extraction, the Cat-powered B758 is the ideal machine to work in the region’s demanding forestry conditions, they say. The unit features a Woodsman Pro 1350 felling head. Machine sold by Terra Cat Territory Account Manager, Heath Stewart.

SUMITOMO/WOODSMAN PRO COMBO FOR CAIRNS LOGGING Rotorua’s Cairns Logging is now processing with a Sumitomo 4640 and Woodsman Pro 850. Pictured on delivery are George Cairns and his daughter Colleen who is the happy operator. They say they are very happy with the stability, fuel burn and user-friendliness of this machine.

NEW IRON

SANY EMS TRACTIONLINE FOR SHOTOVER CONTRACTING

WEILER/SATCO COMBO FOR PROGRESSIVE HARVESTING

ShotOver Contracting has taken delivery of a Sany SY305 EMS Tractionline. It is currently working in the company’s yarder operation above Transmission Gully, alongside the recently delivered Eltec FHL277L tilter. Sold and serviced by Shaw’s.

Progressive Harvesting has taken delivery of a Weiler B758 levelling base with a SATCO 630E felling grapple. Mark is felling, shovelling stems ready for extraction in the central North Island area.

JOHN DEERE/WOODSMAN PRO COMBO FOR KIMBERLY CONTRACTORS

CAT 336GC FOR KURU CONTRACTING

Warrick, Annie and the team at Kimberly Contractors (Log 22) operating in Mangatu Forest near Gisborne, have recently taken delivery of this John Deere 959MH/Woodsman Pro FH1350C combo.

Operator, Karl likes the power of the John Deere and reckons it makes light work of the big East Coast wood. Machine sold and supported by AGrowQuip Hawkes Bay and East Coast.

Owners, Ricky and Leanne Kuru, of East Coast-based Kuru Contracting have taken delivery of a Next Generation Cat 336GC. They say the 336GC package combined with the tractionline winch assist system works to carry out safe, productive, steep-slope harvesting with comfort and stability. Machine sold by Heath Stewart, Territory Account Manager at Terra Cat.

October 2022 | NZ LOGGER 57

Current Used Stock For Sale SEPTEMBER 2022

2017 Tigercat 615E Log Skidder

2011 Sumitomo SH330-5 Processor

8,000 hrs, large fuel tank & grapple.

Currently on hire, Ex Taupo

12,000 hrs, Satco 323T processing head 7,000 hrs, Ex Taupo - D008083

$295,000.00 + GST, NOW $280,000 + GST

$210,000.00 + GST, NOW $150,000 + GST

2012 CAT 336DL Processor

2015 Tigercat 875 Processor

14,850 hrs, 2014 Satco 325 & guarding, Ex Taupo - D121633

8,297 hrs, near new 624C Waratah processor fitted, Ex Taupo - D120305

$160,000.00 + GST, NOW $100,000 + GST

$550,000.00 + GST, NOW $520,000 + GST

2018 Doosan DX380LL Processor

2012 Tigercat 635D Skidder

4,652 hrs, South Star 630 processing head, Ex Taupo - D124615

15,000 hrs, large fuel tank, 30.5 rear tyres, Ex Palmerston North

$420,000.00 + GST, NOW $405,000 + GST

$220,000.00 + GST, NOW $195,000 + GST

2016 Tigercat 610E Log Skidder

2013 Tigercat 630D Log Skidder

7,556 hrs, with 15 ft grapple, large fuel tank & extra lighting package, Ex Taupo

12,852 hrs, 19 ft grapples, gd rear tyres, near new band tracks on front, Ex Taupo

$190,000.00 + GST, NOW $160,000 + GST

$160,000.00 + GST, NOW $125,000 + GST

2008 Tigercat 635G Log Skidder

2014 Tigercat 635D Log Skidder

5,800 hrs, 30.5 rear tyres, front band tracks & large fuel tank, Ex Dunedin

8,400 hrs, 25 ft grapple, large fuel tank, 30.5 rear tyres, Ex Whangarei

$415,000.00 + GST, NOW $350,000 + GST

$335,000.00 + GST, NOW $295,000 + GST

2018 Tigercat 880D Harvester

2015 Tigercat LS855C Feller Buncher

5,000 hrs, Woodsman 850 processing head, tidy machine, Ex Palmerston North

8,800 hrs, Tigercat 5195 felling head & new undercarriage, Ex Christchurch

$693,000.00 + GST, NOW $680,000 + GST

$450,000.00 + GST, NOW $420,000 + GST

2016 Tigercat 635E Log Skidder 5,774 hrs, new tyres all round with 780mm rear tyres, large fuel tank, near new rear bands & a 25 ft grapple, Ex Whangarei $475,000.00 + GST, NOW $450,000 + GST

2017 Tigercat LH855D Harvester 8,385 hrs, Woodman Pro 750 processing head, Ex Taupo $550,000.00 + GST, NOW $495,000 + GST

Get in touch with your local AB Equipment Branch today.

