Australian Forest & Timber News

AUGUST 2014 Issue 5 Vol. 23 • P: (03) 9888 4834 • E: m.dolphin@ryanmediapl.com.au • www.timberbiz.com.au

Accreditation key to safety M

ARK BLACKBERRY of Sunchip Group hates the thought of seeing any one of his people going home injured so takes a very systematic approach to avoiding that happening. What he would like to see is more transport users taking the same amount of care to ensure their suppliers are genuinely looking after the safety of their workers and other road users rather than “just ticking boxes” on tender documents.

To Blackberry, third party accreditation is key to ensuring that not only is a transport company up to scratch with equipment servicing, workplace and driver health, training and

First logging company to be a finalist the management systems required to make all that happen but that customers can confirm appropriate standards are actually being met as part of their due diligence and duty of care requirements.

Sunchip joined the Australian Truck Association’s safety accreditation program, TruckSafe

in 2002. TruckSafe currently has four loggers in its membership of about 800 companies. These companies are required to meet higher safety standards than those required by law and are audited regularly by independent auditors.

Sunchip was recently named runner-up in the 2014 TruckSafe John Kelly Memorial award becoming the first logging company to be a finalist.

Candidates for this award are selected from among TruckSafe operators that have had an external audit by a TruckSafe auditor in the calendar year before the award is presented so, for Blackberry, simply being nominated for the award was acknowledgement that what Sunchip is doing is highly regarded by professionals who should know.

Recognising there is a persistent number of transport users who will let tenders based purely on price while paying lip service to safety, Blackberry believes that customers who do the right thing in terms of care about health and safety of their workers and suppliers should also be recognized. He cites one of his major customers, Hyne, as being a company that trades successfully while taking care with OH&S. With so much wood coming on stream at the moment, Blackberry suggests that unsafe operators might become an issue as the

industry scrambles to keep up with demand. For this reason, he believes it is important the message on operator health and safety is delivered at the earliest possible stage when encouraging new operators into the industry.

Whether this is at school before students leave to join the workforce or when operators commence in business for themselves, he sees

Significant drop in sawmill numbers THE NUMBER of sawmills in Australia has fallen significantly, with hardwood sawmills falling by 60% and softwood sawmills by 25% since 2006–07, according to the just-released ABARES National Wood Processing Survey 2012-13.

Between September 2013 and March 2014, ABARES surveyed Australian wood processors to obtain up-to-date mill-specific data, including on mill inputs, production and employment. This survey updates the ABARES 2010–11 survey.

The results from this survey provide consistent and reliable estimates of the production of hardwood and softwood wood products, using a standardised approach and standardised definitions across each state in Australia. ABARES received completed survey forms from around 48% of hardwood sawmills, 69% of softwood sawmills and 60% of cypress pine sawmills (150 in total). While estimates based on results from this survey are broadly consistent with comparable datasets, such as the estimated volumes of logs harvested in Australia in 2012–13, some discrepancies remain and future surveys will work toward resolving these.

Because of regular changes in Australia’s forestry sector, ABARES validated its database of wood processors before undertaking the survey. This involved consulting industry associations and directly

Inside:

• RESEARCH CUTS A PROFOUND MISTAKE

contacting many mills. The validated database comprises 281 sawmills, 24 wood-based panel mills and 14 post and poles mills. About half the sawmills are small processors of hardwood sawlogs, each with an annual processing capacity of less than 15,000 cubic metres of sawlog. ABARES estimated that Australia had 200 hardwood, 61 softwood, and 20 cypress pine sawmills in 2012–13. The number of sawmills in Australia has fallen significantly, with hardwood sawmills falling by 60% and softwood sawmills by 25% since 2006–07. The volume of hardwood and softwood logs harvested has also decreased by 38% and 16% respectively over the same period.

Structural adjustments have continued since the 2006–07 and 2010–11 surveys, with further consolidation of the sawmilling industry. Adjustments also reflect continued changes in Australia’s forest management practices, with further restrictions or reductions in availability of logs from public native forests in some states, tighter regulation of private native forests and ongoing privatisation of public plantations.

According to the ABARES wood processing database, the hardwood sawmilling industry is characterised by a large number of relatively small

• LEARNING RESOURCE PROJECT

continued on page 4.

• GOVT DELIVERS VOTE OF CONFIDENCE

a need for strong representation from the timber industry.

As a member of AFCA from the early days of the association, he believes it is important there be a

national approach to OH&S even if it is delivered at the State or regional level to ensure effective standards continued on page 5.

BIG WOOD NO WORRIES

Here’s a machine with the capacity, durability and stability you need for harvesting big wood — the Cat® 541 Series 2 + SAT325 processor. The main valve of the continuous rotation head is rated at 6100 PSI and can easily handle carrier pressures, reducing wear on the hydraulics. Hoses from the carrier are routed through the linkage to protect them.

SATCO’s “DEAD-LOCK” pin retention system locks the knife and roller arm pins in place, improving bushing life and extending service intervals. Add a heavy-duty 3/4 in. main saw and Poclain MS11 drive motors proven to stand up to rigorous processing and you’ve got a head with the performance and durability to match the Cat 541 Series 2. From head to tracks, this machine is built to deliver what you need to be productive.

Look to your Cat dealer for financing and all the machines, attachments and parts you need for road construction, logging, millyard and forest management. Total support from one source.

www.cat.com/en_AU

© 2014 Caterpillar. All Rights Reserved. CAT, CATERPILLAR, BUILT FOR IT, their respective logos, “Caterpillar Yellow,” the “Power Edge” trade dress as well as corporate and product identity used herein, are trademarks of Caterpillar and may not be used without permission. www.cat.com www.caterpillar.com

Proud Supporter of

Australian Forests & Timber News, August 2014 – 3

Forest research cuts would be a profound mistake A

NY REDUCTION in forestry research would be a profound mistake and indeed a black day for Australia.

That was the unambiguous message from Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA) Chief Executive Officer Ross Hampton when he called on CSIRO Chief Executive Officer Dr Megan Clark to rule out axing forestry science as the organisation seeks major staff reductions driven

by Government budget measures.

And to ensure the moment (and the message) could not be missed he did it on a timber framed racing bike called ‘The Carbon Cycle’.

“CSIRO management is clearly being forced to grapple with a very challenging budget environment.

However, if reports of the complete, or near complete, abandonment of forest related research are true, this would be a profound mistake and a black day for Australia.

“Forest and forest products research has already borne more than its fair share of the burden of

CSIRO funding cuts. In 1985 there were more than 320 staff working in this area. By 2005 the number had shrunk to some 170. Cut after cut has reduced that to just 33 scientists in 2014.

“If CSIRO now effectively abandons this field altogether it will be doing the national interest a grave disservice.

“All over the globe it has been recognised that we built the 19th century with steel, the 20th century with concrete but the 21st century is seeing the resurgence of timber.

There is just no choice for a carbon constrained, resource constrained, and yet rapidly growing global population.

“There is more construction forecast for the coming forty years than has occurred in all of human history to date. Australia’s competitor nations have realised that far from being simply a heritage industry, forestry and timber products research, is a vital part of the future. In Canada, Chile, New Zealand,

Finland and elsewhere they are surging their forestry research to drive more productivity from their fibre resources and making transformational breakthroughs in areas such as bio fuels and bio plastics.

“Unless CSIRO changes course Australia will look back on this decision with great regret.

“Our best and brightest tree scientists, including those who have helped us understand the vital role forests play in carbon capture and storage and those who have revolutionised the productivity of our forest centres thereby underpinning communities in Mount Gambier, Tasmania, Gippsland, Albany, South East Queensland will soon be packing their bags to take the jobs in Canada, Chile, Vietnam and China.

“As Prime Minister Tony Abbott said in March, ‘We want the timber industry to be a vital part of Australia’s economic future, not just something that was a relic

¢ It’s ‘sow’ good!

“We plant pine seedlings during winter because they are dormant during the cooler months, which means we can transport the seedlings more easily and get them in the ground in time for their spring growth period.

“The ground in each plantation has been carefully prepared, cultivated and treated with herbicide for weed control to give the seedlings the best start possible.

“Forestry Corporation has around 200,000 hectares of pine plantations in NSW. The Central West is the hub of our Northern Softwoods region, which extends to the Queensland border and delivered more than $60 million of revenue last year.”

The planting project followsa three-month operation to distribute 6.5 million radiata pine seedlings from Forestry Corporation of NSW’s Blowering Nursery near Tumut.

“Blowering Nursery has produced a healthy crop of 6.5 million seedlings, which is the highest quality crop we’ve produced since we completed a major $3 million upgrade in recent years,” said Strategy and Risk Manager Gavin Jeffries.

He said another 2.8 million seedlings would be dispatched from Grafton in northern NSW and Gelliondale in Victoria totalling 9.3 million seedlings to plant this winter.

Forestry Corporation invests more than $12.5 million in its annual plantation establishment program and is the largest producer of plantation-grown radiata pine in the country, managing more than 200,000 hectares of plantations around the State.

Its plantations produce enough timber to construct about a quarter of the houses built in Australia each year.

of our history. That’s what this Government wants’,” Ross said.

Queensland, too, has been lamenting research cuts. Timber Queensland CEO Rod McInnes said budget cuts to the CSIRO would set forestry research in Queensland back at a time when it was needed most to meet timber demand and carbon storage.

“Research is needed in subtropical and tropical forestry to assist this emerging industry’s growth across Queensland,

including Central and North Queensland,” he said.

“CSIRO research is fundamental to meet our State’s growing demand for timber and to maximise the unique ability of wood to remove carbon from the atmosphere and store it.”

Rod said he was concerned about the lack of focus on these issues if the small numbers of local CSIRO forestry researchers were swallowed by larger divisions in Queensland.

AFCA seeking General Manager

Winter planting under way Pine seedlings are being planted in 2,800 hectares of State-owned plantations near Oberon, Bathurst and Orange during Forestry Corporation of NSW’s annual winter planting program.

Forestry Corporation of NSW’s Regional Manager Jason Molkentin said three crews would be planting seedlings across the region until August.

“Each winter we re-establish around 8,500 hectares of pine plantations across NSW and about 30 per cent of these are in the Central West, mainly around Oberon,” Mr Molkentin said.

“Over the next three months, we’ll have crews hand planting seedlings across the region to re-establish the plantations well ahead of the drier summer months.

“An experienced planter can get about 2,000 seedlings into the ground in one day and we expect to plant a total of 3.1 million seedlings in the Central West before the spring.

¢ Pushing the message of “no research cuts”, AFPA chief Ross Hampton makes sure the message gets across. He arrived at the CSIRO office in Canberra on a timber-framed racing bike aptly called The Carbon Cycle.

“Every single one of the 6.5 million seedlings leaving Blowering Nursery was grown from a specially selected seed sown in an individual container that has been carefully weeded, fertilised and watered over the past eight months.

“We have measured the stem, height and nutrient status in sample plots throughout the seedling crop to ensure the whole crop is robust and has the best chance of surviving and growing into a healthy timberproducing plantation.”

THE AUSTRALIAN Forest Contractors Association Limited (AFCA) is currently advertising for a General Manager.

This follows the resignation of chief executive officer Col McCulloch who had cited “directional differences” as the reason behind his move.

Col said he had been given a “directional” choice but had chosen to resign. “I’m going back into the bush,” he said, “getting my hands dirty.

I’m pretty happy with that.” Col has been appointed HR manager for the Kevin Morgan Group.

An AFCA board meeting in Maroochydore late May decided to undertake a major review of AFCA’s operational structure. With a growing array of political, professional development and local business issues to assist with and develop around the country, the board determined a team approach using the skills and experience of a broader range of people to address specific issues would be the best approach.

As part of that new approach, AFCA is now seeking applications for the new look General Manager role. Applications close 15 August. See advertisement in this issue for further details.

Off the shelf solutions, customised for your mill For over 100 years, we’ve been engineering solutions for the timber industry.

In that time, we’ve designed and built a range of equipment proven to improve mill productivity.

But we’ve yet to meet a client who didn’t need some modifications to make even the best equipment fit their particular space and needs.

Contact us for a quote to make your mill even more productive.

• manufacturing • sawmilling equipment • log carriages • resaws • multisaws and board edgers • automatic sorters and stackers • transfers and conveyors.

Complete turnkey projects.

From major start-ups to retro-fits, if you want professional service and advice, contact us.

AE Gibson & Sons Phone 02 6559 4001 Email: info@aegibsonman.com.au www.aegibsonman.com.au

4 – August 2014, Australian Forests & Timber News

Significant drop in sawmill numbers ISSN 1444-5824

August 2014

continued from page 1. mills in New South Wales, Tasmania and Queensland.

In comparison, the softwood industry, excluding cypress pine mills, consists of relatively large mills with an input capacity above 100,000 cubic metres across Australia. Over the past decade, the domestic softwood sawmill industry has become significantly more capital intensive and larger in scale, which has limited the reductions in total log processing despite the decline in mill numbers.

The cypress pine sawnwood industry consists of relatively small mills in New South Wales and Queensland only. Post and pole mills are more evenly distributed across Australia, with average mill size similar to that of the cypress industry.

Wood-based panel mills are also distributed fairly evenly across the states, with more than half having a processing capacity of 100,000 cubic metres or greater. Detailed results for panel mills are not provided in this report because the survey response

rate was too low to be statistically significant.

From the survey results, ABARES estimates that around 10 million cubic metres of sawlogs were processed in Australian sawmills during 2012–13, of which hardwood sawlogs comprised 1.9 million cubic metres, and softwood sawlogs around 8 million cubic metres, of which 187,000 cubic metres was cypress pine sawlogs. Hardwood sawnwood output in 2012–13 was estimated at around 740,000 cubic metres, and softwood sawnwood output

at around 3.85 million cubic metres, of which around 78,000 cubic metres was cypress pine sawnwood. ABARES estimates that 24% of hardwood sawnwood production was dry appearance grade sawnwood, while green structural (23%) and green other (32%) sawnwood also accounted for significant shares. In contrast, more than half of total softwood sawnwood production was dry structural timber. A significant majority of wood processing facilities in Australia is wholly Australian owned and operated.

Around 5% of wood processing facilities are partially or wholly owned by New Zealand, United States and other foreign investors.

Learning resource project launched in Mt Gambier The Forestry Industry Council is going form strength to strength.

