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Royal assent for Tasmanian forestry bill TASMANIA’S FOREST peace deal legislation is now a reality following Royal Assent by the Governor of Tasmania, Peter Underwood. "In the name of her majesty the Queen, I assent to this Act," the Governor said.

Resources Minister Bryan Green now has less than a month to define which areas will be protected under the legislation, by tabling an Initial Proposed Reserve Order in both Houses of Parliament.

Now the Bill has received Royal Assent, the Minister will also establish a special council to advise on the implementation of the Forest Agreement. The council is expected to be formed this month.

And, while still on the subject, it has been interesting to note some of the notable quotes emanating from Tasmania during the process …

Today is indeed a historic day.

Today is indeed an important day for the forestry industry and today the Liberal Party show their true colours - they don't care. We will be able to build a new future for Tasmania, a new future for forestry industry."

– Tasmanian Premier Lara Giddings In Government, the Liberals will undo any new reserves.

We will do everything that we possibly can to unlock every single stick." – Tasmanian Opposition’s Peter Gutwein It will not resolve conflicts over forest protection. My Tasmanian counterparts will determine whatever they do in terms of the salvage operation, but I can tell you that the Tasmanian Forest Agreement is dead." – Australian Greens Leader Christine Milne Assurances from Forestry Tasmania are not something any clear thinking environmentalist would put faith in at the best of times, especially when looming elections are predicted to change Governments who will then change Forestry Tasmania and when Forestry Tasmania already appears to be using tricky wording to support their assurances.” – Markets for Change CEO Peg Putt The amended legislation would not achieve peace. It would only entrench the continued logging of native forests and protests would continue.” – Jenny Weber, Huon Valley Environment Centre.

Optimistic future for Tasmanian plantations

By Rosemary Ann Ogilvie

A

T FORESTRY Tasmania (FT), we’re very focussed on adding value to our plantation estate,” says Dr Paul Adams, who heads the productivity group of the company’s research and development branch. “This is mainly achieved through improving productivity so that per hectare, there is more wood, and higher-quality wood of higher value. All our research is focussed on achieving these objectives, which we’re doing through our nutrition, silviculture and treeimprovement programs.”

With production of high-quality pruned logs the target, Dr Adams and his team of five are looking at key aspects of productivity improvement. “To this end, we have a nutrition and fertilisation research program where we’re improving our understanding of soils, sites and limitations to growth, and have developed effective fertilisation regimes to boost growth. We are also working on second-rotation establishment, and the importance of maintaining slash and conserving organic matter onsite. So we’re looking at all aspects of site management and sustainability.”

Silviculture research is another important area of work. Of FT’s 37,000 hectares of eucalypt plantations across the estate, some 80 per cent are targeted for pruning and thinning. “We aim to optimise the application of pruning and thinning across the range of site productivities, and also across the two main species we grow: Eucalyptus globulus, which accounts for 20% of our estate, and Eucalyptus nitens, which is about 80%,” says Dr Adams.

of course many sites will remain under nitens because globulus doesn’t grow well at higher elevations or in colder areas.”

Alternative thinning regimes The research team has just completed the first stage of a major investigation into alternative thinning regimes for the eucalypts, and plans to apply some of them to new plantings as they come along.

They’re also installing a number of rotation-length trials to evaluate various alternatives and improve the silvicultural and wood-quality models. These regimes are targeting the production of large-diameter pruned trees as these have greater value for the business.

Currently several endproducts are being investigated, with the product-development team focusing primarily on peeled-veneer products and the HARDLAM laminated veneer product range – although native regrowth is currently the main resource being tested for this. “So in other words, we’ll be producing plantation pruned logs for peeling and for sawn timber, and there’ll also be unpruned logs for the same purposes, along with chip and other material,” says Dr Adams.

The first trees are now being cut from some of the earliest plantations established over 20 years ago. “As the bulk of the plantations come on-stream over the next five to 10 years, a considerable volume of wood will enter the market,” says Dr Adams.

As the bulk of the plantations come on-stream over the next five to 10 years, a considerable volume of wood will enter the market In the past, E. nitens was planted in the majority of sites because of its greater frost tolerance and disease resistance.

However, improved site analysis has revealed that it can be planted in more areas, so the plan over the longer term is to increase the proportion of E. globulus to around 50% of the plantation estate.

“Globulus has some superior wood properties compared to nitens, which means log values are greater,” explains Dr Adams. “But

“FT is using this early period to undertake product development, and to characterise and quantify the plantation resource. This involves assessing the wood properties and characteristics of the nitens and globulus coupes in different parts of the estate.”

He acknowledges issues exist in regards to sawing plantation hardwoods, particularly with nitens. These relate mainly to internal checking, where little cavities develop in the wood after

felling and drying. However, peeling nitens is a different story: the thin veneers don’t seem to have the same problems with checking.

“There’s a fair amount of work still to do on how to properly manage these problems,” says Dr Adams. “It has certainly been an issue for the industry, which has been reluctant to use much of our wood until it can understand how to manage the checking and optimise recoveries.

“However, we’re nearing the end of a sawing study with one of the state’s major mills, and the results are looking reasonably promising,” he continues. “We’ve sawn the logs, dried and graded them, and the next step is to send the boards to various end users so they can evaluate the wood and give us their opinion on its use and value.

In this way we’ll have a better continued on page 4.

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Australian Forests & Timber News, July 2013 – 3

NEWS

Surveillance cameras keep watch in State forests U P TO 150 surveillance cameras installed in State forests near Tumbarumba, Eden, Batemans Bay, Nowra and Braidwood are keeping an eye on everything from wild dog movements to illegal firewood collection.

Forestry Corporation of NSW (formerly Forests NSW) Southern Region Planning manager, Kevin Petty, said the remote cameras were providing the corporation with very useful information on a wide range of forest management issues.

He said the corporation trialled a small number of surveillance cameras for a couple of years before recently installing around 150 permanently in pine plantations and native forests in the region.

Petty said one of the big advantages of the cameras was being able to use them instead of sand-pad monitoring to identify animal movements, especially wild dogs.

Forestry Corporation Tumbarumbabased Feral Animal Control officer, Mark Goldspink, said the cameras had certainly made his work easier.

“Setting up and checking sand pads is very time consuming because they need to be checked daily, whereas a remote camera can identify individual dogs and the number of dogs and only needs to be checked when time permits,” he said.

Sand-pad monitoring is part of the corporation’s integrated pest animal management program in the region, which also includes baiting, trapping, and guard animals to keep on top of the wild dog problem.

Petty said as well as monitoring wild dog movements and other feral pests, the cameras were used to survey critically endangered and endangered species such as the smoky mouse and the southern brown bandicoot under Species Management Plans within Southern Region.

He said the remote sensing cameras were also being used more and more for pre-harvesting surveys of threatened fauna species.

“Amendments to the Threatened Species Licence means various survey methods including the hair-tube surveys, which takes considerable time in placing traps and analysing of hair by an expert, have been replaced by cameras,” he said.

Petty said the surveillance cameras were dual purpose and were now being used extensively to identify illegal use of the forests as well as monitoring animals.

“Illegal hunters, firewood collectors, rubbish dumpers, as well as unregistered vehicles and motorbikes, have been caught on camera and their details handed to the NSW Police and Game Council,” he said.

F orestry Corporation Tumbarumba-based Feral Animal Control

officer Mark Goldspink … cameras made his work easier.

Working on a blueprint for the future for SA forests SA MINISTER for Forests Gail Gago attended the first meeting of the South Australian

 SA Minister for Forests Gail Gago.

Forest Industry Advisory Board (SAFIAB), a new board to provide advice and recommendations about the future strategic needs of the forests and forest products industry to the South Australian Government.

The Minister said each board member had been selected on the basis of their skill sets and a number of them were internationally recognised in their field.

“This new board will act as a highlevel conduit between industry and the State Government, utilising the expertise and networks of its membership to facilitate industry consultation and engagement.”

Members of the board are: • Trevor Smith (Chair) – Managing Director, Advisory Consulting Employment Services • Alison Carmichael – Chief Executive Officer, Institute of Foresters Australia Ltd • Jane Calvert – National President, CFMEU Forestry & Furnishing Products Division

• Shelley Dunstone – Principal, Legal Circles • John Fargher – Managing Director, John Fargher and Associates • Ian McDonnell – Managing Director, NF McDonnell and Sons • Caroline Pidcock – Director, PIDCOCK - Architecture + Sustainability Minister Gago said the board’s main task was to develop a blueprint for the future South East Forest and Wood Products Industry (2040).

“This blueprint will integrate the initiatives from the Limestone Coast Economic Diversification Forum; Cellulose Fibre Value Chain Study and the South-East Forestry Partnerships program,” she said.

“It will include identifying and advising on emerging domestic and international opportunities that will enhance the sustainable economic development of the

Important first step in statistics services FWPA’S NEW Statistics and Economics Program has launched its first service – the Softwood Timber Survey (STS). The survey tracks monthly sales volumes by product categories for Australian plantation softwood products from participating companies. There are seven major categories, with various sub-categories tracked for each.

Participating companies log into the survey portal each month to upload their sales volumes. Companies can then view their figures against the aggregate for each product category and download reports.

Summary aggregate data is publicly available for plantation softwood product sales volumes by year and product category dating back to 2002.

“This is an important first step in establishing industry statistics services and gives us an

opportunity to expand the dialogue with industry about the data they want collected and how they want to use it,” said Jim Houghton, FWPA Statistics and Economics Manager.

The survey was previously managed by AFPA. With the creation of FWPA’s Statistics and Economics Program stakeholders agreed that moving management of the survey to FWPA would provide the opportunity for more companies to contribute to the survey each month. Work is progressing on providing a similar service for Hardwood Timber Products and Industry production and Inventory data. Through this confidential data aggregation process it is expected a more accurate understanding of current commercial conditions will be available.

forest and forest product sectors in South Australia.

“It’s a large task, but the board is well-skilled to make this happen.” The blueprint is expected to be available in

mid-2014. The new board is the successor to the Forest Industry Development Board and the South East Forestry Industry Roundtable and will build upon their good work.

4 – July 2013, Australian Forests & Timber News

NEWS

ISSN 1444-5824

July 2013

Mobile technology is a game changer ... Page 13

Features Elmia Wrap.............................................. 6 Optimization.....................................14-15 Chainsaws............................................. 16 Harvesting & Felling Heads..............17-25 Forwarders............................................26 Plantations........................................27-29

Change of leadership for Forestry Tasmania B

OB GORDON, Forestry Tasmania’s Managing Director for the past six years, has stepped down, ending a 35 year stint with forestry in Tasmania.

“There are many challenges currently facing Forestry Tasmania that require a long-term commitment. With that in mind, the Board and Bob have reached a mutual agreement that now is a good time for a change,” Forestry Tasmania Board Chairman Bob Annells said.

“On behalf of the Forestry Tasmania Board, I’d like to acknowledge the tremendous contribution Bob has made to this

MEDIA

Postal Address:

FORESTRY TASMANIA Conservation Planner Dr Marie Yee is a fantastic example of ‘walking the talk’ when it comes to putting the principles of her role into practice – committing to sustainability both in her personal and professional life. Well, to be strictly accurate, Marie is not exactly walking the talk, but adopting a far more novel approach by ‘scooting’ it!

There are not too many 39-year-old working mums who travel an exhilarating 3.5 kilometres downhill to work, from just past the iconic service station on Huon Road in South Hobart to Forestry Tasmania HQ in Melville Street, on a small, collapsible, silver scooter!

Marie says she has encountered only one other soul adopting a similar mode of transport – a suited chap on a long skateboard!

She says she can’t check over her shoulder to gauge the reactions of walkers’, cyclists and other commuters’, but is reasonably confident there would be at least a few raised eyebrows.

“I’m not who you would expect to see on one of these things,” says Marie of the rather fragilelooking machine that gets her to her desk each day at FT and which she can tuck easily under her arm to carry home on the bus after work.

“To be honest, I’ve only seen kids on them, but even they don’t ride them to or from school – they seem to rely on bikes and buses.”

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adjusting to its new operating environment. We have come to a mutual agreement that now is an appropriate time to make a transition to new leadership,” Annells said.

“Implementation of the Tasmanian Forest Agreement is only one of the challenges facing the organisation. Gaining and retaining Forest Stewardship Council certification will require a new approach to many operational processes.

“The transfer of reserve areas and the new focus on a more concentrated wood production zone require a long term commitment, which the Board

 Bob Gordon.

and Bob have agreed would be best met through new leadership.”

Bob will be leaving early in July.

The Board was initiated a comprehensive executive search for his replacement and in the interim, Chief Operating Officer Steve Whiteley will take on the role of acting CEO.

A 'wheel' adrenalin rush for scientist

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organisation, and to the forest industry.

“He has been a proud standard bearer through many difficult times, and has served the industry with absolute dedication,” said Annells.

Bob joined the then-Forestry Commission in 1978 as a graduate forest scientist and rose through the ranks to Commissioner Commercial. On corporatisation he was appointed as General Manager Marketing, before being seconded to the Pulp Mill Task Force in 2004. He was appointed Managing Director of Forestry Tasmania in 2007.

“However, Forestry Tasmania faces significant challenges in

FT has a relatively high number of staff who cycle to and from the office, but Marie’s much smaller wheels stand out and remain a point of interest.

She says she originally adopted her unconventional mode of transport because the morning bus schedule didn’t suit, as a cost-saver, and as a prelude to a lifelong aspiration to learn to surf (which, now with two small children, she has had to put on the backburner).

But it also fitted perfectly with her personal philosophy to “tread lightly”, “leave the smallest possible footprint” and “live simply”, as well as the strong sustainability principle that underpins her Conservation Planner position at Forestry.

Those more noble commitments aside, there is also a pretty basic positive of scootering to work for Marie – an unmistakable glint in her eye does more than hint at the pure enjoyment factor.

“There is definitely an adrenalin rush,” she says.

“And, at the same time, I use the ride to work to chill out and attempt to adopt a state of calmness.”

Marie describes her role at FT as “putting conservation science into practice in the real world”.

As such, she plays an important role in developing practical ways to manage biodiversity at the landscape scale.

In addition to her planning role, Marie is also an expert in the ecology of saproxylic beetles - beetles that live in dead wood.

An optimistic future for Tasmanian plantations continued from page 1. understanding of the whole value chain, from tree to final product.”

The third research program – the tree improvement program, headed up by Senior Scientist Dr Dean Williams – includes intensive E. nitens and E. globulus breeding programs, which are about breeding for improved growth and form: the quality of the tree, and wood properties. Resistance to disease is also being evaluated.

“And so we’re at the stage where we can bring nutrition, silviculture, and tree improvement together, through a number of field trials that are now reaching maturity. Trees from these trials can be harvested and processed and the wood properties and characteristics evaluated as it comes off the saw

and the peeling machine,” says Dr Adams, adding that they’re now in a position to better understand what they have.

Dr Adams comments that much of the history of FT’s research and development over the past 20 years has been tied to the Cooperative Research Centres operating in Tasmania, as well as to CSIRO and the University of Tasmania

and various other institutions.

“This means we’ve been able to collaborate with a wide range of scientists and institutions and leverage their skills and expertise to assist us to make big advances in our research programs,” he says in tribute.

Overall, they’re very optimistic about the future of plantations in Tasmania. “Tasmania is a very

good place to grow plantation eucalypts, and it’s a matter of applying the right amount of science and engineering to develop solutions to whatever issues arise,” says Dr Adams. “The biggest focus currently is developing methods to improve the recovery of high-value wood from nitens.”

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Australian Forests & Timber News, July 2013 – 5

NEWS

Budget illustrates Labor’s disinterest in regional Australia, say Nationals T

HE CHIEF Executive of the Australian Forest Products Association Ross Hampton has expressed disappointment in this year’s Budget speech by Treasurer Wayne Swan.

“It was welcome to hear the Treasurer acknowledging the pressure on trade exposed industries from a stubbornly high Australian dollar and allocating $429 million to the Carbon Farming Futures program, noting that work still needs to be completed to include plantation forestry in the Carbon Farming Initiative.

“We also welcome confirmation of funding for industry restructure as part of the Tasmanian Forest Agreement which includes an

allocation of $500,000 to develop an FSC Standard for Australia. This will give Australia’s highly regulated forestry industry two voluntary certification schemes and we await similar financial support for the Australian Forestry Standard.

“AFPA’s members were hoping, however, that the Australian Government would do more to encourage the growth of regional manufacturing and specifically the forest, wood and paper industries.