Marcus Bourke Northland 027 241 6126 I Mark Hill Central North Island 027 503 0483 Ben Kendrick Gisborne Hawkes Bay 021 658 554 I Ryan Petersen Lower North Island 027 221 3293 Martin Talbot-Price Upper South Island 027 574 1712 I Hayden McCulloch Lower South Island 027 288 1952

0800 30 30 90 I abequipment.co.nz

*Ts&Cs apply.

IN-FIELD HYDRAULIC HOSE EMERGENCY REPAIR KITS

NZ LOGGER classified

PROTECT YOUR POLYCARBONATE WINDOWS

Polycarbonate windows have safety qualities, but they are susceptible to scratching and damage when in the bush causing severe reduction in vision for the operator and creating health and safety issues.

We lower the requirement for polycarbonate replacement by applying protective film to your machine windows either in the bush or at the yard.

This will assist extending the life of the polycarbonate.

Forestry contractors get the benefits of not replacing the polycarbonate - only the film when necessary.

MOBILE SERVICE NATIONWIDE

60 NZ LOGGER | October 2022

AFTER

CONTACT: SHANE 027 626 2231 extremewindowtints@xtra.co.nz

@ExtremeWindowTints Extreme_Window_Tints

LG32751

BEFORE

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

October 2022 | NZ LOGGER 61

NZ LOGGER classified

2016 KOMATSU FORWARDER 865

HOURS: 12000

PRICE: $165,000 + GST

LG32879

IN IMMACULATE CONDITION. OWNER OPERATOR FROM NEW. ALWAYS WORKED IN THINNINGS. SERVICED REGULARLY, WITH ALL SERVICE HISTORY AVAILABLE. SI LODEC SCALES INCLUDED WITH PRINTER. FULL FIRE SUPPRESSION SYSTEM, JUST SERVICED. NEW GRAPPLE FITTED 700 HOURS AGO. LOCATED IN ROTORUA

CONTACT RORY 027 480 2445 AFTER HOURS

TOUGHEST TRACK GEAR! Keep your forestry machines on track with our new range of genuine BERCO Track Gear now in stock! n Available to suit John Deere 909-959, Sumitomo SH240, SH300, SH350TLFS, Tigercat 855-875 & other forestry models n Premium quality, Italian made Track Gear

used by OEM companies all around the globe

n Heavy duty double & single flange Track Rollers. Bigger Track Chain bushes for longer wear life n 12 month/2000hr warranty on all parts Proven for over 100 years, the BERCO brand is well known for its reliable performance in the most extreme forestry & mining industries around the world.

Call 0800 654 323 now to order your BERCO Track Gear & stay on track for longer!

0800 654 323 | sales@west-trak.co.nz Find your parts at: www.west-trak.co.nz

62 NZ LOGGER | October 2022

NZ LOGGER classified

2015 Active 60 Hauler (9000 hrs) 2017 Sumitomo SH 350-5

(10,000 hrs)

$165,000.00 (+gst) High & Wide.

Ensign 1530 Grapple Machine is presented in immaculate condition with excellent service history.

(6600 hrs)

$425,000.00 (+gst) c/w Southstar QS630 Processor Immaculately presented machine with excellent service history. Ready to go to work

$525,000.00 (+gst) Comes with all rigging, blocks, carriage and 6 electronic chokers.

Machine is in excellent condition, ready to go to work. Excellent service history.

Contact Rob bushlinefh@outlook.co.nz 027 5555 192

LG32813

2017 Sumitomo SH 240-5

NEW ZEALAND PRODUCT SUPPORT REPRESENTATIVE 2022 Tigercat is a Canadian based company that designs and builds premium quality, purpose-built forestry equipment for harvesting, extraction, processing and loading tree-length and cut-to-length forest products, and Materials Processing equipment for chipping, grinding, and carbonising products.