Read more pages 12 & 14.

Features Mill Optimisation 9-11 Forestry Industry Council 12-14 Certification 15 Steep Slope Harvesting 16-17 Firewood 18 Transport 20-21 Bioenergy 22-24

MEDIA

INDEPENDENT & AUSTRALIAN OWNED

Postal Address:

630 Regency Road, Broadview South Australia 5083 Phone: (08) 8369 9555 Fax: (08) 8369 9501 Advertising: m.dolphin@ryanmediapl.com.au Melbourne Office (03) 9888 4834

¢ Mark Parsons (L), resource writer, meets IFA member Keith Atkinson in Mt Gambier.

THE INSTITUTE of Foresters of Australia (IFA) formally announced their partnership project with ForestWorks ISC at their recent symposium in Mt Gambier. This project will produce a suite of seven interactive online resources to support the new Advanced Diploma of Forest Industry Sustainability.

Ninety people attended the event from all over Australia, providing a great opportunity to collect feedback from industry on the development and application of the resources.

Mark Parsons, IFA member and writer of two of the resources, said the project was very well received by industry.

“It was the first time that many of the people had heard about the Advanced Diploma and they were very interested in the idea of a course in sustainability, and that it did not just focus on the environment, but also on economic and social factors. They were particularly pleased to learn that the IFA is taking a role and using the expertise of members to help develop learning resources for the forestry and wood products industries,” Mark said.

Michael Hartman, CEO of ForestWorks ISC, said IFA writers were liaising with industry and drawing on their workplace experience when writing the resources.

“Through this collaborative process we should be able to develop some fantastic learning resources for a qualification that offers capacity to develop skills and knowledge in environmental, economic and social sustainability within the forestry industry, as

Trader classified: m.dolphin @ryanmediapl.com.au Melbourne Office (03) 9888 4834 Editorial:

ForestWorks’ activities are assisted by funding provided by the Commonwealth Government through the Department of Industry.

j.hudswell@ryanmediapl.com.au Adelaide Office (08) 8369 9512 Subscriptions: subs@forestsandtimber.com.au Adelaide Office (08) 8369 9522 Accounts: Adelaide Office (08) 8369 9555 General Manager: Elizabeth Bouzoudis Editor: John Hudswell Advertising: Michael Dolphin Subcription rates One-year (8 editions) $55 Two-years (16 editions) $95 Production: Simon Miles Publisher and Chief Executive: Hartley Higgins Suite 103, 486 Whitehorse Road, Surrey Hills, Victoria, 3127, phone (03) 9888 4822 Conditions: Opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the editor/publishers; information is published in good faith and we do not accept responsibility for damage which may arise from any possible inaccuracies. All rights reserved, none of the contents may be used in any other media without prior consent from then publishers. Published by Ryan Media Pty Ltd. Print Post No. PP 767324/00002

Improving productivity in your workplace A learning program is now available for leaders, managers and workers to improve the operation of your business. · Build innovation capability at all levels · Improve innovative thinking, practice and development · Make innovation a workplace reality for future business growth

FIND OUT MORE: 1800 177 001

well as provide a pathway to higher education,” said Michael.

Funding for this project is provided by the Commonwealth Government, through the Department of Industry.

You can find out more about the project on the IFA website at: http://forestry.org.au/ifa-events/ resource-development-project-aprjun-2014

Pulpwood conference brings together key players Australian Bluegum Plantations managing director Tony Price will be one of the keynote speakers at the 7TH International Pulpwood Trade Conference in Santiago - Chile on 3-4 November.

This conference builds on the tradition of the International Woodchip Exporters’ Conferences which were held from 1992 to 2000 in the USA, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, China and Chile. The focus will be to bring together international forest owners, woodchip and pulplog suppliers, and buyers. It will also provide an excellent communications forum for shippers, equipment suppliers and consultants.

Come to know the pricing trends, the traditional and emerging markets, the international pulpmill expansion, the export supplies in different countries and regions and much more.

The official language of the congress will be English.

forestworks@forestworks.com.au www.forestworks.com.au

¢ Tony Price

Australian Forests & Timber News, August 2014 – 5

Accreditation is key to safety continued from page 1. can be set and maintained. At the moment, he is concerned there is a plethora of industry associations and wonders if the sheer number of them might be detrimental to effective advocacy and standards maintenance.

AFCA is currently running a pilot program in Tasmania in conjunction with ForestWorks with the aim of simplifying the process for those providing services in the

BAL rating now online A NEW WoodSolutions calculator can give you a quick and easy way to calculate your building site bushfire attack level online.

The Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) of a building site is determined by using Australian Standard AS3959.

The BAL rating has implications for both the design of a building and the specification of materials. With the new WoodSolutions calculator you can quickly calculate the BAL rating and then see how changing variables – such as the building location on the site – affects the BAL. The Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) of any location on a building site depends on factors including the site slope, the distance from vegetation and the type of vegetation. Australian Standard AS3959 provides information and methodology to calculate the BAL of a home and specifies the construction and/or retrofitting requirements.

The new WoodSolutions BAL calculator is based on the information provided in AS3959 and gives home owners, architects, building designers, developers and others a convenient way of estimating the BAL without having to manually look up tables.

Variables such as the site slope can be entered accurately, not to the nearest 5º, and then changed so that you can immediately see the effect on the BAL. “The BAL calculator will enable home builders, architects and designers to see how different placements or orientations of a home on a site can change the BAL,” said Boris Iskra, National Manager Codes and Standards at Forest and Wood Products Australia Limited, the industry body resourcing WoodSolutions.

However, Boris did point out that the WoodSolutions BAL calculator, while shown to be very accurate in testing, should be used as a preliminary design guide with final BAL calculations confirmed with the Australian Standard.

The WoodSolutions BAL calculator is available online at: https://www.woodsolutions.com.au/ Articles/Resources/BAL-BushfireCalculator-V1

forest to determine whether they are conforming to standards.

Through conversations with contractors and a lot of desk research, all the current standards that apply to the sector are being identified so they can be gathered into one place. That place is likely to be a web-based tool that contractors can use to self-evaluate whether or not their current operations are up to scratch.

“We’re not looking to reinvent the wheel so much as making

access easier to the wheels that are already there,” said Michael Hartman, CEO of ForestWorks.

The aim of this tool is to help contractors see if they are genuinely conforming to all the standards so they can determine if they need to take action in any area (such as OH&S) to come up to scratch. As this will be a self-evaluation tool, the idea is that contractors will be able to be brutally honest with themselves and, hopefully, lift their game where they need to.

The next step after this stage is to look at introducing a method of external audit or review to enable contracting businesses to be more public with their assessment.

What form this takes will be a subject for the national working group that is currently being put in place. This working group will be formed by ForestWorks in conjunction with AFCA and other, regionally-based industry groups.

Part of the working group’s deliberations will be to consider the establishment of standards for best practice as opposed to minimum requirements and a business or enterprise accreditation

system to certify practitioners. The TruckSafe program may be one such program the working group will look at.

Ian Reid, Chair of AFCA said: “Congratulations to Mark and his team at Sunchip on being a finalist in the TruckSafe award. It’s great to be in an industry where participants are showing such professionalism. It is incumbent on all sectors to strive for a no-injury workplace throughout the industry and we at AFCA look forward to continuing to take a leading role in helping members to achieve that goal.”

SP 591 LX

Purpose built for harvesting and debarking of plantation grown eucalyptus.

The SP 591 LX is purpose built for harvesting and debarking of plantation grown eucalyptus.

It offers an unrivalled productivity, feed speed and debarking efficiency. Together with the over all super duty design that guarantees also maximum reliability and uptime the SP 591 LX truly offers all you need for a profitable harvesting operation.

Randalls Equipment Company Pty Ltd

Wallace Ave, Point Cook, Melbourne VIC

Phone. 03 9369 8988 - Fax. 03 3969 8683 - Mob. 0418 356 306 Email. randalls@randalls.com.au www.randalls.com.au

6 – August 2014, Australian Forests & Timber News

Dealing with change

By Nick Reynish

I

T WAS only seven years ago that the Australian plantation forest industry was booming off the back of Managed Investment Schemes. Money seemed to be quite literally growing on trees for fund managers, contractors and service providers. Today paints a different picture when the cost of labour is severely damaging our ability to compete competitively in global markets and plantation owners are investment fund managers with a focus on steady reliable returns.

Business now The change in forest ownership has changed the way forestry businesses are run. Foreign ownership has brought some stability and confidence back into the industry, but it is not all smooth sailing as many are realising.

With the squeeze put on estate managers by land owners due to their failure to command prices that are favourable to yield good margins, they in turn are fighting to provide their clients a return on

investment due to countries such as China, India and Asia producing wood products for roughly a third of the price because of the simple fact they have at their disposal cheap labour and lots of it.

So, when contractors and service providers are being forced to work with low profit margins, rising superannuation, (as of 1 July 2014 super payable is now at 9.5% up from 9% in 2012) and increasing employment levies making for challenging times as a business owner.

OH&S increasing dominance in the forestry landscape To add to the already firm noose of compliance in the forestry industry, but for the right reasons, Occupational, Health & Safety regulations are being increasingly scrutinised. Not to any fault of our own, but as machinery advances and technology becomes more accessible, especially in the online sphere, there is an expectation for small companies to carry systems

similar to that of their larger parent counterparts. Although this is good for the forest industry, as it promotes a safer working environment and minimises bad publicity, it still carries with it a financial burden to SMEs that have to spend large sums of money and incur ongoing costs to maintain their systems.

Sustainability Many business professionals outside the forestry industry looking in are asking how these structures can be sustainable. We have already seen two rounds of demises in the last two decades.

A notable way forward for many is thinking outside the square; owners have to be smart, innovate, spread their risk, scale business accordingly and collaborate.

These words may sound familiar but will work if followed through and professional advice engaged in.

By way of many, the shift in the nature of what land managers and owners want can be beneficial to service providers who are prepared to step up and take on some risk, increase their capacity, comply with stringent OH&S measures and upskill, especially in the digital field. Believe it or not in most cases these days technology will enhance efficiency, impress clients and save money in the long term.

What does the future look like?

We all ask ourselves this from time to time and to be honest I can’t give an accurate answer, probably not many people can, but this I

can tell you, in order to compete in a global market and to ensure the Australian forestry sector stays afloat and then continues to grow, technology is the most obvious answer, both by investing in and using physical products and online, using the internet. These are the questions we need to be asking -- does my business have a website, use social media, and have available to me publications that keep me informed and up to date when new technology becomes available? Am I investing in the right advice and am I applying it to the right areas of my/our business.

Although there are many myths out there that with the advancement of technology the world population will be using less paper and related forest products, here are some statistics to prove that this in fact is not true.

The table refers to statistics from the United Nations Population Fund, where growth today increases at around 1.7%

• • • • • • • • • •

1800 - 1 billion 1927 - 2 billion 1960 - 3 billion 1974 - 4 billion 1987 - 5 billion 1999 - 6 billion 2011 - 7 billion* 2025 - 8 billion 2043 - 9 billion 2083 - 10 billion

With global population growth comes demand for products, especially paper and structural timber. In fact, we are now using more paper than we ever have. Thirty years ago the rise of computers was hailed as the beginning of the ‘paperless office’ and business and people alike were urged to reduce the flow of paper, ultimately aiming to abolish it to increase productivity. Since these bold statements, according to The Economist, global paper consumption has increased by half.

Plantations supply a third of all industrial roundwood A NEW study by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) shows that forest plantations, that make up less than 7% of the forest area in the world, produce one third of the world’s industrial roundwood.

In many developing countries expansion of the wood-based manufacturing and export sectors has only been possible because of the raw material supply from plantations.

The top five producers of industrial roundwood in forest plantations in 2012 were Brazil, the United States of America, China, India and Chile.

The total production volume from plantations in 78 countries in 2012 is estimated at 562 million m3, equivalent to one third of the total global supply of industrial roundwood (1.7 billion m3).

Providing services Australia wide

Inventory – Project Management – Professional Forester - Web Services www.forestechmanagement.com.au | Offices in Melbourne | Hamilton | Casterton | Millicent Phone Nick Reynish 0418 590 048 or Nigel Miller 0417 685 034

Tigercat forwarder has the most horsepower, the most tractive effort, the largest bunk space and now ...

THE BIGGEST CRANE

TIGERCAT 1075B SERIES II FORWARDER The heavy duty 20 plus tonne 1075B Series II is not only Tigercat’s greatest capacity forwarder but that of all manufacturers.

Built for the most demanding applications, the Tigercat 1075B Series II Forwarder offers an impressive 260kN tractive effort and 205kW @2,200rpm.

With its unique centre joint design and now with oscillation lock, the Tigercat 1075B Series II Forwarder provides excellent stability when loading on uneven terrain. The wide spread, 20 tonne rated bogie axles for heavy payloads reduce ground pressure and further enhance performance on steep slopes.

Tigercat 1075B Series II

Komatsu 895

John Deere JD1910E

CAT 584 (HD)

Load Capacity

20 ton (25 ton)*

20 ton

19 ton

18 ton (20 ton)

Machine Weight

24,500kg

23,800kg

21,800kg

22,500kg

Tractive Effort

260kN

255kN

220kN

240kN

Max Engine kW/rpm

205kW@2200

193kW@1700

186kW@1900

204kW@2100

Crane Lift Torque

195kN

165kNm

151kNm

159kNm

• 18-29% more lifting moment than any competitor

Crane Slew Torque

55kNm

42.5kNm

41kNm

45kNm

• 22-66% more slew moment than any competitor

Reaches

8.5m

8.5m

7.2, 8.5m

8.0m

• Only crane that can handle 0.53sqm grapples

Dampening Sensors

Sensors

Optional

None

None

• Only crane with end of position dampening sensors as standards

Pillar Hose Routing

Swivels

Fixed

Fixed

Fixed

Crane Weight

3180kg

2200kg

2150kg

2120kg

Improved visibility, lighting, climate control and defogging capabilities make the 1075B Series II Forwarder for the most comfortable ride yet.

Complete Solution Specialist The 1075B Series II forwarder when combined with the new Tigercat F195T85 Forwarder Crane is unbeatable.