“The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), has stated that: In the long term, a sustainable forest management strategy aimed at maintaining or increasing forest carbon stocks, while producing an annual sustained yield of timber,

fibre or energy from the forest, will generate the largest sustained mitigation benefit.1 Given that unequivocal guidance, AFPA members were expecting to hear that the Treasurer was looking to grow forest wood and paper industries and, at the same time, provide a boost to regional Australia.

“The Government should have been backing rural jobs and industry by accepting the science which says manufacturers can use forest waste to save on their power costs and claim renewable credits,” Hampton said.

“There was nothing about new investment in plantations to bolster our current resources and international competitiveness in wood and paper processing.

“And the industry continues to call for a review of building planning regulations to encourage greater use of timber in buildings. Australia lags behind Canada, France, Finland, the UK and even New Zealand and Slovenia with policies to encourage the use of wood in construction.

“Doing more for forestry and forest industries is vital to the economy as the mining boom slows.

“I’m sad to say that we have missed an opportunity in this budget,” Hampton said.

Coalition Forestry spokesman Senator Richard Colbeck described the Budget as a “farce”.

“The Gillard Government’s budget has lasted less than three days before the Prime Minister has

mechanisation was imperative.

While Stephen concentrated on selecting the machinery, John used his vast knowledge and experience to guide the business along. John’s daughter Heather and husband John moved across and Tabeel Trading was formed. Families are a key ingredient of many logging businesses and the family unit is the strength behind Tabeel’s success.

John always said that you should try to leave something better than you found it and so his passion for the timber industry found him involved on many fronts.

He has served on a variety of associations and his previous knowledge of politics and Local Government made him a formidable opponent during any meeting process, and he was known by his local peers as “the bush lawyer”.

John’s involvement with the Australian Logging Council in its hour of need would be remembered by some.

My association with John dates back to 1987 when we both served on the Board of the Logging Investigation and Training Association. I knew nothing of his experience and background then, but certainly appreciated the positive impact that he had on a meeting. I have worked with John, and against John, over many years, and could always rely on him to produce a succinct, pragmatic and meaningful response to any issue raised. This was best illustrated with the running

of AUSTimber 2012, where the final plans of the event were reviewed by John, and within two minutes, he was able to identify key issues that required extra attention.

John never sought recognition for his achievements, but anyone who worked with John certainly came to recognise and appreciate the impact of his involvement.

John was awarded the status of Icon in the AFCA Hall of Fame at the Bairnsdale meeting on 23 April 2013.

John and his family are not religious people but do have a strong Christian faith, so I leave you with some of his favourite quotes: “TO WHOM MUCH IS GIVEN MUCH WILL BE REQUIRED” Luke 12 v 48

Vale John Albert Witherow

By David Quill

JOHN WITHEROW was born in Melbourne on 4 January 1939, just prior to the break out of World War 2.

John’s father Jack was a builder and plumber and his first involvement in the timber industry was in the manufacture of wooden aircraft propellers.

John was apprenticed to his father Jack as a plumber, working with the family company J E Witherow & Sons Master Builders.

John’s direct involvement with the timber industry came about through unblocking sewerage at a guest house in Marysville in the Dandenong Ranges, where he was introduced to a contractor looking for a log truck driver. John took up the position much to the ire of his father.

John started the very next day driving a 184 International prime mover with a log jinker hauling logs out of Mt Margaret in the Cumberland Mountains to a sawmill at Buxton. The logs were snigged to the landing with an Inter TD9 Dozer which was also used to load the truck.

The truck then proceeded 14 miles down the mountain. Driving log trucks in those days was an extremely well paid occupation, mainly due to the high incidence of injuries and fatalities associated with the risks of the job.

To illustrate the challenges of driving in those conditions, an example is drawn from John’s son Steve’s stories of the mechanical conditions. The trucks carried a 16 gallon water tank fitted to the trailer bogie which piddled water over the brake drums to try and stop the hydraulic fluid boiling, resulting in brake failure. This worked about half way down the haul road, at which point the truck ran out of brakes.

The trick then was to swing into the embankment side of the track dragging the bolsters as a restraint but you had to watch the deepening gutters as you got to culverts and get out and back without coming undone.

On arriving at the mill, if the mill was operating you could pull the logs

off with a hook on a cable winch in the mill. If the mill was not operating you had to jack the logs off with the infamous finger removing Trewalla Jack.

You then backed under skids which contained a house lot of sawn timber and jacked this down onto the bolsters for delivery all round Victoria. Most times you were paid cash on delivery and when giving it to the boss he would invariably give you 10 pounds which was more than a plumber’s weekly wage.

The high risks and the fact that John was now a young married man with their first child on the way, prompted John to seek further education, resulting in his qualifications as a Health Inspector.

At 27 years of age he became the youngest appointee ever to the position of Chief Health Officer of Melbourne in 1966.

In spite of John’s success in the field of public health the call of the forest and logging was still very strong in his heart. He resigned in 1973 to go farming and to pursue his enthusiasm for trucks.

As all this was unfolding John’s son Stephen was showing a keen interest in machinery but as had been the family tradition Stephen was sent to do his apprenticeship as a plumber.

In early 1983 the Ash Wednesday bushfires devastated the forests of the South East of South Australia.

Salvage of mill log included water storage in both Lake Bonney and under sprinklers, as well as maximising sawmill production.

The burnt smaller trees were ignored so the Witherow family company saw the opportunity to utilise product from these plantations.

Because the timber was burnt, drying time was minimised so it could be harvested, peeled, treated and sold without delay.

The father and son team began employing fallers and peeling preservation roundwood products with markets in Victoria and SA. After the salvage, the opportunity to log green standing forest became a reality for the company

“WHATSOEVER THY HAND FIND TO DO, DO IT WITH ALL THY MIGHT” Ecclesiastes 9 v 10

started to deconstruct it.

“On Tuesday night the budget papers confirmed $7 million per year for 14 years as part of the IGA process.

“Today those budget papers mean nothing.

“We said on budget night the budget papers were more suited to the fiction section of a library - today that is confirmed.

“The Prime Minister’s announcement is an admission of the damage that this sham forest process has wrought on the Tasmanian economy.

“This is an economy in recession with growing unemployment and a complete lack of confidence as a result of the destructive policies of State and Federal Labor/Green Governments.

“It is also a confession that $7 million a year in return for the destruction of $700 million per year was a pittance, as we have previously indicated.

“When this is combined we see yet more evidence of the chaos of this government and its complete lack of credibility,” said the Senator.

And Nationals leader Warren Truss came out with all guns blazing over the Budget saying that regional Australia had been dumped from Labor’s Budget priorities.

“This illustrates, again, Labor’s disinterest in regional Australia. “$2 billion has been slashed from the dedicated Regional Infrastructure Fund, which Labor said would help redress the imbalance between city and country.

“Labor has pointedly turned its back on regional families, businesses and communities,” said Truss.

1 Climate Change (2007): Mitigation.

Contribution of Working Group III to the Fourth Assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

6 – July 2013, Australian Forests & Timber News

Upcoming

Elmia WRAP

timber events If you would like to promote a forthcoming event, please email details (including contact numbers, email, etc) to: editorial@forestsandtimber.com.au or phone 08 8369 9500

2013 2-7 July International Forestry Graduate Student Conference 2013 (FORGRAD 2013).

Selangor, Malaysia. www.forr.upm.edu. my/index.php/forgrad-2013 7-10 July Council on Forest Engineering Annual Meeting (Forest Operations for a Changing Landscape) – Missoula, USA. www.umt.edu/ce/cps/forestengineering/ 8-14 July John Deere Classic. Silvis, IL July 23 FTMA Australia National Conference 2013,QT Gold Coast. FTMA ativities 22 July. Multinail Machinery Expo 24 July.

Kersten@ftmaaustralia.com.au 22-27 July Forest Genetics 2013. Whistler, Bc And Vancouver Island, Bc, Canada http://www.forestgenetics2013.ca/ 4-7 August 21st International Wood Machining Seminar (IWMS-21). Tsukuba, Japan http://www.ffpri.affrc.go.jp/en/ symposium/iwms21/ 8-9 August “Australian and Oceania timberlands investment and wood products trade issues and trends”. Melbourne. www.prcc.com.au 19-21 August 15th Symposium for Systems Analysis in Forest Resources (SSAFR) (Analytics for Sustainable Forest Value Chains) – Quebec City, Canada. www.ssafr2013.com 3-5 September WoodEXPO, Albury. www.wood-expo.com 4-6 September Bioenergy Exhibition and Conference – Jyvaskyla, Finland. www.bioenergyevents.fi 5-7 September 68th Annual Lake States Logging Congress. The Great Lakes Timber Professionals Association is a nonprofit organization that is committed to leading the Forest Products industry in sustainable forest management.

Members include loggers, truckers, sawmills, paper manufacturers, private and commercial forest landowners, forestry professionals and outdoor recreational enthusiasts. http://timberpa.com/ 8-12 September Future Directions of Small-scale and Community-based Forestry. Fukuoka, Japan. http://ffpsc.agr.kyushu-u.ac.jp/policy/ IUFRO/IUFROF2013.html 3-5 September WoodEXPO,Albury. www.wood-expo.com 11-13 September WoodEXPO,Rotorua. www.wood-expo.com 18-20 September Low Volume Roads Workshop – Rotorua, New Zealand. http://www.roads.co.nz/index.htm

Lean Wood Supply System M

ORE THAN a billion euro can be saved in the Swedish forest industry every year if the transport of felled timber from the forest to the final customer is made more efficient. Inventors Lennart Olving and Maria Drott have developed a revolutionary patented total concept that was featured at Elmia Wood.

“All the hardware is available and the corresponding system of handling unit loads is already standard in many other industries,” Olving explained.

The invention involves using unit loads to simplify handling and thereby condense and shorten the entire chain from the harvesting site to the final destination. With a unit load carrier, individual logs can retain their harvesting data all the way to the customers throughout the transport chain.

 Green Wood Logistics’ patented solution is based on a load changing load carrier.

Photo courtesy Elmia

on the roadside, costs money. The longer it takes before the logs are industrially processed, the greater the threat to their quality.

In the analysis that is the foundation of their invention and their company, Olving and Drott

a further sorting while unloading them on the roadside.

A logging truck fetches the sorted timber and delivers it to the customers, where log scalers assess the incoming shipments. Despite this multi-stage sorting process,

Even with individual marking of each log, handling damage is still a problem as is the length of time the timber spends lying by the roadside.

Over the past 30 years Olving has worked in both the mechanical engineering and pharmaceutical industries. He has specialised in production flows using the lean model, a method that increases efficiencies by removing bottlenecks and minimising waste. Maria Drott is a forest owner and she and Olving developed the concept together in their joint company Green Wood Logistics AB. “We thought about all the timber that sometimes spends months lying by the roadside before being driven to the customers,” Drott explains.

Leaving products to sit for so long violates one of the basic principles of the lean model. Storage, even

discovered that their solution can give savings of up to about 15 euro for every cubic metre solid volume excluding bark of timber felled in the Swedish forest.

Currently, the forest is first inventoried and valued and the trees are then felled and measured in the harvester head.

“The harvester’s computer gathers masses of information about each log,” Olving explains. “But the link between the data and the log is lost the second that the log is put on the ground.”

In the next step the forwarder operator does a visual inspection of the logs, sorts and loads them, takes them to the landing, and then does

some of the timber ends up in the wrong place, with pulpwood at the sawmill, saw timber at the pulp mill, and so on.

This information loss is a known problem. One of several solutions is to mark each individual log while it is still in the harvester head. The markings are then automatically read during the next transport stage.

“But even with individual marking of each log, handling damage is still a problem as is the length of time the timber spends lying by the roadside,” Olving says.

Green Wood Logistics’ patented solution is based on a load changing load carrier. This can be used in the same systems and on the same

trucks as those used to transport gravel, wood chips, etc. Instead of using a load bed, stackable load carriers with folding bunks are used. The invention has been named Lean Wood Supply System.

If today’s machines are equipped with a load changing function, the load carriers can be used by many different machines. For example, a harwarder that is equipped with a load changing function can load the logs directly into the load carrier, which is then set down when it is full. A forwarder equipped with a load changer can then fetch the load carrier and drive it out to the road, where an ordinary truck equipped with a load changer fetches it.

Green Wood Logistics AB has built up a network with a high level of diverse skills. The big challenge is to make the flow more efficient.

This will call into question many routines and conventions in the forest industry. But both inventors are hopeful that this is possible.

“Productivity in the forest industry has stood still in recent years,” Olving says. “According to our initial calculations our method can save over a billion euro per year and thereby improve the industry’s profitability.”

A forest filled with innovations THE WORLD’S biggest international forestry fair, Elmia Wood, was bigger than ever this year.

“Times are still tough in the forest industry but interest in the fair has never been greater,” says Torbjörn Johnsen, product manager of Elmia Wood. “We’ve never had such a big fair in terms of stand space.”

One-third of the 500 exhibitors at the June 5-8 fair were international companies.

About 50,000 visitors from more than 50 countries attended the fair to see and experience the very latest developments in forest technology. Many visitors were from large faraway forestry nations like Brazil, Canada, the USA and Russia, where making the pilgrimage to Elmia Wood every fourth year has become an important tradition.

“Even though timber volumes have fallen in some industrial segments and countries, the growing use of biomass as fuel is increasing activity in the world’s forests,” Johnsen explained. “Everything in the forest has to keep on working and the entire chain must remain in operation.”

“The fair was incredibly important, especially for individual innovators. Many people see their products and good ideas generate a lot of publicity.

Even a small operator can get a lot of attention at Elmia Wood,” Johnsen says.

Christer Lennartsson has reinvented the wheel. The perfect one, that is. His new harwarder, “The Beauty”, a combined harvester and forwarder, is a stylish 10-wheeler with a specially designed weight distribution system that reduces ground pressure and damage. He has already patented the machine’s quick release mechanism.

“We wanted to create a machine that is always horizontal for the operator and the load. The result is less stress on the machine, it runs more smoothly and the ground pressure is always the same whatever the gradient,” Lennartsson explains.

The solution designed by Lennartsson and his colleague Andreas Andersson is a machine with 10 wheels instead of the usual six or eight. Ponsse was the first machine manufacturer to create a 10-wheeler but that had ordinary standard wheels. In contrast, Lennartsson’s harwarder has a rear pair of wheels made of solid rubber.

The specially made wheels have a decisive impact on the machine’s performance. The rubber wheels have transverse grooves that fit precisely into the shape of the steel bands and thereby permit more powerful and safer machine operation. The steel bands help to distribute the weight over a larger area, thereby reducing the ground pressure and giving the machine much

better accessibility. The wheels also have a motor in four of the ten wheel hubs so the speed of those wheels can be individually controlled.

“The wheels have individual pendulum arms and levelling. They can go over 90-centimetrehigh obstacles with no sideways tilt,” Lennartsson says.

He explains that using solid rubber also has many special advantages in the forest environment.

“You avoid punctures, which are a major problem in the forest. The wheels also have some resilience – they aren’t rigid, and the vibrations are distributed. We’re incredibly pleased with these wheels.”

He casts the wheels in his own mould at home in his ‘inventor’s workshop’. Tread designs and widths up to a metre wide can be customised.

“We can build whatever treads and widths people want,” he says.

He calculates that The Beauty saves on both time and fuel – 25% of the former and 10% of the latter.

“With direct drive at each wheel there are fewer components – no distribution box, no universal joints, no differentials, no oil cooler, just a cooler for the tractor itself.”

Lennartsson can’t really describe how he and his colleague arrived at this solution.

855C Harvester Series

635D Skidder

1075B Forwarder Victoria Dandenong Mob: 0409 711 111

New South Wales Tumut Mob: 0427 472 833

Tasmania Brighton Mob: 0409 711 117

Western Australia Bunbury Mob: 0439 906 125

South Australia Mt Gambier West Mob: 0488 711 102

Queensland Philip Turnbull Mob: 0418 472 839

8 – July 2013, Australian Forests & Timber News

NEWS

Harvest levels to be reduced in Victorian forests V

ICFORESTS has announced timber harvesting in Victoria’s Ash forests will be reduced from 2017. Chief executive officer Robert Green, said VicForests’ 2013 Resource Outlook outlines a transition to lower harvest levels in Ash forests.

“This reduction is a direct result of the impact of large scale bushfires on areas of forest available for timber production,” Green said.

“Our annual Resource Outlook provides updated information regarding the timber resources in Victoria’s State forests.

