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Vol.21 No.7

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November 2013

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TIMBERMAN, November 2013 – 2

NEWS

Construction, housing, graphs and growth E

VERY YEAR the HIA gathers together a group of related speakers who talk on the same subject, the construction outlook for Australia, but depending on the company they keep – it is a view through a kaleidoscope.

This year’s breakfast held in Melbourne, had HIA’s chief economist Harley Dale, Westpac Bank’s chief economist Bill Evans, Cordell Information’s CEO Rob Wild and the Victorian Treasurer Michael O’Brien.

Apart from describing the other purpose of this breakfast, announcing the HIA Housing 100, we will leave space in the next issue of Timberman for a war of the chief economists.

For now we will look at a politician and an information gatherer.

Victoria’s Treasurer Michael O’Brien The first to speak at the breakfast was the Hon Michael O’Brien who started on the health of the economy, and a few words of praise for the local industry. “… when you do well, Victoria does well,” he started.

“When you’re finding it difficult, Victoria tends to find it difficult and your industry is a great driver of economic activity and a great driver of employment for this state.”

He followed on with a light pat on the back for the government of the day.

“Low interest rates aren’t the only thing you need, you need to have consumer confidence,” he said. “Buyers, whether they are buying established stock or new stock need to have confidence … they need to have confidence that they’ll be able to manage their repayments into the future.

“We have seen the new Westpac institute survey … consumer confidence is very high in Victoria and we’ve got higher consumer confidence here than in other jurisdictions.”

He explained why in his opinion what looks like slow housing growth in Victoria is not actually slow growth.

“Victoria is very well placed. We’ve had a lot of housing starts in the past and I think when people look at Victoria compared with other states the growth isn’t as great in Victoria as some other states, and part of the reason is that we’ve actually maintained our starts at a relatively high level not withstanding the economic softness over the past few years,” he said.

“The economic downturn has been cushioning the state by your industry and we know it’s been difficult for your industry and others but in Victoria at least the housing start speeds have been relatively strong.”

O’Brien said that part of what was driving this was Victoria ‘s population growth which he said was around 100,000 people a year.

“It’s 100,000 people who need homes to live in, that’s 100,000 people who need roads to travel on, public transport to get around in, public hospitals to get well in, schools to be educated in. Part of our job in government is to make sure that we can build that infrastructure and build that growth,” he said.

He said his government had been earnestly working towards maintaining a surplus in the state so that infrastructure could be improved. The surplus for this year is $225 million and it will rise to $2.5 billion by 2016-17.

“The reason we’re looking at making a surplus as high as that is because we want to fund infrastructure out of our surplus,” said O’Brien.

“So we can support record infrastructure investment. This year in Victoria we have a $6.1 billion dollar infrastructure program, significantly more than our predecessors.”

The graph shown during the minister’s talk showed the highest amount of infrastructure spending to date was in 2010/11 but it pointed to a rise even higher in 2014/15 before dropping very sharply to quite low levels for the next two years.

Before that though there will be a significant amount of spending with $110 million for a new container port at Port Hastings, $280 million in additional funds will go to upgrading and maintaining our road networks and $400 million to replace rail level crossings.

Projects at the construction stage “Looking at the number and value the number has dropped by 10% so it’s trending down and the value has dropped by 37%,” said Wild..

Rob Wild CEO Cordell Information Emerging trends in Australia’s residential and commercial markets.

Cordell Information is an authority on project activity and building cost information in Australia. This information is used in a wide range of industries including building, property and insurance.

Wild started his talk focusing on projects in the planning stages nationally.

“Last year planning in Australia was up 38% and construction had slipped by 8%, deferred projects have gone up by 52% and abandoned projects had increased by 1%,” he said by way of quick snapshot.

“Projects entering the planning stage and this is by number … the number of projects have increased in the last financial year over the previous one by 38%. The value has increased from $571 billion to $701 billion an increase of 23%.

“If we look at it by sector then community projects have dropped from the heady heights of 2009/10 … now well down to 3000 odd projects. By value mining dominates the scene but down 51% on the previous year.

“Queensland takes the lead with a 79% increase in project at construction by state, WA with a 32% increase and then its pretty much downhill for every other state. With New South Wales 29%, Victoria down 65%, and the smaller states down by an average of around 40%.”

Deferred projects

He said that by going back two years the value of projects at the planning stage has more than doubled which is good news.

“Residential or flats and units certainly takes the leading position nearly 8500 projects up 42%,” he said.

According to Wild this is probably the worst result he has seen during his time in the construction industry.

“The number of projects being deferred up by 60% in the last financial year and the value an incredible 118% increase to $116 billion worth of projects deferred,” he said.

“If we look at this by sector then flats and units are definitely at the top of this tree. A 20% increase in deferred projects to 1252. The other sectors are all fairly substantial increases in deferred projects.”

Abandoned projects In terms of abandoned projects, projects from which people have walked away, the number has increased by 12% and according to Wild that’s not too bad with the value increasing by 25% but he said it was not nearly as bad as the 2009/10 year.

In terms of value you can see that engineering slipped back on the previous year but according to Wild that was due to the east coast high-speed rail link that was worth $61 billion and there was no project of that value in the last financial year.

“Flats and units up 128% to $96 billion in the last financial year,” he said. “By state Victoria takes the lead with projects.”

“By sector flats and units are at the top of this tree, which is really an interesting thing … when you look at flats and units it had the greatest number entering the planning stage up 42% and the largest percentage increase going to construction up 9%,” he said.

“It had the greatest number of deferred projects and the greatest number of abandoned projects. Personally, I can’t work it out but there’s certainly a lot happening with flats and units.”

Top 100 builders

However, according to the graph from the Department of Treasury and Finance by 2016-17 expenditure on infrastructure would be a low point not seen since 2004-05.

The latest HIA-COLORBOND steel Housing 100 Report showed that Western Australia-based BGC (Australia) was the nation’s largest builder in 2012/13. The report ranks Australia’s largest 100 residential builders based on the number of homes commenced each year. It found that BGC (Australia) started 3443 dwellings in 2012/13 all in WA. Alcock/Brown-Neaves Group was second with 3199 housing starts building in WA and Vict. Melbournebased Metricon Homes was third with 2837 housing starts building in Vict., NSW, Qld, and SA.

NEWS

3 - November 2013, TIMBERMAN

Hyne focus on structural softwood H

YNE HAS sold its Imbil and Melawondi operations in the Mary Valley to Superior Wood Pty Ltd, a company associated with the Finlayson Group.

Hyne CEO Jon Kleinschmidt said all staff were being transferred to Superior Wood Pty Ltd, with all positions, conditions and entitlements maintained as a condition of the sale.

“This amalgamation of the Mary Valley operations with Superior Wood’s value adding and marketing expertise is necessary for the growth and prosperity of the industry as a whole,” Jon said.

“Hyne will now focus on its core businesses of structural softwood timber production and distribution, continuing to thrive for the benefit of customers, staff, shareholders and

the communities in which they work.” Hyne Chairman Martin Kriewaldt said the focus on core business had been made necessary by changing business conditions.

“The Australian timber industry has been adversely affected by a number of external forces including a downturn in construction activity, high exchange rates and strong import competition; Hyne has not been immune from these pressures,” Martin said.

“A number of hard decisions have been taken by the company in recent years. To stay efficient and competitive we need to concentrate on our strengths, and that’s what we’re doing.”

Hyne family member Chris Hyne said the decision to sell the Mary Valley business was hard to reach.

“Make it Recycled” partnership will boost recycled paper AUSTRALIAN PAPER has announced a partnership with Planet Ark to “Make it Recycled”.

Australian Paper is building a state-of-the-art $90 million paper recycling plant in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley.

The new plant will save up to 80,000 tonnes of postconsumer waste paper from Australian landfill each year; equivalent to 16 billion sheets

n Jim Henneberry.

of A4 copy paper. “As a result of our $90 million paper recycling plant at Maryvale, Australian made recycled paper has a bright future. We are calling on all Australians to make it recycled and help grow demand for locally made recycled office and printing paper. We are proud of our investment in sustainable Australian recycled paper manufacturing, and we expect the plant to be fully operational around the middle of 2014,” said Jim Henneberry, chief executive officer of Australian Paper.

The partnership between Planet Ark and Australian Paper aims to increase the use of locally made, high-recycled content paper by paper buyers all over Australia, including Government at all levels.

“Our research shows that many people would like to purchase recycled paper, but there is still a perception that it is lower in quality. While this may have been an issue in the past, recycled paper has continued to improve and there is now little difference between

our recycled paper and the paper we produce from nonrecycled sources. “Choosing locally made recycled paper also supports local jobs and regional communities,” said Henneberry.

The partnership will include several activities to promote recycling within homes and offices and will build on the recent “Enwhitenment” TV commercial for Reflex 50% Recycled carbon neutral.

“The amount of recycled office and printing paper used in Australia is currently quite low so there is a great opportunity for Australians to use more recycled paper,” said Paul Klymenko, chief executive officer of Planet Ark. “We are excited to have formed this partnership with Australian Paper and look forward to working together to maximise the use of recycled paper in Australian homes and offices,” Klymenko said.

Gottstein Fellow encourages building with timber in bushfire prone areas PAUL KREMER used his Gottstein Fellowship to develop a fire resisting laminated veneer lumber for use in bushfire prone areas.

Since the extensive 2009 Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria that claimed many lives, the Building Code of Australia and Australian standards have been revised to ensure that timber used in construction in bushfire prone areas is compliant. With these revisions it has been very difficult for timber producers and the entire supply chain to move forward in building in these bushfire prone communities.

“Timber is such a wonderful product for construction and I believe it should be used as widely as possible in building systems across the board” said Kremer. “With considerable misunderstanding of how timber may be used in a ‘Bushfire Attack Level’ (BAL) area, and some misrepresentation occurring,

I felt I could assist through my Gottstein Fellowship.