• Only crane with hose swivels on pillar hoses for longer hose life

* Approved in certain applications

1300 727 520 – WWW.ONETRAK.COM.AU

8 – August 2014, Australian Forests & Timber News

NSW Government delivers vote of confidence in forestry

T

HE FUTURE of the NSW forestry industry is looking positive following two significant Government announcements during June that ensured the long-term supply of timber on the north coast and increased Government investment in forest land management.

Forestry Corporation of NSW’s General Manager of Hardwood Forests Dean Anderson said the announcements addressed a projected shortfall in supply and represented a strong vote of confidence in the industry’s future.

“In a positive development for the native forest industry on the NSW north coast, Forestry Corporation will buy 50,000 cubic metres a year back from its largest customer on the north coast, Boral, over the next nine years,” Anderson said.

“The north coast has a vibrant and diverse timber industry, and this agreement ensures we can continue to supply both large and small customers at existing levels once the current agreements expire. At the same time, it also ensures the long-term health of the forests by bringing harvesting back to a level that can be sustained beyond 2023.

“This is a significant development for the north coast and we’re pleased we’ve been able to work with Boral to put the industry on a steady footing for the future.”

The NSW Government also used the State budget released in mid-June to announce Forestry Corporation would receive an additional $5.6 million per year indexed to CPI towards community service aspects of land management in NSW State forests.

The funding acknowledges the extensive

work Forestry Corporation undertakes as a land manager, outside its timber harvesting business.

This work includes providing thousands of kilometres of public roads and free recreation sites like picnic and camping areas, as well as managing weeds, feral animals and fire.

Following a recent restructure at Forestry Corporation, Kathy Jones will head-up the new Forest Stewardship team, which will take responsibility for these land management functions.

Kathy has spent her entire career at Forestry Corporation since joining the then Forestry Commission as a trainee forester and was most recently Regional Manager for the Central Region.

“The new Forest Stewardship team has clear responsibility and accountability

for providing essential services such as fire management, weed and pest animal protection, and recreational facilities to the community,” Kathy said.

“In particular the team will focus on partnership opportunities with communities and tourism businesses to increase public access and improve management of state forests.

“Separating our land management responsibilities from operational harvesting and roading activities is a new approach that we anticipate will improve services to customers and communities.”

VicForests celebrates and looks NSW forestry industry safety to the future for our industry

By Robert Green Chief Executive Officer VicForests IT’S 10 years since the Victorian Government created VicForests to manage the sale, harvesting and regrowing of timber from just 6% of Victoria’s native forests. While there is of10 not a lot of time available to us for reflection, there is much to celebrate and recognise about the work done during the last decade.

Ten years is an important milestone for our business and the timber industry, and is one which follows a period where we have had to adapt our practices and implement significant changes.

These changes include a number of important achievements for VicForests and the industry such as certification to the Australian Forestry Standard, substantially reducing the number of forestry workplace injuries and our contribution to firefighting efforts during a period of unprecedented wildfires in Victoria.

We have all faced major challenges – from bushfire to global economic conditions, increased competition and the need to dramatically re-assess the sustainable yield from our forests due to the impact of various events on the available timber resource.

Along with these difficulties we have also enjoyed the rewards which come from working with such a beautiful, natural resource.

VicForests is now Australia’s largest supplier of native forest hardwood timber and, in this time we have generated over $1 billion in revenue. But more importantly we have supported the employment of thousands of people in regional Victorian as well as in metropolitan Melbourne - a fact not lost on the Victorian Auditor General’s Office who noted in its 2013 report that: “VicForests has demonstrated that it balances the need to operate profitably with the need to support

 Robert Green

industry and socio-economic sustainability”. Through all of this we have endured and we continue to have a native timber industry for one very good reason - we need to source native hardwood. While it has been suggested by some activists that we can simply rely on our plantation estate to provide our timber, the reality is the different sources of timber complement each other, rather than compete.

The contribution we all make to strength of the economy is often overlooked in the noise that can surround our industry. And while the plantation sector and the native sector make compelling cases on their own, together the impact of our contribution is even more powerful. In Victoria alone, the timber industry directly employs 21 000 people with 10s of thousands more involved in downstream manufacturing and secondary processing jobs.

And while there remain some differences, there are many ways in which the practices of the plantation and native forest sectors of our industry are becoming more and more aligned.

The last 10 years have presented challenges and opportunities, but even a quick glance forward highlights why we need to continue to play a vital role in the future.

The Victorian State Government

recently released the ‘Victoria in Future 2014’ which provided some projections around the future population of Victoria including Greater Melbourne. The figures are startling.

The report suggests Victoria’s population will grow to 10 million in the next 30 – 40 years with Melbourne to swell to size of London over the same period.

This poses all kinds of questions about how the city will look, how people will move about and where they will live. It also poses important questions about what they will live in with more than two million additional dwellings required to house our population by 2051. People need houses and, crucially for our industry, they need timber products.

And our industry is perfectly placed to meet these needs from our responsibly managed forests and plantations which support local jobs and economies. Wood remains the most environmentally friendly building material and as an industry we need to keep selling the virtues of what we do and the products we provide.

With technology advancements in the areas of cross-laminated timber, veneers and other engineered wood products it’s not hard to envisage a future where timber from the different parts of our industry is utilised to make a broader range of products through a combined value adding process.

It’s a great thought to picture the industry working even more closely together to supply as much of our local timber needs as possible from local sources.

VicForests is testament to the fact that a lot can change in 10 years.

We look forward to the next 10 and continuing to support you as we work together to supply a beautiful, natural and renewable product which has a vital role to play in a sustainable future for all of us.

partnership renewed INDUSTRY-SPECIFIC safety training programs and better information sharing will be some of the benefits to flow from the renewal of WorkCover NSW’s safety partnership with Forestry Corporation of NSW. The partnership, which was first signed in 2011, sees WorkCover and Forestry Corporation of NSW develop effective approaches to work health and safety and injury management in this high-risk sector.

Acting General Manager of WorkCover NSW’s Work Health and Safety Division, Peter Dunphy said significant progress had been made in recent years to address safety issues in partnership with the forestry industry.

“Through the partnership, WorkCover NSW and Forestry Corporation of NSW have delivered the Forest Industry Engagement Program to facilitate hazard identification and general risk management in forest harvesting,” Peter said.

“A range of resources that improve the safety of forestry workers and the community have also been implemented, including the Forest Industry Safety Tool, a comprehensive publication that helps forest operators develop strong safety management systems and comply with workplace safety obligations.

“WorkCover and Forestry Corporation of NSW have also contributed to the development of a new national package for forestry operations, Managing risks in forestry operations.”

WorkCover data indicates that over the past five years there have been 755 injuries in the NSW forestry industry costing the Workers Compensation Scheme more than $8.369 million.

Common workplace injuries include body stressing, falls, trips and slips and being hit by moving objects. Forest logging contractors are also over-represented in truck rollover crash statistics.

“Importantly, there has been a 35 per cent reduction in injury claims since the partnership was signed in 2011,” Peter said.

Forestry Corporation of NSW CEO Nick Roberts said the partnership aimed to address the unique risks and hazards associated with forestry and timber harvesting.

“Forestry Corporation’s workforce is diverse and mobile, with staff and contractors involved in activities ranging from setting and monitoring remote wildlife traps through to large scale tree felling and timber hauling operations and firefighting,” Nick said.

“By improving dialogue and cooperation between Forestry Corporation and WorkCover, we expect this partnership will drive new ideas and practical solutions to minimise the risks involved in forestry work.

“We’re already working together on a safety training program specifically tailored to log truck drivers and we hope the partnership will deliver many more practical initiatives that will make for a safer workplace for all forestry employees.”

“This initiative is another example of the State Government’s commitment to developing sustainable workplace safety outcomes in NSW which get workers home safely and make businesses more productive,” Peter added.

For a copy of the Forest Industry Safety Tool or for more information on workplace safety and injury management call 13 10 50 or visit www. workcover.nsw.gov.au

The 7th Annual Industry Development Conference will be held in Canberra on 25 March 2015.

Australian Forests & Timber News, August 2014 – 9

MILL OPTIMISATION

The ‘vision’ to be the best in the game I

T HAS been almost 20 years since Comact first started to work on visual images in order to grade lumber. The first prototype was installed in Northern Quebec and was based around the Trimmer-Optimizer platform, which used only geometrical sensors back then.

Later on, laser profiles coupled with color cameras were installed on an inclined transverse transfer and the GradExpert™ was born.

The goal was to get into the dry end lumber market, but no one expected it to be so successful.

At the time, no one could imagine Comact having as many automatic graders in operation as it has today.

Comact uses different types of color cameras to detect visual defects on any type of wood.

Moreover, these cameras are specially-designed for logs, cants, flitches (sideboards), rough boards, and dressed lumber.

“Area cameras” (which scan areas) are used for scanning large sections of wood like log ends and mainly measure in a lineal way.

“Linescan cameras” (which scan lines) are used for scanning boards in a transverse way. Cameras are combined with lighting systems to get better image contrast of darker

colored sections such as splits, rot and knots. LED panels and/or fluorescent lamps are used for this purpose. The main goal here is to measure geometrical and visual defects in order to get a complete grading solution, which cannot be achieved by a geometrical system alone for most of today’s demanding applications.

Comact is a North-American leader in the design and manufacturing of wood processing equipment. Not only does the company mainly serve the NorthAmerican market, but it also deals on the international level.

Comact offers the most comprehensive range of products on the market, featuring everything from mechanical equipment all the way to digital vision optimization, not to mention automation and controls.

Comact manufactures equipment meant to meet the requirements of clients in the softwood as well as in the hardwood processing business.

Comact numbers 450 employees working out of its divisions in the Province of Quebec, namely, Boisbriand, Quebec City, Saguenay, and Saint-Georges, as well as those in Prince George, BC and in St. Georges (SC, USA).

OUR VISION

SHAPES EVERYTHING UP

3 Vision Systems for Radiata Pine: EdgExpertTM for board edger TrimExpert TM for sawmill trimmer GradExpertTM for planermill

SERVIPLUS Division of

Canada 418 228-8911

Australia-New Zealand 64 9 416-8294

sales@comact.com

RELIABLE PRODUCTIVITY

10 – August 2014, Australian Forests & Timber News

MILL OPTIMISATION

AKE – your high quality tool manufacturer for forestry and sawmilling

S

INCE 1960 AKE Knebel has been standing for highest quality in industry and crafts and is today one of the leading manufacturers of circular saw blades and cutting tools worldwide.

Latest technology for highest precision - true running, sharp edges and a long service life are the main demands placed on a tool.

However, it is not apparent which efforts are to be made to produce such a high quality tool that meets the demands, yet you do experience the difference in practice.

It’s optimization at work!

Of all the tools AKE has been producing, the wood processing tools are the ones that particularly contributed to AKE’s reputation as a high-quality tool manufacturer.

AKE products meet the demands under hardest conditions in industry and always pay due to their high reliability. Especially when regarding the sector of forestry, AKE is offering the most suitable solutions for saw milling requirements, for wet wood as well as dry wood.

Our specialties are customized tools, optimally tailored to the customer’s demand.

Our product range therefore includes: • Hogger segments, hogger rings and chipper knives for all common machine brands.

• Clamping sleeves and riving

knifes are produced according to the machine manufacturer’s specifications.

• Circular saw blades for precutting, individually in AKE multi step design for extreme cutting conditions. Optimized design according to customer demand for maximum tool life.

• Circular saw blades for trimming cuts - plane or stepped circular saw blades with strengthened saw body and tipped strobes for high feed rate and long tool life.

• Additional features of our products: ▪ Saw body oxide coating ▪ Hardly any resin formation ▪ Less friction on the saw body ▪ Longer service life ▪ Easy cleaning • C hrome-plated saw body with various layer thicknesses ▪ Hardly any resin formation ▪ Much less friction on the saw body ▪ Hardly any loss of tension if the wood remains in the saw machine ▪ Longer service life ▪ Thinner saw kerf possible ▪ Much easier cleaning • M ulti-layer tooth coating (type 8620) ▪ Reduced resin formation ▪ Much longer service life ▪ and higher feed rates with dry wood

Precision engineered for high reliability in harsh conditions for wet wood and dry wood!

AKE has firmly established itself as a world innovator and leader in the design and manufacture of high quality blades built to exacting standards.

Our product range therefore includes: • Hogger segments, hogger rings and chipper knives for all common machine brands.

• Clamping sleeves and riving knifes are produced according to the machine manufacturer’s specifications.

• Circular saw blades for pre-cutting, individually in AKE multi step design for extreme cutting conditions. Optimized design according to customer demand for maximum tool life.

• Circular saw blades for trimming cuts - plane or stepped circular saw blades with strengthened saw body and tipped strobes for high feed rate and long tool life.

1800 335 726

Victorian callers only: 9576 9150 Web: www.ake.de email: akeaustralia@bigpond.com

¢ Saw blade (Mustang) full oxide coated.

¢ Saw blade (Mustang) oxide coated.

¢ Saw blade (Mustang).

New Zealand and Australian mills adapt with USNR grading technology USNR’s BioVision technology is advancing on the land down under with new grade scanning technology being implemented at Pukepine Sawmills at Te Puke, New Zealand, and AKD Softwoods at Colac, Australia.

Green trimmer grading line

• • • •

trims variable lengths for Cuttings grade lumber products Target length trimming: trims lumber within min/max lumber length specifications Wane control: equivalency or compound with 3 wane allowances Scant control / steep edge wane control Wane orientation marking to planer Up to 240 products (thickness x width combinations), and 28 separate nominal lengths Up to 8 product groupings (by species or visual grade classification)

Edger grading line The system at AKD Softwoods, Colac,. Is a BioVision edger grading line. This BioVision system will employ the latest MillExpert™ software platform release and a new scan frame outfitted with BioLuma 2900LV sensors. The HD laser profiling and HD visual data will be collected and fed to the system’s MillExpert software to maximize both total recovery and value recovery of structural and appearance grade products, by positioning the saws based on knot sizing permitted for structural lumber.

The system recently installed • at Pukepine Sawmills, Te Puke, comprises a 6m (20’) USNR grade scanning trimmer line featuring • BioLuma 2900LVG+ 4-sided scanning for full automated grading of its green lumber products.

The BioLuma™ 2900LVG+ sensors are unique in the marketplace, offering fully integrated GrainMap™, HD color vision and HD laser profiling, the basis for this world-class sawmill automated grading system.

