Forest Products Industry

Executive Administrator at PF Olsen Ltd Janine Branson decided to see what Chat GPT would write about NZ forestry today. Interesting reading. Source: Timberbiz This is CHAT GPT’s view on forestry in New Zealand Forestry in New Zealand Today: A Pillar of Sustainability and Economic Growth Forestry remains one of New Zealand’s most significant industries, contributing to both the economy and environmental sustainability. With over 1.7 million hectares of planted forests, predominantly radiata pine, New Zealand’s forestry sector generates more than $6 billion annually and employs thousands across rural communities. The industry is a cornerstone of the country’s export market, with wood products being shipped to over 120 countries, including key partners like China, Japan, and the United States. Domestically, forestry supports construction, furniture manufacturing, and pulp and paper industries. In recent years, New Zealand’s forestry practices have increasingly aligned with sustainability principles. The Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) incentivizes forest planting, making forestry a crucial player in the country’s efforts to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Forests sequester around 19 million tonnes of CO₂ annually, a vital contribution to combating climate change. However, the sector faces challenges, including the impacts of climate change, fluctuating international demand, and debates around land use. Cyclone Gabrielle in early 2023 underscored the vulnerability of forestry infrastructure, sparking discussions on more resilient practices. The government and industry leaders are now focusing on improving forest management and infrastructure while addressing environmental concerns like sediment runoff and the legacy of “slash.” Looking ahead, innovation will play a pivotal role in the forestry sector’s evolution. From exploring engineered timber in construction to adopting digital technologies for forest management, New Zealand is well-positioned to remain a leader in sustainable forestry on the global stage. For New Zealanders, forestry is more than an industry, it’s a legacy of stewardship that balances economic needs with the health of our environment.  

As part of the Forestry Transition Fund the Labor Government is investing $789,766 into Helico Australia, an Alexandra based specialist helicopter servicing business, to expand the businesses. Source: Timberbiz The investment will go towards the construction of a new $1.5 million purpose-built maintenance facility and headquarters, to meet the growing demands of the aviation industry across Australia. “This expansion by Helico Australia will not only provide additional local jobs but will also bring economic benefits to the wider community, I encourage eligible local businesses to apply for Round 2 of the Forestry Transition Fund to expand and diversify into new business opportunities,” Member for Northern Victoria Jaclyn Symes said. The new premises will consist of larger workshops with work bays for helicopter and engine tear-down and rebuilds, a spare parts store, paint booths, sheet metal manufacturing and non-destructive testing. There will also be a dedicated area for innovative engineering design and fabrication technologies. Helico Australia is planning to use local tradespeople for the construction of the new facilities, having already established relationships with trades in the region. The business currently has 24 staff, and when the new facilities are built it will employ additional full-time employees in a variety of roles ranging from engineers to hangar and grounds staff and trainees. Helico Australia services and rebuilds Robinson helicopters that are used by the agricultural and resources industries in northern Australia for stock mustering and transport, as well as the delivery of supplies during the wet season. Round 2 of the Forestry Transition Fund, which supports job creation and business development in and around communities impacted by the end of native timber harvesting, is now open. A $20,000 employment incentive payment for the employment of ex-native timber workers is also available. Applications close on 31 October 2025, for more information visit www.deeca.vic.gov.au/forestry or call 1800 318 182.

In the 1970s and 1980s, Les Schultz (“The Baron”) was the senior APM executive responsible as General Manager for Forests and Wood Products Australia wide, then Australia’s largest private forest grower. Source: Timberbiz Mr Schultz’ previous company roles included 1968-69 convenor of the committee to review APM’s profitability and future prospects, in the late 1850s-1960s he was mill manager at Petrie paper Mill, and logging engineer in charge of wood handling in Gippsland and road construction and maintenance were key responsibilities Oliver Raymond (retired Chief Fire Control Officer and Harvesting Development Officer APMF) in a vale to Les Schultz described working with Les Schultz. “Anyone who has worked with Les over a period will well remember the way he looked at you with those eyes. Which one was actually looking at you? “I really enjoyed him because he didn’t put up with bulldust. He would grill you, but after he was convinced you knew what you were talking about, his back-up was great. “I remember having spent a couple of years trying to get the Windsor Tree Harvesters to work, I finally said to him ‘Les, they are not the answer to mechanization of harvesting radiata’. Okay he said, what is the answer?” “So, I told him about a Swedish machine called a Logma that I had read about in an overseas magazine. I explained the reasons it would work in radiata where a Windsor wouldn’t. “He thought about what I had said, asked a few more questions and then said: ‘Well, you’d better go and look at it.’ “To cut a long story short, I did, and the Logma was a success in radiata harvesting.” In another description that tells of Mr Schultz’ wide appreciation for forestry, two forest department workers lost their lives in a wildfire in the Western District. Mr Schultz and Mr Raymond contacted the local district forester and flew over to meet him in a helicopter, the day after the event. The two men had been fighting a wildfire on a dozer and unfortunately had decided to try to get away from the fire by going up a hill. The fire had travelled faster than they could, and it overtook them. The engine on the dozer was still going when they were found after the fire had swept over them. The operator had stood up and fallen off the machine. His offsider was found in front of the dozer’s blade. Both had apparently died by breathing superheated air from the fire. They certainly were not badly burnt. The dozer was still in the position it had been found in the previous day. There was some low vegetation within five meters of the machine. The shrubbery had been scorched, but not burnt. The engine of the machine was still going when the two men were found, so lack of oxygen was obviously not a problem. It was a solemn trip back in the chopper. The lesson learnt was spread through the company’s workforce. Do not try to outrun a fire travelling up hill. Remember that fire doubles its rate of travel for every 10 degrees of uphill slope. Vale Les Schultz. A long life, but you left behind a lot of benefits to your workers.]

