Forest Products Industry

History keeps repeating itself in the smouldering forests of southwest France, now ash-covered and charred. Sources: The Associated Press and Mark Carlson, Toronto Star Devastated by previous blazes in 2022 and 1949, when 82 people died, the largest human-made woodland in Western Europe has again been ravaged by wildfires which burned an area four times the size of Paris. The forests of Les Landes — covering 10,000 square kilometres (3,860 square miles) were created in the 19th century for timber and resin production. They comprise endless rows of pines in neat, close lines, which works against them in a wildfire, with flames jumping easily from one tree to another. Blazes loom as a growing danger for the timberland because Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent. But climate change isn’t its sole vulnerability, experts say. They also point to the very nature of such industrial plantation, whose origins date back to the Second French Empire. The latest disaster is forcing a rethink in France about how to better prepare and manage forest expanses to cope with hotter, drier, more fire-prone conditions made worse by human-caused climate change, from the burning of coal, oil and gas. President Emmanuel Macron said a different kind of forest should be replanted. “The structural conditions created by climate change, under which we will have to live, have changed,” he said. “So has the pressure from housing and tourism.” Maritime pine is considered relatively fire-resistant due to its thick bark and ability to regenerate naturally. But experts believe its monoculture increases risk. Single-species forests of conifers are drier than mixed forests of broadleaf trees and conifers, favouring flames. “In a healthy, diverse forest there are multiple tree species, different age classes and several layers of vegetation, from ground plants and shrubs to mature trees such as oaks and beeches,” says Nathalie Naulet, an expert in forestry and agriculture. “In these ecosystems, less than 3% of the sun’s radiation reaches the forest floor.” In Les Landes, that layered structure does not exist. “Without a protective canopy, the soil heats up and dries out,” Naulet said. “The top few centimetres of soil, which should normally consist of water-rich humus, become dry and impoverished. In many places, humus has virtually disappeared.” Broadleaf trees retain more moisture, better for resisting fire. Pine trees coat the forest floor with mounds of flammable dead leaves that are springy underfoot, but which can smoulder long after a blaze. Fire crews and citizens are now dousing smoking embers — a job that could take weeks. “No matter how much we try to extinguish it, re-extinguish it, re-extinguish it, it keeps restarting all the time,” said Jean-Francois Pauner, 64, a resident helping the effort. Resinous pinecones can also ignite and be hurled hundreds of meters by wind, helping fire spread. “You end up with fires breaking out in every direction,” Naulet said. “Add heat and drought, and you get the picture.” Les Landes’ forests developed following a 1857 law on the drainage and cultivation of the Landes de Gascogne. Ruler Napoleon III ordered municipalities to sow maritime pines and sell off the heathlands, regarded as unproductive. Marshland was transformed into productive forest. The last shepherds who tended their flocks while walking on stilts disappeared. The forest displaced peasants. They found work in the timber industry and the harvesting of pine resin. The forest’s main purpose now is timber production. More than 90% of the forest area in Les Landes is privately owned, with 75% held by just 20% of landowners. The National Forest Office and local municipalities manage the remainder. According to the Southwest Foresters’ Association, which represents more than 65% of the privately owned forest in the region, the sector supports an estimated 60,000 jobs and generates more than 10 billion euros (US$11.5 billion) in annual revenue. Changing the way the Landes forests are managed will require negotiations between the timber industry, owners, and public authorities. If monoculture is partially abandoned in certain areas, financial compensation will be necessary. Nicolas Lafon, the association’s president, said rebuilding will require “financial resources commensurate with the scale of the challenge.” “Forest owners reject any attempt to portray them as being responsible for a disaster of which they are the primary victims,” he said. “They now expect the French government, elected officials, and all public stakeholders to implement a truly ambitious, coherent, and long-term national forest policy.” The national rethink on forests is also extending to wildlife. An online petition calling for a hunting moratorium in burned woodlands has gathered more than 300,000 signatories. Geographer Arthur Guérin-Turcq says that when fires start in the Landes, they can spread without encountering breaks until they reach villages. “It is therefore necessary to create buffer zones around settlements,” he said. Other possible solutions could include adding wetlands, more farmland or more businesses that aren’t so fire prone. Another option is to introduce more broadleaf trees. But transforming the entire forested area is a tall order in poor soils, said Guérin-Turcq, who wrote a report on the 2022 wildfires that displaced 37,000 people and destroyed 320 square kilometres (124 square miles) of forest. Bruno Lafon, regional president of the Forest Fire Defense Association, called for stronger wildfire prevention. “We need larger, well-maintained firebreaks, even if that means sacrificing 1,000 or 2,000 hectares,” he said. “Otherwise, we risk losing the Landes forest.”