“I was able to visit some leading laboratories and meet with experts from around the world to test the efficacy of a fire retardant chemical when pressure impregnating laminated veneer lumber to develop a fire resisting, structural, timber product.”

A new pressure treated fire resisting laminated veneer lumber was launched into the Australian market last year as a direct consequence of the work undertaken

by Paul under the guise of the Gottstein Fellowship. More recently Paul (Marketing and Sustainability Manager, Tilling Timber Pty Ltd) has developed fire resisting Western Red Cedar exterior cladding and laminated veneer lumber for use in external applications, both are about to be launched onto the Australian market soon.

“Hyne has invested heavily in the development and production of Araucaria as a plantation species and high quality timber, particularly in the Mary Valley,” Chris said.

“Since 1882 Hyne has been instrumental in the development of the Queensland timber industry and have a long history of involvement in Araucaria.

“We will continue to strive to be the supply partner of first choice for our customers.”

Jon said the sale to Superior Wood would enable development of an alternate business model to best utilise the unique properties of Araucaria timber.

“The Finlayson Group has a track record of investing in Araucaria production in the

form of high tech value adding technology, product innovation and development of channels to market,” he said.

Superior Wood Director Skene Finlayson said he was confident the Araucaria industry would benefit from the amalgamation of the Mary Valley operations with existing Group operations.

“Our focus is in value adding and remanufacturing of the Araucaria product, and the additional sawmill capacity will provide new opportunities to expand and improve our product range,” Skene said.

“We are pleased to offer all the existing staff their jobs under the same terms and conditions they have been entitled to whilst working for Hyne, and I’ll be mindful of minimising the impact of the change.

Taking programs to the next level “I’M LOOKING forward to committing 100% of my effort to helping the forest and wood products industry achieve its goals,” says Eileen Newbury, newly-appointed Marketing and Communications Manager for the FWPA. Through her company, Leading Edge Events, Eileen has worked as a contractor to FWPA over the past five years providing marketing, program management and sponsorship services mostly for the WoodSolutions and Wood. Naturally Better™ programs.

“There is clear evidence that the WoodSolutions and the Planet Ark partnership are having a measurable impact and the opportunity is to take the programs

to the next level. Eileen has the skills to help make this happen,” said Ric Sinclair, FWPA Managing Director.

“My focus initially will be on fostering increased collaboration within the built environment industry, developing new relationships and building on existing relationships both within Australia and overseas. My goal is to achieve positive outcomes with the result of improving community awareness and ensuring that wood is the sustainable material of choice, early in the decision making process, for both building specifiers and consumers.”

Eileen replaced Sarah Gyopar who left the company in late July to pursue personal business interests.

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TIMBERMAN, November 2013 – 4

BUSINESS PROFILE

STS announces its newest treatment option – MicroPro Sienna® P

ETER GIOSSERANO, Director of STS Timber Wholesale Pty Ltd, is naturally proud of his achievements in the industry over the last 18 years and has every intention of growing his business further in the coming years.

Ask any business owner how they started out and you will always hear an interesting story of the challenges and rewards of business life, and Peter’s story is no exception.

Peter and his wife, Danielle, set up a small timber yard in Bridge Road Keysborough, back in 1995 with only $2,000 working capital. It was hard yards, working seven days a week, quoting and building fences, purchasing and onselling fencing supplies, but all the hard work paid off and the business steadily grew and was well recognised in the industry for many years as Serano Timber Supply Pty Ltd. This business was sold a year ago.

In 2002 Peter had already diversified, as his primary interest lay in wholesaling, and he opened STS Timber Wholesale Pty Ltd in Capital Drive, Dandenong, where he installed a new CCA Treatment Plant, a Multi Headed Stenner saw and other saws.

With STS, Peter was now able to cut and treat his own fencing supplies as well as procuring other stock, and his reputation as a reliable supplier grew. The growth was steady and consistent and five years later the site in Capital Drive Dandenong was just too small.

When the opportunity came up for Peter in 2007 to acquire the business, Durapine, located in Hammond Road, Dandenong he took this opportunity and for the next five years STS was working from these two Dandenong sites.

By 2010, the resources at both Dandenong sites were again strained, and Peter needed another solution, more space, more treatment capacity,

more staff, and more trucks, more of everything!

With the recent acquisition of the Woori Yallock site in 2011 and along with his existing strong site in Dandenong, Peter is determined to always position his business for maximum customer satisfaction and consistent growth by supplying quality Treated Pine and other products and by offering a diverse range of Custom Treatment options to the industry.

In this next exciting chapter of STS growth, Peter is proud to announce the launch of their newest treatment option, MicroPro Sienna®.

Micro Pro Sienna® is the name for wood products treated with a combination of MicroPro® and MicroShades® The treatment is a unique combination of micronized copper preservatives and Microshades® iron oxide colour pigments which are pressure treated into the wood.

This means that the wood is not only protected against fungal decay and termite attack, the longer lasting MicroShades ®colour pigments penetrate the wood for colour that is not just “skin deep”.

MicroPro Sienna® is: • Preservative treated with revolutionary MicroPro® timber treatment • Attractive red/brown colour for a rich hardwood look • Non-arsenic based preservative formula suitable for above ground and inground use. May be used in landscaping, garden beds, parks and children’s playgrounds • Longer lasting colour • Underwriters Laboratory (UL) Greenguard Gold® – certified for low VOC chemical emissions • Backed by the Osmose guarantee against fungal decay and termite attack (see guarantee document for details)

STS Timber Wholesale Pty Ltd now operates from two sites, one in Dandenong and the other in Woori Yallock and both sites have fully functioning Treatment Plants. While the site in Dandenong offers CCA treatment only, the site in Woori Yallock now offers the following treatment options: • CCA • NatureWood® ACQ® - NonArsenic based preservative formula • MicroPro Sienna® - NonArsenic based preservative formula Naturally, there are features and benefits to all these treatment options.

Treated and processed NatureWood® ACQ® Products behave in a similar way to CCA treated wood products – they are all pressure treated, long lasting and durable.

The NatureWood® ACQ® system is based on copper combined with a quaternary ammonium compound and is applied to wood by pressure treatment. Copper and organic quaternary compounds are effective fungicides and termiticides. Together they provide protection against a broad spectrum of decay fungi, borer and termites.

MicroPro Sienna® micronized technology gives the treated wood a rich finished look that complements today’s outdoor environments.

Designed to meet the style demands of indoor / outdoor living, it offers a finished look similar to hardwoods and merbau with no initial staining.

STS Timber Wholesale Pty Ltd traditionally focuses on all outdoor timber, timber for pergolas, carports, pine and merbau decking, cypress, treated pine sleepers and fencing materials and is one of the major suppliers of these products to the trade and retail industry. With a team of friendly experienced staff and an internal fleet of trucks, STS delivers timber daily all over

the Melbourne metropolitan area and into country Victoria.

For those customers interested in having their own timber treated STS also offer a convenient pick-up and delivery service.

n STS treatment plant.

n MicroPro Sienna.

nS TS trucks.

n STS yard view.

STS are proud to announce production of MicroPro ® coloured outdoor preservative treated timber

MicroPro Sienna® is treated with revolutionary MicroPro® micronized preservative and MicroShades® micronized pigment system D Longer lasting consistent red/brown colour for a rich hardwood look D Non-arsenic based preservative formulation suitable for above ground and in-ground use.

May be used in landscaping, garden beds, parks and children’s playgrounds ®

D Underwriters Laboratory (UL) Greenguard Gold - certified for low VOC chemical emissions D Backed by Osmose® 50 year limited guarantee* against fungal decay and insect attack Available from STS, Victoria’s most innovative treated timber supplier.

STS Timber Wholesale Pty Ltd Sales: 03 5967 3993 Osmose®, MicroPro® MicroShades ®and MicroPro Sienna® are registered trademarks of Osmose, Inc. or its subsidiaries. MicroPro, MicroShades and MicroPro Sienna timber products are produced by independently owned and operated wood preserving facilities. Greenguard Gold® is a registered trademark of Underwiters Laboratory LLC. © 2013 Osmose, Inc.* See Guarantee documents for details.

®

ASSOCIATION NEWS

TIMBERMAN, November 2013 – 6

Apprentice wages are about to rise

By Colin Fitzpatrick Chief Executive Officer Timber & Building Materials Association (Aust.) Ltd

J

ANUARY 2013: The ACTU lodges a claim with Fair Work Australia (FWA) in a push for a wage rise for apprentices to allow them to cope with the cost of living and ease future shortages in skilled trades. The claim called for wages for all apprentices aged under 20 to be a minimum of 60% of the trades rate, or $11.15 an hour. Older apprentices would be required to be paid at the minimum award classification for their job.

April 2013: TABMA and other industry associations lodged objections and their own submissions stating that increasing apprentice wages to the level requested by the ACTU was not economically sound. By increasing

apprentice wages for 1st year apprentices to 60% of a tradesman wage, the commission risks forcing employers to turn away from apprentices, trainees and training and general. Apprentices in their first year, under the current system, are a break even proposition for employers, at best.

It is not until the fourth year of the apprenticeship that apprentices begin to give employers a positive financial return.

August 2013: FWA makes its decision into the review of apprentice wages.