GrainMap grain angle measurement affords more comprehensive defect analysis, allowing the optimizer to detect and classify more defects. The system’s 3D modeling provides ¢ USNR’s BioVision Edger solution on Radiata Pine. far more detail than any other scanning platform currently available. The resulting optimized solutions make the most of the extensive data collected to maximize recovery and value from each piece.

Proven algorithms provide the most valuable cut solution utilizing, product setup information as input by the mill user, board measurements from the sensors and available operator inputs. The following represents some of the most significant features offered: • Fixed width / crook and bow control / fence and trim logic • Marginal length feature: ¢ This trimmer grade optimization user interface screen lumberline saw lift / send extra depicts knots outlined in green, splits and shake with purple, wood to the planer and wine outlined with red.

• Variable length trim feature:

Australian Forests & Timber News, August 2014 – 11

MILL OPTIMISATION

Compact, fast, accurate solution S

YNERGY IS defined as cooperative interaction that creates an enhanced combined result. A recent synergistic solution was created at Stimson Lumber’s operation at Tillamook, Oregon, when the company chose a primary breakdown configuration that merged designs of product lines from the USNR family. The result is compact, fast and accurate.

The Stimson mill at Tillamook is predominantly a stud mill.

The primary line utilized manual processing techniques, so the primary goal of the project was to employ more advanced technology to recover greater quantity and quality of lumber.

Jeff Webber is vice-president of operations for Stimson, based at its headquarters in Portland, Oregon. After studying different installations, different vendors, and different product mixes, he says, “At the end of the day we were convinced that the USNR system was the right one for us, for our log characteristics and what we wanted to do.”

Jeff explained that the solution they chose for this project incorporates a compact sharp chain positioning infeed system with side chipping heads, and cants are processed downstream at the mill’s existing horizontal resaw.

Positioned for accuracy This configuration was chosen because it will handle the specific characteristics of the mill’s log diet, with its proven design for positioning accuracy and to maintain control of the log through the cutting tools. This is a very high piece count machine, capable of operating at 600 fpm and processing 24 pieces per minute.

The USNR supply includes the log feeder, positioned at the last step of the log loader to facilitate precise gap management between logs. Once loaded on the vee-flight chain, each log is scanned for defects, turned, skewed to position, thumped on a sharp chain, and a final scan is performed before processing - all within a very short distance. After the first scan a reciprocating quad roll log turner actuates the turn solution. Then the positioning infeed takes over the final log position adjustments by skewing the log end to end.

This feature offers a big advantage allowing the line to position for specific log defects to achieve maximum recovery.

The skew is accomplished with two sets of centering rolls fitted with linear positioning cylinders.

One moves the front end of the log left or right, the other moves the back end left or right. Once the log is in position the overhead pressrolls come down and thump the log onto the sharp chain. Then it is scanned again, and the system has the capability to move the chipping heads to make further adjustments before processing.

The attributes that make this

¢ A log is loaded into position for feeding once its predecessor clears the pocket.

¢ USNR’s primary log line at Stimson Lumber is compact, fast and accurate.

design unique is that it is compact and simpler than an extended length infeed, it operates at high speeds and is extremely accurate.

With this infeed concept there is no transition into the canter, so there is limited opportunity for the log to lose position prior to processing.

This design will handle small to medium sized logs.

The optimization system Stimson selected is the MillExpert platform with Smart TriCam lineal scanning. From the first scan it creates a dense 3D model of each log. MillExpert’s Log Turner Optimizer and Log Optimizer work together for optimal turning and positioning to achieve the most valuable breakdown solution.

Once the log is turned and skewed a second scan is performed to confirm the position of the piece, and the log optimizer finalizes the breakdown solution based on any discrepancy between the optimal position and the log’s actual position.

With the appropriate log diet, these compact infeed systems have an advantage over traditional extended length infeed systems because the logs are positioned onto the sharp chain in a very short distance, scanned for the breakdown solution and then proceed on the same conveyance into the cutting devices.

constraints in the mill. But we did get more productivity, so that was a bonus, and our (lumber) quality is better.”

“This is the best project I’ve ever seen in my 30-plus years.

Everything just fell into place. It was on budget, it was on time, and the performance was better than expected,” Jeff says.

Now, Stimson plans to turn its attention downstream.

“Because this machine has a lot of production capacity that we’re not utilizing, we’re going to work in the rest of the sawmill to figure out how to tap into that capacity.”

¢ The log feeder gently loads the log onto the vee-flight chain.

¢ A log is processed through the chip heads.

¢ With rocking motion minimized, the log immediately begins to travel longitudinally along with the vee-flight chain.

Detecting the turn A particularly valuable feature of MillExpert log optimization is the turn detector. The turn detector allows users to monitor how well the rotation system is doing on every log, and provides reports that can indicate when problems occur. With the turn detector feature the mill personnel can easily monitor the performance of their positioning system and tune it, as required. To utilize the turn detector feature, a second scan must be taken after the log is positioned. Turn detector reports on the final rotation that was achieved.

Exceeding expectations Jeff Webber is pleased with the performance of the line.

“It’s exceeded our expectations.

We assumed some recovery improvement, which is why we did the project. We did not assume any productivity improvement because we thought we had other AFT_2014-08_USNR-BioVision.indd 1

7/9/2014 4:34:08 PM

12 – August 2014, Australian Forests & Timber News

FOREST INDUSTRY COUNCIL

¢ Forestry Corporation’s Nursery Operations Coordinator Dean Page, Forestry Corporation’s CEO Nick Roberts, Forestry Corporation’s Strategy and Risk manager Gavin Jeffries and Senator Richard Colbeck inspect the Forestry Corporation of NSW’s Blowering Nursery.

¢ The National Member for Riverina Michael McCormack, outgoing FIC Chair Theresa Lonergan, new Fic Chair Melinda Haris and guest speaker Richard Colbeck at the FIC dinner attended by more than 40 people on Friday night at the Elms Restaurant at Tumbarumba.

Another big year for FIC T

HE FOREST Industry Council (FIC) highlighted another big year of growth and major achievements at its Annual General Meeting at TAFE Riverina Institute’s Tumut campus.

FIC Executive Officer, David Priem, said FIC continues to be highly regarded as an effective forest industry association with a focus on safety, training and industry promotion.

“FIC’s membership is up to a very healthy 40 or so businesses across southern NSW and north-east Victoria with a combined direct and indirect value of production of around $1.2 billion a year,” he said.

At the AGM, Melinda Haris (High Country Logging) was elected Chairperson with Alan Cole (Hume Forests) as deputy, and outgoing Chairperson, Theresa Lonergan, delivered her Annual Report noting highlights such as FIC’s involvement in the ‘Festival of Falling Leaf’.

“A big thanks to Groves for putting their truck in the parade, Scandinavian logging and Onetrak for providing equipment and Waratah for making the trip from Melbourne with the simulator. It was a great success.

“Thank you to Rosin Developments for providing a log for the competition, which was proudly sponsored by Linx Finance,” she said.

Theresa said March this year saw the ForestWorks conference in Canberra, with FIC providing discounted tickets to the dinner at parliament house.

“Eight members eagerly took up the offer and an enjoyable night was had with guest speaker Prime Minister Tony Abbott,” she said.

Theresa said this year FIC ran a Forest Industry Tour, which included members from Tumut and Tumbarumba Shire Councils, career advisors from Tumut, Tumbarumba, Ariah Park and Cootamundra High Schools and six students

¢ Rosin Developments apprentices Jack Rosin (4th year boiler maker), Jack Beaven (1st year fitter/ machinist), Jeff Brewis workshop supervisor, and Leon Nichols (2nd year boiler maker). Absent Ben Rosin who was in the bush. Senator Colbeck was told about Rosin Developments’ very strong commitment to apprentice training having employed 20 apprentices during the past 15 years.

from Tumut and Ariah Park. The tour visited the Forestry Corporation of NSW’s nursery, P & T Lonergan’s harvesting crew, Carter Holt Harvey sawmill, and the Visy Pulp and Paper mill.

“The tour showed the many pathways people can take in our industry, and the feedback has been very positive, with the Career Advisors endorsing an annual event,” she said.

“FIC also recently sponsored a two-day Incident Investigation training course for members and non-members.

The course quickly filled to capacity, with 20 participants from 12 member-businesses.”

On the Friday, the FIC Grant was re-named the Geoff Green Scholarship, in honour of a great supporter of the grant, who sadly died last year. This year, the FIC Grant went to Jason Munday, to support him in completing his Forest Management Degree at Southern Cross University.

¢ Forestry Corporation’s CEO Nick Roberts, Paul Rosin and Richard Colbeck inspect a Komatsu Forests harvesting head worth $150,00 manufactured at Rosin Developments workshop at Tumut.

it can reduce heating costs by as much as 100%

pe rfo r years old and still

o lt t

• Recent photo shows 8 year old G2 kiln in Queensland.

• Incorporates Unique Advanced Cyclic Drying Controllers.

• Cycling control avoids the need and cost of comparatively less efficient water-heat exchanger systems.

• Provides superior stress relief and quality in the same drying timeframe, a method now proven by eminent Australian researchers.

• A full variety of kiln types for large and small drying operations.

• Lowest cost, fast high quality solar drying system available.

• The largest seller of solar kilns in Australia with over 7000M3 of kiln capacity sold to date.

. ing m

t–8 las

Solarkilns are an efficient and superior method of drying green timber through its advanced solar power drying technology.

It can reduce heat energy costs by as much as 100% whilst still drying as fast as a fuel heated kiln and can significantly reduce cracking, splitting and warping.

Bu i

SolarkilnS = Smarter Drying

¢ Senator Richard Colbeck and Facility Manager Carter Holt Harvey’s Wood Panels Facility at Tumut, Jim Stevenson, take a look at laminating line 2.

Contact Greg Weir on: 0427 641 402 | email: greg@solarkilns.com | web: www.solarkilns.com

INNOVATIVE

FOUR

ROLLER

DRIVE SYSTEM IMPROVED LOG CENTRALISATION AND TRACTION LEADS TO INCREASED SPEED AND ADDED TORQUE. THE MOST PRODUCTIVE PROCESSOR ON THE MARKET.

DASA5 COMPUTER SYSTEM • Full optimisation • GPS enabled • Electronic callipers • Daily production reports

Contact Weytze van Heerden p. +64 ( 0 ) 21 191 8096 e. weytze@southstarequipment.com Jeremy Disher p. +64 ( 0 ) 21 265 8879 e. jeremy@southstarequipment.com

southstarequipment.com

14 – August 2014, Australian Forests & Timber News

FOREST INDUSTRY COUNCIL

Senator’s visit puts spotlight on timber industry ¢ Richard Colbeck takes the opportunity to take a hands on view of optimisation technology in harvesting from the cab of a P & T Lonergan harvester harvesting a 1980 AC in Green Hills State Forest for delivery to Hyne Timber, Visy and Norske Skog.

T

HE REGIONAL forest industry was under the spotlight when the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Agriculture and Senator for Tasmania, Richard Colbeck, visited the Tumut/ Tumbarumba region on 20 June as a guest of the Forest Industry Council (FIC).

The Senator’s visit culminated in the evening when he spoke on ‘Growing the Forest Industry’ as guest speaker at FIC’s annual dinner at the Elms restaurant at Tumbarumba attended by 45 people.

“I had a fantastic day. To my trainer in the forest today (Callum Lonergan of P & T Lonergan Pty Ltd), I’ve been around sawmills and I’ve been out into the bush before, but I haven’t had the opportunity to sit in the cab and talk through the thought process of when you’re harvesting and see how it works,” he said.

“For a young bloke like you to be doing what you’re doing is a real credit to you and I really appreciate the time. Then jumping into the loader to load up and see you put a load together, I really appreciate it.

“So everyone who’s been involved in putting together the program today, the mills, the workshops, it’s been absolutely fantastic and as I said at the outset not too many places where you will feel really welcome and at home, but it’s great to be able to say I’ve felt really at home in a great timber community today.”

FIC executive officer, David Priem, said FIC was delighted to be able to host Senator Colbeck on his first visit to the area and show him just how much the region contributed to the growth of the

timber industry and the economy in general.

“FIC represents almost 40 businesses across southern NSW and north east Victoria with a combined direct and indirect value of production of around $1.2 billion a year.

“TAFE now manages 90% of training in NSW for the forestry industry and we are working hard to keep our youth in these regional areas,” he said.

Senator Colbeck and his wife Gaylene started their tour at the Forest Industry Training Centre in Tumut where they had an informal

Bombala, Queanbeyan, Orange and Tumut.

“This is the highest quality crop we have produced since we completed a major $3 million upgrade in recent years,” he said.

He explained that every single seedling leaving the nursery was grown from a specially selected seed sown in an individual container that had been carefully weeded, fertilised and watered during the past eight to nine months.

The Senator was then shown the dispatch area where a workforce of 23 casuals had come on board

I’ve felt really at home in a great timber community today. morning tea with a small group of FIC members and key figures from local councils including Tumut Mayor Trina Thomson and General Manager Bob Stewart.

The Senator later travelled to Forestry Corporation of NSW’s state-of-the-art containerized nursery near Tumut for a tour of the facility lead by Forestry Corporation Strategy and Risk manager Gavin Jeffries with input from Forestry Corporation Nursery Operations coordinator Dean Page.

The Forestry Corporation is the largest producer of plantationgrown radiata pine in the country.

Gavin said the nursery had produced an extremely healthy crop of 6.5 million seedlings this year, which were being dispatched to plantations near Bathurst, Lithgow, Oberon, Tumbarumba,

to help with the nursery’s massive dispatch program.

Senator Colbeck said he was very impressed with the nursery, particularly the production side, where they were working hard to keep prices down.

The Senator returned to Tumut to visit Rosin Developments, a privately-owned harvesting and haulage business, where innovation meets high-tech design in a workshop with a strong tradition of apprenticeship training.

Paul Rosin, who gave the group a tour of the workshop, said the company was now focused solely on logging.

At present their main business is as logging contractors for the Forestry Corporation and Hume Forests.

“We employ 37 people and four apprentices, from first year to

fourth year. We have employed 20 apprentices during the past 15 years and put quite a bit back into the town,” Paul said.

“We have had meat processors and carpenters and nearly all of the operators trained in house did not come from logging backgrounds.

“Being an apprentice gives them a good grounding and they grow into being operators in the bush.