“Previous Outlooks have projected the sale of 300,000 cubic metres of high quality Ash sawlog per year, but this year’s Outlook has revised this figure to 215,000 cubic metres per year - a reduction of more than 25%. This change will come into effect from July 1, 2017.

“As a responsible forest manager, it is vital VicForests continues to balance the social, economic and environmental benefits provided by the 6% of native forest in Victoria which is available and suitable for timber production.

“This reduction demonstrates VicForests genuine commitment to achieving that balance.

“We have publicly acknowledged the need to reduce harvesting in Ash forests as a result of bushfire and this adjustment is being made ahead of the first major sales process since the 2009 bushfires, planned for later this year.

“The change ensures future harvesting will continue at a sustainable level and future timber sales will be based on the reduced volume.

“It brings forward the reduction in harvesting which has been forecast in previous Resource Outlooks.

“This adjustment has been made to ensure the future of the sustainable timber industry in Victoria and provide long term certainty to the businesses, families and regional communities who rely on our industry.

“We believe it also considers the affect of the fires on habitat for a range of species including the endangered Leadbeater’s Possum by reducing the level of harvesting in Ash forests by approximately 500 hectares per year,” he said.

Green said VicForests would continue to work closely with the industry to assist them in adjusting to the new level of resource availability.

“We understand this decision will have an impact on our industry and on employment,” he said.

“Delaying the changes until 2017 enables industry time to adjust to the new harvest levels and avoids an even more severe reduction in 15 to 20 years time.

“There will also undoubtedly be some who will say these measures are not adequate and are not happening quickly enough. However, we believe this is a responsible decision that will have a positive effect on our forests as they recover from the impact of recent bushfires.

“Through these revised projections, VicForests believes we can provide better environmental outcomes while still working to meet demand for wood and wood products from well-managed, local forests,” Green said.

The Victorian Association of Forest Industries (VAFI) has expressed its disappointment that as a result of the 2009 bushfires VicForests’ wood supply to the local forest and wood products industry would be significantly reduced in the medium-term.

VAFI chief executive officer Lisa Marty said the decision would significantly impact local processing, harvest and haulage businesses, their employees and communities.

“It is important the local forest and wood products industry is based on a sustainable and secure wood supply so it can continue to invest, innovate and produce locally-sourced, high quality wood and paper products,” she said.

“We are committed to working with local businesses and communities and the Victorian Government to adjust and to support ongoing innovation and a sustainable future for our industry.

“In particular, the increased certainty provided through the Victorian Government’s Timber Industry Action Plan and amendments to the Sustainable Forest (Timber) Act is crucial to achieving this goal.

“This decision reflects the difficulty in balancing the impacts of the bushfires and protecting environmental values with sustainable wood supply to industry within the 6% of Victoria’s 7.8 million hectares of native forests available and suitable for wood production.”

Marty said the forest and wood products industry remained a significant employer and generator of economic activity across Victoria, and this announcement would be difficult news for local businesses, families and communities.

“This resource reduction will put further pressure on our sector, which is already trading through a prolonged high Australian dollar and a weak housing and construction market,” she said.

“While the next few years will

be difficult, the forest and wood products industry will continue to pursue opportunities so our members can keep providing the natural, renewable and carbon storing wood products loved by Victorians.”

Grass roots forestry organization Friends of Forestry has expressed concern with the VicForests announcement that timber harvesting in Victoria’s Ash forests would be reduced from 2017.

FoF President Brett Robin said it was disappointing that the timber industry was constantly asked to accept lower resource availability because Government authorities won’t allow more than 6% of Victoria’s native forest being made available to the industry.

“We understand that resource was lost during the 2009 Bushfires and that it is vital that the Government and industry take action to ensure our forests continue to be harvested at sustainable levels as we have always done,” said Robin.

“This does not have to be doom and gloom for the industry, if the Government uses this opportunity to look outside the square and explore the hundreds of thousands of hectares of previously harvested forests now in reserves or national parks -- like Queensland has recently done.

“Queensland Premier Campbell Newman recognized that there were unnecessary reserves which had been created by poor policy from previous Governments and that the continued locking up of these resources had had a huge impact on the timber industry and dependent communities,” he said.

“We are not talking open slather, but to simply recognize

 VicForests chief executive officer Robert Green.

that responsible harvesting is productive conservation and the reason many forests are in reserves is because of the way they were managed through the forestry departments in the first place.

“Friends of Forestry looks forward to working with Government, industry and VicForests to explore new markets, opportunities and innovative ways to add value to our forest resources and supporting timber dependent communities.

“With the blinkers off the timber industry has a bright future as timber is the most environmentally friendly building material and the more wood used the better the planet will be,” Robin said.

And on a good news note, it appears that Heyfield’s Australian Sustainable Hardwoods is unlikely to suffer major impact.

ASH chief executive officer Vince Hurley said the Heyfield operation had invested in value adding capabilities that ensured ASH made the most of the logs it purchased. Hurley was cautiously optimistic ASH’s size and efficiency would ensure it could cope with the new regime.

“We are in a good position to ensure our long term because we are able to extract more from less.”

Industry pioneers inducted into Hall of Fame THE AUSTRALIAN Forest Contractors Association inducted another group of worthy nominees into its Hall of Fame at an enjoyable function attended by over 100 people in Bairnsdale, Victoria.

In addition, Tumut (NSW) contractor Paul Rosin was inducted at a function held in conjunction with AFCA’s “Business is Different Now” industry workshop held in Tumut on 2 May. This latest batch of inductees takes the number of members of the Hall of Fame to 131. In addition, another three industry stalwarts were upgraded to Icon Status at the Bairnsdale function.

As is the norm at these functions, all of the inductees related stories of how tough life was in the early days. Many recounted living in the bush for long periods, enduring harsh conditions with little or no amenities, and working with horses to pull the heavy logs out of the bush after they had been cut down - often with hand saws - and sometimes manually loaded onto carts.

Inductees and their families and friends came from all over East Gippsland for the Bairnsdale event and many humorous events were recounted by the inductees during their chats with function MC David Drane. As is usual, all of them really appreciated being recognised for their contributions to the early days of the industry in East Gippsland.

At the Tumut presentation, AFCA CEO Colin McCulloch recounted the early days of Paul Rosins entry into the industry as he like many of his counterparts began life working in the family business.

The following are the latest to be admitted to the Hall of Fame: *awarded posthumously • Ray Barr - Orbost • Tony Battel - Orbost • Allan Beveridge* - Buchan South • Malcolm Beveridge - Bairnsdale • Allan Bills* - Bairnsdale • Bill Box - Orbost • Frank Brunt - Orbost • Graham Carstein - Heyfield • Ivan Crawford* - Morwell

• Ron Heywood - Heyfield • Lindsay Hibberson - Orbost • Bill Hollingsworth - Bairnsdale • Garry Leeson - Rosedale • Paul Rosin - Tumut • Ron Schrader* - Bairnsdale • Harold Winkel - Traralgon In addition three existing members of the Hall of Fame were upgraded to industry Icon status in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the industry. They were: • Ivan Crawford* - Morwell • Wally Cunneen - Myrtleford • John Witherow* - Mt Gambier All were pioneers in the development of new ways of doing things, and were heavily involved in the invention of new techniques such as mechanical harvesting.

In a new initiative at the Bairnsdale Awards function, Certificates of Appreciation were presented to four people in recognition of their contribution to the industry. While not being eligible for the Hall of Fame, these awardees nevertheless contributed greatly

to the industry over long period of time and were very worthy of recognition for their service. They were: • Noel Burrows - Bairnsdale • Peter Capes - Bairnsdale • Oliver Raymond - Traralgon • Frank Shields - Melbourne

Australian Forests & Timber News, July 2013 – 9

NEWS

ABARES backs growth predictions THE AUSTRALIAN Forest Products Association has welcomed the findings of a report by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES), Preliminary long term forecast of wood products demand in Australia, that indicates encouraging growth in wood and paper products.

‘This projected growth is consistent with expected growth in overseas economies as people look to wood and paper products for their housing, construction and daily consumer needs,” said AFPA Chief Executive Officer Ross Hampton.

“These products also contribute to improving our environment through their renewability, recyclability and low carbon footprint.

‘The challenge for Australia is to grow domestic supply to fill the gap between current production and growing demand, without relying on imports that do not support Australian jobs and carry the risk of lower environmental standards.

‘The report forecasts sawnwood consumption to increase from about 5 million cubic metres in 2010 to 6.5 million cubic metres per year over 40 years, mostly influenced by new housing driven by increasing population,” said Hampton.

“In addition, the forecast for paper and paperboard consumption sees a steady increase from 4 million tonnes in 2010 to 7.1 million tonnes per year over the next 40 years.

“Australian industry stands

ready to accept the challenge of filling the gap between current production and meeting the growing demand for sawnwood, but that will require policy makers to encourage plantation and processing investment and recognise the low carbon footprint of wood compared with many other building materials.

“Australian industry also stands ready to fill the gap in demand for paper products, tissue and packaging but that will rely on policy makers adopting procurement policies which recognise their high environmental and social standards and contribution of value to the Australian economy.

“By using wood we stand to save up to 7.9 million tonnes of CO2equivalent each year by 2050’, said Hampton.

 Graph shows opportunity for domestic forest industry growth in sawnlogs over the next 40 years.

Queensland Chain of Custody Support Scheme proving popular INTEREST IN the Queensland Government and Timber Queensland’s Chain of Custody Support Scheme has been solid.

The scheme reimburses costs directly incurred in obtaining chain of custody certification under Australian Forestry Standard AS 4707 or the Forest Stewardship Council 40-004 (V2-1) EN; eligible businesses can claim 100% of the eligible costs to a cap of $5000 (ex GST).

Timber Queensland’s chief executive officer Rod McInnes says 15 primary and secondary

processors and wholesalers of timber products had already expressed an expression of interest in the scheme.

“We’re pleased businesses are taking this opportunity to ensure their businesses can respond to consumer demand for clean, green timber products,” he said.

“However, these businesses now have some work to do to prove their credentials registering intent to participate in the scheme does not earmark funds for individual companies.

Rebates will only be paid to

Business IS different now!

M

ORE THAN 85 people from across the timber Industry attended the second Australian Forest Contractors Association’s “Business is Different Now” industry workshop in Tumut on 2 May. Harvest and haulage contractors, forest owners, equipment suppliers, finance company representatives and consultants from across industry made up the audience who heard a number of quality presentations all aimed at updating contractors on the latest changes in compliance, transport demographics, training options and industrial relations.

“Positive feedback on the value of such an initiative has been widespread,” said AFCA administration manager David Drane.

“Many of the attendees were impressed by the willingness to further develop industry partnerships and to work more closely together a fact that was expressed by Forestry Corp’s General Manager of Softwood Ian Brown who gave the opening address. He urged everyone to work together to remain competitive in the current economic climate.

“Each of the other speakers told of the changes that are taking place and explained many of the options that are available to assist contractors in doing things better and more competitively,” he said.

The day-long workshop was followed by a networking session and an industry dinner sponsored by AFCA’s Foundation partners, Komatsu Forests, Waratah Attachments, Tigercat / OneTrak and John Deere / Hitachi, all of whom had a number of their high profile representatives in attendance.

The Tumut workshop followed on from the inaugural workshop in Launceston in March this year. Further workshops are planned for Traralgon (Victoria) in July and Bunbury (WA) in October, as the roadshow moves around the country.

businesses who submit a full and complete claim while funding is available i.e. until all funding has been distributed or until 22 January 2014,” he said.

Nick Capobianco, Regional Director Australia & NZ – SCS Global Services, said increasingly Queensland businesses were recognising the benefits of Chain of Custody Certification.

“In Queensland, SCS has certified largest FSC certified Forest and a number of primary and secondary producers and wholesaler businesses,”

Capobianco said.

Timber Queensland recently welcomed SCS Global Services, a leading certifier of Forests and Chain of Custody (CoC) operations to FSC and PEFC standards, as an associate member. SCS was awarded the Certification Body of the Year at FSC Australia Excellence Awards in 2012 and has been delivering sustainability solutions in Forestry for more than 30 years.

“To better serve Queensland businesses SCS has appointed a lead auditor based in Brisbane

and we are working with peak Industry bodies to provide our expertise in forestry and supply chain certification.

“Membership of Timber Queensland enables SCS to access information, network and increase our involvement with the key players in the state’s timber industry,” he said.

For more information about SCS visit http://www. scsglobalservices.com/australianz or email NCapobianco@ scsglobalservices.com

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10 – July 2013, Australian Forests & Timber News

NEWS

Timberland Investment Outlook offers insights for investors N

EW FORESTS has released its new publication, Timberland Investment Outlook, 2013-2018.

Timberland, along with farmland, infrastructure, and other real assets, has been growing in favor among institutional investors due to the attractive characteristics of the asset class.

The publication focuses on key trends in institutional investment into timberland and provides recommendations on the development of internationally diversified timberland portfolios.

The report also explores key trends in the forest sector, including the international supply-demand picture, potential for new markets for biomass from forests, and the growing role of sustainability in forest management. The report is a follow-up to New Forests’ first

Timberland Investment Outlook, released in 2011.

New Forests research suggests that US$50-60 billion has now been invested worldwide in unlisted timberland vehicles, and the asset class is set to grow by US$6-7 billion per annum over the next five years.

While much of the investment to date has been in US timberland, the next five years will likely see half of new investment flowing outside the US, principally in Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. At the same time, the global forestry sector is expanding and restructuring to accommodate growing demand from Asia for a range of wood products, as well as a rebound in US housing.

The next five years may also see the steady growth in a range of new markets for bioenergy, biofuels, and bio-materials.

Forests play vital role A UNITED Nations-backed program dubbed the ‘Great Green Wall’ brings together 11 countries to plant trees across Africa to literally hold back the Sahara with a swathe of greenery, lessen the effects of desertification and improve the lives and livelihoods of communities.

The Wall, an initiative spearheaded by African heads of State, will stretch about 7,000 kilometres from Senegal in the west to Djibouti in the east and will be about 15 kilometres wide as it traverses the continent, passing through Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan, Ethiopia and Eritrea.

The program aims to support the efforts of local communities in the sustainable management and use of forests – a key theme of the tenth session of the UN Forum on Forests which recently took place in Istanbul – as well as other natural resources in drylands.

Among other things, the planting of trees is expected to provide a barrier against desert winds and will help to hold moisture in the air and soil, allowing agriculture to flourish. It is also expected that the Wall will reduce erosion, enhance biodiversity and improve countries’ resilience to climate change.

According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, twothirds of the African continent is

classified as desert or drylands.

Climate change has led to prolonged periods of drought; overintensive farming and over-grazing have caused land degradation; and deforestation has turned once fertile land into desert in many areas.

Given the multiple roles they perform, forests are perhaps more important in arid zones than anywhere else, the agency pointed out. Forests in arid zones are rich in biodiversity which has adapted to extreme ecological conditions; provide vital ecosystem goods and services; constitute a buffer against drought and desertification; offer a safety net against poverty; and support adaptation and mitigation to climate change.

“One key question for the coming years is the degree to which bioenergy, biofuels, and biomaterials will emerge as a major new demand source for woody biomass.

Through a range of Government subsidies, policy and regulatory settings, and research support, there is a sense that we may be on the verge of a suite of new markets for biomass as the world continues to face a shift away from fossil fuels,” according to the report.

Some recent projections suggest that demand for biomass for energy could dwarf the demand for traditional industrial roundwood over the next 25 years. This may provide new opportunities for capital investment in both feedstock (e.g. intensive energy crop plantations) and in infrastructure, processing, and supply chain capacity.

New Forests’ Outlook suggests

There is a sense that we may be on the verge of a suite of new markets for biomass

that timberland investors will need to navigate a maturing asset class and position their timberland portfolio to gain from shifts in market conditions and competitive dynamics to be successful.

“There are a number of trends taking place in timberland investment, the forest sector, and in regional markets that make it clear that the timberland asset class is and will remain a dynamic marketplace with plenty of opportunities,” said David Brand, Managing Director.

“Our Timberland Investment Outlook discusses the key issues and opportunities that investors face in building a timberland portfolio.

Ultimately, we believe investors must seek out local expertise and take account of risk factors including currency risk, physical risk, business and political environment, and market conditions.”

 David Brand, Managing Director New Forests.

Revegetation of native trees using degradable plastic film A NOVEL degradable plastic could dramatically improve the efficiency of native tree revegetation from seed in marginal low rainfall areas, which typically give low germination and establishment.

The process is being developed by Greening Australia and Australian manufacturer Integrated Packaging through the CRC for Polymers.