The key changes are: • T he minimum award rates of pay for first and second year apprentices should be increased. The rate for a first year apprentice who has completed Year 12 schooling will be 55% of the C10 award rate (otherwise 50%), being

$398.50 per week or $10.49 per hour. The rate for a second year apprentice who has completed Year 12 schooling will be 65% (otherwise 60%). The four year wage structure approximately: First year – 55% (or 50%), Second year – 65%(or 60%), Third year – 75% and Fourth year 88% of the C10 rate; • Adult apprentice rates will be introduced into a number of awards which do not currently contain them. Minimum award rates for adult apprentices will be increased so that the rate of pay for a first year adult apprentice is 80% of the C10 award rate, while a second year adult apprentice will receive the higher of the national minimum wage or the lowest adult classification rate in the award; • P rovisions will be made for competency based wage

progression to be introduced into several modern awards; • The model school-based apprentice schedule will be inserted into several modern awards which do not contain it; • Various provisions relating to the conditions of employment of apprentices will be varied and inserted into relevant modern awards. These variations will take effect from 1 January 2014.

• The increases to apprentice rates of pay will be phased in and take effect as follows: • If the relevant increase is equal to or less than a 5% increase in the relevant percentage of the award reference rate, then the full increase shall apply from 1 January 2014; • If the relevant increase is more than a 5 % increase in the relevant percentage of the award rate, then the percentage shall be increased

by 5% from 1 January 2014, with the remainder of the increase to take effect from 1 January 2015; and • The new rates of pay shall only apply to apprentices who commence their apprenticeship on or after 1 January 2014.

TABMA response TABMA is disappointed that its push for no wage increase other than CPI was rejected by FWA. However, TABMA applauds the FWA decision not to grant the full wage increase requested by the unions noting the following positive components: • If an increase is warranted, not to apply until January 2014 • To be limited to 5% in 2014 and the remainder in 2015 • To only apply to apprentices employed after 1st January 2014.

We need to look at the market in a very different way n Front page: Lucas Mill technical advisor Ian Schulz cuts a curved red gum log into slabs at Horsham during Wimmera field day. See more on the Lucas Mill story on page 17 of this issue.

AUSTRALIAN & NEW ZEALAND

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November Vol.21, No.7 MEDIA

INDEPENDENT & AUSTRALIAN OWNED

Postal Address: 630 Regency Road, Broadview, South Australia 5083 Phone: (08) 8369 9555 Fax: (08) 8369 9501 Advertising: Norm Nelsen n.nelsen@ryanmediapl.com.au Melbourne: (03) 9888 4820 Timber classified: n.nelsen@ryanmediapl.com.au Melbourne: (03) 9888 4820 Editorial: John Hudswell j.hudswell@ryanmediapl.com.au Adelaide: (08) 8369 9512 Out of office VOIP (08) 7127 6370 Subscriptions:

s ubs@forestsandtimber.com.au Adelaide: (08) 8369 9522 Accounts: Adelaide: (08) 8369 9555 General Manager: Elizabeth Bouzoudis Production: Nathan Grant Publisher and Chief Executive: Hartley Higgins Suite 103, 486 Whitehorse Road, Surrey Hills, Victoria, 3127, phone (03) 9888 4822 Conditions: Opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the editor/publishers; information is published in good faith and we do not accept responsibility for damage which may arise from any possible inaccuracies. All rights reserved, none of the contents may be used in any other media without prior consent from the publishers.

Published by Ryan Media Pty Ltd.

By Eric Siegers Executive Officer TMA THE RESERVE Bank of Australia seems to be joining the chorus of people concerned about the affordability of houses. Everyone it seems except the politicians. We continue to be concerned at the issue of affordability and support the HIA initiative to address the matter with our politicians.

It is surprising the amount of data that is now available from a wide range of sectors in the construction industry that all point to an issue in housing affordability and yet the politicians are basically ignoring the issue completely.

Unlike our NZ cousins who seem to have politicians very focused on the affordability issue.

The RBA have basically

come out and said: “You need housing construction – it’s the big one- to come on line. The problem with that is……. There are a whole lot of structural issues around the periphery which make it difficult for that to kick in”.

That said, the RBA is basically pushing to lower the exchange rate rather than look at the structural issues surrounding affordability, well most of the industry pundits just don’t think that is going to work because it is the equivalent of trying to blow up a balloon by taking air out of your tires.

What this is all pointing to is a market that is changing dramatically and old formulae are just not working any more, and as is being seen across the board implementing old solutions is just making the problem worse.

We need to look at the market in a very different

way. We need to look at what the consumer wants and monitor how those demands are impacting the supply chain. Consumers have tools in their hands that didn’t exist two years ago and weren’t even conceived five years ago.

Tastes and expectations have changed dramatically - anyone in retail can tell you this. It’s time we all start to face the difficult task of looking at the supply chain very differently; it’s not easy, and it means mistakes will be made. In this market making mistakes is more important than waiting to find the best solution; mistakes mean learning and adapting but it also means we have to become much more fleet of foot when it comes to recognising a possible solution that needs amending. Communication and adaptability are more important than ever before.

The TMA is undertaking

n Eric Siegers.

research into the consumerbuilder-merchant interface, the dynamism in the ‘demand and supply’ chains and importantly how this all affects the product distribution strategies. Given the current market, we are convinced that the way consumers want to experience products is very different to how they purchase products and how builders and merchants are involved in the process. The TMA showroom is a fantastic monitor of consumer trends, and it is giving us confidence to undertake this analysis and ensure that we are helping industry confront the dynamic market before us all.

K-C appoints new head of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability KIMBERLY-CLARK Australia & New Zealand has announced the promotion of Jacquie Fegent-McGeachie to the new position of Associate Director, Corporate Affairs and Sustainability reporting to the Vice President and Managing Director of Kimberly-Clark Australia and New Zealand, Robbert Rietbroek.

Jacquie joined Kimberly-Clark in 2011, initially as Sustainability Manager, before her role grew to also include Corporate Social Responsibility.

The new position of Associate Director, Corporate Affairs and Sustainability will see Jacquie leading internal and external relations, Government and stakeholder engagement, corporate sustainability strategy and community investment. As the newest addition to the Kimberly-Clark Australia & New Zealand Executive Leadership Team, Jacquie will also be involved in corporate strategy and business development.

“Jacquie has been instrumental in establishing a new standard for how Kimberly-Clark globally approaches sustainability as a core, strategic imperative and has lead the business to be named Leaders in Environmental Sustainability in the Australian Business Awards and finalists in the Banksia Sustainability Awards. I am confident that she will continue to make a significant impact on our business as she takes on this new challenge in the corporate affairs space,” said Robbert Rietbroek, Vice President and Managing Director of Kimberly-Clark Australia and New Zealand.

Prior to joining Kimberly-Clark, Jacquie held senior consulting roles, most recently at Ogilvy Earth and Ogilvy Public Relations, where she advised leading Australian and global businesses on strategic communications, corporate sustainability strategy, media and public relations, and brand and marketing communications strategy.

n Jacquie Fegent-McGeachie, Associate Director, Corporate Affairs and Sustainability.

Jacquie is currently completing a Masters in Sustainability, Policy and Governance at the University of Sydney and holds two other degrees in Social Impact and Communications.

ASSOCIATION NEWS

Changes to apprenticeship rates and conditions

By Brian Beecroft Chief Executive Officer Timber Trade Industrial Association EMPLOYERS ARE advised that a Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission has awarded significant pay rises for apprentices, both junior and adult. These new rates of pay will apply mainly from 1 January 2014.

First and second year apprentices After the completion of Year 12, a first year apprentice will receive 55% of a tradesperson’s rate and a second year apprentice will receive 65%.

This is an increase from 42% and 55% respectively. The third and fourth year apprentice rates will not change (75% and 88%).

Adult apprentices Adult apprentices in the first year will receive 80% of a tradesperson’s rate of pay.

Second year adult apprentices will receive either the national minimum wage rate or the lowest adult classification rate in the appropriate award, whichever is the higher.

Due to the fact that over half of all apprentices are over 21 years of age, adult apprentice rates will also be introduced into several modern awards that do not already have them.

Should an employee who has worked for at least six months full time, or for 12 months as part time or casual, commence an adult apprenticeship with the same employer, that employee will be paid the minimum rate they were earning prior to taking up the apprenticeship.

Competency based progression Competency based wage progression will be added into certain modern awards (e.g. Building & Construction and the Joinery Award). This may well be applied to other modern awards further to the development of a model clause.

School-based apprentices The model school-based apprentice schedule will be added into several modern awards that do not already contain it, and the schedule in all modern awards should be varied to provide for competency-based wage progression.

Apprentice conditions of employment Award variations will be made relating to apprentices’ conditions of employment and

7 - November 2013, TIMBERMAN

Challenging sickie certificates

is objective evidence that An employer may also perform their duties creates contradicts the medical consider obtaining an the perfect storm of legal certificate. independent medical obligations. Discrimination, Alternatively, employers assessment from a treating adverse action, occupational N MANY cases will apply to all apprentices when an employee is may consider other means to practitioner to examine health and safety, unfair (regardless of commencement absent and provides continue with the disciplinary whether the employee can dismissal, privacy, national standards, date) from 1 January 2014: a medical certificate or or performance management nevertheless participate in the employment • payment of apprentices’ other documentary proof process. For example, if the disciplinary or performance common law and enterprise excess travel costs for in support, employers are medical certificate states process, even though they agreements converge to attendance at block release still suspicious about the that the employee is too have a medical certificate make it one of the most sick to attend work during a stating they are unfit for challenging issues facing training at a distant location genuineness of the absence. that requires an overnight The question remains: when disciplinary process, and the work. An employer’s ability employers. stay that the employer and the can an employer challenge or employee therefore does not to do so is strengthened Understanding the employee both agreed upon; not accept the validity of a attend a disciplinary meeting, when the medical certificate obligations and adopting • timely reimbursement by medical certificate provided employers might consider does not specifically state the some simple rules gives employers in relation to by an employee to explain an requiring a response from the medical condition or address employers the tools to employee in writing rather the employee’s ability to navigate through the issues. training fees (six months) and absence from work? than attending a face-to-face effectively participate in the textbooks; meeting (as this may not be disciplinary or performance • time spent by apprentices The starting point © DLA Piper. This contrary to the employee’s process. An unreasonable publication is intended as in off-the-job training and assessment is to be regarded The general rule is that a medical restrictions). This refusal by the employee a general overview and as time worked for the medical certificate or other is particularly so if the to undertake that medical discussion of the subjects purposes of wages, weekly documentary evidence incapacity is due to an illness assessment may, in some dealt with. It is not intended ordinary hours, and leave specified as evidence of or injury that would not circumstances, enable the to be, and should not entitlements; illness or injury must be affect the employee’s ability employer to terminate the used as, a substitute for • apprentices cannot be accepted as evidence of that to participate. For example, employment for failing to taking legal advice in any a back injury preventing an follow a lawful direction, specific situation. DLA required to work overtime illness or injury. or shift work, except in An employer who is merely employee performing their provided an appropriate Piper Australia will accept an emergency, if doing so suspicious about the validity duties physically will not process is followed. Where no responsibility for any would interfere with their of a medical certificate prevent them dealing with the inability to attend the actions taken or not taken on attendance at training; will generally be obliged a disciplinary issue. While meeting or respond in writing the basis of this publication.