“We bring them through the system and they learn how to fix machines. We try to start them from the ground up and that is important from a business perspective. My son Jack started on floor. He is now in his 4th year as an apprentice.”

Apprentice Leon Nichols, a second-year boilermaker, who studies at TAFE in Wagga Wagga, said he was really enjoying his apprenticeship.

“We learn heaps and it is very diverse with a lot of handson mechanical work. I want to eventually drive harvesting machines in the bush for Paul and Tracy (Rosin),” he said.

Paul said nearly a third of the company’s employees were due to take long service, which speaks volumes about their business.

He said one of the company’s biggest challenges was competing with overseas labour costs, particularly countries like Brazil and Indonesia. But he said Australia had more advanced technology.

He showed the group a Komatsu Forests $150,000 harvesting head manufactured on site by Rosin Developments.

Following on from Rosins, the Senator was taken on a tour of the raw board and Low Pressure Melamine (LPM) production areas at Carter Holt Harvey’s Tumut

¢ Peter Lonergan, director of P & T Lonergan Pty Ltd.

Pinepanels by facility manager, Jim Stevenson.

The company, which has 90 employees at present, has recently revamped its colour range to 120 colours and numerous finishes.

The Senator was impressed with how progressive the company was in relation to pursuing trends and its new LPM range of laminates.

Later in the day, the Senator travelled to P & T Lonergan’s current harvesting site, half-anhour from Tumbarumba, in Green Hills State Forest (1980 AC).

There he took the opportunity of a hands-on experience in the cab of a harvester and a forwarder with Callum Lonergan.

Peter Lonergan explained the use of optimisation harvesting to the Senator, showing how it ensured the optimum use of the resource.

The harvested logs were being transported by Greenfreight to Norske Skog at Albury, Hyne Timber at Tumbarumba and Visy at Tumut.

Australian Forests & Timber News, August 2014 – 15

CERTIFICATION

VicForests seeks FSC certification V

ICFORESTS is seeking Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Controlled Wood certification.

The Controlled Wood standard provides evidence that wood has been controlled to ensure it is legally harvested, in accordance with traditional and civil rights, and does not threaten High Conservation Values or result in natural forest conversion to plantations.

Chief Executive Officer, Robert Green, said seeking Controlled Wood certification was the first step for VicForests in a process towards gaining full FSC Forest Management certification.

“Full forest management certification provides assurance to consumers that the wood products they buy come from sustainable forestry practices which meet world-class standards,” he said.

“VicForests’ is currently certified to the Australian Forestry Standard, which has been specifically designed for Australian forests and is recognised by the Programme for Endorsement of Forest Certification, the world’s largest forest certification scheme.

“We have decided to seek FSC Controlled Wood certification to further demonstrate our strong commitment to transparency and continual improvement in our operations.

“We believe that seeking additional, independent certification provides further

¢ Natalie Reynolds

assurance to consumers about the sustainability of our locally produced wood products from responsibly managed Victorian forests.

“We will continue to maintain our Australian Forestry Standard certification as part of our commitment to managing our forests for a range of social, economic and environmental outcomes,” he said.

Mr Green said VicForests underwent a preliminary assessment against two FSC standards last year to understand where the organisation needed to adapt or improve practices.

“We have publicly released the preliminary assessment report drafted by SCS Global Services in order to provide as much transparency as possible around this process.

“We plan to undergo an audit against the Controlled Wood standard in the first half of 2015 as part of a stepped approach towards achieving full FSC Forest Management certification.

“Due to market demands, nonFSC certified forests are being forced out of many markets locally and internationally, so gaining FSC Certification provides an opportunity for forest managers to grow their market share,” said Natalie Reynolds, FSC Australia chief executive officer.

“Both natural and plantation forest managers in Australia are being driven to demonstrate compliance with FSC, and in doing so they demonstrate economic, environmental and social issues are rigorously taken into account in their operations.”

The results of the preliminary assessment provided to VicForests by the FSC’s internationally accredited auditor SCS Global Services, provides a preliminary judgment of what the possible major or minor non-conformance areas would be if VicForests was to apply for full FSC Forest Management certification or to be able to have their wood products classified as “FSC Controlled Wood”.

A preliminary assessment is a ‘health check’, providing information to forest managers and is required before a certification process is entered into.

FSC Australia investing $1.3m to reach a consensus on forest management FOREST STEWARDSHIP Council Australia (FSC Australia) has taken a step closer to launching an FSC Australia – Forest Stewardship Standard by revealing a first draft of new guidelines to members.

The Forest Stewardship Standard is being developed by the Standards Development Group (SDG)*, elected

by FSC Australia’s members in September last year. The group of nine representatives is tasked with coming to a consensus on behalf of the FSC’s membership about how Australian forests should be managed.

FSC Australia CEO, Natalie Reynolds, said this was a major milestone for Australia in responsible forest management. “There is no better way to come to consensus on highly contentious issues than to bring a group of people with differing views together in a room under FSC’s International framework,” she said.

The SDG representatives have an even balance of social, environmental and economic backgrounds – including representatives from the union movement, specialists on environmental issues and foresters.

They will reach a consensus on more than 30 key forest management issues, including: • Workers’ rights and employment conditions • Protecting the interests of and creating benefits for Indigenous communities • Maintenance and conservation of ecosystems and environmental values where lands are subject to harvesting activities • Water catchment management practices • The protection of rare, threatened and endangered species.

• Enhancing the social and economic wellbeing of local communities All nine parties must agree on each and every issue before the standard is finalised.

A final version is expected by the end of next year.

FSC Australia needs to invest a budgeted $1.3m over two years to take the FSC’s global standards and

create something locally relevant and locally owned.

At this stage more than half the money has been obtained or promised to make this possible.

“Australia has a very specific set of environmental social and economic circumstances to consider so it’s important that we make the International standard locally appropriate,” Natalie said.

The process is being overseen by Independent Chair, Dr Evelyne Meier who said the Standards Development Group had worked tirelessly on the first draft. “We’re looking forward to engaging with members to gather vital feedback and input as we progress towards a final consensus position,” she said.

“If VicForests wishes to meet either standard, significant changes in forest management practices are required. The preliminary assessment highlights areas of non-conformance against both full Forest Management Certification and FSC Controlled Wood.

“Vic Forests has a road map now of what it needs to do to achieve full FSC Certification; this process of continual improvement is the very foundation tenant of FSC. “The results of this preassessment are a great example of the FSC system at work. Forest Managers that are yet to meet the FSC’s rigorous standards are provided with a roadmap by auditors and are encouraged to continue along their journey to economic, environmental and social responsibility.”

• VicForests’ operations are currently certified under the Australian Forestry Standard (AFS) and internationally recognised by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC).

• The FSC’s standards are the most stringent in the world. The results of the auditor’s preliminary preassessment of VicForests show that FSC certification or even FSC Controlled Wood standard could not be achieved at this point in time.

• FSC Controlled Wood is not the same as FSC Certification. It does not provide the full suite of investigation that is provided for under FSC Australia’s rigorous economic, environmental and

social standards.

• Following the independent auditors’ preliminary assessment, VicForests has announced its intention to undergo a full audit under the FSC’s Controlled Wood standard

by June 2015.

• If and when accredited auditors decide VicForests meets the FSC Controlled Wood Standard, VicForests then intends to apply for full FSC certification.

• FSC Controlled Wood ensures the avoidance of wood in FSC Certified products that come from unacceptable sources such as: - Illegally harvested wood - Wood harvested in violation of traditional and civil rights - Wood harvested from forests where High Conservation Values are threatened - Wood harvested from forests being converted to plantations or non-forest uses - Wood from forests in which genetically modified trees are planted • To achieve full FSC certification, forest managers must not have a single non-conformance when audited • Non-conformances are classified as either minor or major.

Major non-conformances must be closed before award of certification, while minor non-conformances must be addressed within a time period specified buy the auditor, but no longer than one year following the award of certification.

Professional go-getter required

Standards Development Group Independent Chairperson - Dr Evelyne Meier has extensive experience working in high-level policy related roles across government, the private sector and a number of multi-stakeholder initiatives. She is an experienced chairperson and director with a strong record of guiding policy processes in natural resource management and stakeholder engagement.

Social representatives: • Aidan Flanagan - Institute of Foresters Australia • Tim Anderson - Regional Forrest Communities (Individual Member) • Travis Wacey - Union Movement (Individual Member) Environmental representatives: • Warrick Jordan - The Wilderness Society • Paul Winn - Hunter Community Environment Centre • David Blair – Forest Ecologist (Individual Member) Economic representatives: • Suzette Weeding - Forestry Tasmania • A manda Naismith - New Forests Asset Management • Peter Grist - Australian Forest Products Association

Australian Forest Contractors Association Limited (AFCA) is seeking a person with great organizational skills and a passion for representing the interests of members to join our association as General Manager.

The right person will work with the board to convert strategies into actionable campaigns while ensuring each AFCA member’s needs are properly identified and looked after. Supported by a small team in the national office, the General Manager will also directly engage with the various networks, government departments and other associations that have a direct impact on the long-term viability and welfare of Australian Forest Contractors.

The person we are looking for will be highly organized, experienced in corporate governance, be computer literate and able to work autonomously.

While previous work experience in the forest industry is not necessary, an understanding of the industry and experience in a not-for-profit and/or professional association would both be highly desirable.

Australian Forest Contractors Association Ltd

For a complete position description or to submit your resume, email:

Ian Reid Chair of AFCA E: ian@afca.asn.au Applications close 15 August 2014

16 – August 2014, Australian Forests & Timber News

STEEP SLOPE HARVESTING

Keeping “track” of the most difficult terrain C

LARK TRACKS Ltd, based in Dumfries, Scotland, manufactures a range of superior forest machine tracks to suit all terrains and all machine types, and these specialist units are available in Australia. B A Viccars Pty Ltd is the Australian distributor for Clark Tracks and Chaffey’s Chains is their agent in Tasmania.

“With more than 25 years experience, Clark Tracks has built a solid business based on durable products and friendly customer service,” says Brian Viccars.

The range of tracks offered goes from high flotation through to aggressive tracks designed for maximising grip climbing ability.

At the high-flotation end of the range, Clark Tracks offers the TXL, TXCL and Flotation ranges of tracks.

“The TXL is the most advanced high flotation track available, providing excellent soft ground capabilities, low soil compaction and disturbance and good traction, an area where other high flotation tracks get stuck,” said Brian.

“At the other end of the track spectrum, for maximising traction, we offer our Grouzer track and two special variants; Climbing Special (CS) and Climbing-X (CX).

“These super-aggressive tracks assist machines to operate on steep and challenging sites,” Brian said.

“Lastly, Clark Tracks builds the ultimate all-season, multi-terrain range of tracks; Terra-85 and Terra-95.” He said the Terra-85 was suited to harvesters and forwarders up to 15t payload.

The Terra-95 is suited to larger harvesters and forwarders with 15t payloads or greater.

“Additionally, for Large forwarders and 6 wheel skidders, Clark Tracks offers the Forwarder-X (FX) tracks, a special variant of the Heavy Duty Terra-95 track.

“All Clark Tracks are built in Scotland, using the best quality European steel and components to guarantee performance and long work life,” said Brian.

¢ Terra Lite TL85-TL95 Ponsse 0490.

¢ Flotation Lite FL15 Komatsu 4776B.

Manufactured to endure the most extreme & demanding terrains

¢ Flotation Terra TXL Ponsse 4664.

Terra

Grouser

Rocky

Flotation

TXL

TXCL

Clark Tracks specialise in providing a wide range of forest machine tracks to suit numerous applications for the worldwide forestry market that we serve.

CLARK TRACKS high performance for maximum work life

www.clarktracks.com

B.A. Viccars Pty. Ltd P. 61 (02) 4295 5881 Mobile: 0418 266 731 vchain@chainpro.com.au

Tasmania Chaffey’s Chains Mobile: 0428 140 466 admin@chaffeyschains.com.au

¢ The scene at Clark Tracks manufacturing site.

In 2007 Clark Tracks was acquired by Gunnebo Industries Group. Due to the increasing demand, in 2009 the track production was moved to bigger premises, which has allowed Clark Tracks to expand and invest in new equipment and processes.

In 2013 the company opened a second factory on the same site and in the time that Gunnebo Industries has owned Clark Tracks the company has more than doubled in size.

Clark Tracks exports worldwide and recently gained new distributors in South and North America, as well as having long standing distributors in Europe, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.

Australian Forests & Timber News, August 2014 – 17

STEEP SLOPE HARVESTING

Designed to handle big timber and the slopes I

N JUST a couple of years, with AB Equipment at the helm, the Tigercat machine population in New Zealand has exploded from a handful of units to over 120. It seems that a confluence of factors is behind the exponential growth.

A country with especially severe boom and bust forestry industry cycles, New Zealand has of late been enjoying robust demand for pine logs in India, China and Korea. Lower currency valuation in comparison to neighbouring Australia has made the country especially attractive to Asian markets.

The strong local economy and the massive rebuild effort following the Christchurch earthquake in 2011 has resulted in a decidedly firmer domestic market for higher grade logs marketed to local sawmills for domestic consumption.

The supply is there as well. With rotations ranging from 25-30 years and producing average piece sizes ranging from one to four tonnes, it is evident that Radiata pine grows very well in New Zealand.

Many plantations are coming on stream with a current overall sustainable capacity of around 30 million tonnes annually. Fly into any forestry region and it is easy to see from the air that every single bump on the landscape seems to be planted with Radiata.

Future Forests Research Limited (FFR), a partnership forged in 2007 between the New Zealand forest industry and Scion, a forest research organization, indicates that the proportion of the national forest harvest from steep hill country (which is defined as exceeding 20 degrees of slope) is currently 44% of the total harvest.

This number is forecast to rise to 53% by 2016 and to over 60% by 2025.

The combination of steep slopes and big timber just screams for purpose-built steep terrain harvesting systems which just happens to be a Tigercat specialty.

Sales specialists at AB Equipment along with the Tigercat people on the ground in New Zealand have done a great job explaining the merits of purposebuilt track carriers and high capacity skidders for tackling the slopes and oversize wood and most recently, the 880 logger as the go-to machine for roadside processing.

Dave Paul Logging Dave Paul, based in Dunedin, in the south-eastern corner of the South Island has a 75 000 tonne contract with the Municipality of Dunedin.