The improved process involves using degrading ultra-thin plastic propagation film. The film is applied mechanically at the time that the seed is planted, and the film is buried at the edges to form a temporary ‘greenhouse’ to enhance plant growth.

The films can be tailored to remain intact for 3-6 months prior to degradation using technology developed by the CRC. Native trees species thrive under the higher temperatures created by the film and show increased germination rates, therefore allowing a reduction in seeding rates and better use of indigenous seed banks. The film provides additional benefits that include: capture and storage of soil moisture present at planting, the potential to expand the planting window, and early seedling growth needed to survive dry summer periods. Trials continue to be conducted at different times of the year to optimise the time of planting and ideal film life made possible by this polymer technology.

Native tree seeds are currently grown to seedlings in a nursery, then planted out by hand. The new technology will enable substantial time and cost savings as kilometres of native trees can be planted in just hours. This efficiency will not only make greater use of current tree planting resources, but also encourage landholders to increase their areas of native trees.

An initial trial of the polymer film conducted with the Birchip Cropping Group and Greening Australia showed its use can dramatically improve practices for re-establishing native woodlands, and so improve carbon capture and storage.

Tim McClelland from the Birchip Cropping Group who is involved in ongoing trials notes, “The potential benefit for our farmers is improved native revegetation, which is important for preventing the adverse effects of land degradation and providing food and shelter for native birds which naturally control insect pests.”

The research which created the films’ degradation technology was a multidisciplinary collaboration between Integrated Packaging and researchers from Queensland University of Technology, University of Queensland, and CSIRO. This technology provides greater control over timing the degradation of the film, both above and below the ground, opening up the possibility for use of these films in a wider range of agricultural applications. This low cost, high value technology has the potential to allow the re-establishment of wildlife rich woodlands into challenging semi-arid and degraded lands.

The technology was announced at the launch of the extended CRC for Polymers.

The Head of Division for AusIndustry, Ms Chris Butler, formally launched a five year extension of the Cooperative Research Centre for Polymers supported by funding of $14.5 million from the CRC program.

With further resources provided by its participants, the CRC will conduct over $60 million of research to assist Australian manufacturing.

Australian Forests & Timber News, July 2013 – 11

NEWS

Inquiry says some reserve land should be returned to forestry Independent probe sought S

ome reserved areas of New South Wales should be released to provide enough wood supply to sustain the timber industry and provide the industry with some certainty for the future. That was one of the findings of a NSW Legislative Council inquiry.

However, the Committee of inquiry also said that an independent, fullscale and comprehensive assessment of the management of all public lands in New South Wales should be carried out.

Some Inquiry participants raised particular concerns about the process of converting Crown land, State Forest and agricultural land to national park estate. While the basis upon which lands are identified for reservation in New South Wales seeks to protect areas of the highest conservation value, it is unclear whether economic and social values are equally considered in this process.

Many Inquiry participants expressed disappointment and anger at what they perceived to be a disregard of their livelihoods and futures.

The Committee was particularly concerned about the public perception that the conversion process has been politicised. To this end, the Committee believes that the conversion process requires considerable improvement.

The inquiry found that the impacts of converting land to national park estate, particularly of conversions in recent years, had proven significant and long - lasting. “The environmental benefits of national parks have been contested throughout this Inquiry, however, the Committee believes that national parks have not always provided the best conservation outcomes for an area.

“Significantly, what was apparent during the Inquiry was the overwhelming concern about the economic and social impacts that have

ensued from conversion. Important industries, such as the timber industry, suffered, communities are now struggling and calls are being made to reconsider the reservation of land as national park estate.

“The Committee is sympathetic to this cause and believes that some reserved areas should indeed be released to provide enough wood supply to sustain the timber industry and provide the industry with some certainty for the future.”

The Committee urged the NSW Government to pursue a considered approach to the management of public land in New South Wales.

Following are 12 recommendations from the Committee of Inquiry to the Government: Recommendation1: That the NSW Government conduct an independent, full-scale and comprehensive assessment of the management of all public lands in New South Wales, and that this be achieved by extending the current review of Crown land management to include an evaluation of the management of all public lands, including all national parks and State forests in New South Wales. The review should: • 1.1 be conducted by an independent panel comprised of experts in the relevant fields, and be led by an eminent expert as chair • 1.2 investigate the wider application of the multiple land-use model in the management of public land in New South Wales, and identify appropriate areas for the multiple land-use model to be implemented • 1.3 investigate the adoption of a niltenure approach to the management of public land in New South Wales • 1.4 investigate innovative land management models, including the use of private conservancies, for possible application to public land in New South Wales

• 1 .5 examine requiring all public land managers to make a financial contribution to maintain local infrastructure, and investigate whether this contribution should be made through council rates or an alternative mechanism • 1 .6 for the sake of simplification of land tenure arrangements in the State, investigate the option of converting all remaining Western Land Leases into freehold title.

Recommendation 2: That the NSW Government impose a moratorium on the creation of any new national parks or the extension of any existing national parks, for the duration of the review of public land management in New South Wales, with the exception of conversion of existing reserved areas, or a National Park declaration that is currently before the NSW Government.

Recommendation 3: That the NSW Government develop a process of converting land to national park estate that: • 3.1 is consistent, transparent, inclusive and independent, and in which the economic and social impacts of conversion decisions are accorded equal weight with conservation objectives.

In addition, the conversion process should require a comprehensive Impact Statement outlining the economic, social and environmental impacts of conversion for public exhibition prior to the conversion of land to national park estate.

• 3.2 includes the development of a community engagement strategy to guide consultation with local communities prior to making decisions on the conversion of land to national park estate. The strategy should set clear expectations regarding what consultation will occur and mandate consultation

with local government throughout the conversion process.

Recommendation 4: That the NSW Government expand the current joint New South Wales-Victorian thinning trial to initiate a large-scale trial of ecological thinning in the river red gums forests of the southern Riverina, in accordance with the Natural Resource Commission’s recommendations, and that commercial operators be engaged to conduct these thinning operations.

Recommendation 5: That the NSW Government commission more independent research into the impact of different forestry management practices on the sequestration of atmospheric carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

Recommendation 6: That the NSW Government, with regard to fire management in New South Wales: • 6 .1 require public land managers to comply with the same fire management requirements as private land managers, and require them to maintain adequate fire breaks on the borders of their property to ensure fires can be suppressed adequately before injury or damage is caused to neighbouring land • 6 .2 investigate the application of the National Parks and Wildlife Service draft plan of management Living with Fire in NSW National Parks – A Strategy for Managing Bushfire in National Parks and Reserves to 2021 to all current parks and newly acquired land and support the National Parks and Wildlife Service’s five primary fire management objectives.

Recommendation 7: That the NSW Government actively support the apiary and commercial inland fishing industries by enabling continued access to land which has been converted to national park estate.

Recommendation 8: That the NSW Government take urgent action to resolve outstanding disputes between the National Parks and Wildlife Service and its neighbours, particularly in regard to disputes on boundary fences and access roads.

Recommendation 9: That the NSW Government investigate whether the Dividing Fences Act 1991should be amended to apply to all public land managers in New South Wales.

Recommendation 10: That the NSW Government immediately identify appropriate reserved areas for release to meet the levels of wood supply needed to sustain the timber industry, and that the NSW Government take priority action to release these areas, if necessary by a ‘tenure swap’ between national park estate and State forests. In particular, urgent action is required for the timber industry in the Pilliga region.

Recommendation 11: That the NSW Government provide further investment in promoting tourism and developing facilities and infrastructure for national parks, and in particular, those in western and southern New South Wales, created following recent conversion decisions.

Recommendation 12: That the NSW Government improve engagement with Indigenous communities to explore opportunities for the management of public land, including the acceleration and expansion of joint management arrangements and the priority development of sole management opportunities. As part of the priority development of sole management arrangements, the Yarkuwa Indigenous Knowledge Centre Aboriginal Corporation should be given the opportunity to solely manage the Werai forest on a trial basis.

Aboriginal artefacts discovered in Bago State Forest RECENT ARCHAEOLOGICAL investigations in Compartment 38 of Bago State Forest near Tumbarumba have confirmed that the Wolgalu people have used this area for thousands of years.

In early May, archaeologist Sue Feary, together with members of the Brungle Tumut Local Aboriginal Land Council and Snowy Mountains Elders, with support from the Forestry Corporation of NSW (formerly Forests NSW), excavated a series of test pits in Compartment 38 of Bago State Forest.

Dr Feary said the test pitting was done with a shovel and trowels and the sediment was put through sieves to collect Aboriginal stone artefacts and any other cultural material.

“It can prove very difficult to find small stone flakes in forested environments because of the thick layer of leaf litter, so most sites are found on logging roads where it is easier to see the bare ground,” she said.

“Aboriginal people were here long before roads were built, so it is important to investigate areas off the roads where

Aboriginal people were most likely to have camped or travelled through in traditional times”.

Dr Feary said a technique called predictive modelling, together with information from previous archaeological surveys in the compartment, was used to identify seven separate locations, where a total of 23 test pits were excavated.

“The test pits were dug on flat, elevated ground on ridgelines and saddles and benches above swampy areas, which would have been a water source for both humans and the animals they hunted,” she said.

“Preliminary analysis has shown that five definite stone artefacts were found in four of the test pits, all within the upper layers of the sediments, just beneath the leaf litter.

“The low density of artefacts suggests that this part of Bago State Forest was not heavily used in traditional times.”

Dr Feary said Bago State Forest was in the montane zone, approximately 1200 metres above sea level.

“Montane forests are not particularly rich in resources and are very cold in winter,

 John Casey, Jodie McPherson and Mary Greenhalch from Brungle Tumut Local Aboriginal Lands Council excavating a pit in Bago State Forest.

so it is possible that the artefacts represent Aboriginal movement from the tablelands and western slopes to the high country, perhaps associated with attendance at the Bogong moth feasts,” she said.

Forestry Corporation regional planning manager, Kevin Petty, said the corporation would place exclusion zones around all the recorded artefacts to ensure they were protected during timber harvesting operations.

12 – July 2013, Australian Forests & Timber News

Local Government’s growing relationship with the forest industry National Timber Councils Association (NTCA) Local Government forest and timber industry conference

By Kevin Peachey Executive Officer Timber Towns Victoria

A

PRIL 18 and 19 marked the first National Timber Councils Association (NTCA) Local Government forest and timber industry conference, held in the Bayview on Eden in Melbourne. With approximately 100 delegates in attendance, this event has attracted positive feedback from the many delegates, sponsors and speakers who attended. This feedback recognised that the conference fills a gap in the busy annual diary of forest and wood products conferences held in Australia by creating an agenda addressing forestry issues specific to Local Government.

Many topics were explored over the two days with many amazing and well-respected speakers, some of which have been summarised below. The two days of the conference were divided into themes; the relationship between Local Government and the forest industry, and the socioeconomic issues faced by both the timber industry and Local Government.

One of the key themes to come from the conference was the strong emphasis of cooperation with the forest industry and Local Government. The Australian Forest Products Association’s presentation by Mick Stephens recognised that strategic alliances are important and it is only through collaboration with the wider community including local councils that the industry can continue to grow, and networking is so important.

Michelle Freeman, Institute of Foresters Australia director and Victorian Rural Woman of the Year spoke on the same topic.

Michelle highlighted the importance of networks in the industry whether it is the IFA or the Women in Forests & Timber, collaboration is the key for the industry to not only grow but change the community perception of the forest and wood products industry. Lisa Marty from the Victorian Association of Forest Industries spoke on the process forward and creating value through cooperation.

This encouraging theme will hopefully pave the way towards a cooperative future for both groups.

Another theme of the conference was the dynamic way in which the relationship between Local Government and the forest industry has changed over the years. Since 2010 separately owned estates greater than 20,000 hectares had reduced from 15 to less than 10, and now the four large plantation owners

 Kersten Gentle, Jackie Schirmer, Cr Barry Jarvis, Colin McCulloch, Michael Hartman.

account for approximately 750,000 hectares with this trend expected to continue. Trends also include the migration of plantation ownership away from State-owned enterprises towards privately owned plantations, many of which are managed investment funds such as superannuation companies. This new model of plantation forestry has plantations managed by a management service provider such as PF Olsen on behalf of the investors (institutions, pension fund etc). A significant challenge for the new plantation owners to ensure they bridge the gap and increase communication with the Shires as communication is the key and contacts may not have been maintained through this change. This change can be beneficial however, as there are less stakeholder relationships to maintain for local councils.

Comparisons were made with Local Government bioenergy involvement in Europe where activities are very progressive in comparison to activity in Australia. One of the important messages given by Andrew Lang in his presentation to take home from this is that locally sourced bioenergy has many municipal–level applications which both supports a local industry, reduces emissions; employs local people and also keeps much of the expenditure within local communities. It does not get much better than this from a Local Government perspective and many local councils are eagerly awaiting the results from pilot bioenergy projects currently taking place at Mt Gambier City Council and Pyrenees Shire Council.

Associate Professor Trevor Budge AM from La Trobe University gave a strong

 Senator Richard Colbeck.

 Cr Malcolm Hole (NTCA President).

 Associate Professor Trevor Budge.

presentation on the Municipal Strategic Statement (MSS). The MSS is essentially a summary of Council’s strategic land use plans.

It sets out a vision for the future of the municipality, and importantly, provides advice and direction to developers and the community on how this vision will be achieved.

When many forestry region councils had their MSS reviewed it did not accurately reflect the positive position of the council.

This was an interesting exercise for councils and it is anticipated that this will lead to changes in many MSS documents to more accurately reflect the positive relationship councils are seeking with plantation development in their region.

Another interesting topic which reflects the capacity for the relationship between the forest industry and Local Government to grow which was covered in the conference is the many ways in which local councils can directly support the local industry through encouraging the use of timber buildings for schools, sports halls and other Local

Government buildings. This can also be achieved through the implementation of local wood first policies which are currently being implemented internationally at several locations. Boris Iskra from Forest and Wood Products Australia spoke with a great level of knowledge and authority on this topic, which was only enforced

by Paul Klymenko’s presentation on behalf of Planet Ark, telling councils to Make it Wood.

Dr Jacki Schirmer lead a panel with Colin McCulloch of the Australian Forest Contractors Association, Mayor Barry Jarvis of Dorset Council in Tasmania, and Michael Hartman from ForestWorks to discuss the socioeconomic effects and issues resulting in the reduction seen in the forest industry over the past few years. Many interesting points came from the discussion, including gaps in the current socioeconomic information on local communities and the forest industry, and how funding does not effectively trickle down to those affected communities. A current example of this is the recent refusal

of the Tasmanian Government to compensate councils who expect to lose millions of dollars because of lost rates due to the forest agreement, which will result in a reduction of services to already hurting regional communities.

On a more positive note, Cr Barry Jarvis explained the importance of the industry working with councils and stated how good a resource they could be and encouraged the local forest industries to contact their council.

Timber and tourism was a strong topic within the conference, showcasing the many timber-based tourist attractions which take place throughout Australia, such as the Australian Wooden Boat Festival in Tasmania, Shoalhaven Timber Festival amongst many other timber festivals and wooden craft communities which are all tourist attracters. Many regions from across Australia have a strong history based on the timber industry, and are proud of displaying this heritage. Jim Butler from the Shoalhaven Continued page 13

Australian Forests & Timber News, July 2013 – 13

Mobile technology is a game changer for primary industries B

ACK IN 1990 few people had personal computers, the internet was an unknown and the age of mobile phones was just around the corner. In a very short space of time these three technologies have fundamentally changed the face of business around the world.

Many of today’s leading global companies, Google, Apple and Microsoft, built their business around these three technologies. The services they provided their customers had a dramatic effect on workers’ productivity and levelled the playing field for many small businesses.

The recent release of smartphones has also been a game changer for many. Businesses now take it for granted that emails can be checked, news read, documents signed or video streamed, all while on the morning commute to work.

It’s not just the office environment though. Mobile technologies have also had a major impact on how businesses are run within our primary sector. For farmers, forest managers and horticultural growers, the level of innovation from mobile technologies has been, and will continue to be, a game changer. Whether it’s satellite imagery of plantation forests, GPS

tracking and real-time scheduling of transport and logistics, or soil management through wireless sensor monitoring and automated systems, our primary sector businesses have a lot to benefit from improved mobile communications.

At the last FIEA ForestTECH event, forest owners, forestry managers, harvest planners, contractors and transport operators learned how an Irish forestry technology company, TreeMetrics is leading the charge.