• clauses that purport to exclude to accept the certificate greater care needs to be taken continues beyond a short DLA Piper Australia is part apprentices from some as valid, notwithstanding if the employee is suffering period, the employer is in a of DLA Piper, a global law provisions of the National those suspicions, unless from a stress-like condition, stronger position to require firm, operating through Employment Standards will circumstances exist that even in that case, responding the medical examination. variousTseparate I M and distinct may be appropriate, Dealing with employees be deleted from awards. enable the employer to in writing legal entities.

For further B Fr JAN and challenge or reject the dependingi on the nature UA who are absent from work information, pleaseErefer R to RY or otherwise unable to www.dlapiper.com Sathe stress.

Wage increases certificate. Generally it will cause of PR t only be where unusual or to be phased-in O Sun FEB exceptional circumstances RU IND AR Mo The Full Bench agreed, exist that an employer Y EPE n ND 1 in response to requests from can reject the validity of a EN T & Tue M AU employer groups, to phase in certificate. s A 2 RC STR H ALI any increases in apprentice We AN d 1 3 1 Ne OW wages over time in order to Deviation from wY NE e T ar’s D hur mitigate their cost impact. The the general rule A Day PR 2 4 2 I 4 L -15 schedule of when the increases Fr Aus 3 5 LDesigtrnalian Tim 3 will take effect is as follows: A situation where the i aun Wo be ww cesto rksho r Sat • I f the relevant increase is equal general rule may not apply w 4 La 6 6 .utas.end,uTasmpa. n 4 bou -8 .au/ ia to or less than a 5% increase involved a case whereS a rD csa Aus ay w/ u t r a (WA n in the relevant percentage certificate did not diagnose 5 5 5 7 EFxurniturlian Inte ) -7 hibit e Fa rnat io ir w E , io Mo ww cob of the award reference rate a medical condition, there n C Syd nal . aiff. ent ney n 1 Ea 6 wLondounild. Lon net re.

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Fri 1 1 10 5 12 10 more than a 5% increase However in another Pap S e in the relevant percentage case, rejection ofaat medical 6 2 wAtlantarC, on 201 11 13 11 ww U Lab 3 . of the award reference rate, certificate issued from an pap SA Ad our D Sun erc on. y (V Ryan Media is dedicated to providing 7 3 org 12 elaide Caucurrent, IC, 14 12 1 then the percentage or rate overseas doctor immediately TAS p( 2Mo leave taken D 15 must-have information to its readers. SA) , ACT) 8 shall be increased by 5% following annual n 13 HaOnnMoOTEX, 4 1 1 3 5 ww v from 1 January 2014, with overseas was w.d er, Ge If you have any event coming up in 2014 you Tue insufficient om r m 5 9 9 s 14 the remainder of the increase to justify rejecting the otex.dea/hny 14 16 -1 om wish to have considered for inclusion in the 14e IPX 1 to take effect from 1 January certificate.We Dig 16 ww Russia d 15 with itTal Fabr 6 Ma 10 Planner, w.ip 15 17 Australian & New Zealand 2014 Timberman Wall xru , Mosc yD 2015. ww imb icatio ssia o ay w e n r . .ru/ w u (NT T tas. Stud e h ) n e / • I t was also decided that Sick leaveurcertificates du. io, please email your details to: 7 1 1 1 16 au/ 1 6-1 6 8 csa 0 LIG w/ the new rates of pay shall and Fri NA 1 8 www.lignHannove 12 17 19 17 apply only to apprentices disciplinary action a.d 8-1 17– e/h r 0 20 Norm Nelsen on 03 9888 4820 om S 2 D 0 e O at who commence their 11 9 Con1f3 Appita 13 18 1 20 2 18 wYesilOköR FAIR T Melb erenc Ann 8-2 orFr 0email norm@timberman.net.au UR –22 ww y, Tu where apprenticeship on or after 1 Another area ual 1 e K o .do r a T u k E w Sun n iss r a Y, d orfa ey Me me Bu Bar ue Wo 12 ir.co 10 ww.appnitea, AustraExhibitio 14 1923rd 21 for rld,October.

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TIMBERMAN, November 2013 – 8

NZ FOREST & WOOD INDUSTRY TRAINING AWARDS

Celebrating the best of the best F

O U R T E E N ECSTATIC Forest and Wood industry players celebrated being top in their category among 320 VIPs and guests at the Forest and Wood Industry Training Awards at the Rotorua Energy Events Centre.

The Awards evening was organised by Industry Training Organisation Competenz and hosted by Carol Hirschfeld. The Awards is a culmination of rigorous interviews and judging of 56 nominees who were then whittled down to 36 finalists.

This was the first time that the Awards was run

by Competenz, after the organisation merged with FITEC in May, further consolidating the ITO sector.

The overall winner of the Trainee of the Year Furniture category was Alex Rau from Molloy Furniture.

This category required nominees to craft a unique piece of furniture and judges commented that Rau’s piece, a portable fold-out bar, was “a true example of creativity and great workmanship which displayed complexity in build and would be a highly

n Matthew Shaw from CHH Pulp & Paper - Trainee of the Year Wood Manufacturing. n Sealy NZ representatives - Training Company of the Year Furniture with sponsor Fiona Kingsford from Competenz.

popular commercial item of furniture”.

The evening was a resounding success all round

and winners of each category took away hearty accolades from their industry peers, employers and employees.

AWARD CATEGORY WINNERS • Trainee of the Year – Wood Manufacturing – sponsored by Juken NZ Ltd Matthew Shaw : CHH Pulp & Paper Kinleith, Tokoroa • Trainee of the Year – Furniture – sponsored by Milwaukee Alex Rau : Molloy Furniture • Modern Apprentice of the Year – Wood Manufacturing – sponsored by Competenz Joshua Pendreigh : Southern Cross Forest Products Ltd, Mosgiel • Modern Apprentice of the Year – Furniture – sponsored by Mirotone Jakob Walker : INNATURE Ltd, Auckland • Training Company of the Year – Wood Manufacturing – sponsored by Skellerup Juken New Zealand (Wairarapa) Ltd, Masterton • Training Company of the Year – Furniture – sponsored by Competenz Sealy NZ, Auckland

n Sponsor Perry Davis from Skellerup with a representative from Juken New Zealand (Wairarapa) Ltd.

nS ponsor Nicole Goble from Milwaukee with Alex Rau from Molloy FurnitureTrainee of the Year Furniture.

nS ponsor Andrew Hebden from Mirotone with Jakob Walker.

NEWS

New format for Frame conference T

HE 2014 Frame Australia Conference will have a new format for the speakers program within the theme of “Prefab Timber and Engineered Wood in Building Construction” with the Monday devoted to Truss and Frame prefabrication, and the Tuesday to Prefab systems in building.

Conference director Kevin Ezard said the Monday morning session theme will be “Data input and software” with a focus on digital building data and design software for estimating, detailing and manufacturing.

The Monday afternoon session “Manufacturing plants” will start with a keynote address by Hansbert

Ott, Managing Director of Weinmann, Germany, who is an international expert in production equipment and will outline the latest developments in equipment and systems available for truss and frame manufacturing.

Tuesday morning will cover “Prefab products and building systems” to highlight the manufacture and supply of timber and engineered wood products and building systems to the building market. The afternoon session will be “Prefab building projects” with examples and case studies in design and construction of international and local prefab construction projects.

The new flexible registration format for the conference will

WorkCover securing safety in wood industry

allow fabricators who are primarily interested in truss and frame manufacturing to attend the Monday session only, or both days if the prefab building topics are also of interest. For designers and builders the Tuesday sessions will be of greater interest and should encourage delegates from that sector for one day attendance.

The Frame Australia 2014 event is being held 19-20 May at the prestigious Park Hyatt Melbourne, and for more information visit the website www.frameaustralia.com.

Affordable, smart and eco-friendly, too!

AFFORDABLE HOUSING for students on a budget is often hard to come by, however, Tengbom Architects have come up with a 10m3 student unit in response - accessible, environmentally friendly, and smart in its design and material choices.

In developing the compact space, the Swedish firm worked with members of its target group, University of Lund students, to conceive a sleeping-loft, kitchen, bathroom and small garden with a patio within 10m3, reducing the current requirements of 25m3 by 60% through legal consent, but is still comfortable for its inhabitants.

Collaborating with Martinsons and real estate company AF Bostäder, the ‘smart student unit’ is constructed from cross laminated locally sourced wood, and features an efficient layout within the tight quarters, reducing the typical average rent by 50%, as well as the ecological impact and carbon footprints of building it.