Interestingly, the municipality itself owns a vast chunk of

mountainous forest land surrounding the city and markets the logs to Asia. Dave personally operates a relatively new Tigercat LH855C harvester equipped with a 3 400 kg Satco 424 fall and delimb head. Dave says that the combination is comfortably handling fairly big trees, averaging around 1.5 cubic metres (1.65 tn) on slopes up to 36 degrees.

He likes the powerful tractive effort of the carrier and says that the clamshell hood enclosure is a real positive when it comes to daily maintenance. Going from a fixed lower to Tigercat’s R7-150L-2 leveling undercarriage, Dave says he feels a lot fresher at the end of the day, compared with operating his previous machine.

While not a true harvesting head, the Satco 424 does have feed rollers, enabling Dave to fell the tree and perform a rough and quick delimbing job before shovelling it to an advantageous location for the skidder. The site had its share of crooked, forked and heavily limbed trees on the stand; knocking some of the limbs off in-stand decreases weight and drag resistance, increasing skidder productivity and reduces fuel consumption and drivetrain wear.

(The Radiata is very heavy with a ratio of one cubic metre per tonne.

Compared to a region like British

¢ Heslop LS855C with FD5195.

Columbia with similar harvesting conditions, the various species range from 0.55-0.8 tonnes per metre with very few limbs.

Dave, who purchased the first Tigercat skidder on the South Island, a 630C, recently traded for 635D skidder and finds it to be an ideal skidder for his application.

It handles the steep terrain and large timber as well as any soft soil conditions he encounters.

The 635D pulls to roadside where a Tigercat 880 equipped with the Woodsman Pro 800,

a 5000 kg head, processes and merchandises.

Even with multiple sorts and poor stem form (resulting in added time to pick trees from the pile), the 880/Woodsman combination easily processes Dave’s 75 000 tonne annual quota. With 18 different grades, production averages of about 350 tonnes per day. Dave has hit on a system that meets the multiple challenges of steep terrain, large timber, many sorts and less than optimal stand quality.

¢ Douglas Logging 635D.

World Leading Forestry Chains www.chaffeyschains.com.au for more details and your nearest dealer We are distributor dealers for: Stud & Ring Chains • Forwarder Tracks & Components • Loader Quarry chains • Four Wheel Drive chains •

¢ GMT LH855C Satco 630 016.

For all your traction & protection requirements please call: John Treloar – 0428 140 466 Jodie Bassett – 0448 880 984 Adam Hampson – 0409 977 567 (Fitter)

CHAFFEY’S

CHAINS

18 – August 2014, Australian Forests & Timber News

FIREWOOD

FAA scores a huge win for wood heating T

HE NSW Government has formally recognised the greenhouse benefits of firewood as a domestic heating fuel. The 10 June decision to change to the rating for firewood as a fuel means that, within the BASIX system, wood heaters are now considered far superior to any other form of domestic heating.

NSW BASIX, which stands for Building and Sustainability Index, is an integral part of the planning system in NSW. All new dwellings and alterations/additions over $50,000 in NSW must have a BASIX certificate before they can be approved by council.

“It has taken seven years but we have finally achieved a major change in the BASIX rules, which, instead of discriminating against wood fires, now gives them a significant advantage,” said Alan McGreevy, of the Firewood Association of Australia [established in October 2005 to represent the Australian commercial firewood supply industry].

“In August 2007 we sent a letter to the NSW Department of Planning that set out our case for a decrease in the ‘greenhouse factor’ that is used for wood heaters

within the on-line rating tool used to generate BASIX certificates.

We felt that wood heaters were unfairly prejudiced in the rating system by being given the same ‘greenhouse’ emissions rating as a 4 Star gas heater, when it had been confirmed by the 2003 CSIRO Life Cycle Analysis that firewood was (practically) a greenhouse neutral heating fuel. The department’s response to our letter was that they could not accept firewood as being greenhouse neutral because the 2003 CSIRO study did not include an assessment of non-CO2 greenhouse gases like methane and carbon monoxide.

“The FAA subsequently contacted the CSIRO research team that had carried out the 2003 analysis. They eventually agreed to revise and extend their initial study to include carbon monoxide and methane. The results were formally published by CSIRO in April 2012 in a scientific journal.

The revised life cycle analysis showed that the greenhouse effect of non-CO2 gas emissions from firewood is minimal,” Alan said.

“Following the publication of this new research, on 12 December 2012, we approached

gottstein trust applications for 2015 awards

the Joseph william Gottstein Memorial trust invites applications from interested persons for Gottstein fellowships and Gottstein industry awards.

GOTTSTEIN FELLOWSHIPS Fellowships are awarded to people from or associated with Australian forest industries to further their experience, education or training either within or outside Australia by undertaking a project. Appropriate project topics are listed on the Gottstein website (www.gottsteintrust.org).

Candidates will be selected on the focus of their project, and on their ability to complete and disseminate the information acquired.

GOTTSTEIN INDUSTRY AWARDS These awards are available to assist workers in the Australian forest industries to improve their industry knowledge and work skills.

Applications focusing on small group study tours will be favourably viewed, although any relevant project topic may be proposed.

Candidates will be selected on the value of the project.

INTERVIEWS Applications for each category will be considered by the Trustees and promising applicants will be selected for interviews in October 2014.

FURTHER INFORMATION Further details may be obtained from the Trust’s website at www.gottsteintrust.org, or from the Secretary.

CLOSING DATE FOR APPLICATIONS The closing date for applications is 19th September 2014.

Applications should be forwarded to: Dr Silvia Pongracic, Secretary, J. W. Gottstein Memorial Trust Fund, Private Bag 10, Clayton South, VIC 3169 Telephone: 0418 764 954 Email: secretary@gottsteintrust.org

the Department of Planning again to request that they reconsider a revision of the BASIX rating for wood heaters. This time we received a more positive response and the team from the Department’s Sustainability Unit agreed to consider our detailed submission.

“Finally, on 10 June 2014, after almost 18 months of negotiation with the DPI Sustainability Unit, the BASIX on-line rating tool was updated to reflect a very much reduced emission factor for wood heaters. As noted in previous issues of the FAA e-news, the proposed change was strenuously opposed by the NSW EPA because they are funding a local government campaign to reduce the number of wood heaters in the State.

“Because of the complexity of the BASIX system the impact of this change on any individual rating assessment is a little difficult

to quantify precisely, but it will have the effect of making wood heaters much better than a 5 Star gas heater or a 6 Star reverse cycle air conditioner and in fact better than every other type of domestic heating including ground source heat pumps.

“One of the likely outcomes of this change is that builders and architects will be encouraged to specify wood heating, simply because it is now the most cost effective means of achieving the required BASIX target.

“Obviously manufacturers and retailers of wood heaters will be the big winners from this change. “However, from a firewood industry perspective there will undoubtedly be an increased demand for wood, even if some of the new wood heaters are only used occasionally.

The other main benefit for both sectors of the wood

heating industry is that we have finally got formal Government acknowledgement of the greenhouse benefits of firewood, which is something that the entire industry can use to its advantage,” Alan said.

“The next thing to do is to make sure that we effectively communicate and promote what is truly a landmark win for wood heating. To get the ball rolling the FAA is obtaining quotes from commercial marketing organisations in NSW for the preparation and delivery of an integrated and targeted marketing strategy. When we are in possession of these quotes the FAA will invite all parties with a vested interest in the NSW wood industry to attend a meeting where the detailed ramifications of the rating change can be explained and a marketing strategy can be agreed.”

Meet the master when it comes to thinning or light harvesting!

The obvious choice for multi-stemming

Eco Log

560D Blue

Technical specifications in short: Length

7300 mm / 287.4’’

Width

2790 mm /109.8’’

Ground clearance Max. Power

10, 11 & 11,5 m/33’, 36’ & 37.7’

146-1191 mm / 5.8-46.9’’ 260 bhp /195 kW

Torque @ 1200-1600 rpm Fuel tank capacity

Crane, range

520 l/min - 137 gal./min. @ 1600 rpm

460 l / 120 gal.

Steering, turning angle Tilt angle, front/back Tilt angle, side/side

44 °

Harvesting head

Log Max 4000 / 5000

±17 ° ±25.5 °

The superior stability, combined with a broad range of alternative cranes and harvesting heads options makes the Eco Log 560D Blue a natural choice for multi-stemming.

The machine adjusts itself - so you don’t

After a full day’s work in an Eco Log you will quickly notice that your body is less tired. Thanks to pendulum arms that adjust and adapts the machine to the terrain. There is no need for you to change your sitting position to be straight the machine does it for you .

Full strength at full boom length

Eco Log designed cranes are the strongest on the market in their class. With over 255 kNm, 188,078lbf*ft net lifting torque at the tip of the crane, working at full boom length goes smoothly.

Multi-stemming expert

It is not surprising that the Eco Log 560D Blue is part of the elite in machinery best suited for multi-stemming. All the above points in combination with the side-mounted crane and the oscillating cab makes it a joy to work with from the strip roads or in dense forests.

Contact Johan from Log Max Australia on (02) 6947 4505 or 0408 614 503; or visit our website: www.scanforest.com

20 – August 2014, Australian Forests & Timber News

TRANSPORT

Aren’t tyre companies rich enough?

By Chet Cline

S

TOP GIVING away thousands of dollars every year. The tyre companies are rich enough already. Money is hard enough to earn let alone give away. Almost every truck is wasting one tyre out of three.

Yep, throwing away every third tyre. Why? Because they are not optimizing their tyre pressures!

Every tyre manufacturer recommends weighing each truck axle, and, then, inflating the tyres to match the load.

Load to Inflation tables are available for every tyre size, and weight.

But no one does it. Most tyre fitters don’t even know ‘Load to Inflation’ tables exist. Hence the tyre companies are getting richer, and you’re losing money, fast.

Who says my tyre guy knows his job. I trust him.

If he puts in 100psi in every tyre, wake up. Do your own research.

He is costing you a lot of money.

Let’s give you an example, and some facts supplied by the inventor of radial tyres, Michelin.

A tandem drive prime mover: 11R22.5 radial tyres.

The maximum legal load in most areas is 16.5 tonne. That is a loading of 2062 kg per tyre. The correct pressure for this load is 80 psi.* Maximum legal load for most tri axle trailers is 20 tonne, up to 22.5.

At 22.5, this is a loading of 1833 kg per tyre. The correct pressure for this load is 70 psi.* Michelin states that a 20% over inflated drive tyre wears out 22% faster! 100 psi is 25% over inflated on the drive, and 43% over inflated on trailer tyres. 100 psi is just wasting rubber and money, and more money. Why more money, because over inflated tyres get 66% more punctures and uneven wear.

More money is wasted because over inflated tyres amplify every bump, and God knows, we have enough of those, hammering your suspension and truck to death.

Maintenance costs and down time

¢ Author Chet Cline drove his first truck, a tipper in out back South Australia in 1969. A trained truck mechanic, Chet has been involved in lots of industries, with many patents on his inventions. Chet and his team have improved every aspect of CTI, improving reliability and safety while reducing lifetime costs considerably. AIR CTI is fitted to trucks all over our great country, from road trains to mobile homes.

go up and up. Earning time goes down, down, down.

The tyre manufacturers have spent a fortune testing, researching, and producing great tyres. They know what pressures you should be running.

I manufacture and sell the only Australian Central Tyre Inflation system, and have been for 15 years.

My research goes back to 1996, and my truck experience goes back to 1969. I have literally thousands of trucks running AIR CTI, using the correct pressures.

AIR CTI customers run down to 30 psi with a maximum of 92 psi**. Every customer has gained at least 30% longer tyre life, many getting 50 and up to 80% increased life.

Punctures, uneven wear, staking, and blowouts are mostly bad dreams. I’ve seen identical trucks, one used in logging, with CTI, one on highway running conventional pressures.

The logging trucks had 1.3 million k’, while the highway truck only had 600,000. Guess which one was in better condition. Think again.

Here is the next big question ... what happens when the truck is empty? What pressures should you run in an empty tipper and dog, or a fuel tanker, or stock carrier? The correct cold pressure is roughly 40

Logging Trucks NEED AIR CTI

Get more KMS from Drive Tyres 40-100% more Tyre Life

SAVE TYRES, TRUCKS, DRIVERS AND MONEY • More Traction • Lower Costs • Safer • Healthier • Greener

AIR CTI is: • Robust • Easier • Reliable • Australian • Safer • Simply better

Complies with contractual requirement “CTI fitted to truck driver wheels - AS4708”

AIR CTI

03 5127 6128 or

andrew@aircti.com

www.aircti.com

psi per tonne, per tyre. The weight on a tipper’s drive axles is probably 6 tonne when empty. That is less than a tonne per tyre. Correct highway pressure is under 40 psi.

‘No way’ I hear readers saying.

Sorry. It works; in fact, it works very, very well.

Did you notice ‘highway pressure’?

What about gravel roads, or dirt, or around a paddock, or construction site? Drop your tyre pressures when off highway.

Correct pressure for gravel roads is around 60% or two thirds of the correct highway pressure. That’s right; 60 psi is great for a legally loaded tandem tipper. And when you need even more traction, AIR CTI customers regularly drop to 30 psi. The traction is amazing. We pull B doubles out of forests that others can’t get out with a single trailer!

Lots of you will be thinking this is total bull. But it’s not. Adjusting tyre pressures on trucks has been used by every army since 1942!

Dozens and dozens of tests have proven all the above. The USA and Canadian Governments tested it. Europe has tested it. South America has tested it. And we have tested it. I guarantee all of these facts. It is simply how tyres should work.

The air pressure supports the load.

AIR CTI is the best tool to help your drivers optimize your operations.

Stop making tyre companies rich.

Increase your profits.

Reduce downtime.

Reduce maintenance, and improve safety and driver health.

Tippers, especially if towing a trailer need AIR CTI. Tankers, stock carriers, low loaders, bee keepers, agricultural trucks, mining trucks, power support vehicles, and every all wheel drive truck absolutely need AIR CTI. The savings are amazing. Most will save $50,000 to $100,000 over the life of the truck. Many of these trucks simply couldn’t do the job without AIR CTI. This tool is simply the best investment since sliced bread.