Significant funding has been supplied through the European Space Agency for an EU-wide research project into forestry measurement and data analytics. The company has been developing a real-time forest intelligence service, with the lofty goal of bringing live 3D forestry data to mobile devices and machinery across the globe. The company’s technology involves the use of 3D scanners that can measure the shape, size and straightness of standing trees.

It then uses this information to predict the quantities of log products that each tree can produce their potential value which leads to a reduction in the quantity of trees cut and an improvement in forest profitability.

TreeMetrics is already using air-

borne together with terrestrial LiDAR to provide accurate assessments of standing wood volumes. The company is now taking the stand inventory data and providing realtime information to harvesting machines with cut instructions. A device is being installed on board harvesting machines to transmit real-time information about the trees being felled. In trials on over 20 machines, details have been relayed back to foresters through ESA’s Inmarsat IsatM2M satellite and communications system.

Mobile communications are core to this development.

Mobile technology was also at the forefront of the trucking industry’s future. The use of handheld devices including smartphones and tablets is exploding, and they’ve already become a crucial part of life on the road for drivers and in the office for fleet managers. Industry experts at ForestTECH shared their insights into how transport operators can harness mobile technology to improve fleet management for financial success and to comply with numerous regulatory changes.

Because the mobile technology is so new and changing so rapidly,

 Satellites.

what’s being rolled out in forestry and wood products industries is also being replicated by a number of other key industries from this regions primary sector. This is an exciting time for the industry, as mobile applications are opening up a new wave of innovations and productivity gains for businesses within the primary sector.

For the first time, Wellington, New Zealand, will be hosting this year’s inaugural MobileTECH Summit 2013 in August (7-8 August at James Cook Hotel). This new event is designed to showcase current and upcoming

Local Government’s growing relationship with the forest industry

 Andrew Lang (Smartimbers), Graeme Stoney (VicForests), Ian Ada (Shire of Yarra Ranges), Cr Malcolm Hole (President NTCA).

 Cr Bob Wenger (Wellington Shire Council) and Chris Hastie (Wellington Shire Council).

from page 12 Timber Festival presented to the conference and discussed the exciting growth the festival has seen since its humble beginnings.

This is an example of where the timber industry and tourism can survive together.

The conference drew strong support from the many councils from across Australia in attendance, recognising that the timber industry provides enormous support for rural and regional communities.

Following the conference, invitations were given to both the NTCA and Timber

Towns Victoria to visit both New South Wales and Tasmania to discuss the beginnings of similar State organisations. Councils are made up of elected members of the community and come from a broad array of backgrounds representative of their Local Government area, and are much less influenced by party politics than other levels of Government.

Councillors are also very accessible; you can go to most Local Government websites and grab the phone number of any of the councillors! Councils also have a legislative and electoral mandate to manage local issues and plan for the community’s needs. The social license created through the democratic process of election gives these councils the mandate to speak the true collective voice of the community they represent. This is very important when dealing with forestry issues in regional areas, as councils can give a generally supportive voice to local jobs and regional development which the forest industry provides to these regional communities.

The forest industry and Local Government have a strong history of cooperation which has resulted in great outcomes and mutual benefit. This relationship still has room to grow as captured by the themes of the NTCA Local Government forest and timber industry conference, and Local Government looks forward to a strong and cooperative future with the forest and wood products industry.

mobile innovations best suited to Australasia’s principal food and fibre sectors. The focus is on technologies that can be adopted now, whether it’s on the farm, in the greenhouse or out in the forest. The underlying principal is that these very new technologies can now be applied across a range of industries and that those working on the land - and in the forest - can learn from each other.

Further details can be found on the event website, www.mobiletechevents.com

gottstein trust applications for 2014 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. Project proposals on any relevant topic are welcome. Candidates will be selected on the value of the 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 2013.

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 6th September 2013.

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

14 – July 2013, Australian Forests & Timber News

OPTIMIZATION

Optimization ... making a big difference to the bottom line!

U

SNR’s BioVision sawmill grading system is regarded as one of the most advanced of its kind on the market. Built on proven technology it is allowing lumber producers to maximize the value of their board products and expand their markets with new products.

Following are two success stories where BioVision is making its mark on the bottom line for these mills.

H.G. Toler and Son takes on sawmill grading Sawmill BioVision scanning received its true value test with the first production installation on a transverse edger system. The H.G. Toler & Son team at Leola, Arkansas, had been keeping an eye on developments in the industry for sawmill visual grading technology, so when it was time to update the edger optimizer the team chose to include vision scanning in the mix. Though they viewed competitive offerings, confidence in USNR and satisfaction in the MillExpert™ optimization suite swung the decision to USNR and the BioVision solution.

When asked about the selection of USNR for this project, Mill Manager John Grigsby commented: “We like the MillExpert platform and we thought the greatest uplift would be through better geometric optimization. We’ve also been thinking about grade optimization for a long time and just waiting for the right product. With BioVision we would also be able to pick out grades.”

Phasing in USNR’s BioVision solution is the only system on the market to offer the addition of sawmill visual grade scanning in one of two ways; it can be incorporated into a new

scan frame or added to an existing transverse scan frame via a bolton housing that accommodates the vision sensors. The scope of this project included a couple of phases; first was an upgrade to the latest MillExpert platform for geometric scanning, followed by the BioVision bolt-on option to add visual grading technology.

USNR’s MillExpert platform analyzes scanned flitch images in 3-D, accepting data from the existing laser scanners.

The optimizer evaluates all allowable products and combinations of those products that can be made from each flitch. Optimum recovery is calculated based on dollar value and volume recovery.

The optimizer considers product fits based on the user’s inputs (individual species, shape, grade, value, wane, priorities, and dimensional requirements) to find the most profitable solution. The software allows for board products manufactured downstream to be fitted into the flitch in real time, proven on virtually every type of edger machine configuration including 2-saw and multi-saw edgers, chipping edgers with or without reman heads. No lookup tables, patterns, profiles or matrixes are used to assure the absolute highest value edger solutions possible.

The second phase saw the installation of the BioVision grade scanning system. With BioVision, USNR has combined the proven Linear High Grader (LHG) classification system developed for planer mills with the high resolution BioLuma 2900 series color vision sensors for transverse scanning of lumber.

Scanned images are fed to the defect classification engine where characteristics are extracted based on visual properties and defect shape data. These characteristics are type-classified according to proprietary classification rules,

 Shop and Moulding solution: The Moulding board is limited in width because its scale would round up to 9, dropping the yield below 2/3; the longer Moulding rip is constrained by a knot on the top side. The bottom rail allows an initial crosscut so the door cuttings don’t have to line up across its opposite sides.

 Shop and Moulding products are the latest achievements by USNR’s BioVision sawmill grade scanning system.

then overlaid on the geometric profile model. Optimization software selects the most valuable solution available according to the product parameters, grade rules and prices entered.

BioVision’s benefits include the following.

•M aximize volume for lower grade f litches •M aximize value by cutting around defects to produce clearer, higher grade boards •S mart reman decisions based on defects and geometric shape •F ibre classification based on grade (combined vision and geometric data) vs geometry only •C onfidence algorithms compare solutions with and without grade input John Grigsby was pleased with the way the start-up progressed.

“It started up well right out of the box. It’s probably one of the smoothest electronic start-ups I’ve ever been through.” John is also more than pleased with the results he is seeing from the system. “We’re noticing an uplift in the amount of C and D (grade) lumber. It really excels when we cut wides, we can cut 70-80% C and D. That’s a real good judge because we cut for grade only

(cut to order), so the BioVision has to sort out what is grade and what isn’t, and when to make wides.

“In terms of knot size classification it’s doing real well.

It allows us to cut for specific lengths and specific grades, of specific widths. It can pinpoint exactly what we want to produce.

If all we need to make is 1x12, C&better 16’ long, and if we set that as priority it won’t cut anything but,” said Grigsby.

“Each grade class has a different wane class, so as knot defects drop the piece down in appearance grade it can stand more wane. That is how we gain in volume, by edging for the grade that is in the f litch. We used to saw for a medium grade, and it ended up being over sawn for low grade and under sawn for higher grades. Now we’re more on-grade. BioVision allows us to maximize both volume and value.

If it’s a higher value piece we can cut for value, but if it’s lower value we can cut for volume. By producing lumber at the mill that is on-grade, the final grading process is streamlined, requiring less trim. The graders can often simply verify grade instead of having to trim to get it.”

Evergreen Forest gets the grade cut Producers of Shop and Moulding products have new tools to choose from with the onset of BioVision sawmill grading targeted to these specialized products. Focus was recently brought to this market through cooperation between USNR and Tamarack Mill LLC, Evergreen Forest sawmill of New Meadows, Idaho. Now this expanded capability will benefit other such producers.

Selecting a system Rodney Krogh, Evergreen president, relates how he came to the decision to source out a sawmill grading system. “I was on a sales trip to several cut-up plants and saw the technology they were using to rip for grade in the Shop products.

About a year ago I called USNR and we started to investigate the opportunity, looking to see if they could grade pine; we were looking to rip to produce Moulding, #1, #2 and #3 Shop.” He explained that the mill’s existing edging operation was a manual system, looking at each flitch with the human eye to try to pull the grade out. He recognized

Australian Forests & Timber News, July 2013 – 15

OPTIMIZATION Optimization ... making a big difference to the bottom line! that the human element was limiting production and value recovery. “If we were going to continue to be a major factor in the pine market we needed to find a way to maximize recovery and value out of our pine logs.

“I did look at other systems, but USNR was the most confident in their process, and they really tackled what I was looking to achieve for grade on Shop products.” He explained that grading for Shop products was a lot different from grading for dimension lumber. With Shop products the system is looking for all the clear spacing between the knots, with no consideration for the sizing of the knots. “We sent over several batches of our Shop boards to USNR’s facility at Eugene, Oregon, and they tested it. What they were showing me initially was pretty impressive.”

Removing a bottleneck A new scanner frame features the BioLuma 2900LV sensors with integrated HD laser profiling and HD color vision capabilities, with grade classification via the BioVision sawmill grade optimization system. “We knew we weren’t going to reduce our

labor cost, but we were going to gain on grade, scale recovery and increase production.” In the process throughput has improved dramatically,” said Krogh.

“The edger system was a bottleneck because it was a manual system; it took the operator some time handling those big 48” pieces and positioning them to try to get the grade out. He would sometimes back up the two headrigs so they would have to slow down and wait for him to play catch up. Now the two double-cuts (headrigs) can run full speed and the edger line can handle additional production from the overhead (end-dogger).”

Results Bob Arnold, USNR’s sawmill grade scanning product manager, weighed in on what was required of the BioVision software. “The BioVision optimizer not only fits the appropriate cuttings into the clear/permissible areas of the flitch, but also requires an alignment of those cuttings in a manner that enables them to be recovered later at a secondary manufacturing plant.

The number, size and quality of those cuttings are used to determine the edging solution that meets

 The MillExpert BioVision edger interface was customized for Evergreen Forest’s requirements based won WWPA Shop and Moulding criteria.

the required WWPA Shop and Moulding grades.”

Arnold was very pleased with the results he was seeing after implementing the new BioVision system. “Our Moulding is up probably 8%, our #1 Shop is up 4% and we are starting to get a higher percentage of #2 over #3 Shop because the BioVision system is

New generation edgers give you the cutting edge WHEN IT comes to edgers, the Southern Cross Engineering Group (SCE) has the experience and know-how to cover the complete range for sawmills. They’ve been building edgers since 1972 and to date have built and installed 34 machines. Designs are robust and have stood the test of time, with many improvements being made over the years. The Group is also the exclusive Australasian agent for Optimil high speed optimised edgers and multi-saw gangs, which feature high speed feeds of up to 44 boards per minute.

SCE’s new generation edger is well-suited to medium-sized sawmills and is a leader in its field. It offers:• Faster feed speeds.

• Latest industry-standard involute spline arbor.

• Minimum setting on each moving saw to cut down to 42mm.

• Robust saw guide design with air, oil and water lubrication - minimal water used, therefore sawdust is kept dry for boiler.

• Depth of cut to 200mm.

• Combination edger with the flexibility of a fixed bank as well as moving saws.

• Clamshell opening which is operated by air cylinder on each side for guide servicing/saw changing.

• Knurled and hard-chromed pressure rolls with compensating pressure applied through independent air cylinders, allowing rolls to float and follow timber contours without pressure alterations. This enables the edger to follow the irregular faces on round-backed timber.

• Feed speeds automatically selected by photo-electric eye which senses timber height, allowing higher speed for thin boards and slower speed for thicker material.

Data loggers have been used on several edger installations to gather extensive data on typical saw arbor motor power, feed speeds, cut depth and saw numbers in the cut information. This is then used to determine ideal combinations for this type of edger. SCE can supply the complete line, including unscrambler, infeed chains, even-ending rollcase, lugged chains, infeed rollcase with cant flippers, outfeed with waste pickers, controls and operator cabin.

Optimil The SCE Group is exclusive agent for Optimil sawmilling machinery, which features high speed optimised edgers with associated handling and scanning systems. The edgers can feed up to 44 pieces per minute and are suited to larger high capacity sawmills. Boards are scanned either lineally or transversely, depending on sawmill preference, with extremely high setworks. The edgers are equipped with either electric or hydraulic positioners and have slew and skew actuators for very fast setting.

Optimil sawmilling machinery is widely used throughout Australia and New Zealand; complete lines can be supplied, installed and commissioned by the SCE Group. These range from small log sawmills to quad reducer bandsaw mills.

able to distinguish a #2 from a #3 and rip/edge for that.” Not only is BioVision helping the operation recover higher value products, Krogh says “it will allow us to enter new markets. We will be working with new and existing customers to refine our product mix.

“The BioVision scanner has also had a positive effect on our bigger

Doug/Larch and White Fir logs. The scanner can detect the larger knot sizes and rip the boards into wider products, allowing for the smaller knotted material in the narrow widths. We have seen the difference in the planer with our percentage of #3 dropping from the lack of bigger knots that had previously been down-grading our dimension.”

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16 – July 2013, Australian Forests & Timber News

CHAINSAWS

Do you need chainsaw training?

D

O YOU or your staff need chainsaw training? There are a confusing number of options available to forest industries, and it is important that the right course is selected for job requirements, or you may end up participating in a course for which there will be no recognition or need to do further training later to meet contractual requirements.

This article aims to clarify some of the options available.

Unaccredited or Nationally Recognised Training?

If you or your employees participate in unaccredited training you will be issued with a participation certificate or certificate of attendance from the provider of the training. This certificate may be recognised by industry in local geographical

areas, but is unlikely to be sufficiently recognised by licensing authorities or Registered Training Organisations. They will usually be cheaper than nationally recognised training, but the standards the course will be delivered to are likely to vary widely.

Nationally recognised training comprises chainsaw training units that are delivered to a national standard. Both the Agriculture/ Horticulture and Forest Industry training packages have units of competence describing national standards for chainsaw operation. Nationally Recognised Training can only be delivered by Registered Training Organisations (or their representatives) who have permission to deliver the units from the relevant Qualifications Authority (usually the Australian Skills Qualification AuthorityASQA).

You can tell if a chainsaw training program is nationally recognised by a triangular shaped

logo with the words Nationally Recognised Training appearing nearby on the Statement of Attainment or Qualification.

Registered Training Organisations adhere to a set of national standards for training delivery, and are audited regularly by the qualifications authority.

There are specific requirements to be a trainer and assessor for a Registered Training Organisation.

As such each person receiving the qualification has attained at least the operation standard described in the competency.

Although the standards are the same, there is a wide variety of training delivery formats and durations for the same units of competence. Talk to a range of providers and see which ones can best suit your delivery needs. You will need to consider how much supervised practice time your employees are likely to need as part of training before you can be confident they will perform efficiently and safely.

Which Nationally Recognised Training do I need?

It is best to contact a Registered Training Organisation and talk to them about your specific training needs so they can provide you with the best advice. Some suggestions are below: • Occasional tree trimming in parks and roadsidesAgriculture/horticulture units • Timber processing factory applications- Forest Industry unitFPICOT2238A Cut materials with a hand held chainsaw • I n forest maintenance/ powerline clearing/ CFA/ SESFPICOT2239A Trim and cut felled trees • Forest harvesting operationsFPIHAR2207A Trim and cut harvested trees

 Rob Rule.

Where can I find a Registered Training Organisation?

You can contact ForestWorks, the forest and furnishing Industry Skills Council, or look on their website www.forestworks.com.au Other websites to search are www. training.gov.au; and www.myskills. gov.au

Minister opens National Sawdoctor Training Facility MINISTER FOR Higher Education and Skills Peter Hall officially opened Australia’s only sawdoctor training facility, after a $250,000 upgrade.