The general living space features a kitchen, fold down table and built in shelving and storage “By exhibiting this well planned and sustainable student unit we want to challenge the conventional views and show new ways of thinking. What is ‘good’ living? What materials can we use? To meet the future in a sustainable way we must be innovative in all aspects and have the courage to break new ground,” says Linda Camara at Tengbom Architects.

Choosing right material and manufacturing methods is vital to minimize the carbon emission and therefore wood was chosen for its carbon positive qualities, and as a renewable resource it can be sourced locally to minimize transportation. The manufacturing method was chosen because of its flexible production and for its assembling technique which can be done on site to reduce construction time.

The ‘smart student unit’ is on show at Virserum Art Museum until 8 December and next year 22 of the flats will be realized for students to rent.

Tengbom has more than 500 employees in offices located in Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö, Uppsala, Helsingborg, Jönköping, Linköping, Kalmar, Karlstad, Halmstad, Borås and Helsinki.

9 - November 2013, TIMBERMAN

WORKCOVER NSW will visit 200 NSW wood manufacturing businesses over the next two months as part of a program to improve safety in one of the state’s highest risk industries.

WorkCover inspectors will visit local kitchen, wall frame and roof truss manufacturing businesses to help address any health, safety or return to work issues that are identified.

General Manager of WorkCover’s Work Health and Safety Division, John Watson said the visits were about securing change so that the industry could become one of the State’s safest.

“In May this year all 2,100 wood manufacturing business in NSW were sent information kits outlining how to improve safety in their businesses,” Watson said.

“WorkCover inspectors also visited 400 businesses across the State to explain the contents of the Kit and help them address common safety risks so that their workplaces were more productive, healthy and safe.

“In the three years to 2010 there were 1,965 workers compensation claims in the industry at a cost of $19.5 million to the NSW workers compensation scheme with manual tasks at the workshop; manual tasks at client sites; guarding on machines and powered hand tools and occupational disease from exposure to wood dust and noise the major causes of workplace injuries.

“The industry has told us that businesses need one-onone support to help them address these issues.

“In collaboration with our six industry partners, we have developed tools and incentives to help wood product manufacturing industry businesses make safety improvements.

“This includes a Safety Coach program where more than 45 wood manufacturing industry small businesses in the Sydney, Wollongong, Central Coast and Newcastle areas received free coaching and advice from an industry expert in how to make their workplaces safer.

“More than 50 small businesses have also taken advantage of WorkCover’s Wood Products Rebate to invest in safety in their workplaces.”

Mr Watson said the secure change visits were part of an Industry Action Plan launched in February this year.

“The aim of the visits is to provide advice and assistance to businesses so that the major workplace safety issues can be managed and not punish them for minor safety concerns,” he said.

“The Wood Products Manufacturing Industry Action Plan is part of WorkCover’s Focus on Industry Program which aims to improve safety and return to work outcomes in the State’s 10 highest risk industries.

“We believe every worker should return home safely at the end of the working day and this project highlights what can be achieved when WorkCover, business and industry come together to improve safety.”

Further information on WorkCover’s small business rebates is available at www.workcover.nsw.gov.au

Inspiration and information n Solid and safe accommodation.

Photos by Bertil Hertzberg

BOOKINGS ARE open for the WoodSolutions 2013 Central European Study Tour - seven days and eight nights of inspiration, information and fun in December, from Munich to Zurich for only AUD$3850*.

Join the group of architects, engineers, developers and building professionals visiting landmark projects - and meeting some of the people behind them.

The tour leader for this tour will be Andrew Lawrence, a working specialist timber engineer and an Associate in Arup’s Advanced Technology & Research Group, London.

Travel in absolute comfort on board a luxury coach and stay in carefully selected 4 Star hotels in beautiful locations set amongst the scenic beauty of lakes, mountains, architectural and music history. The small group (this tour limited to 25 people) will visit high profile projects and meet some of the building professionals behind them - people you could not usually access. In addition, you’ll also have the opportunity to dine with inspirational architects, engineers, academics, fabricators and contractors. Listen to their stories and gain from their knowledge.

The group will also visit the International Timber Construction Forum 2013 which provides architects, engineers and builders with an opportunity to report on experiences, processes and goals related to wood structures and construction. It is a multi-stream seminar program - with content ranging from case studies to an academic display area.

TIMBERMAN, November 2013 – 10

NEWS

Weapon of mass distraction!

A

BROKE carpenter in the US has built a novelty-sized mailbox shaped like a huge Smith & Wesson .44 Magnum revolver to promote his cabinet-making and metal fabrication business… and, yes, he gained approval from the postmaster before embarking on the project.

Roger Buchko, 49, of New Jersey, took up the challenge to construct the oversized replica firearm after he saw a similar project online and thought he could do better. It took him four months to complete.

He used plywood scrap and a PVC pipe donated by a neighbor.

“It’s to drum up business because I’m broke,” he said.

Buchko said the gun had drawn attention from across the world and he estimated 500 to 700 people had stopped to take a picture of it.

All of Buchko’s mail gets deposited into the muzzle of the revolver. Image: Lehigh Valley Live It hasn’t earned him any more business yet but he’s obviously got his sights on something in the future!

Stairway to success for hardwood lumber LONDONERS AND visitors have had a chance to experience the city in a new way with the construction of the Endless Stair, a highlight of the London Design Festival which sees a series of interlocking timber staircases rising to a height of several storeys outside St Paul’s Cathedral, overlooking the Millennium Bridge and across to Tate Modern.

The project is the brainchild of architect Alex de Rijke, founder of architects dRMM and Dean of Architecture at the Royal College of Art, working to a commission from the American Hardwood Export Council, and engineered

by Arup. As well as providing an exciting experience with several platforms from which to enjoy views down towards the Thames, the project has a serious technical purpose– to showcase the potential of cross-­laminated timber (CLT) panels made from American tulipwood.

Cross-­laminated timber (CLT) is a method of exploiting the structural properties of timber to create panels that can form buildings quickly, efficiently and sustainably. Introduced to the UK by a small number of forward-thinking architects, of whom dRMM was the first, CLT is a well-proven technology that has been used on projects such as the residential Bridport House in Hackney, east London.

Up until now all CLT has been made from softwood, however, using a hardwood such as tulipwood, which is widely available, has great advantages. As a result of its superior structural properties, CLT panels made from tulipwood could potentially be much thinner than softwood panels of similar strength and stiffness. This leads to a saving in materials and to the possibility of more slender solutions. The elegance of the steps in the Endless Stair is only possible as a result of these superior structural properties.

Alex de Rijke describes the interlocking stair design as “a three-­dimensional exercise in composition, structure and scale”.

“The ambitious structure is both marker and meeting place, on axis with the Millennium Bridge. The Escher-like game of perception and circulation in timber playfully contrasts with the religious and corporate environment of stone and glass in the city.” dRMM Architects has pioneered the use of CLT with projects such as Kingsdale School and MK40 Tower. De Rijke has described timber as “the new concrete”, predicting that it

will be the dominant construction material of the 21st Century.

This is the most recent in a series of innovative projects that AHEC has commissioned for the London Design Festival, including the Timber Wave, designed by AL_A, which stood outside the main entrance to the Victoria &Albert Museum in autumn 2011. With projects like the Timber Wave and the Endless Stair, Arup, which is responsible for the engineering of both projects, is really showing what hardwood can achieve.

The team at Arup took de Rijke’s brilliant concept and turned it into reality. Andrew Lawrence, the leading timber specialist at Arup, says: “Tulipwood is amazingly strong and stiff for its weight compared to many other species. Tulipwood CLT offers a really exciting addition to the CLT family.”

Adrian Campbell, Associate Director, Structural and Lead Engineer from Arup comments: “This is a bravura project and we are delighted to work with AHEC again. This project explores how we can use hardwood in innovative and exciting ways. Delivering the project will be a true collaborative effort, and that of course, is the pleasure of working with timber. Supporting AHEC and dRMM to design the Endless Stair provides fertile opportunity for this elegant sculpture to act as a test bed for the creative use of timber.”

The Endless Stair, despite its intriguing geometry, will be constructed from a series of repeating components, demonstrating the versatility of the material.

“Wood construction is currently dominated by softwood as it provides a cheap and readily available source of wood fibre,” says AHEC European Director, David Venables. “But what the construction industry is not fully aware of is that we have hardwood species that are not only very sustainable and competitively priced, but that can provide a significantly greater inherent strength. So potentially you can use a lot less material to achieve the same performance and at the same time deliver an alternative look, factors that we believe can help broaden appeal for timber buildings.”

Since discovering the unique properties of tulipwood from a testing program at BRE in 2005, AHEC has been determined to market its use for structural applications.

AHEC will be using data from its recent Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) research project to produce a full ISO conformant environmental profile for the structure.

Trees used to create recyclable, efficient solar cells SOLAR CELLS are just like leaves, capturing the sunlight and turning it into energy. It’s fitting that they can now be made partially from trees. Georgia Institute of Technology and Purdue University researchers have developed efficient solar cells using natural substrates derived from plants such as trees. Just as importantly, by fabricating them on cellulose nano-crystal (CNC) substrates, the solar cells can be quickly recycled in water at the end of their lifecycle.

The technology is published in the journal Scientific Reports, the latest open-access journal from the Nature Publishing Group.

The researchers report that the organic solar cells reach a power conversion efficiency of 2.7%, an unprecedented figure for cells on substrates derived from renewable raw materials.

The CNC substrates on which the solar cells are fabricated are optically transparent, enabling light to pass through them before being absorbed by a very thin layer of an organic semiconductor. During the recycling process, the solar cells are simply immersed in water at room temperature. Within only minutes, the CNC substrate dissolves and the solar cell can be separated easily into its major components.