The only problem is our industry thinks 100 psi is the correct operating principle. They should check out the tyre manufacturer’s web site, or www.aircti.com

Australian Forests & Timber News, August 2014 – 21

TRANSPORT

Transport equipment… finance and insurance

T

HE LOGGING industry has always been one of the most capital intensive industries around and banks have continually complained about high gearing levels and low return on equity for logging clients. The facts remain that whilst specialised logging machines are not getting any cheaper even with the strong Australian dollar, the cost of transport assets have remained relatively steady over the past couple of years. Great news for the logging transport operator……… perhaps not. There are still many obstacles to contend with on a daily basis that continue to erode profit margins in the logging transport industry which is already notorious for its tight margins.

Other than the obvious fixed costs like fuel, wages, cost of capital, it seems the increasing compliance issues are causing more issues for operators.

To ensure maximum returns operators require maximum payloads, maximum trips, quick loading and unloading of freight and limited down time.

Unfortunately it’s the increasing compliance on these operators that is making these tasks difficult to achieve. Some of these compliance issues hindering the operators include fatigue management, mass management, school bus curfews, daylight curfews, the use of central dispatch systems, and mill opening and closing times.

Whilst we all want to see the job done safely, these issues have impacted on the returns of the transport operator. The industry has and continues to be cutting edge with technological advances

and adopting best practices where appropriate. Introductions of optimisation in harvesting machines and emission control systems and central tyre inflation systems into the transport fleets have been a few such developments.

All of these compliance and technology advances have come at a cost to the transport operator and in most cases out of their control.

One of the major areas where an operator can “save money” and enhance efficiencies, is via the soft products associated with a transport fleet, namely finance and

insurance. Having competitive and well structured finance and insurance products can often be the difference between making money or losing money. It is very important your finance and insurance broker or banker has access to the most competitive forms of funding, and insurance markets possible. These people must have an extensive industry and client knowledge in order to help articulate a client’s business to a prospective funder/underwriter which in turn will ensure the best products are obtained, every time.

Linx Australia Group, have been heavily entrenched in the logging industry for over 20 years and are well versed with all types of logging, different machine applications, specific timber species and associated logging practices, haul practices and distances, and the many other facets of logging. Working closely with the major industry bodies, machinery suppliers and dealing with the specialist divisions within the major financiers and underwriters, Linx has developed the ability to secure the “right”

finance and insurance products for its clients.

“Whilst the asset finance products are relatively simple, the different structures, conditions, rates we obtain can make a huge difference. We have invested a lot of time into “Lender Education”, taking many of the appropriate lenders on field trips to better understand the industry, which has ultimately benefitted our clients enormously. ”…..Rohan Ford. www.linxaustraliagroup.com.au | Telephone: 1300 732 201

Real alteRnatives.

Genuine solutions.

linx australia Group

We let the forestry industry get on with the job.

1300 732 201

Foundation Supporter

www.linxaustraliagroup.com.au

22 – August 2014, Australian Forests & Timber News

BIOENERGY

World Bioenergy 2014 was a workshop for true change I

N TEN years the World Bioenergy trade fair and conference at Elmia in Jönköping, Sweden, has gone from being a display window for Swedish bioenergy know-how to being a global workshop for an industry that is creating jobs, raising people out of poverty and slowing down climate change.

“This year we focused on workshops and discussions, which was a great success,” said Gustav Melin, CEO of Svebio, which

organises World Bioenergy together with Elmia.

It all began in 2004 as a display of what Sweden had to offer. The world came to Jönköping to learn. When World Bioenergy was held for the sixth time in 10 years on 3 to 5 June 2014 the roles had changed. The lectures had been replaced by the exchange of experiences.

“Energy consumption has flattened out in Europe, and in Sweden renewable energy

supplies more than half the energy needs.

This trend is accelerating in other parts of the world and there is a lot for us to learn,” Melin said.

World Bioenergy 2014 demonstrated that bioenergy is an industry of the future in the best sense of the term, not least for the climate and for many of the planet’s poorest countries.

In Jönköping examples were given of bioenergy projects in countries like Sudan

and Sierra Leone. The driving force behind the latter project, Jörgen Sandström of Addax Bioenergy, won the World Bioenergy Award. Bioenergy is creating more jobs and benefiting society more than fossil fuels.

As well as the workshops and lectures, there was also a trade fair at World Bioenergy. The exhibitors concluded that this year’s visitors to the fair were the ones they wanted to attract – people who influence developments in their home countries.

“World Bioenergy 2014 shows that Jönköping is the established meeting place for the international exchange of knowledge and experience in the bioenergy sector,” said Elmia’s project manager Klas Brandt.

He predicts that even more countries will be represented at the next World Bioenergy in 2016.

China uses pellets against smog CHINA’S BIG energy problem is a four-letter word: coal. “Coal is responsible for half the smog in Beijing,” said Hong Hao from the Chinese company Great Resources at the World Bioenergy conference at Elmia in Jönköping, Sweden.

The big problem is the countless small and medium-size heat sources that burn coal. They supply 18% of the huge nation’s energy but produce more than half the total carbon dioxide emissions.

This is one of the most important explanations why China is the

country that is investing the most in renewable energy production – everything from solar- and windpowered electricity to bioenergy.

“Meanwhile, energy consumption is increasing due to urbanisation,” Hong Hao said. “In 1978, 17.9% of the population lived in cities but now it is more than 50%. An urban resident uses three to four times more energy than someone in the countryside.”

With such a large population and such a huge dependence on the worst form of fossil fuel, China

must use all available tools to reduce emissions and increase the efficiency of its energy system.

Biofuels have major potential in China even though from a long-term perspective the raw material is in the wrong location.

Most of the population lives in the most fertile parts of the country, which have the best conditions for producing green fuels. But of course this means competition for the land.

It is clear that biofuels, in particular pellets, are the most

attractive alternative to coal in small-scale heating facilities.

Hong Hao showed a table of the price relationship between various types of fuel. If the price of energy from pellets is set at 1, the corresponding energy from coal costs 0.72. A 30% price increase is holding back change. The price for the corresponding energy from oil is 1.75.

“We’re expanding the production of pellets in China. It’s the best solution for China,” Hong Hao said.

¢ “Pellets are the most costeffective alternative to coal,” said Hong Hao of the Chinese company Great Resources.

Bioenergy trailblazer The business of bioenergy wins major award A FAMILY-run flower growing operation in Christchurch has won top honours in the 2014 EECA Awards for a New Zealand-first bioenergy project. K&L Nurseries in Springston installed an advanced Polytechnik boiler that runs on their own green waste. Sourced from Europe, the technology is the first of its kind in New Zealand.

It’s enabled K&L to stop using coal and run solely on renewable, carbon neutral biomass.

The Small to Medium Business Award winner beat nine other category winners to take the Supreme Award for a project the judges called “a splendid example of courage, innovation and excellence.”

The project has cut K&L Nurseries’ energy costs by $100,000 a year, and is avoiding around 3,500 tonnes of CO2 emissions a year – giving the business a marketing edge.

“There really is no better time to be considering the use of forest harvest and wood processing residues as a fuel for hospitals, institutional and industrial heat applications,” said Brian Cox, Executive Officer of the Bioenergy Association.

“K&L Nurseries should be congratulated for their recognition that they can get reliable and cost effective energy from wood.

Currently approximately 10-15% of harvested wood is wasted and this is an economic loss to the country as well as lost opportunities for

companies to future proof their energy supply.”

“The K&L Nursery boiler plant was the firsts and smallest of six Polytechnik boilers sold to clients in Australia and New Zealand the past 18 months,” said Polytechnik general manager Christian Jirkowsky. Polytechnik engineers, supplies and installs wood/biomass-fuelled boilers with a thermal output ranging from 30kW to 30,000 kW (single unit output). Depending on the available fuels, various combustion systems and combinations can be employed.

Hot water, superheated water, saturated and superheated steam or thermal oil is used to transfer the energy.

For power production steam turbines with a standard electrical output from 100 kW to 20,000 kW per turbine generator are available.

As an alternative Organic Rankine Cycles (ORC) using a thermal oil boiler instead of a costly steam boiler are also available, enabling operation at lower temperatures and without a superheater due to the fact that the expansion of the saturated steam of the organic medium leads to dry steam.

With 50 years of experience in engineering, manufacturing, installing and commissioning of about 2,500 biomass fired heat and power plants Polytechnik has become experts in generating energy from renewable biomass.

BIOENERGY AUSTRALIA 2014 will be held at the Stamford Grand Adelaide 1 - 2 December.

A technical tour is planned for 3 December.

The program will cover all aspects of biomass and bioenergy, including policies and programs, projects and project development case studies and emerging opportunities.

Other topics anticipated are: • Biomass resources and supply aspects

• Conventional and advanced liquid biofuels • Algae and other future feedstocks • Pyrolysis and bio-char • A naerobic digestion and livestock wastes • Energy-from-waste • Heat and power • Overarching aspects of bioenergy, such as policies, finance and investment, life cycle emissions and sustainability

Bioenergy Australia is currently requesting expressions of interest to give oral and/or poster presentations at the conference.

As with the past conferences, presenters are provided with a heavily discounted registration rate for the conference. Please ensure you have read the “Abstract Instructions,” for authors before submission, which can be found at www.bioenergyaustralia.org.

Genetically engineered trees for biofuel production RESEARCHERS HAVE genetically engineered poplar trees with lignin that breaks down more easily, opening the door to cheaper biofuels and wood pulp that require only a fraction of the energy and chemicals to produce, according to a piece in The Vancouver Sun By inserting a piece of code isolated from a Chinese herb into the DNA of a poplar tree, scientists at the University of British Columbia, Michigan State and University of Wisconsin-Madison have produced a tree designed for easy deconstruction.

The code alters the chemistry of some of the bonds that hold together lignin, the organic polymer glue that makes trees tough and rigid and protects the energy-rich cellulose within cells.

The genetically engineered poplars are every bit as strong as normal poplars while they are living, but when processed the lignin “unzips” where the altered bonds occur in the polymer chain.

Removing naturally occurring lignin for the production of bioethanol and paper products requires caustic chemicals and high heat, about 170 C for several hours, according to an online article in the

journal Science. Zip-lignin falls apart in a mild alkaline solution at just 100 C. The group’s initial efforts to reduce lignin content resulted in trees that were stunted, weak and susceptible to pests. The key was not less lignin, but simply to alter the lignin slightly so it would come apart easily when prompted.

Genomics — the analysis of the complete DNA code of organisms — makes it possible to identify plants that have certain desirable characteristics and use that information to speed conventional selective breeding, but also to identify specific pieces of genetic code that can be altered, suppressed or augmented to produce plants better suited to human needs.

GE poplar could be grown on plantations on agricultural land unsuited to food crops and provide a source of biofuel that does not compete with food crops.

To prevent “gene flow” to wild poplars, the GE trees could be made sterile or harvested before they attain reproductive maturity.

Australian Forests & Timber News, August 2014 – 23

BIOENERGY

Felling trees is a weapon against carbon dioxide W

Sweet taste of success?

E LIVE in a world dominated by coal and our biggest weapon is biofuel. So said Pekka Kauppi, researcher at the University of Helsinki, Finland, when he spoke at the World Bioenergy conference at Elmia in Jönköping, Sweden.

But how much biofuel actually is there?

Kauppi and his fellow researchers have found the answer – biofuel from properly managed forests is a never-ending resource.

“In Finland and Sweden felling is being done at a stable high level,” he said. “The area of forested land has not increased but there is still more forest today than there’s been for a long time. That surprised us.”

This increase in volume is mostly because there are now more trees with thicker trunks, so the volume per hectare has increased for a number of years. ¢ “ We won’t get more forest by not cutting it down. In Finland, felling, replanting and good forest management are proving to have a better effect,” said Pekka Kauppi.

Why this is, the researchers can’t say. Higher temperatures and more carbon dioxide in the air encourage replanting, and managing the forests. growth but this is not the whole explanation.

The other side of the climate issue is the carbon dioxide emissions from “One important reason is we have an industry that depends on good fossil fuels. Apart from a few dips in the growth curve during the 2008 growth,” Kauppi said. financial crisis, the trend is still strongly upwards and shows no sign of He pointed out that other countries have reduced their own felling levels slowing down. but still not increased their volumes of standing timber like Finland and “Bioenergy is our sharpest weapon in this war and we have to use it far Sweden. The future lies not in saving trees but in felling them with care, more,” Pekka Kauppi concluded.

A NORTHWESTERN Ontario pulp mill will be a test site for a prototype technology designed to extract and separate sugars from wood and improve fibre recoveries.

The Thunder Bay-based Centre for Research and Innovation in the Bio-Economy (CRIBE) is investing $1.3 million as part of a partnership deal with Greenfield Specialty Alcohols for a demonstration project at the AV Terrace Bay mill this year.

Greenfield is matching CRIBE’s investment as part of this $2.7-million project.

The Toronto-based ethanol producer has a patent-pending technology that can extract “clean sugars” from wood fibre that can be applied to make high-end bio-products.

CRIBE is a not-for-profit organization created by the provincial government in 2009, when the forestry industry was hitting rock bottom and about 80 per cent of the mills in northwestern Ontario were being wiped out.

Its purpose was to form partnerships and provide funding for a new wave of value-added forest products.

PRECISION BIO-MASS SHREDDING

H-3060 HORIZONTAL GRINDER

Powered by a Caterpillar C-15 565hp engine as standard, this machine will produce in excess of 80 cubic metres an hour using 4” screens.

Drum chipping mill can be interchanged with the hammermill.

Available as trailed or tracked, see it in action at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_gPs2zNKow

Contact: Andrew or John Ph: 03 5156 4243 Fax: 03 5156 4125 Email: info@jondod.com

24 – August 2014, Australian Forests & Timber News

BIOENERGY Leading Swedish politician at World Bioenergy:

“Why is the transition so slow?”

W

ORLD BIOENERGY celebrated its tenth anniversary this year.

When the international conference and trade fair opened several speakers noted that over the last decade bioenergy had gone from being a promise for the future to now being a dominant form of energy in a number of countries.

Yet one speaker – the leader of Sweden’s Social Democratic Party, Stefan Löfvén – asked: “Why is it going so slowly? We must gear up in order to cope with the climate challenge.”

Despite his words, the production of renewable energy has increased by 400% in 10 years. This is fast compared with other major social changes. Today, renewable sources supply 51% of Sweden’s energy needs and biofuel is the biggest single form of energy.