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The Sumitomo Forestry Group publishes an Integrated Report every year to inform shareholders, investors, and all other stakeholders about its yearly performance and medium to long-term initiatives for corporate value enhancement, and to provide an opportunity for further dialogue. Source: Timberbiz This Integrated Report 2026, which reports on activities during the fiscal year ended December 2025, reaffirms the significance of the wood cycle and clearly presents the group’s approach to value creation. The report also provides a detailed update on the progress of Mission TREEING 2030 Phase 2, the Medium-term Management Plan established to realize the Long-term Vision for 2030, and presents the strategies and business models of each business segment. This report is intended to serve as a medium for stakeholders, including shareholders and investors, to better understand the Sumitomo story. In addition to this report, the IR section of the company’s website provides IR information in both Japanese and English, including financial results, financial factbooks, briefing materials, and monthly order information related to the Housing Business. Detailed information on sustainability initiatives is available in Japanese and English on the sustainability section of the website. You can download the report here.

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The US Forest Service announced US$105.5 million in wood innovation grants for 177 projects across the nation that support active management of national forests and grasslands, promote wood and energy infrastructure by increasing manufacturing capacity and operational efficiencies and support rural economic prosperity and jobs. Source: Timberbiz The grants include US$31 million for 113 wood innovation projects, US$17 million for 23 community wood projects, and US$57 million for 41 wood products infrastructure assistance projects. The selected projects across 44 states and the District of Columbia will create and retain jobs, reduce wildfire risks for communities adjacent to federal or tribal lands, improve forest health and expand economic opportunities for forest products businesses. “The greatest threat to forest landowners and those who use forests is the lack of critical markets in today’s timber and wood products industries,” US Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz said. “There are significant gaps where low-value wood, small diameter trees and restoration byproducts lack viable buyers. To close these gaps, we are investing in companies and organizations that are developing technologies, products, business models and training to expand and strengthen markets directly connected to forest restoration. “Over time, this will help create new uses for underused materials, strengthen rural economies, improve forest health, and make forest management more financially sustainable.” National forests and the wood products industry are intricately linked in ways that benefit landscapes, communities, and the broader national economy, especially for rural economies that rely on healthy forests. Active forest management including environmentally responsible timber harvests, helps reduce wildfire risk, improves forest health and maintains diverse, resilient ecosystems. By extension, the wood products industry creates a market for the byproducts of active forest management, turning small-diameter timber, dry, overgrown vegetation that can fuel wildfires and other industrial byproducts into useful projects that support jobs and rural communities. The wood innovations investments support President Trump’s Executive Order on Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L Rollins’ direction to have the Forest Service to ramp up active forest management to improve forest health, reduce wildfire risk, and support rural prosperity. Byproducts of these activities such as small diameter timber and woody biomass have historically had little market value. Forest Service grant programs help create new opportunities to use this material in a wide range of wood products.