Timber Training Creswick, near Ballarat, is a specialist forestry industry training provider, offering qualifications and short courses to between 600 and 1000 people annually.

Training available covers forestry, harvesting, timber processing, truss and frame design and manufacture and timber merchandising.

The not-for-profit company operates Australia’s only operating training sawmill facility, and has now extended the facility to be able to offer sawdoctoring apprenticeships.

The Minister said sawdoctors and wood machinists were recognised skills shortage areas in Victoria, attracting the highest levels of government subsidies.

“Investing in modern infrastructure like this National Sawdoctor Training Facility will stimulate interest in forestry industries and provide Victoria with the skilled workers we need to keep our state strong and prosperous,” he said.

Timber Training Creswick’s facility, which took three years to complete, includes a modern, commercial-scale sawmill, timber drying facilities and a planing mill.

“Estimates suggest the new facility will

be used to train up to 80% of Australia’s sawdoctors over the next five years,” he said.

“I commend Timber Training Creswick for the contribution they have made by building this wonderful facility,” the Minister said.

“For the first time in Australia, a sawdoctor teaching facility has been located adjacent to a working sawmill, giving students the opportunity for practical application of the theory they’re learning,” said Timber Training Creswick chief executive officer Rob Rule.

A decline in residential building construction and a high Australian dollar, as well as consolidation in the sector, have put pressure on the forest and timber products industry in recent years.

However, exports of sawn wood are expected to rise in the coming five years as consumption in Asian countries increases.

Approximately 50 people attended the opening, which also celebrated 25 years of Timber Training Creswick as a training provider. Presentations were made to long serving employees Ivan Porter (who achieved 25 years as an employee in 2012) and to Jim and Shirley Minster (for 25 years service to the Timber Training Centre). Presentations were also made to recently retiring and long serving directors Jim Micah, Gary Waugh, Ian Ferguson, Philip Ashley and Lisa Marty, and to industry sponsors Stihl, Lucasmill and Weinig Australia.

inister. Peter Hall M opens the National Sawdoctor Training Facility, watched by TTC CEO Rob Rule and TTC Chairman Tim Goodall.

YEAR 1 1

rade principles and engineering T drawing

2

Sawshop safety and teamwork

3

harpening knives, blades and S tool maintenance

4

and sharpen cutting tools and H replace tungsten/stellite tips

YEAR 2 5

and and circular saw B maintenance and brazing

awmill, band and circular saw S 6 maintenance Band and circular saw 7 maintenance YEAR 3 8

andsaw and sawmill B maintenance and troubleshooting

BLOCK CONTENT Block 1

Apply principles of blade design to sawing procedures Prepare and interpret sketches and drawings Select timber for forestry operations

Block 2 Contribute to team effectiveness Work effectively in forest industries Communicate and interact effectively Implement safety, health and environmental policies and procedures

Block 3 Sharpen and align blades and knives Maintain sawdoctoring tools Sharpen circular saws File and set saws

Block 4 Hand sharpen knives and blades Replace tungsten tips Replace stellite tips

Block 5 Perform brazing/silver soldering Sharpen tipped circular saws Start: Level and tension circular saws Start: Maintain wide bandsaw blades Start: Join bandsaw blades Start: Perform routine gas metal arc welding

Block 6 TTC’s Certificate III in Sawdoctoring is an apprenticeship training program delivered by a combination of block release at Creswick and onsite visits to the apprentice’s work site.

Apprentices attend the Timber Training Centre at Creswick for eight, one week blocks of training, which are a mixture of theory and practice.

During years one and three of the apprenticeship a TTC trainer will visit the apprentice at the worksite for the purpose of becoming familiar with the equipment at that work site, and dealing with any specific training required by that apprentice.

The blocks are structured with most attendance in the first year of the apprenticeship to instil a detailed understanding of theory, and to reinforce work conducted on the job:

Continue: Level and tension circular saws Continue: Maintain wide bandsaw blades Continue: Join bandsaw blades Continue: Perform routine gas metal arc welding Replace saws, blades and guides Sharpen bandsaws Recondition guides

Block 7 Finish: Level and tension circular saws Finish: Maintain wide bandsaw blades Finish: Join Bandsaw Blades Finish: Perform routine gas metal arc welding

Block 8 Align sawing production systems Recondition band mill wheels Assess and maintain saw performance

For course details please contact Timber Training Creswick on 03 53452018, or access our website, timbertrainingcreswick.com.au

Australian Forests & Timber News, July 2013 – 17

HARVESTING & FELLING HEADS

Cutting with the best T

HE BEST, most expensive harvesting machine is only as good as the cutting attachment on its business end.”

That’s the sales pitch from Oregon, specialist in cutting attachments for all mechanical harvesters.

However, as far as Ben Gripske (The National Sales Manager for the Oregon Harvester Division in Australia) it’s not a pitch ... it’s a fact!

GA Power Equipment has been supplying the famed Oregon gear for close on three decades and for the past Seven years has been the sole Australian Oregon distributor.

“In 2000 GA Power equipment become involved in the Oregon Harvester product, in 2005 PLP Oregon Harvester Division was developed and in 2006 we became the sole distributor for Oregon Harvester products in Australia.

“Because we sell the entire Oregon Harvester product line, this enables us to supply our customers all there cutting requirements,” says Ben. “We’ve got every cutting system available for every machine.”

Our very knowledgeable and dedicated PLP Oregon Harvester

Territory Manager Trent Vaughan has been servicing our PLP Oregon Harvester customers across Australia since 2008.

“No matter what location within Australia or meeting time during the day or night Trent will be there servicing our customers’ requirements and answering there question” Ben Says.

With its headquarters in Brisbane the Oregon specialist has established distribution centres in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and now in Adelaide.

We distribute out of the four branches which enables us to

 PLP Oregon Harvester Territory Manager Trent Vaughan.

service our customers with minimum delivery times across Australia,” Ben says.

He’s a firm believer in the product he sells and services ... “they’re premium quality”.

And he’s well aware of the two key operational points in any business – maximising and minimising.

“With Oregon harvester bars, chains and sprockets you can be confident your machine will perform to its potential, your cutting efficiency is maximised and downtime is minimised.

“Oregon is a world leader in advanced cutting technology for

the forestry industry and offers a complete range of cutting attachments for any harvester.

“Oregon’s products have evolved to be highly sought after, efficient and tough units, and it’s not surprising that you can find Oregon products as original equipment on many leading timber harvesting and processing machines,” Ben says Oregon's founder Joseph Buford Cox invented what we know today as the modern chainsaw chain and since then Oregon has been setting the standard for performance, reliability and safety for chainsaw parts.

18 – July 2013, Australian Forests & Timber News

Harvesting and felling heads

Robust and reliable is appropriate head-line T

HE USE of a simple design with a robust frame as the centre part of its construction has meant Log Max has become well known for its durable and hard-to-beat harvesting heads.

“Log Max has always been built and designed with focus on reliability and productive solutions,” says Johan Jaktman, principal of the Tumut-based Scandinavian Forestry & Engineering, Australian agent for Log Max. “Some of the main features that have over the years laid the foundation of Log Max success include patented knife control;

build; strong felling link; smart hydraulics; length measuring; diameter measuring; delimbing knives; and service and support,” he said.

The top delimbing knife on Log Max heads is used to control the knife pressure on the other delimbing knives. This is the main principle of Log Max as it results in the tree running through the head with as little friction as possible as the knives are constantly adapting to the diameter of the stem.

“Less friction leads to less force needed feeding the tree and less fuel consumption,” says Jaktman.

He said the process could either

 Calibration ... (front left) Peter Sundlov, Eco Log Sweden, technical training, (font right) Chris McIntyre, Cassiopeia P/L, owner, (leaning) Nathan Bauer, Cassiopeia P/L, operator, (middle right) Benny Olofsson, Eco Log Sweden, technical training, (back) Scott Doyle, Scandinavian Forestry & Engineering, Tumut, technical field support.

be adjusted manually by a sensor on the head or by using the all new Active Friction Control. With the Active Friction Control the head adjusts depending on tree diameter, tree species and other factors decided by the operator.

All the parts that form the frame are welded together to create a one core component. Short stress flows makes the Log Max heads less susceptible to metal fatigue.

“The elimination of potential critical points in the structure enhances the compactness and the capacity to respond to strains. The power from the hydraulic motors distributes more uniformly in the frame making it more reactive, and in effect keeps to a minimum the waste of hydraulic energy for optimal delimbing.

“We use two types of felling links, a fully welded Swedish steel closed box integrating two forged steel elements, the rotator fixture for the best linkage to the crane and the bottom hinge connecting the frame. A cast steel link is also available for the toughest conditions. The cast link is mounted on all XT series heads, 6000Twin and also on the latest eucalyptus head, the Log Max E6.”

Jaktman said the Log Max hydraulic system was engineered with simplicity and serviceability in mind, from the placement of the hydraulic components to the hose routing.

The hydraulic system is easily accessed for service through a tilt open cover, which requires no tools to open. Powerful feed roller motors provide high efficiency and low hydraulic losses.

“The length measuring wheel is placed in the centre of the frame between the rollers for accurate length measuring and high timber

New booms offer better hose protection THE NEW technology on John Deere’s 900K tracked feller bunchers and 900KH tracked harvesters allows for extra boom reach and manoeuvrability in confined spaces.

The new boom provides an additional foot (30cm) of maximum reach and two foot (61cm) of minimum reach.

This allows the feller buncher to reach 32% more area. The felling head can be moved closer to the machine to improve manoeuvrability in confined areas, but can still reach stems further away than before. Similarly, the tracked harvester has an improved cutting swath of 1 foot 3 inches (38cm) and an additional maximum reach of nearly one foot (30cm).

The new booms have been designed to provide integrated protection for hoses routed along the top of the boom. The feller bunchers crank and link system has been redesigned, featuring large steel castings. The harvester boom is designed to accommodate through-nose hydraulic hose routings. The routings guide the harvesting head hoses through the nose of the boom to the harvester head rotator. This results in the hoses being located in a position where they are less likely to be damaged. John Deere indicates that this will require a Waratah head that is compatible with the through-nose plumbing.

The increased productivity from the booms has necessitated increased cooling capacity. Both the feller buncher and harvester have new cooling package designs. The upgrade includes a larger fan for 33% more airflow and a larger hydraulic oil cooler.

John Deere has also made the Rapid Cycle System (RCS) boom operation standard on all 900K-Series tracked feller bunchers. This system lets the operator control the boom, stick and felling head trajectory with a single joystick.

Australian Forests & Timber News, July 2013 – 19

Harvesting and felling heads Robust and reliable is an appropriate head-line quality. The geometry of the roller arms is designed to increase the pressing force against the trunk with increasing offset from the centre, i.e. the rollers always strive to centre the tree over the measuring wheel.

“Diameter measuring is calculated using sensors in both feed roller arms, which records diameter every 10cm. Log Max also offers customers a market unique Four Point Measuring. By using four different measuring points the most accurate diameter measuring is available,” he says.

Log Max heads are mounted with three delimbing knives, two at the top and one lower knife which are doubled on the Log Max 6000Twin and E6 for optimal delimbing from tip to tip.

Built from selected steel, the strength and durability of these knives has been proven over the years. With a long cutting edge the limbs are sheared off instead of being ripped out or broken off for a higher log quality.

Serviceability is one of the key issues that determine productivity.

Log Max harvesting heads are easily accessed for service through the large tilt open cover, which requires no tools to access or open.

Apart from a swag of positives with the units, Jaktman is justifiably proud of the support side of the equation. “When in need of technical support, Log Max offers a team of specially trained service personnel. It is important to Log Max that our customers feel confident when contacting our technicians, to provide the best solutions to succeed both in their work and production,” he said.

“Log Max boasts a comprehensive offering of units for all types of forestry work,” he said. Some of these are: Log Mate 500: The new, rugged and compact Log Mate 500 is built from high quality components.

This state-of-the-art control system is ready to meet the future of logging.

Built using rugged hardware the Log Mate 500 will withstand rough outdoor environment.

The computer is IP65 standard compliant and has a Solid State Drive eliminating moving parts.

The brand new communication modules are all built according to the tough IP standards.

One module is mounted on the head, two in the cabin to transfer and receive data and power to the harvesting head. They all feature standard M12 and Deutsch contacts. All communications are made over a two channel CANbus system.

Log Max E6: This is a brand new head specially developed for Eucalyptus harvesting.

With angled feed roller arms the debarking process on Log Max E6 is optimised. The frame has an idle support roller in its centre to minimize friction. In the bottom part of the frame a fixed delimbing knife has been welded in. This

knife has a contour optimized for Ø40 - 250mm trees.

Log Max 7000XT Fixed Head: Log Max’s big seller, the Log Max 7000XT, is now also available with a fixed mount configuration.

By mounting the head directly on the machine crane it gives the operator full control of falling and bunching.

Over 10 Log Max models to choose from. Call us to see which is the best one for your needs.

Pictured here – the superbly engineered Log Max 10,000XT

Heads above the competition

▶ Low Weight

▶ High Production

▶ Fuel Efficient

For all the details about how the 10000XT can handle wood up to 90cm in diameter without needing a tank to drive it, visit our website www.scanforestry.com or call Log Max Australia on 02 6947 4505 or 0408 614 503 and ask for Johan.

20 – July 2013, Australian Forests & Timber News

Harvesting and felling heads Shears, accumulators, on board sensors, stem task-specific sizes, new developments, chains and bars – there’s a plethora of material that comes under the harvesting heads banner and there has been a quantum leap in development of this machinery.

Quantum leap in technological advances I

N 2012 Waratah set the stage with the latest in harvester advancements when it launched the new Waratah 625C Harvester with its key concepts and features brought together in one whole new design platform. Those ideas were drawn directly from a number Australian and worldwide customer advocate groups.

“Waratah was quick to recognize that many of those new features needed to be adopted across the various other harvester product lines so it immediately set about a series of validation and quality commitment plans and today we see a number of these advancements now available to the market,” said Jules Larsen, General Manager Distribution, Waratah Asia Pacific and Africa.

“By far the greatest advancements continue to be led from automation and information systems of the Waratah harvesters.”

The Waratah TimberRite Control system software has been upgraded to continue to add to its capability to import, export and record vital machine performance data and wood supply logistics. The Waratah TR100 Control system adopts a new Touch Screen Display which reduces the space needed within the cabin and improves operator adjustment time and interface experience.

The full rotation harvester design has been available for a number of years on the larger Waratah harvesters.

This option is now available across a number of the medium size class harvesters; this feature is now included on the 616C, 618C, 622B and the 623C. The full rotation option is primarily requested to reduce running costs of the interface hoses to the harvesters, however, once in practice owners and operators quickly see there are a number of other operational advantages.

These can be as simple as improvements in log placement to log stacks right through to lowering wood breakage when repositioning or selecting logs.

Multi Tree Harvesting (being able to select multiple trees while in the felling position by use of accumulator arms) continues to be requested worldwide to improve productivity in smaller piece size applications. The Waratah 400 Series excels in multiple tree harvesting due to its four feed roller design.

“This centralization of contact feeding points coupled with no feed or delimb linkages provide a high log maneuverability in multi stemming processing,” said Larsen.

Waratah is to release the ¾ Self Tension Mainsaw for a number of the larger 600 Series harvesters. As the name suggests, this provides a constant tension on the saw chain.

“There are a number of advantages that immediately present themselves when it comes to providing correct saw tension, and a few to note are: lower chain, bar and sprocket damage, longer cutting unit life, reliability of lubrication delivery, lower overall operating costs, simpler maintenance and increased productivity,” he said.

Delimbing knives are constantly being improved for durability and delimbing quality across the range of harvesters.

The New Waratah swept knife design is now available on certain models. This version has a long sweeping deflection plate after the cutting edge. This provides a smoother and longer cut through larger branching and avoids branch folding that results in partial trimming.

“We often overlook and underestimate the impact that some of the smaller refinements made to the harvester designs. We are always improving the quality of the harvester and that commitment. This comes naturally through our John Deere/Waratah values and principles” says Larsen.

Just a quick look at the early part of 2013 shows that we have improved and adopted new top cover designs on the 616C and the 618C, newer photocell sensors, new versions of measuring wheels and have launched various new feed wheel patterns for some applications and wood types.

While the Australian forest industry has taken a barrage of pressure from all regions of local and worldwide economies Waratah has made a key note to step up and listen to the market. “We continue to invest heavily in research and development within of the Australian forest industry.

It’s our out-of-the-box thinking and harsh environments that set an ideal stage for new solutions,” Larsen said.