Georgia Tech College of Engineering Professor Bernard Kippelen led the study and says his team’s project opens the door for a truly recyclable, sustainable and renewable solar cell technology.

“The development and performance of organic substrates in solar technology continues to improve, providing engineers with a good indication of future applications,” said Kippelen, who is also the director of Georgia Tech’s Centre for Organic Photonics and Electronics (COPE). “But organic solar cells must be recyclable. Otherwise we are simply solving one problem, less dependence on fossil fuels, while creating another, a technology that produces energy from renewable sources but is not disposable at the end of its lifecycle.”

To date, organic solar cells have been typically fabricated on glass or plastic. Neither is easily recyclable, and petroleum-based substrates are not very eco-friendly. For instance, if cells fabricated on glass were to break during manufacturing or installation, the useless materials would be difficult to dispose of. Paper substrates are better for the environment, but have shown limited performance because of high surface roughness or porosity. However, cellulose nano-materials made from wood are green, renewable and sustainable. The substrates have a low surface roughness of only about two nano-meters.

“Our next steps will be to work toward improving the power conversion efficiency over 10%, levels similar to solar cells fabricated on glass or petroleum-based substrates,” said Kippelen. The group plans to achieve this by optimising the optical properties of the solar cell’s electrode.

Purdue School of Materials Engineering associate professor Jeffrey Youngblood collaborated with Kippelen on the research.

A provisional patent on the technology has been filed with the U.S. Patent Office.

There’s also another positive impact of using natural products to create cellulose nano-materials. The nation’s forest product industry projects that tens of millions of tons of them could be produced once large-scale production begins, potentially in the next five years.

The research is the latest project by COPE, which studies the use and development of printed electronics. Last year the centre created the first-ever completely plastic solar cell.

AMERICAN HARDWOODS

11 - November 2013, TIMBERMAN

Australian design, American hardwood – a successful relationship T

HE AMERICAN Hardwood Export Council joined forces in Sydney for a successful collaboration with a number of Australian designers.

Sydney Indesign attracted more than 6000 visitors in just three days to view work from Australia’s most exciting design companies and individuals.

AHEC, as platinum sponsor of the event, took the opportunity to invite furniture designers from around Australia to create and exhibit pieces created from American hardwood.

The stunning results included a range of American red oak furniture created by designer makers from Sydney’s Splinter Workshop and ‘ASH’ – a pair of thermally modified American ash benches from young designer Ben Percy.

More established companies, and advocates of American hardwoods, Evostyle and Zuster also participated.

Evostyle launched its new range of retro inspired stools while Zuster collaborated with AHEC’s Criswell Davis to present to an audience on the growing role of American hardwood species in Australian design.

n Evostyle team at SID.

n Evostyle stand at SID.

“This has been a wonderful opportunity to work with some very talented individuals.

We know Australians have an appreciation for beautiful, env i r on m ent a l ly-hone st materials and this occasion allowed us to showcase those materials to great effect,” said Rod Wiles, AHEC Director for Oceania.

“We were fortunate that Speciality Timber Traders and Britton Timbers were willing to be involved and kindly donated the materials to make n Designer: Paul Nicholson Piece: Elswick Dimensions: 1150 x 475 x 900 Materials: American red oak, American quarter sawn white oak.

Web: www.splinterworkshop.com.au Email: paulnicholson.furniture@gmail.com Mobile: 0430 032 767

this collaboration possible.”

Sydney in Design (details and credits): Photography

by Splinter Workshop: Peter Bateman, The Bateman Photographic Group.

Materials kindly donated by: • Specialty Timber Traders: sttraders.com.au • Britton Timbers: brittontimbers.com.au • Evostyle: Evostyle.com.au • Ben Percy: Benpercydesigns. com

n Young talent: Ben Percy.

nD esigner: Brendan Cody Piece: ‘Nora’ study desk Dimensions: 1000x1350x650 Materials: American red oak, American black walnut drawer fronts.

Web: www. splinterworkshop. com.au Email: bcody75@ yahoo.com.au Mobile: 0400685533

n Designer: David Norrie Piece: “scrivania dell’amore” ( partners’ writing desk) Dimensions: 1500 x 600 x 760 Materials: American red oak; drawers from American white oak Designer URL / contact details: www. splinterworkshop. com.au Email: norfish@ optusnet.com.au

nD esigner: Ian Monty Piece: Sitting in Area Dimensions: 2090 x 300 x 450 Materials: American red oak.

Web: www. ianmontywood.com.au

n Designer: David Cummins Piece: Pat Spratt Armchair.

Dimensions: 610 x 1000 x 790.

Materials: American black walnut, American red oak, American white oak Designer URL / contact details: cumminsdesign.com.au Email: david@cumminsdesign.com.au Mobile: 0410 258 032.

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WOOD IS GOOD

TIMBERMAN, November 2013 – 12

Nock on wood O

NE OF the most repeated phrases in timber circles is that the word needs to get out to architects, designers, builders and the industry in general about the use of wood for multi-storey commercial construction.

Everyone this side of the timber industry knows about it but is the word getting out to where it will do the most good?

Alex Nock, director of Nock Architecture, thinks it is seeping through.

“As a young architect it probably wasn’t put forward as much in commercial or multi-storey buildings,” he said.

“Probably in the last six years you will see an uptake and acceptance of using timber cladding on your more commercial developments.

“Even just recently we’re starting to see quite large commercial buildings quite happily using timber on their cladding.”

Nock likes to use timber because of quality that timber can bring to a building, its warmth. He said that often he finds buildings can appear quite cold using just steel and concrete, and that timber really gives a building that human touch.

“It’s not only just using it externally and internally, and it’s great to see the move into the structure,” he said.

“I thought I’d try to give you an insight into the perverted mind of an architect. How we go through our decision making in trying to get a building together.

“I want to talk about structure, cladding and decorative which I see as internal spaces. “ The first project was a defence force building with student style accommodation housing about 216 people with common spaces.

Timbers were used for the

Alex Nock Director Nock Architecture Pty Ltd Nock has a passion for design excellence. In order to achieve this, he believes there is a need for architects to have a strong understanding of sustainable design objectives, practises and strategies. As a design architect, Alex’s role is informed from the concept stage by his knowledge of sustainable design, complimenting the design process and enhancing the end product. This ensures a total building solution that is energy, water and resource efficient, provides an elevated user comfort level and is cost effective. Nock Architecture is a design led practice focused on delivering sustainable outcomes. Alex is also a member of the VAFI Sustainable Forestry Council, where he provides stakeholder feedback for the peak body of Victoria forest and wood products industry. Nock was presenting at the TMA breakfast in July 2013.

n Defence Force School of Signals. Client: Australian Defence Force. Architect: SKM an

roof structure with cladding and screens and joinery.

“To give a scale idea of this project, it’s about a $45 million project. There’s quite a number of the units on the site ... they are three-storey buildings,” said Nock.

He explained that when dealing with a client such as defence there are multiple layers of procedures to be met that are above the normal building practices and standards.

“Typically, these types of buildings have been built in the past as solid brick and typically three-storey.

“The building itself is a precast building. These buildings were specified as not having air conditioning.

It’s in Victoria in Watsonia.”

Durability is seen as important for the building as it houses young soldiers. Nock did look at timber framing at the beginning but decided to go for precast panels.

“We wanted to put more timber on the building. We wanted to clad the entire

building with timber initially.

It’s precast internals and a lightweight frame on the outside so it’s a heavily insulated wall structure including exposed ceilings,” Nock said.

“Through the fire engineering that was required and the onerous aspect of defence we had to pare back that to using steel cladding on top of it. We were able to get some timber cladding in there.

“With this type of application my preference is to use a solid hardwood that goes on straight and you let it weather so it gives you that patina that develops over time and helps blend into the environment.

“We’re starting to think about aesthetics and how it fits into the environment. We were quite happy and shocked that we were able to get this amount of timber in.”

The next project Nock discussed was a retirement living accommodation and the interesting thing about

this is that it shows how important it is to educate not only the architects but also the whole construction chain.

“There’re 41 apartments and it was designed to have all the structure in timber stick construction there were some posistruts flooring, cladding, balustrading and flooring,” said Nock.

“Right from the start we were discussing this with the client and there was a push for a cost effective way of doing this and we were starting to see around town a lot of developers were looking at using stick construction in these threestorey apartment buildings and so that was the impetus for us to go down that path.

“We were discussing this quite closely with the cost planner which is an important part. We were coming up with some good figures in terms of its construction and actually through that we were able to make this project.

“There is some timber cladding on the outside there’s some brick work. We had to

keep it quite conservative.

Unfortunately, this became a design and construct and was awarded to the builder.

“The builder decided onsite to go through the process of creating a prototype … and I’m somewhat distanced from this project now because it was with a previous employer but I was notified recently that the builder … decided that they would then change the structure and he put through a concrete structure so they’re obviously thinking there is risk there.”

Nock said that he thought that the builder may have seen some risk and he was not prepared to wear that risk.

“I’m not exactly sure what the reasons behind that were, what they found out with the prototype,” he said.

“We need to start thinking of how we educate builders.

For all intents and purposes this was going to be a timber frame building. It’s a sad story but we need to be aware of the things that can fall over at the last minute.”

n Bairnsdale Library. Client: East Gippsland Shire Council. Architect: NOWarchitecture. CAD CAM documentation: Timberbuilt Solutions.

The final project was not one that Nock was involved with but rather one that sparked his interest. It is a library being built in Bairnsdale, Victoria.

“They’re utilising CAD/ CAM technology and there are various structural members throughout,” he said.

“There is LVL and composites in the columns and in LVLs in the beams.

“I think this is important to talk to our colleagues and find out their ideas. It’s not about just buying the bits of timber it’s about how it’s manufactured, the edge treatment you put on it, the joists are all dovetailed so they can just be slotted into the beams.