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OneFortyOne has released a new video providing an overview of the Jubilee Co-Generation Boiler Project, one of the most significant investments in the future of the Jubilee Sawmill and the company’s sustainability journey. Source: Timberbiz The video explains how the project will modernise energy generation at the site by converting sawmill residues into renewable energy, reducing emissions and improving operational efficiency. Once complete, the facility will be capable of producing enough renewable electricity to power the sawmill’s operations, with the potential to export surplus energy to the grid. OneFortyOne Executive General Manager Australia Cameron MacDonald said the project represents a major step forward for the business and the region. “The Co-Generation Boiler Project is a cornerstone of our emissions reduction strategy and demonstrates how manufacturing and sustainability can work hand in hand,” Mr MacDonald said. “The new video is a great way for our employees, customers, and community to better understand what we’re building and the long-term benefits it will deliver.” The video is now available to view at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gq3lddh9UYc

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New Canadian research echoes themes explored by Australia’s System 600 while highlighting different approaches to industrialised housing. Source: Built Offsite When Perkins&Will recently released its research into a modular mass timber housing system for Canada, the immediate takeaway was straightforward: another country is exploring how prefabrication, standardisation and offsite manufacturing might help address housing supply. Look a little closer, however, and another story emerges. Although developed independently and for different purposes, the Canadian research and Australia’s System 600 initiative appear to be grappling with many of the same questions. How can housing become easier to manufacture? How can design, approvals and construction become more repeatable? And how can industrialised construction support domestic manufacturing rather than relying on isolated proprietary systems? The answers, however, are not identical. The Canadian project, developed by Perkins&Will in collaboration with industry and academic partners, is built around a rationalised structural grid, a concise kit of prefabricated components, coordinated building services and modular planning principles. The objective is to streamline design, manufacturing and assembly while supporting Canada’s housing and climate objectives. Many of those themes will sound familiar to Australians following Building 4.0 CRC’s System 600 research, which also explores standardised design rules, coordinated interfaces and component-based construction. Neither project simply asks how to manufacture buildings in a factory. Instead, both investigate whether greater coordination across design, manufacturing and construction can improve productivity, simplify delivery and create more repeatable outcomes. Where they diverge is in their starting point. The Canadian research is firmly rooted in mass timber. It examines how engineered timber, modular planning and prefabricated components can work together to produce adaptable, low-carbon housing while strengthening Canada’s timber manufacturing sector. System 600, by contrast, begins with a broader manufacturing platform. Rather than focusing on a particular material, it explores whether common dimensional rules and standardised interfaces can enable multiple manufacturers and building systems to operate within a shared framework. In that sense, the Canadian work starts with a construction system built around timber, while System 600 starts with the concept of interoperability across the construction supply chain. The distinction is important because it reflects different ways of approaching the same challenge. The value of comparing these initiatives is not to determine which approach is superior. Both remain research programs rather than established industry models, and both will continue to evolve through testing and industry engagement. System 600, in particular, has generated considerable discussion within Australia’s offsite sector. Some participants see value in developing common interfaces and greater interoperability, while others have questioned aspects of its framework, implementation and potential role within a diverse manufacturing ecosystem. Those differing perspectives are part of the ongoing conversation about how industrialised construction should develop in Australia. What is perhaps most noteworthy is that researchers in two different countries are increasingly asking similar questions. Rather than focusing solely on individual products, whether volumetric modules, panels or pods, both initiatives are examining how housing can be designed around coordinated systems, manufacturing logic and repeatable processes. That does not necessarily point towards a single international model. Instead, it suggests the conversation around industrialised construction is becoming more sophisticated. The focus is shifting beyond factory-built buildings towards the broader systems that enable them to be designed, manufactured and assembled more efficiently. Whether those ideas ultimately lead to common standards, multiple competing platforms or entirely different approaches remains to be seen. What is already evident, however, is that the discussion is no longer confined to individual building systems. Increasingly, it is about how entire manufacturing ecosystems can be organised to deliver housing at greater scale, while responding to the priorities and capabilities of each country. To find out more about System 600 visit https://www.prefabaus.org.au/news-events/rethinking-prefabrication-how-system-600-is-pioneering-a-new-kit-of-parts-approach-to-australias-housing-crisis Find the proposed Canadian mass timber modular housing system at https://www.modulartimberhousing.ca/

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