ALL WORK AND NO PLAY. SOUNDS ABOUT RIGHT.

Waratah 600 series heads are all business,because we know, when you’re working. you’re earning. But our heads do more than outwork and outlast the next best heads out there. They also deliver a remarkably low overall cost-to-run. And we don’t play around when it comes to service and support either. When you put a Waratah head to work, the Waratah support team goes to work for you -- getting you up and running and keeping you there. There’s a 600 Series to fit your application and carrier. Invest in one and you’ll see why serious loggers say Waratah is built to work. And work. And work.

Melbourne Product Support 03 9747 4200 Mob / 0438 445 550 Mob / 0419 539 374

Parts 03 9747 4213 Mob / 0408 540 391

Bunbury WA Product Support 08 9726 0413 Mob / 0428 685 038

Parts 08 9726 0412 Mob / 0488 049 273

22 – July 2013, Australian Forests & Timber News

Harvesting and felling heads

True product of Australia shows its toughness P

ULPMATE IS a popular choice for the hardwood harvesting industry and it’s definitely a product of Australia, according to Scott Ferguson, one of the partners in the Victorianbased Hardwood Forest Products Australia, the company behind the heads.

Steve Garrett, the other partner in the business, and Scott have been working on Pulpmate for quite a number of years and say the current Pulpmate has proven reliability and toughness plus full backing and spare parts/service.

“The current Pulpmate forestry head was adapted and modeled off the original felling head,

the Logmate MK II which was designed as a felling head only (with four independent grab arms),” said Steve.

“We found that contractors wanted a forestry head that could be used in other areas of their jobs, so a major design change was undertaken, and the Logmate MK IV was produced,” Scott added.

“The call was for a forestry head that could not only be used for felling but for log processing (landing work) to aid an existing machine with logforks/saw and the loading of trucks etc., along with other jobs, so the design was changed to a fixed fork and beak arrangement.

Forestry Attachment Specialists

Felling Heads & Grab/Saw combinations

5 Jersey Road BAYSWATER VIC 3153 Ph: (03) 9729 0744 Fx: (03) 9729 1844 Email: info@hardwoodforestproducts.com.au www.hfpaust.com.au

“Further on from this the Pulpmate forestry head was designed originally to suit a smaller base machine and smaller wood than the Logmate. Currently the Pulpmate 650 has taken over from the Logmate forestry head simply due to the stronger and slightly lighter frame design, and the physical size of the frame,” Steve said.

“Now we can offer a Pulpmate forestry head to suit a range of machine sizes from 20-35 tonne base, with the Pulpmate 450 and 550 design based on the proven Pulpmate 650 forestry head,” Steve said.

All share common parts, with the main difference being with physical size and weight of each attachment.

“The Pulpmate strengths include is rotation power, its versatility, its strength in frame design, full hydraulic control (no electrics in attachment), and its history (a proven product developed with input from end users over the years).

“Other major advancements of our forestry head include the introduction of a 210 degree cut saw, grab cylinder upgrades (size), pin design, beak design (shape change) and the bar oil delivery system. With the hydraulic controls there are options of proportional controls for functions to alter speed of rotation etc.,” said Scott.

Pulpmate 450 – suited to a 20-25 tonne base machine • Rexroth MCR5 rotate motors x 2 • 36” saw bar • 3” bore beak cylinders • Max tree size (clamping) – 700mm • Approx weight 2000kg Pulpmate 550 – suited to a 25-30 tonne base machine • Rexroth MCR10 rotate motors x 2 • 43” saw bar • 3” bore beak cylinders • Max tree size (clamping) – 950mm • Approx weight 3000kg Pulpmate 650 – suited to a 30-35 tonne base machine • Rexroth MCR20 rotate motors x 2 • 52” saw bar • 4” bore beak cylinders • Max tree size (clamping) – 1200mm • Approx weight 4200kg

Australian Forests & Timber News, July 2013 – 23

Harvesting and felling heads

Built tough for tough stuff C

ATERPILLAR FOREST Products now offers a full line of processing heads designed and manufactured

by SATCOÒ, a New Zealand company. The line includes seven processing heads that range from a weight of 1190 kg (2,618 lb.) with a maximum cutting diameter of 635 mm (25 in.) to 3850 kg. (8,500 lb.) with a cutting diameter of 800 mm (32 in.). The heads are designed to be matched with CatÒ Forestry Machines (FMs), track feller bunchers and the Cat 501HD harvester.

SATCO heads were built to handle the rugged logging conditions in New Zealand and Australia. The beefy heads are constructed using high-grade materials. Hoses from the carrier to the head are routed through the linkage and are not exposed.

This protects the hoses from damage and prevents them from over–bending causing premature failure. Main valves are rated at 420 bar (6100 PSI) and can easily handle carrier pressures.

The SATCO 3 Series processor is especially well suited for Australia. It is a three-roller head that can be configured for either debarking eucalyptus and acacia or processing pine. Debarking stem capacity is 50-560mm (2-22 in.) in diameter and for processing pine 75-560 mm (3-22 in.). The heavy duty 3/4 in. main saw system features a 45 cc saw motor and large diameter bearing for smooth cross cutting and felling of large diameter trees.

Roller arm pins are 80 mm (3+ in.) for strength and durability.

The computer system is simple and easy to use. The SATCO 3 Series can be paired with the Cat 320D FM, 324D FM, the B Series track feller bunchers and the 541 Series 2 track feller buncher.

For logging in Southeast Asia, the SATCO line also includes two continuous rotation directional felling heads, the SAT420 and SAT630. Both heads can also be used for shovel logging. The SAT420 mounted on a Cat FM can also be used to load trucks.

Both heads are fully hydraulic with no electronics and have the

same structural beefiness of the SATCO 3 Series processor. The SAT420 shares the same main saw system as the processor; the SAT630 also has the same saw motor and saw bearing but components for the bar holder are designed to securely fasten the longer saw bar for cutting large diameter trees. Simple and strong, these heads are low maintenance and an economical first step up from manual felling.

The most productive single stem felling range of the SAT420 is 305-508mm (12-20 in.) in diameter; for the SAT630 it is 457-762mm (18-30 in.). The SAT420 can be matched with the 320D FM, 324D FM, 325D FM, the B Series track feller bunchers and the 501HD harvester. The SAT630 can also be matched with the FMs and both the B Series and Series 2 track feller bunchers.

Sandy set to enjoy retirement SANDY PRICE, the face of Caterpillar for a tad over four decades, has retired (effective 1 June).

The effervescent Marketing Communications Supervisor said the change would be twofold ...

“While I am very excited to be entering this new phase of my life I am also sad because I will miss the working relationships, and friendships we have shared over the last 41 years.”

Sandy was one of the Caterpillar working party at AUSTimber 2012 near Mount Gambier and she was high in praise of the event and made and renewed many friendships during the visit.

“Best wishes to you all and thank you for helping to make my work life so much fun,” said Sandy.

Speaking of fun, here’s a cover mock-up from Timber West featuring Sandy’s retirement plans.

Share your industry news.

If you have a news tip, give us a call.

Call John Hudswell on 08 8369 9512 or send him an email at editorial@forestsandtimber.com.au

24 – July 2013, Australian Forests & Timber News

Harvesting and felling heads

Peak performance vital T

IGERCAT HAS recently made a number of design enhancements to the 5702 felling saw. “Although the 5702 is well known and widely used throughout the world for big timber felling applications, the next generation 5702 features an all-new accumulating arm design,” says Glen Marley, Tigercat Factory Sales Representative, Australasia & South East Asia.

The arms are longer with a revised profile to improve accumulation of small trees, increased accumulating capacity and a reduced incidence of crossed trees in the accumulation pocket. (For contractors wanting to upgrade older model heads, a complete set of arms will fit earlier heads using the same link.)

“Also, in a move to increase accumulating capacity, the front saw motor cover - which formerly protruded into the accumulating area - is now a flat cover. This increases the accumulating area and allows trees to move into the pocket more easily,” he said.

The left ski and saw housing exit has been modified to improve chip exhaust and to reduce plugging when felling large trees or when operating in deep snow or heavy undergrowth. Service access and hose routings have also been improved.

New DT5300 bunching saw for track machines Marley said Tigercat was continuously improving the performance and capabilities of its line-up of track feller bunchers.

“Consequently, contractors and operators are pushing the machines harder trying to achieve greater and greater production volumes. In order to keep pace with the increases in swing torque, undercarriage life, boom lift

New EHS skidder drive TIGERCAT IS continuing to develop and refine its skidder product line, constantly striving for greater productivity and reduced cost per tonne. The latest technology is the EHS drive system.

Similar to the field-proven and revolutionary hydrostatic drive system that Tigercat initially developed and released in 1996 with the first 630 skidders, EHS consists of two variable displacement motors as inputs to the Tigercat transfer case. Front and rear output shafts are connected directly to the front and rear axles.

While the current electronically controlled hydrostatic drive system found in the D-series skidders performs exceptionally well, EHS is capable of providing the tractive effort of the deepest gear ratio offered in Tigercat’s standard transfer case as well as the top speed of

the shallowest gear ratio offered in the standard transfer case.

This is accomplished with more sophisticated computer logic and the ability to take one of the drive motors offline when high tractive effort is not required. In this case, all pump flow is directed to one hydraulic motor, increasing both travel speed and motor efficiency.

When operating conditions demand high tractive effort, both hydrostatic motors are working. When tractive effort requirements are minimal -- for instance, when traveling empty -- all of the pump flow is directed to one motor for higher travel speeds.

Tigercat is offering EHS standard in the 610C and the new 615C and expects end users to see higher productivity and improved fuel efficiency in the majority of applications.

and other carrier improvements, Tigercat will soon debut the DT5300 bunching saw for track carriers.”

The 5300 is designed for high volume, small stem plantation pine and eucalyptus applications.

Including the blade and butt plate, total accumulation area will be 0,74 m2 as compared to 0,62 m2 for the 5000 series bunching saw. It will be standard equipped with an 18-tooth, 1 370mm saw blade with a 550mm single cut capacity. The blade will spin at a slower 1 100 rpm for improved blade and tooth life. Other improvements include a superior saw housing chip discharge. The 5300 will weigh approximately 200 kg more than 5000 series saw which has a base weight of 2 130 kg.

5185 series bar saw felling head The new FC5185 series bar saw is a strong, simple, positive control fixed wrist felling head with the versatility for selective felling, limbing, topping and shoveling large hardwood trees. A compact design with thick, highstrength plate used in a fully boxed construction provides the required durability for this demanding multi-faceted application. Base weight, less wrist, is 1950kg.

Standard equipped with a 30 degree wrist, the head can be mated to Tigercat’s 340 degree wrist for additional control and dexterity.

Tigercat also designed a new high-performance 19mm pitch saw unit. Mounted on two pins with spring support to allow the saw unit to move when loaded vertically, the design minimizes bent bars.

The saw is available with a manual tensioner or an optional hydraulic tensioner as well as optional saw home and position sensors. The 1015mm bar allows for a single cut capacity of 840mm.

A grapple-type pair of clamp arms with one double and one single-tine arm, uses independent cushioned cylinders for maximum control. The hydraulic control is designed to work with Tigercat carriers, providing fast arm speeds, superior grip and enhanced saw performance. Tigercat has also adapted the 5185 series bar saw (FW5185) for drive-to-tree feller bunchers.

FD5195 directional bar saw head coming in 2013 In 2013, Tigercat will debut the FD5195 dangle-type bar saw. With a high capacity continuous rotating slew bearing; the FD5195 will mate to a harvester or shovel logger boom.

It will be equipped with a 1 145mm bar providing a nomimal maximum cut of 950mm and a maximum grapple opening of 1370mm. The heavy duty 5195 series is expected to weigh 2 350kg.

Although the FC5185 and FD5195 can be used in the similar applications, the dangle style head is more commonly used for shoveling applications or clear falling large trees, while the fixed wrist version is better suited to select cut where positive control is required during felling or for control in positioning the head for secondary limbing and topping operations.

The main advantage of the dangle head is the vertical axis of rotation which allows the head to be rotated to back-cut a tree with minimal machine repositioning.

This is particularly advantageous on steep ground or difficult terrain where ability to manoeuver the machine is limited or trees are too large to single-cut effectively with a fixed wrist head. Since the head free-falls with the tree, stress on the carrier boom is somewhat less but consequently, there is limited control.

Australian Forests & Timber News, July 2013 – 25

Harvesting and felling heads

Massive order of new heads L

IKE IT or loath it social media now plays a large part in our lives. OK, this is a forestry and timber publication so where is this leading?

Actually, YouTube was the catalyst for one forestry contractor to give something different a try.

Let’s go back a bit over 12 months when we reported that after seeing a video clip of an SP Maskiner harvesting head, Dane Court (of G&C Plant Hire based in Colac) thought an SP specifically designed for blue gum work would be ideal for his operations.

One thing led to another and Dane sought the help of Peter Randalls (managing director Randalls Equipment, the Australian agent for Maskiner) and an SP Maskiner 591LX was trialled in the western area of Victoria.

“We trialled it for a couple of weeks and there was no way we were going to give it back,” says Dane.

The SP 591 LX is purpose built for harvesting and debarking plantation grown eucalyptus. It is an extremely strong and tough harvester head, designed according to the LX principle for maximum reliability and productivity even under the toughest conditions.

Since then the 591s have been in demand and there are currently a dozen in Australia.

And while still on the subject of the SP brand, SP has signed its largest order ever … for 30 units of the SP 591 LX G2 which is especially designed and developed for harvesting and debarking of plantation grown eucalyptus. [SP 591 LX G2 is a further development of its predecessor, the SP 591 LX, and offers a variety of important improvements affecting both the debarking efficiency, productivity as well as its reliability and running costs.]

SP received the order through its Brazilian dealer Tracbel who is one of the largest and most successful heavy equipment dealers in Brazil.

Besides SP, Tracbel also represents renowned brands such as for example Volvo CE and Tigercat.

The company purchasing the SP 591 LX G2 harvester heads is Suzano Papel e Celulose, one of the largest producers of eucalyptus pulp in the world.

The SP 591 LX G2 harvester

heads will be installed on Tigercat H845C base machines. The harvesting units will be used to supply a completely new pulp mill currently being built by Suzano, located in the northern state of Maranhão Brazil, with

raw material for the production of pulp for paper. The mill will need a monthly supply of 300 000 m³ of raw material during the first phase in 2013. In 2014 the monthly need will rise up to 500 000 m3. At present around 10,000 workers are

busy finalizing the pulp mill which is estimated to be started up at the end of 2013. The mill will have an annual production capacity of 1.5 million tons of eucalyptus pulp.

“For SP the order is strategically very important for the future since

we by signing this order will have a great opportunity to both establish our brand as well as to reach substantial future sales on the large and very important Brazilian market,” said Anders Gannerud, Export Manager at SP Maskiner.

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

26 – July 2013, Australian Forests & Timber News

forwarders Salamander slips between the trees bricks to get a feel for what would work.

He built a 1:10 scale wooden model of his final concept. A few adjustments later and it was time to start building the fullscale version in reality.

“If you don’t happen to have millions in the bank, you use what you can get,” he says, smiling at the memory of using his son’s toy as an R&D tool.

Outdoors, behind his joinery workshop, his unique creation slowly took shape. Last winter it was far enough along that he could test it in the woods. He brought out 100 cubic metres of timber with it and was very satisfied with its performance. This year he has continued to fine-tune the details and apply a few new ideas as well. The Salamander can be used in a wide variety of situations thanks to the many ways that the cab and wheels can be turned.

“For example, you can swing the cab forward and drive the mini-forwarder in parallel on a slant in to a log pile,” Hermodsson says.

“I have many plans to develop the machine further. One idea is to make it remote controlled so you can walk along beside it, rather like when you use a horse to skid out individual logs. That would also be good from a safety standpoint.”

He is very much looking forward to now showing his creation to the world, to all the international visitors and exhibitors who are attending Elmia Wood.

The Salamander had its inaugural showing at the famed Elmia Wood (5-8 June).

Tailor made for maximum efficiency

W

HEN IT comes to fitting a forwarder to a customer’s needs, Logset has developed something of a reputation for manufacturing machines with the customer’s preferences built-in on the assembly line in Finland rather than having to be retrofitted in Australia.

With a number of flexible set-up options that come standard (such as the ability to change the length of the frame and the gate and headboard positioning from within the cab) there are numerous other components of the forwarder that can be added or selected according to customer needs.