PROFESSIONAL SKILLS/ QUALIFICATIONS:

The Tigercat machine population in New Zealand has seen phenomenal growth in the past six years thanks largely to excellent sales and support efforts by our local dealer AB Equipment. The time has come for Tigercat to make a further commitment to AB Equipment and our New Zealand customer base by having further direct factory representation present in the country on a daily basis.

• Comprehensive understanding of hydraulic, electrical, mechanical and diesel systems and able to troubleshoot and problem solve effectively and efficiently.

Tigercat is therefore seeking the services of a Factory Product Support Representative to be based in the North Island region who will work closely with Glen Marley, Aaron Gregan, and Warren Nolan as well as the Canadian based Tigercat factories and support team.

JOB PURPOSE: Provide passionate technical support services for Tigercat Products, in conjunction with our Dealer and Customers.

ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS INCLUDE: • Perform on site visits with dealer technical staff to support the Tigercat products.

• Provide relevant technical feedback to Tigercat from the field in order to enhance product quality and reliability.

• Assist dealers with troubleshooting.

• Implement root cause analysis and effective corrective action.

• Assist with field testing and modifications to prototype Tigercat products.

• Coordinate delivery/installation of replacement of parts for Tigercat products as may be required to complement dealer efforts.

• Advanced technical capabilities.

• Team oriented.

• Intermediate to advanced computer skills.

• Customer service experience.

• Excellent time management skills without daily supervision.

• Be self-motivated and provide prompt, efficient and timely service.

• Must be adaptable to a changing work environment, competing demands and able to deal with frequent change, delays or unexpected events and manage multiple projects simultaneously.

• Trade Qualification an advantage.

• Provide feedback on field visits to end users to determine satisfaction/potential problems with, and development of Tigercat products.

• Previous technical knowledge of Tigercat products could be an advantage.

• Resolving of customer complaints.

• Undying passion for working in the unique forest industry.

• Extensive travelling away from home both nationally and internationally as required.

• Perform other related services as reasonably required by Tigercat Industries.

Apply in writing by October 31, 2022 with your CV to: gmarley@tigercat.com Subject: New Zealand Service Support Application.

If you require any further information on the role contact Glen Marley +61 (0) 428 481 238

October 2022 | NZ LOGGER 63

THURSDAY 30th- SATURDAY 1st APRIL 2023,

TD32863

PAIHIA, BAY OF ISLANDS

REGISTER ONLINE NOW: www.nztruckanddriver.co.nz/truckers-loggers

Me TOURNAMENTSPONSORS:

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FL100 Felling Head Suitable for carriers in 30 tonne + range.

Priced from $110,634.00 For more information contact: Karl 021 1926 567 North Island Gerard 0274 794 664 South Island

Waratah FL100 Felling Head

Waratah H212

Waratah 626 Series II

POA

Priced $110,634.00

Waratah 626 Currently under rebuild POA

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Priced $150,000.00

Waratah 626

Waratah 625C

Refurbished - Full rotation, Parker valve, H16 or TimberRite POA

Arriving Soon – to be rebuilt.

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Delimb Covers Measuring Arm bearing & seal kit

Measuring Wheel & Hardware kit

Chain Guard with hardware kit

Northland Mechanised logging services

Gisborne AB Diesel Ltd

Hawkes Bay Forestry Maintenance HB

Nelson Tasman Heavy Diesel

Blenheim Onsite Mechanical

Greymouth SM Hydraulics

Dunedin Heavy Diesel support

Southland Heavy Equipment Repair

Colour Marking Fluid

Komatsu PC270HW Forestry Cab Options • Komatsu • EMS • Active • Ensign

Factory WG Boom Set

HD Side Doors

Internal Hose Routing

HD Track Skis

HD Slew Guard

Komatsu High/Wide

Komatsu Forest working closely with Komatsu Ltd Japan have developed two new Forest Xtreme models the PC270HW & PC300HW. These two models feature unique forest specifications from the Komatsu Osaka factory; • High & Wide undercarriage / Forestry Boom Set / Forestry Cabin Options supplied from KF are; • HD Guarding Packages / Forestry Cabins / Hydraulic Interface

Komatsu’s unique ‘Forest Combinations’ Komatsu Forest Pty Ltd 15C Hyland Cresent Rotorua, New Zealand John Kosar M: 0274 865 844 Paul Roche M: 021 350 747 E: info.au@komatsuforest.com