“They worked closely with their engineer to minimise the steel joints. Steel joints can be quite expensive and the initial steel jointing that was coming back was onerous and quite large and they were able to reduce that down.

WOOD IS GOOD

13 - November 2013, TIMBERMAN

nd Woodhead in collaboration.

“These guys like to push their engineers and there is a definite lack of knowledge in the industry especially in the structural engineers and architects there is a steel and concrete mindset initially.”

Overcoming the mindset is really the timber industry’s job though other companies like Lend Lease are doing work towards that, though

perhaps for a different reason.

Lend lease has taken the market position on the use of CLT in Australia they are becoming the experts, the ‘go to’ company for developers who will want to use it.

“Forte the Lend Lease building. CLT - they’ve used it throughout. It is step.

Some of the things I’m quite

interested in is the speed of construction,” said Nock.

“They’re able to use the building straight away, you don’t have to wait for slabs to dry. It took two-thirds the time to construct. It is dollar signs. Once people get used to using it, understand how it’s put together, the training of the trades. There’s great opportunities.

“Fire engineering - it’s almost done. It would be great to have off-the-shelf detailing that is going to get the tick of approval without having to employ another consultant. These are some of the things that clients think of ‘are we going to have to employ another consultant?’

“It’s lighter less footings, transport to the site and maneuverings it on the site and

how you connect and the types of skills. It seems to me that it’s touching the earth lightly.”

Two key elements in the back of Nock’s mind were water damage and pests though he concedes that both can be dealt with.

“The water damage is a worry especially in apartments.

There’s always going to be a leak. How do you deal with

it and what happens if the structure gets water damage and becomes compromised?” he asked.

Education is the answer to getting engineers, cost planners, suppliers, builders, developers and architects to use timber, CLT, LVL. So that everyone knows about it and how to use it, also where to get it.

WOODEXPO

TIMBERMAN, November 2013 – 14

INNOVATION l TECHNOLOGY l DESIGN

Innovation and perception in the spotlight

By Leah Tindill

I

NNOVATION WAS the overriding theme at the 2013 WoodEXPO. Held over three days at the Albury Entertainment Centre in Albury, NSW, industry leaders and experts gathered to discuss the future of the wood industry.

Some 15 speakers shared their thoughts on the future of timber processing and its global use on the second day of the expo which was dedicated to the Summit Summit chair Ross Hampton said the timber industry’s biggest challenge was changing the public’s perspective of the timber industry.

“I think it’s all about looking again; it’s about us looking again at what we do and it’s also about getting others to look differently at us,” Hampton said.

“There’s a saying that you’d be very familiar with and that is familiarity breeds contempt.

“While that’s true, probably more problematic for our industry is familiarity

breeds a set way of seeing us; a historical way of seeing us.” Hampton said a significant factor in moving the industry forward was defeating negative environmental perceptions.

“That’s our challenge; to have us create the environment that allows people to look again at what we do and look at how environmentally sustainable it is,” he said.

WoodEXPO a stunning success WOODEXPO 2013 finished on Friday 13 September. In just two weeks Australian and New Zealand wood producers were given a rare insight into innovations, new products and new equipment – all designed to improve local companies’ operating efficiencies – and profitability.

“It was a first for this region and we were delighted, considering the tough times sawmillers, wood manufacturing and wood panels companies have been through in the 12 months leading up to the event,” says

Brent Apthorp, Director of the Forest Industry Engineering Association (FIEA).

“More than 1100 were registered for the two events in Albury, Australia, and Rotorua, New Zealand.

Feedback from exhibitors is being collated and currently being sought from delegates to the two shows. “Along with feedback collected over the two weeks the EXPO ran, this is going to provide us with a firm platform to evaluate the design of future EXPO events for wood producers in this region,” said Apthorp.

The international competitiveness of local wood producing companies was highlighted in the Wood Processing Summits running on the first day of each three-day event. “Australia last year, for example, had the highest log costs in the Southern Hemisphere and was the second most expensive producer of softwood lumber.

Longer term, the industry needs to tackle a number of key areas to improve its position - labour costs, labour productivity, the value of product output and mill efficiencies.

“Unfortunately, innovation hasn’t been a strong point for the industry. Immediate innovation is coming at the moment from the equipment manufacturers rather than wood producers. This was evidenced by the array of new technology on display at WoodEXPO 2013. From a recent international study, it appears that only 0.2 - 0.4% of revenue is being spent on R&D by forest products companies compared with 4 - 6% by the equipment suppliers.

The message is very clear - if we’re not innovating we’re not growing.

“As the first event of its type run in Australasia, the support given by the international technology providers to WoodEXPO 2013 has been outstanding”, said Apthorp.

“We deliberately used the same format employed over

the last 15 plus years by FIEA. By building in two EXPOs to run in just two weeks, leading international technology and equipment suppliers have been able to justify their travel to this part of the world. The format enables them to get in front of all major players from both Australia and New Zealand during the EXPO series.

“This, of course, enables local wood producers - Site and General Managers as well as the mill’s engineering and production staff - to be exposed to the world’s best wood processing and products technologies – in their own back yard!

“It was obvious local mills took the opportunity of sending a number of staff from their sites to collectively evaluate some of this new technology to their own operation.

n Brian Stanley, Brent Apthorp and Andrew Dunn.

“During WoodEXPO 2013 we had leading suppliers from Finland, Sweden, Germany, Austria, Italy, a large contingent from the US and Canada, Indonesia, China, New Zealand and Australia involved – in both countries. Delegates came from all of these countries as well as quite a few more so the concept and quality of the event obviously has already struck a chord with suppliers and producers around the world from day one.

“FIEA is delighted with the support for this inaugural event,” Apthorp said.

“We’d like to thank all of the exhibitors, delegates and sponsors who have assisted us in making WoodEXPO 2013 happen and look forward to working with all involved to repeat the EXPO concept for local companies in future.”

WOODEXPO

15 - November 2013, TIMBERMAN

INNOVATION l TECHNOLOGY l DESIGN

Future products restricted only by the imagination

By Leah Tindill IMAGINE BEING able to create any product you could think of. Well, any product you can input into a 3D computer assisted design.

That’s the future of commercial production, according to Massey University professor of Mechatronics Olaf Diegel who shed some light on the leaps and bounds 3D printing has taken in recent years.

Dr Diegel said 3D printing would revolutionise the future of prototyping by minimising capital investment and making products more viable for retail sale.

“If you’re six months late to market, it’s a lot worse to your bottom line over five years than being over budget,” he said.

“So, getting to market faster or ahead of time is much more critical than being under budget.”

Dr Diegel said it would also decrease material waste as products would only use the material required for production.

“For several thousands of years if you wanted to make pretty much anything, so if I wanted to make a bust of my head I start with a block of marble and a chisel, cut away all the marble until I’m left with the shape of my head,” he said.

“And of course the modern way of doing this is with a CNC machine, a computer controlled cutter that removes all the material hence subtractive things.

“And today, 99 per cent of anything that is mass manufactured is still either directly or indirectly done using this technology.

“Additive manufacturing on the other hand works the other way around.

“You start from a virtual model so you’ve got a 3D computer model and then the 3D print slices it into very, very thin slices and it “prints” slice on top of the next, on tope of the next, on top of the next until your entire object is done.”

The technology has expanded rapidly in recent years to move from prototyping to making the real product.

“There’s five or six, depending on who you ask, advantages of 3D printing in terms of what advantages it gives you over conventional manufacturing,” Dr Diegel said.

“The more complex something is, the more suited it is to 3D printing.

“3D printing doesn’t care how complex is it it’s no more difficult to print that (complex wood pattern) than to 3D print a cube.

“Artists absolutely love this technology.

“Traditionally artists would get a concept for art they’ve sketched on paper; they go to the local engineering shop and say “please, can you make me one of these?” and the engineer says “well, don’t be stupid, it’s impossible, you just can’t make it”.

“Suddenly with this technology, it’s open – if they can imagine it, well I’ll add a caveat to that, if they can imagine it and get it in 3D on a computer, they can print it.

“And you see some pretty much impossible shapes out there “I can predict over the next five years we’re going to start having an expectation as customers that when we buy something it is custom made for us; we’re the only ones in the world that have it.”

He said the technology also offered financial benefits for manufacturers.

“You no longer have to make 10 million to be economical, you can make 10, 50, 100 and every single one of them can be different – that’s where you start to have big differences,” Dr Diegel said.

Dr Diegel said if the technology continues to expand, whole houses could be built using a 3D printer.

“This isn’t something new, 3D printing has been around for well over 30 years, but it’s changed in terms of how it’s being used,” he said.

“The first thing I would hasten to add to all of this is 3D printing will not, in my opinion, I don’t think will ever replace traditional manufacturing.

“I think 3D printing will have a place in the spectrum on manufacturing technologies where some things will be well suited to it and used for additive manufacturing.”

Combined material best choice

By Leah Tindill

A

42-storey timber building could be possible if the industry continues to advance its technology. Speaking at the 2013 Wood Expo in Albury, Timber Development Association chief executive officer Andrew Dunn urged attendees to continue to strive for more.

Dunn mentioned Skidmore Owings Merrill LLP’s 42-storey timber tower proposal which could be possible if the industry continued to develop its technology.

He gave examples of some of the modern technologies from Central Europe allowing wood to be created into varying shapes.

“Basically what this is, is nothing more than sticking timber with a plywood, attached with an adhesive, put into a press and all of a sudden you’ve made a large panel out of it and it can be in various forms,” he said.

“It can be rather long and used as a roof element or a floor element, even be used as wall elements, and we hear that people are putting sand into it to increase the thermal mass of the building.

“It’s very easy technology which is basically using our fundamental stud and a piece of plywood and we end up with a high end product.