Giving an example of the sort of thinking that goes into determining and meeting customer needs, Markku Turunen, Australian agent for Logset, cited the option of being able to include a scale on the grapple so that loads can be better programmed for haulage.

“We can use the information gathered from the scale and the GPS system to transmit to the hauler’s base what tonnage is currently sitting waiting for pick up.” said Turunen. “We can tie all that information through from the harvester itself, if you wanted to, so that decisions can be made about how much wood is on the ground, when it needs to come out and what will be required to move it.”

In Finland where this sort of information is used to streamline the process from standing stem to log delivery, it is important to not leave logs lying on the ground too long so issues such as blue stain can be avoided quite apart from managing the flow of logs into the receiving mills.

“In Australia it can be a bit different in that, in some cases, leaving logs on the ground for a while can gain some drying benefit when it comes to load weight and might be desirable.

The important thing is that, if your operation has the capacity or desire to manage the movement of logs, having this sort of data available can give your business an edge when it comes to meeting customer needs and watching your bottom line performance.”

statiivi.fi

IT CERTAINLY attracts attention, Peder Hermodsson’s Salamander. He designed and built the small, ingenious mini-forwarder all by himself. Just like its namesake it can wriggle along easily and flexibly between trees and stones.

“You can drive it into tight spaces in a very nimble way,” Hermodsson says.

“Except for the cab, the whole machine is not much bigger than its actual load.”

The Salamander was named for its appearance and how it moves. It is ‘fourfooted’ – that is, it has four wheels, and has a ‘head’ – the cab – which can swing in both directions. The machine is deliberately designed to wriggle its way across the terrain and in between trees, just like a salamander.

Hermodsson, who normally runs a joinery firm in Skåne, and who has created everything from furniture to beautiful wooden staircases, thought about his creation for a number of years before seizing the moment and turning his concept into reality.

He and his brother own and manage 60 hectares of forest, which is where his idea developed for a machine that could function as a forwarder but not be so large. Quite simply, a small, flexible machine that could wriggle its way along between all the heaps of stones and other obstacles in the southern Swedish forests.

“I built it from scrap and sheet metal, whatever I could get. It’s truly homemade,” he says.

He even played with his son’s Lego®

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Australian Forests & Timber News, July 2013 – 27

plantations

 Nursery: Contract growing for wholesale order.

 Eucalypt Plantation 18 months old.

 Carbon offset planting at Byron Bay.

Ecologically sustainable use of natural resources

The most important factors in successful establishment of plantations are good ground preparation, weed control and fertilization

A

USTRALIAN FARM Forestry Pty Ltd is a scientifically-based company that believes strongly in the efficient and ecologically sustainable use of natural resources as well as the development of new and innovative methods for the rehabilitation, care and maintenance of the environment.

Australian Farm Forestry Pty Ltd is located on the Sunshine Coast and currently employs 31 staff. Christopher Deane is CEO of Australian Farm Forestry Pty Ltd. After completing his Bachelor of Science and Diploma of Education at UQ, Christopher furthered his studies in the field of Science with a Masters Degree in the Division of Australian Environmental Studies.

Timber Production Plantations: Australian Farm Forestry Pty Ltd has extensive experience in the establishment of many types of plantations including Carbon Offset, Biodiversity Offset, Koala Food Production and Sustainable Timber Plantations. Australian Farm Forestry Pty Ltd has been responsible for the site preparation, planting, maintenance and monitoring of more than 450Ha of forestry plantations throughout Queensland.

The most important factors in successful establishment of these plantations are good ground preparation, weed control and fertilization. The timber species are planted on ripped and mounded

beds, which are prepared by a specially designed forestry plough.

These mounded beds are constructed along contour lines to minimize soil erosion and this also minimizes water runoff. The mounds are spaced at 4 metre centres to allow access between rows and to give correct spacing for optimum growth.

The trees are planted 2.5 metres apart; this spacing will result in a plantation density of 1000 trees per hectare. The trees are then fertilized and mulched. Australian Farm Forestry Pty Ltd provides native plant stock from provenance seed for plantation or forestry purposes.

“We source provenance seed and grow the seedlings in our controlled environment facilities. Our seedlings are fully sun hardened with well established root systems to ensure a high survival rate,” says Deane.

Early non-commercial thinning and high pruning are techniques which improve stem form and produce the greatest volume of high quality timbers. Australian Farm Forestry Pty Ltd also offers a monitoring service as part of its Plantation Establishment Service where plots will be monitored on an annual basis for tree height, diameter at breast height over bark (DBHOB), basal area (BA) and mean annual increment (MAI). As well as timber production these mixed species plantations enhance the biodiversity of an area, reduce soil loss and erosion and help control soil salinity.

Carbon Offset Planting: Companies and private individuals concerned with reducing their carbon footprint from emissions of carbon dioxide or greenhouse gases are becoming involved in Carbon Offset planting. Australian Farm Forestry was responsible for the supply and planting of more than 5,000,000 native trees for the Greenfleet organization. This planting provided carbon offsets for SAAB, QFleet (government vehicles) and Ipswich City Council Koala Food Production Plantations: Koalas in SEQ are now listed as “vulnerable” under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. Australian Farm Forestry Pty Ltd has planted for Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, around 20Ha of Eucalypt hardwood plantation for Koala fodder. 30,000 trees of 8 species; Forest Red Gum – Eucalyptus tereticornis, River Red Gum – Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Large Fruited Grey Gum – Eucalyptus punctata, Tallowood – Eucalyptus microcorys, Flooded Gum – Eucalyptus grandis, Swamp Mahogany – Eucalyptus robusta, Spotted Gum – Eucalyptus citriodora and Grey Gum – Eucalyptus propinqua provide a sustainable food source for the Koalas.

Biofilters: Australian Farm Forestry Pty Ltd has developed an effective, environmentally friendly, low-cost, low-maintenance Biofilter

that successfully reduces the levels of nitrogen, phosphorous and other chemicals present in waste water.

Australian Farm Forestry designed and planted the award winning 2.8 Ha Biofilter at Kenilworth Sewerage Treatment Plant. AFF provides a six month period of water sample collection and nutrient analysis to ensure the water samples meet the objectives of the project.

Revegetation: Australian Farm Forestry Pty Ltd provides a range of rehabilitation and revegetation services for various types of sites ranging from pipelines through to developments and Main Roads projects. AFF utilises existing vegetation in conjunction with innovative techniques to ensure that the rehabilitated or revegetated land is at minimum ecologically similar, or alternatively, is a better environmental result.

Landscaping: AFF can provide commercial (revegetation landscaping), residential (aesthetic landscaping) and also special purpose landscaping (additional purpose landscaping). An example of special purpose landscaping is the frangible road plantings that we have completed for the Department of Main Roads. These plantings by the roadside (usually in the centre of a dual carriageway) consist of selected species planted in a specific manner to significantly reduce the likelihood of a vehicle crossing to the wrong side of the highway.

Nursery: Tubestock of native Australian Plants of local provenance, grown to order or in stock at our nursery.

Foliage: Harvested foliage from native plants for floral arrangements exported worldwide.

Tough, Professional Tools Australia-wide delivery!

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US made Logrite Cant and Peavey hooks - aluminium handles stronger and easier to use than timber.

42” - $214, 60” - $245.

Log stand to suit - $70

Spencer Logging Tapes Tough US made logging tapes 15m - $95, 25m - $115 30m + diameter - $154

Diameter Tapes

Large range of steel and fibreglass diameter tapes from $19

Tree Planting Equipment

Clinometers & Height Meters

Suunto Tandem Nikon Compass/Clino Forestry Pro $330 $550 Also stock Haglof Vertex IV/Laser, Haglof CI/ECII and Silva clinometers

Pro-Pruner

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The most advanced New Zealand Kidney trays, planting belts, lopper available. Designed specifically Bushpro spades & Hamilton planters for lift pruning of pine & eucalypts.

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 Eucalyptus logs from sustainable forestry harvest at Mt Mee.

 Milling of Eucalyptus logs at Australian Farm Forestry headquarters.

Tel: 02 9417 7751 Fax: 02 9417 7426

Over 1200 products at

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28 – July 2013, Australian Forests & Timber News

plantations

Growing eucalyptus sa

By Jon Lambert

O

NE OF the great challenges of growing eucalyptus sawlogs is getting the balance right between growth rates and wood quality.

Australia’s hardwood plantation sector is dominated by eucalyptus species with rapid growth characteristics. This is because the primary market has been pulpwood and growth rates have a large

sawlogs (solid wood products). The benefits of rapid growth are often offset by reductions in strength, density and durability in addition to poor recoveries created by high growth stresses and a large sapwood band.

In the same way that fast-grown eucalyptus species can significantly compromise wood quality, slowgrown eucalyptus species can be simply uneconomic as standalone forestry investments.

annual increments (MAIs) of 5 to 10m3 ha/yr can be expected over a 30-year rotation. It is true that far higher log prices will be realised for these species given their high durability, hardness and strength.

Nevertheless, few organisations or individuals can economically justify or successfully market forestry investments with such slow rates of growth.

The selection process for eucalyptus sawlog species is complex. Striking the right balance between growth rates and wood quality is the key challenge.

Foresters require a balanced set of objectives and research persistence to ensure that the best options aren’t being overlooked.

Too often, rate of growth has been put ahead of wood quality and sawing potential, when in reality, it is easier to genetically increase growth rates (within reason) than alter the physical characteristics of the wood.

Case Study 1 Southern Mahogany

Pinus radiata and Eucalypt Plant Supply.

HVP Plantation’s Gelliondale Nursery located near Yarram in Victoria has available limited amounts of improved Pinus radiata and Eucalypt stock for planting in 2013.

impact on the returns. Species with rapid growth rates have reduced rotation lengths and decreased costs (e.g. less outlay for things like browsing control and weed control), providing a significant economic benefit. However, this has often proven to be a negative when attempts have been made to try and utilize the same species for

Growth modeling by Heartwood Plantations over a period of 15 years on species such as sugar gum (E. cladocalyx) and red ironbark (E. tricarpa and sideroxylon) has not been complimentary. These assessments (on favourable sites with professional establishment and management) have demonstrated, that at best, mean

Southern mahogany (Eucalyptus botryoides) has highly desirable timber qualities. It has an attractive red to light red colour, a strength rating of F14-27 (green and dry) and is rated as class 2 for durability (15-40 years). It also boasts a wood density of 920 kg m-3 (at 12% moisture content) and its sapwood is rarely susceptible to Lyctid borers – meaning the sapwood can be used under most circumstances without treatment.

However, years of historic plantings across Victoria have found that, despite coping with relatively low rainfall and coastal exposure, southern mahogany is notorious for poor form and heavy insect attack. In 2003, encouraged by its desirable wood characteristics and promising early growth rates, Heartwood Plantations set out a range of trials for southern mahogany to investigate its plantation potential.

Various provenances and sites were trialed and eventually a formula for success was identified. The results concluded that southern mahogany could be successfully grown for sawlog production with

Containerised and open rooted P radiata cuttings and containerised P radiata and Eucalyptus nitens seedlings are all available.

HVP Plantations Gelliondale Nursery PO Box 10 Alberton 3971.

Phone: 03 5184 0000 Fax: 03 5184 1360 E-mail: NurserySales@hvp.com.au

The containerised stock is propagated in a container that has been designed specifically for Pinus radiata plantation establishment stock.

Open rooted cuttings grown in Gelliondale’s peat soils develop a vigorous and fibrous root system encouraging better survival and growth rates after establishment.

Considerable savings are available for large orders. Transportable to any region in Southern Australia

 Radial Timber Sales southern mahogany decking.

 Radial Timber Sales yellow stringyb

Australian Forests & Timber News, July 2013 – 29

plantations

sawlogs – striking the right balance the right provenance and correct siting. The latter included the need for sheltered areas, adequate soil nutrition (does not like depleted sites) and rainfall in excess of 700mm year. Southern mahogany was found to be quite tolerant of frosts, making it ideal on lower slopes and sheltered aspects. In these environments it has behaved like a completely different tree. It is tall, straight and attractive with high rates of growth. Heartwood Plantations’ assessments across 15 sites in southern Victoria (from Portland to Bairnsdale including some up to 17 years of age) have shown that on preferred sites, southern mahogany can consistently achieve MAI of between 15 and 25m3 ha/yr over a 20-year rotation.

Case study 2 – Yellow Stringybark Yellow stringybark (Eucalyptus muelleriana), like southern mahogany, has highly desirable timber qualities. It has an attractive light brown wood with a pinkish tinge, a strength rating of F8-17 (green and dry) and is rated as class 2 for durability (15-40 years). It also boasts a wood density of 870kg m-3 (at 12% moisture content), is stable during processing and its sapwood is not susceptible to Lyctid borers – meaning the sapwood can be used without treatment. However as a plantation species, yellow stringybark does not have rapid early growth. In its first few years it is not uncommon for this species to be half the size of a species such as blue gum (E. globulus) on the same site. Early trial results by Heartwood Plantations suggested this species would fall into the same category as sugar gum and red ironbark. With persistence however, it was soon discovered that yellow stringybark is able to accelerate its growth significantly, several years after establishment. It is also able to tolerate competition better than most other eucalypts, enabling higher stockings to be retained without hindering diameter growth. In fact, its growth acceleration is so impressive that on several high rainfall (1100mm

year) sites in Gippsland it has matched blue gum by 9 or 10 years of age, achieving MAIs in excess of 20m3 ha/yr. Like southern mahogany, the selection of the right provenance and the correct siting of this species is important for the best growth to occur.

After many years of research and trials, Heartwood Plantations have settled on four key species that strike the right balance between growth and wood quality. These are spotted gum (E. maculata), yellow stringybark (E. muelleriana), southern mahogany (E. botryoides) and silvertop ash (E. seiberi). These species now form part of a durable timber estate in excess of 1000 hectares. Each of these eucalypts has key site criteria, which mean that most Heartwood Plantations’ sites will have at least two species established on them depending on aspect, soils, rainfall and exposure – as it is for eucalypts in their natural environment.

Looking forward, the key question for Heartwood Plantations is whether fast-grown plantations of these species would retain the desirable wood qualities of slower grown native forest trees. Could the plantations be utilized in traditional markets without a significant compromise in wood quality?

With this in mind, Heartwood Plantations thinned a small southern mahogany plantation in South West Victoria in 2010.

Planted in 1996, this plantation had been non-commercial thinned and pruned and was approaching an impressive 30 metres in height.

Its MAI was 22m3 ha/yr. During the thinning operation, a few small sawlogs were extracted. Log diameters ranged from 25 to 35cm diameter at the small end and up to 5 metres in length. Although relatively small for sawlogs, they were processed and dried at the Radial Timber Sawmill in

Gippsland with a view to being assessed against native forest logs of the same species. The results were quite outstanding. Although there was a larger sapwood band, there were no notable differences in growth stress, hardness, colour or texture. Samples of this wood have since been sent to Innisfail, North Queensland for accelerated durability testing. After 2 years there have been no differences in deterioration in comparison to wood from native forest resources.

Heartwood Plantations and Radial Timber Sales are a strategic partnership working towards a plantation-grown durable hardwood industry. Plans are under way to trial small quantities of yellow stringybark, spotted gum and silvertop ash. These trials will further assist both organisations as they make ongoing refinements to management regimes and sawing strategies.

 4-year-old yellow stringybark sawlog plantation, Taggerty, VIC.

 C linton Tepper, Heartwood Plantations, and Murray Scott, Radial Timber Sales at Austimber 2012 in front of southern mahogany decking display from 14year old plantation.

Beautiful Trees, Valuable Wood Are you looking for an Investment that is tax deductible or that can be owned by your self-managed superannuation fund?

Looking for a suitable block of land to grow a timber Investment?

Talk to Heartwood Plantations, Victoria’s largest durable hardwood sawlog company! We’ve been growing beautiful hardwood timber plantations since 1996. Peace of mind is yours. You own the land and the trees but we make sure you get the maximum return from your investment. Cheap land now available fro timber investments from $1,000/acre. Operating in beautiful Gippsland, Victoria.

Call Jon 0418 504 010 or Clinton 0408 604 010.

ark decking.

 Radial Timber Sales yellow stringybark decking.

www.heartwoodplantations.com.au

30 – July 2013 , Australian Forests & Timber News

Australian Forests & Timber

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Contact: Garry Henthorn Phone: 03-51397000 Email: garry.henthorn@vicash.com.au

Australian Forests & Timber News, July 2013 – 31

Share your industry news.

If you have a news tip, give us a call.

Call John Hudswell on 08 8369 9512 or send him an email at editorial@forestsandtimber.com.au

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