Even after the Prime Minister scuppered a deal this week to pass Nature Positive legislation with the crossbench, Labor MPs are still claiming that the prospect of a Federal EPA could still be delivered early next year before the Federal election. Source: Timberbiz There is now chaos, confusion and undermining between Anthony Albanese, Madeleine King and the Western Australian Government on one hand, and Tanya Plibersek and fellow left faction Labor MPs on the other. Labor is divided and rudderless, as the Prime Minister desperately tries to please everyone while simultaneously pleasing no one. Shadow Environment Minister Jonno Duniam wants the Government to come clean on its intentions: “Will the Government confirm that it will put its Nature Positive Bills before the Senate, as they stand, next year as Senator Katy Gallagher claimed yesterday? If so, why wasn’t this done this week when they had apparently struck a deal with the crossbench?” The Nature Positive (Environment Law Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2024 included amendments to close the loophole that exempts native forest logging from the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. The new laws will apply to the native forest industry but will not ban native logging altogether. The Nature Positive legislation included other measures that aim to protect the environment, such as: Establishing a statutory definition of “nature positive” Establishing the Environment Protection Australia (EPA) as an independent statutory agency Introducing stronger compliance and enforcement measures Creating new environment protection orders that allow the Minister to stop work or restrict activities that pose a significant environmental risk Establishing a nature repair scheme Expanding the “water trigger” to all forms of unconventional gas development. “The Government are walking both sides of the street. They don’t want to say their EPA is dead, but the Prime Minister killed off a deal on it for the second time- at the request of the Western Australian Labor Party,” Minister Duniam said in a statement. “Clearly, if their EPA is established, it will mean that resource rich states and territories like Western Australia that already have their own EPA will have to deal with another heavy layer of environmental bureaucracy. “Before anything else in the environmental policy space, the Government should abide by their commitment to reform the EPBC Act – as Minister Plibersek promised to do way back, before the end of 2023. “Labor’s proposed Federal EPA is simply a bureaucracy on top of broken environmental laws that will only increase confusion and red tape, making it harder to get a government approval for a project while not guaranteeing any improved environmental outcomes. “The ongoing rancour and feuding between Anthony Albanese and Tanya Plibersek is incredibly damaging for the Labor Party but, even worse, is preventing any good outcomes for Australia.”  

After 47 years we are thrilled that Australasian Timber Magazine (formally Timberman) is transitioning to a fully digital magazine format. Australasian Timber Magazine will continue to expand its unique industry segment’s coverage and promotion of timber manufacturing, technology, design, construction and products as consumers and governments increasingly recognise timber’s carbon saving advantages, Australasian Timber Magazine This change comes with several exciting benefits for our readers and advertisers alike. The decision to move from a print magazine to a digital format has been driven by demand from Australasian Timber Magazine readers and advertisers, evolving media consumption trends and the advantages digital platforms offer. Audiences are increasingly seeking content that is accessible anytime, anywhere, on devices they already use. A digital magazine meets these needs by offering greater convenience and flexibility, allowing readers to access articles on various devices. It also allows readers to click on links contained in stories and in advertisements. Furthermore, digital platforms provide valuable data analytics, offering insights into reader preferences, engagement patterns, and content performance allowing for more targeted content creation and personalized marketing strategies. In our first fully digital edition of Australasian Timber Magazine we feature the announcement of the 2024 Timber Design Awards, with the overall prize going to the outstanding Embassy of Australia in Washington D.C. Designed by Bates Smart Architects, the project involved a delicate balance between cultural representation, iconic civic presence and practical security considerations. The inspiration came from Australia’s iconic landscape and embodies the essence of the vast continent. We also look in details at Phillip Island’s prestigious new multi-dimensional cultural centre in Cowes which won the Excellence in Timber Design (Sustainability) award. We also report on the launch of an updated timber framing campaign with new assets and expanded digital push, and report on a world-first engineered wood product made exclusively from locally grown bluegum (Eucalyptus Globulus) timber manufactured in Warrnambool which will provide a pathway to address Australia’s growing structural timber market demand. The Green Triangle Forest Industries Hub and Forest and Wood Products Australia, working in partnership with WTIBeam (formerly known as Warrnambool Timber Industries), have unveiled the first of its kind GL18 timber product which can be utilised in everything from flooring to roof framing in both residential and commercial construction. And we look at reports of imported timber products that could potentially mislead consumers into thinking they’re from sustainable Australian sources, along with recent revelations that up to a quarter of products failed Federal Government inspection. It’s a situation which has Australian Timber Importers Federation concerned, with members facing one of the toughest battles to comply with some of the world’s strictest legislation aimed at combating the trade in illegally logged timber. And we profile Neville Smith Forest Products, a trailblazer in Tasmania’s forestry sector, renowned for its commitment to sustainability, innovation, and responsible sourcing. Neville Smith Forest Products is a leader in the timber industry, with a heritage spanning over 100 years. NSFP is known for producing high-quality hardwood products, all sourced from sustainably harvested regrowth and plantation forests. To read our first digital issue for free go to https://www.timberbiz.com.au/atm/current/And you can get Australasian Timber Magazine delivered directly into your inbox by subscribing for free at https://winetitles.us12.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=ac41575cbca450f7966070392&id=c05a617678