Löfvén justified his comment by pointing to the decision of Sweden’s Parliament that all vehicles in the country should run on fossil-free fuel by 2030.

“It’s only 16 years until then and we know that the average life of a car is 16 years. We have to start changing now in order to achieve that goal.”

¢ HRH Prince Carl Philip represented the Swedish royal family and inaugurated World Bioenergy 2014 at Elmia in Jönköping.

¢ “In 16 years Sweden’s vehicle fleet will run on fossil-free fuel. But 16 years is the life of a car. The transition is going too slowly,” said Stefan Löfvén, head of Sweden’s Social Democratic Party and possible future prime minister after this autumn’s general election.

It is not the goal itself that worries him but rather the consequences of failing to achieve it: “I visit schools and I ask myself what kind of world are we passing on to the next generation. We can only develop and create well-being in a living and sustainable world.

family, which was represented on this occasion by HRH Prince Carl Philip. He inaugurated World Bioenergy and in his speech he emphasised how important it is to transition to energy production that is sustainable in the long term.

In some countries his view

We can’t do it in a dead one.”

This was not a call to arms at the conference, but rather a statement of accepted fact. Something that is underlined by the fact that from its inception World Bioenergy has had patronage from the very highest level, Sweden’s royal

Short-term government policies a problem for bioenergy BIOENERGY MUST not be the object of temporary political whims.

Long-term stable conditions are necessary if alternative energy sources are to gain a firm foothold in society.

The UK is one example of how things can go wrong.

“We’ve invested a lot of money wrongly in bioenergy,” said Neil Harrison at the World Bioenergy conference at Elmia in Jönköping, Sweden.

He represents re:heat, a network of installers of small heating plants for solid fuels like wood and pellets. The industry has gone up and down during the past 15 years in response to political measures.

“The government gave the go-ahead for three months and since then everything’s been at a standstill,” he said. “The result is that the industry hasn’t dared to commit and consumers have bought the wrong products from whichever salesman was wearing the most flashy suit.”

Currently the UK has a very generous system of subsidies.

Heating costs can be halved for people who move from oil to renewable fuels. The subsidies are linked to the heating plant’s capacity, and the subsidy system is strongly stepped. The result is wrong investments into boilers that are too small or too large because they are designed to fit into the subsidy system.

Another example is a ruling that 10% of the heating needs for buildings larger than 1,000

¢ The UK has invested a lot of money wrongly in renewable fuels,” said Neil Harrison of the re:heat network

square metres must be supplied by renewable fuel. The result is that small pellets boilers have been installed that in theory can supply a tenth of the heating needs. Many of them have never been fired up.

It would now seem that the UK Government has decided to set

long-term conditions for heating with renewable fuels. Recently Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change Greg Barker explained that the government intends to increase the use of renewable fuels for heating by 700% in the coming decade.

has been regarded as a political statement – something that Sweden’s royal family is by law not permitted to make. However, the importance of bioenergy is so great and so self-evident that in Sweden nothing prevents even royalty from propounding this view.

Stora Enso acquires US-based biotechnology company STORA ENSO has acquired 100% of the shares of the US-based company Virdia, a leading developer of extraction and separation technologies for conversion of cellulosic biomass into highly refined sugars and lignin.

The upfront debt-free transaction value is approximately $US 33 million (€24 million) with additional potential payouts totalling approximately $US 29 million (EUR €21 million) following completion of specific technical and commercial milestones by 2017. Virdia’s impact on Stora Enso’s 2014 sales and earnings is expected to be limited.

The acquisition of Virdia supports the vision of Stora Enso’s Biomaterials Division in becoming a significant player in biochemicals and biomaterials. The technology enables more efficient extraction of different valuable fractions of the biomass, allowing the possibility to develop and commercialise cost-effective renewable solutions to address well-identified market-driven needs.

This is a new step in implementing the division’s strategy, following the recent lignin extraction investment at Sunila Mill in Finland.

“This acquisition is in line with our strategy of growing in biobased chemicals, ingredients and solutions, building on costeffective, non-food-competing raw materials. These solutions will contribute to a more sustainable future by replacing fossilbased materials in various applications with renewable and costeffective choices. We are now investing in a new technology platform that will enable us to reach new industries and value chains, and create significant sustainable profit growth for our company,” said Juan Carlos Bueno, EVP, Stora Enso Biomaterials.

Founded in 2007, Virdia is a private, venture-capital-backed company. It runs a pilot facility in Danville, Virginia, USA. The main advantages of its technology are the cost-competitiveness and high purity of the output, which enable a variety of further conversion and upgrading possibilities for sugars and lignin as renewable intermediates for the specialty chemicals, construction, coatings, personal care and food industries, among others.

Australian Forests & Timber News, August 2014 – 25

Industry growth essential for regional communities

By Helen Murray National Coordinator TCA

A

CHALLENGE that timber communities across Australia face every day is what can we do to explain to the non- timber community how and why timber fits so well into this lower carbon emissions world that Australian aspires to.

There is a strong and justifiable place for timber as the building product of the 21st century as well as a plethora of other vital uses including pulp based products. We have sophisticated environmental management, production, monitoring and regulatory systems here in Australia. There is no reason not to grow this industry – carefully and responsibly.

A sustainable industry means strong local communities able to have confidence in their own future in regional Australia. It is the cornerstone – quite simply healthy communities do need an economic base underneath, which is itself healthy and sustainable.

This is a recurrent theme as I visit timber communities to discuss the TCA restructure and development of TCAs new plans. People are concerned about the future and seek security.

In Australia we have to keep reaching out to communicate the essential role for timber, indeed the need for timber and continue efforts to keep the public and policy makers up to date with the reality that well managed multiple use forests are sustainable. TCA has a role to play in that collective effort – starting at local, grassroots level and filtering up to State and national level. I look forward to the development of the TCA community communications action plan as an early priority for the new Board and members later this year. In particular, TCA will seek to collaborate and act as a point of brokering relevant information from expert agencies back into our membership groups

so they are kept well informed for their local communication activities. A two-way flow brings collective timber community issues back from our member groups into the wider public arena and to industry, members of parliament and government agencies.

TCA’s memberships of the Social Chamber of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and also the Australian Forestry Standard (AFS) ensures that the people living in and working in timber oriented communities link into processes of the internationally recognised systems that certify sustainable forestry management in Australia. TCA is participating in the FSC Social Chamber review of the draft National Standards which are now in the first round of public consultation.

It was great to get out into the field at Oberon, NSW recently for a meeting of the NSW Forest Industries Task Force. As well as its beautiful landscape, Oberon offers a fascinating education into the supply chain in action.

The long standing history of forest plantations and local processing facilities link into big manufacturing names such as Borg Panels, Carter Holt Harvey and Boral Timber on the spot, converting timber into end products. The Oberon supply chain employs many hundreds of local people and further adds to the economy and community by procuring goods and services from local contractors and other businesses owned by local families.

The Mayor, John McMahon, is justifiably proud of the town and Council region.

TCA appreciated an invitation from Trevor Sargeant to meet with the NSW North Coast Task Force at Port Macquarie. This motivated group is really making inroads supporting the image of the industry and getting positive information into the public arena.

It is interesting to see the initiative promoting North Coast Timber

Focus on the future

By Letisha (Tish) Rakich Communications Manager Timber Communities Western Australia THROUGHOUT JUNE and July TCWA is focusing on getting back to basics and catching up with our grassroots members and supporters throughout the south west.

Over the next couple of weeks we will be hitting the road and visiting the sawmills and their employees and updating them all face-to-face with where TCWA is at, what we have been up to and how they can get active and involved again.

It will be great to get back into the community and rub shoulders with some familiar faces. It makes me feel old when I can say that I have known many of those familiar faces for more than 30 years!

It’s been a bit up in the air waiting for contracts to be finalized, but with that all out of the way, each location now knows where it stands and what the future holds, for the next 10 years anyway.

We recently had a tour of the Simcoa Silicon plant near Bunbury.

What an incredible experience.

The concept of producing silicon from a chemical reaction between charcoal and quartz still floors me.

I really am in awe of those people that own those incredibly curious minds that develop these processes that then produce these incredibly useful commodities that the world can’t do without. It never ceases to amaze me.

Finally, after many requests, TCWA and FIFWA were finally granted a meeting with the opposition leader Mark McGowan, along with the opposition spokesperson for Forestry Mick Murray and opposition spokesperson for the Environment Chris Tallentire, to share our concerns about Labour’s siding with the greens during the last election and comments made by Mark McGowan regarding the “shamefulness” of the industry.

It was a positive meeting and a first step through an open door into the office of a Labour party member for many years. Just the beginning in rebuilding what we are hoping will be a good working relationship with them into the future.

to the community and building fraternity to raise awareness and personalise the link between choice of materials and sourcing locally manufactured timber products derived from sustainably managed forest.

TCA also values engagement with the National Timber Council Association, which has member local governments from most States. There are several areas of common interest and I look forward to continued dialogue with Malcolm Hole and Kevin Peachey.

So much good information is on hand about how forests and timber usage helps, not hinders, lowering carbon emissions. There are some wonderful websites, such as Timber Queensland, which deliver reader friendly facts to the unsuspecting public! Yet a straw poll of friends and acquaintances gives me the sense that this basic knowledge is not well understood in the general community. TCA looks forward to playing a more active role to help unlock those secrets and do our bit to broadcast positive messages on behalf of timber communities under our upcoming communications plan.

Here’s an interesting statistic - Timber Queensland estimates that at least 100,000 hectares of

¢ In the field at Oberon, NSW, at a NSW Forestry Task Force Meeting. L to R Helen Murray TCA, Colin McCulloch, Andrew Hurford, president NSW FPA, Maree McCaskill General Manager, NSW FPA.

new sawlog plantations need to be planted to meet that State’s future timber demand. Australia clearly needs to bite the bullet and set in place a means to build up the nation’s forestry capacity and grow more trees, not less, in a responsible and sustainable way.

TCA looks forward to further news on the Forestry Industry Advisory Council, announced by the Prime Minister in March, which we hope will help to shape a national focus on growing our

timber production capacity and, with it, triggering more sustainable futures for many regional communities.

To get involved with TCA… TCA welcomes enquiry from new members or sponsors. Contact National Coordinator Helen Murray ph. 02-6282-2455 0419991-424 hmurray@tca.org.au

Turn your waste into profit!

Why not help the environment AND your company’s bottom line The world renown Italian made POR Briquette making machine is now available in Australia and can turn your waste material into usable fuel.

At the same time you can reduce your dust problems and the need to transport and store waste.

n n n n n

Easily installed Fully automated Can output from 500 kg to 6 tonne a day Eight models available to suit different needs Produces an ideal product for today’s market For For further further details details contact contact

Les Les Field, Field, WOODFieLD WOODFieLD Machinery Machinery Pty Pty LTD LTD 56 aldinga St, Blackburn 56 aldinga St, Blackburn South, South, Vic Vic 3130 3130 Ph: 03 9899 8660 Fax: 03 9899 8661 Ph: 03 9899 8660 Fax: 03 9899 8661 Mobile: Mobile: 0419 0419 516 516 658 658 wtjahjon@optusnet.com.au wtjahjon@optusnet.com.au

Qld Qld and and Nth Nth NSW NSW G.S.MachiNery G.S.MachiNery Gary Gary Spillane Spillane 07 07 5580 5580 8887 8887 Mob: 0418 217 374 Mob: 0418 217 374 garyspillane@bigpond.com garyspillane@bigpond.com

- For Sale -

NOW in PRINT & ONLINE

Peterson 3 flail chipper G model Key knife system Machine still currently running at the port of Brisbane chipping annualised 70,000 tonnes per year.

Price $100,000 plus GST ono For enquiries and more detail about the machine please contact Asher’s logging on: 07 5499 2224

FOR SALE NEW TYPE AUTO OILER

FOR GREY BENCH Phone Ron Grey 0414 657 393

Email rongrey@bigpond.com

For Sale

Forest Equipment Specialist

All machines currently working and available for inspection at harvesting site in Southern NSW. Prices negotiable. 0418 633 715

. go d. to de y ar ad gu Re sh Bu

Sell your used equipment, advertise your tender, offer your real estate or find your next employee. For rates and deadlines call Michael (03) 9888 4834 or email: m.dolphin@ryanmediapl.com.au

26 – August 2014, Australian Forests & Timber News

Hyundai R210LC-9 $POA

Tigercat 1075 Forwarder $175,000 + GST

$180,000 + gst Tigercat L830 feller buncher with Rosin FH885 directional felling head. In good working order, 17,500hr.

$72,000 + gst Tigercat 1075 Forwarder

Valmet 445FXL-HD Feller Buncher

$155,000 + GST

$150,000 + GST

Classifieds

Tanguay TG975 Feller Buncher

$325,000 + GST

$150,000 + GST

Komatsu WA500-3 Log Loader

CAT 322CL Harvester

$150,000 + GST

$79,000 + GST

$81,000 + gst

TimberJack 460D 2002 mod dual arch grapple and winch. In excellent working condition and good tyres, 13,800hr.

$63,000 + gst Cat 325L excavator heavy duty log grab and 404 cut-off saw. Good working order, 15,100hr.

BUNCHING GRAPPLES

$90,000 + gst

If you are looking for a heavy-duty grapple that will sort, bunch and load all day, everyday, then you need a Rotobec. Efficient and versatile, these quality grapples have just arrived and are now available from Onetrak.

1300 727 520

www.onetrak.com.au

Cat 527 track skidder with winch, an excellent snigging machine. In very good condition, 10,400hr.

Log on Today!

Tigercat L830 Feller Buncher

Visit www.timberbiz.com.au/dtn to sign up today.

Australian Forests & Timber

Hitachi ZX230 excavator with VHLC log grab and 3/4in x-cut saw. In good working order, 16,000hr.

WARATAH recalibrated

WORKING HARD. DAY AND NIGHT.

When you get up and running, we know how important it is to keep running. That’s why Waratah is determined to keep you working by providing second-to-none customer support. Whether you need a simple recalibration or you’re really up against it, you can contact our service team through our 24/7 contact lines.

No matter what time you need us, we’ll find a solution that keeps you working. And earning.

Melbourne 24/7 Hotline 03 9747 4200

Bunbury WA 24/7 Hotline 08 9726 0411

www.waratah.net