“These things are occurring with really the same mixture of materials we have, they’re just being reformed.”

He said while Cross Laminated timber (CLT) was not the most popular product among builders its basic principles were.

“They don’t actually love the product, CLT, they like big systems that they can move around with minimal amount of lift,” he said.

“So it’s not CLT they’re interested in, they’re interested in any timber product that they can use that can be moved around to reduce the amount of lifts.

“So we don’t need to produce CLT in Australia we can produce something like this and equally meet the needs of the building community.”

He said timber was one fifth the weight of concrete but a combination of the two

was a solution to acoustic concerns.

“It’s not the product it’s about how they can use the product and reduce on-site labour,” Dunn said.

“There’s a trend here: panels made out of other products keep recurring.

“The investigation today is in floors, walls, rooves, connectors and in treatment; some really basic system we use in construction “We have a suite of things and we’re going to form them into products and customers are going to use them in construction.”

He said the challenge was to minimise the choice of construction products for builders by making combined material timber products the best choice.

New wood product has endless potential A BIOLOGICAL element of wood could be the next product to revolutionise the modern world. That was the message from CelluForce chief technology officer Richard Berry.

Addressing WoodEXPO 2013 via Skype from Canada, Berry, whose work with CelluForce is leading the world the commercial development of NanoCrystalline Cellulose, said NCC was the “next big wood based manufacturing material”.

“But the whole effort behind CelluForce is to turn that potential into reality and we’re still in the process of achieving that,” he said.

Berry said the substance had endless potential because it could be broken down into various consistencies.

“What we’re doing at this stage is understanding the full dimensions of that ability, that remarkable property set that cellulose has.

“We could even consider using this in food products.”

Berry said NCC was also biodegradable and had the potential to replace plastics used in everyday products such as soft drink bottles.

He said the material could even be used in cosmetics because of its antioxidant properties.

“Where this is valuable is in cosmetics where you want to use an antioxidant in antiageing creams, for example, and that antioxidant behaviour can be used in a variety of materials and fluids and we truly believe that there is a lot of potential in that aspect of its (NCC) properties,” Berry said.

He said the product would pass regulatory review as its toxicology is similar to

common table salt and it is less toxic than titanium dioxide.

“So you can understand we have a material here that really is not creating any challenges

environmentally, and also it’s biodegradable.

“We’ve also completed mammalian studies with this material: we’ve done oral

toxicity, acute inhalation and dermal irritation (on rats).

“And in all of these areas we’ve found the material doesn’t create toxic risk.

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WOODEXPO

TIMBERMAN, November 2013 – 16

INNOVATION l TECHNOLOGY l DESIGN

n Troy Krogh (Machinery Automation & Robotics).

n Mike Hill (WA Stroud).

n Peter Cush (Penrose Pine Products) with Bevan Gibson, Christian Gibson and John Scott (AE Gibson).

nT erry Parsons (Key Knife), Jerry Lunney (CUMI Aust).

n Gerry Commerford (Paulownia Forest Plantations) with Norm Nelsen (Australian & New Zealand Timberman).

n Liam Reed, Adrian Yeoman (Andritz Iggesund Tools).

Squeeze more from existing machines. n Skookum sales consultant Robert Jusup and Managing Director John McLachlan set up their exhibition.

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nK evin Mason (Kop Coat).

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n This aluminium-filled plastic ring was created using 3D printing.

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n Sarah King spoke about how global megatrends will affect future Australian wood processing.

n This endlessly folding business card was created using 3D printing.

CUTTING EDGE

17 - November 2013, TIMBERMAN

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TIMBERMAN, November 2013 – 18

AUSTRALIAN TIMBER DESIGN AWARDS 2013

Revolutionary technology leads the way in awards

Australian Timber Design Award 2013 Forté at Victoria Harbour – Lend Lease Excellence in Timber Design Awards

Application categories

• Residential Class 1 – New Buildings Shearer’s Quarters – John Wardle Architects • Multi Residential – New Buildings Forté at Victoria Harbour – Lend Lease • Residential Class 1 – Best Renovation Lilyfield Warehouse – Virginia Kerridge Architect

F

ORTE, AUSTRALIA’S tallest timber apartment building received the top award at the 2013 Australian Timber Design Awards presented by Timber Development Association.

Forte is a superlative example of what can be achieved using the latest generation of engineered timber products. The judging panel was particularly impressed by the use of crosslaminated timber (CLT) in the building frame. They expect that Forte will serve as a demonstration to the Australian market of how this revolutionary technology permits the rapid construction of strong, lightweight buildings that may be both tall and wide.

Award winners were announced at Zinc, Federation Square, Melbourne. Many well-known individuals from Government, the timber industry, and the design community were on hand to enjoy what has become the premier event in the Australian timber-design calendar.

• Public or Commercial Buildings Village Centre: National Arboretum Canberra – Tonkin Zulaikha Greer and Project Coordination • Interior Fitout – Residential Balmain House – Fox Johnston • Interior Fitout – Commercial Grain (bar), Four Seasons Sydney – Dreamtime Australia Design • Outdoor Timber – Stand-Alone Structures The Waratah Studio – studio505 • Furniture and Joinery Fairhaven Beach House Furniture – John Wardle Architects n CSA Cedar house.

n Forté at Victoria Harbour - Lend lease.

Distinction categories

• Sustainability Melton Library and Learning Centre – FrancisJones Morehen Thorp (fjmt) • Rising Star Bentleigh Secondary College Meditation and Indigenous Culture Centre – Nicholas Cini of dwp|suters • Small Budget Project Nunawading Residence – Maxa Design

Overall categories

• Best Central Region (ACT & NSW) Village Centre: National Arboretum Canberra – Tonkin Zulaikha Greer and Project Coordination • Best Northern Region (Qld & NT) Translational Research Institute – Wilson Architects + Donovan Hill Architects in association • Best Southern Region (Tas & Vic) Forté at Victoria Harbour – Lend Lease • Best Western Region (SA & WA) Karri Loop House – MORQ • People’s Choice Bentleigh Secondary College Meditation and Indigenous Culture Centre – dwp|suters • E xcellence in the use of Timber Products

n Shearer's quarters.

Recognition categories

n Bentleigh Secondary College.

n Fairhaven Beach House Furniture .

nT ranslational centre.

• Australian Certified Timber Village Centre: National Arboretum Canberra – Tonkin Zulaikha Greer and Project Coordination • Solid Timber Cladding Palm Beach House – Andrew Burges Architects • Engineered Timber Products Village Centre: National Arboretum Canberra – Tonkin Zulaikha Greer and Project Coordination • O ffice Fitout Featuring Veneers A Working Community – GroupGSA • Recycled Timber Jamberoo Farm House – Casey Brown Architecture • Treated Pine Carey Baptist College, Communal Permaculture Garden Pavillion – UWA, Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Visual Arts, David Bylund • Timber Veneers Grain (bar), Four Seasons Sydney – Dreamtime Australia Design • Timber Panels Karri Loop House – MORQ • Timber Windows and Doors Shearer’s Quarters – John Wardle Architects • Western Red Cedar Cedar House – Craig Steere Architects

19 - November 2013, TIMBERMAN

TIMBERMAN Classifieds To advertise in the Timberman Classifieds call Norm Nelsen on: (03) 9888 4820

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Dates for your Diary Promote your events in this publication (and also on our electronic Daily Timber News).

Lodge details at j.hudswell@ryanmediapl.com.au or phone (08) 7127 6370.

18-20 October 2013 Timber & Working With Wood Show, Melbourne. Melbourne Showgrounds. www.iexh.com.au

25-27 November 2013 6th International Colloquium on Eucalyptus Pulp (ICEP), Colonia del Sacramento, Uraguay. www.fing.edu.uy/iiq/6thicep/

24-27 October 2013 Paperex - 11th International Exhibition and Conference on Pulp and Paper Industry, New Dehli, India. www.paperex-expo.com/

26-29 November 2013 13th International Specialised Exhibition Woodex. Woodex is the largest specialized trade fair introducing the leading international manufacturers of timber and woodworking equipment. For 15 years Woodex have been the leading woodworking forum in Russia attracting more participants and visitors every year. www.woodexpo.ru

15 November 2013 VAFI annual dinner. More details later.

23 November Queensland Timber Industry Annual Gala Dinner hosted by TABMA QLD. 6:30pm Moda Events, Portside Wharf, Hamilton. Enquiries to Alicia Oelkers 07 3254 3166 or alicia@tabma.com.au

2014 14-15 January 2014 Truck Loggers Association Annual Convention and Expo - Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Email: contact@tla.ca. www.tla.ca

14-17 January 2014 Western Pallet Association Annual Meeting - Rancho Mirage, California, United States.

Email: wpa@westernpallet.org. www.westernpallet.org/annual_meeting.htm 4-14 February 2014 International Builders’ Show - Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. Email: NAHB@experient-inc.com www.buildersshow.com/ 17-21 February 2014 Gottstein Wood Science Course, Melbourne, www.gottsteintrust.org or secretary@gottsteintrust.org or phone Silvia Pongracic 0418 764 954 4-6 March 2014 Ecobuild, ExCel, London Email: info@ecobuild.co.uk. ecobuild.co.uk/

14-21 August 2014 Aseanwood Woodtech - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Email: info@tradelink.com.my www.tradelink.com.my/woodtech/index.php 14-15 September 2014 China Paper / China Forest - Shanghai, China. Email: phoebe@ejkbeijing.com www.chinapaperexpo.cn/ 14-15 October 2014 Timber Processing and Energy Expo Portland, Oregon, United States. Email: dianne@hattonbrown.com. www.timberprocessingandenergyexpo.com/ 15-18 October 2014 World Forestry Congress - XIII - Buenos Aires, Argentina. Email: info@cfm2009.org

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