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The FTMA State Seminars have solidified their place as an integral event in the fabricator calendar, bringing together fabricators, expert speakers, and valued partners. Source: Timberbiz State Seminars have been run in SA, NSW & QLD in collaboration with three principal partners, Mitek, Multinail and Pryda, who have all run their own morning sessions. The morning nail plate sessions were an opportunity for fabricators to engage directly with nail plate companies – Multinail, MiTek, and Pryda, and fellow fabricators and showcasing the latest developments in software, services, and machinery, providing crucial insights to enhance fabricators’ operations. With dedicated time to explore innovative advancements, attendees gained knowledge essential to staying competitive and efficient. After lunch, the FTMA State Seminars kicked off and for three hours, delegates not only had the opportunity of listening to the speakers but also participating in workshops to provide crucial feedback on key industry initiatives. Tim Woods presented on fabrication’s critical role in solving Australia’s housing supply crisis. Mr Woods and Jim Houghton recently completed a major study for the Australian industry, funded, supported and launched by Forest & Wood Products Australia. The More Houses Sooner – Finding the Australian Dream report provides clear clues and scenarios that show a pathway for fabricators and the timber supply chain and explains why that is vital to Australia’s future prosperity. Members were surprised when they realised it has been 40 years since we have been able to build enough homes for Australians. We used to build roughly 60 homes for every 100 Australians; this has now dropped to only 23 homes for every 100 persons. Timber Systems Design Training has been a training package that has been decades in the making, and members were keen to see a first draft of the online training. Andrew Jones showed career videos he had received, but more are needed – time lapse of building sites, or simple images that depict the industry. Mr Jones was blown away with how open the fabricators were, including those who invited him to their plants to take as many photos and videos as possible. The TSD Online training is due before the end of 2025. Louise Wallis presented on the AFWI projects, including the Future Framing Initiative. There are more than 11 projects specifically focused on the lightweight timber frame and truss sector, and FTMA is pleased to be working with the universities and researchers on these projects. Andrew Kidd, Chair of the Frame & truss National Safety Council presented on the benefits of the safety council while addressing key safety issues. Mr Kidd outlined that the objectives of the Frame & Truss National Safety Council, which has more than 120 years of experience. Nail Plate engineers presented on the breakdown of what warranties actually mean. Fabricators are always asking what their obligations are when it comes to warranties. Engineers from MiTek, Multinail and Pryda explained the obligations for builders, fabricators and nail plate companies, and produced a table for easy identification. The State Seminar for Victoria is set for 5 August at RACV Healesville, and the WA State Seminar is booked in for 28 August 2025 at Crown Perth. For more information visit https://ftmanews.com/

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Rayonier has announced the completion of the previously announced sale of entities holding its 77% interest in the New Zealand joint venture to a special purpose vehicle owned by an investment fund managed by The Rohatyn Group (TRG), a global asset manager specializing in emerging markets and real assets, for a purchase price of US$710 million. Source: Timberbiz Net proceeds to Rayonier, after adjusting for estimated net debt, working capital, transaction costs, and other closing adjustments, are expected to be US$699 million. Rayonier is a leading timberland real estate investment trust with assets located in some of the most productive softwood timber growing regions in the United States. On 30  June 2025, the company completed the previously announced sale of the entirety of its New Zealand assets. “We have now completed roughly US$1.45 billion of dispositions since introducing our asset disposition and capital structure realignment plan in November 2023, significantly exceeding the original $1 billion target,” said Mark McHugh, President and Chief Executive Officer of Rayonier. “The success of this plan has allowed us to achieve our new leverage target in a manner that has been accretive to both CAD* and NAV per share, as well as better position Rayonier to create long-term value for our shareholders going forward. “We want to extend our gratitude to the team in New Zealand, which has done an outstanding job in managing these highly productive assets, and we are pleased to transfer the stewardship of this business to TRG, a well-regarded manager of forestry assets in the region.” Rayonier continues to anticipate using at least 50% of the proceeds to reduce leverage and/or return capital to shareholders through special dividends and share repurchases. Remaining proceeds are expected to be deployed opportunistically to fund other capital allocation priorities, including additional share buybacks and/or potential reinvestment into synergistic acquisitions. Rayonier continues to expect a special dividend for 2025 of US$1.00 to US$1.40 per share, which will be paid in a combination of cash and shares (details to be announced later this year). During the second quarter, Rayonier repurchased ~1.5 million shares for ~$35 million in total. As of June 30, 2025, the company had ~US$262 million remaining under its current share repurchase authorization. Rayonier had previously reclassified its New Zealand business to discontinued operations on its consolidated financial statements, and the updated financial outlook provided in conjunction with the company’s first quarter results on April 30 excluded contributions from the New Zealand business.  

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The Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA) has welcomed the Albanese Government announcement of a review into Australia’s gas market regulations to ensure ‘they’re fit for purpose and deliver in the national interest’, as timber and wood-fibre processors and manufacturers continue to battle high energy and other input costs, Chief Executive Officer of AFPA, Diana Hallam said. Source: Timberbiz “The rising cost of gas and electricity is a major risk to our processing and manufacturing supply chain with several major businesses on the brink as a result. “We welcome this gas market review announced by Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen and Resources Minister Madeleine King and encourage it to work towards sufficient and more affordable gas supply going forward,” Ms Hallam said. The gas market review will examine the impact of: The Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism (ADGSM) The Gas Market Code Heads of Agreement with major east coast gas exporters. The review will also consider the role of market bodies and investment that aims to boost supply and put downward pressure on prices. “Australian forestry and forest products businesses are the nation’s 6th largest manufacturing sector and affordable gas and electricity is essential to make production trees into the range of sustainable and renewable everyday products we create – from timber house-frames to cardboard boxes,” Ms Hallam said. “In addition to energy, logistics and insurance costs are also rising – meaning some businesses are being forced to consider whether they continue manufacturing at all. Over the first term of the Albanese Government energy costs for a number of our members more than doubled – further increases of this magnitude are simply not sustainable. “Our sector is responsible for injecting $24 billion into the economy annually. We directly employ 80,000 people and indirectly employ another 100,000 on top. Many of these jobs are the lifeblood of regional centres. It’s vital to maintain the scale and integration of our sector – if the cost of one element in the supply chain becomes too difficult it will have a huge ripple impact across the rest of the sector. “The Albanese Government must support manufacturing, and the gas market review is a good step to examine the impact of what is a major input cost, placing considerable pressure on our industry.”  

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The Forest Stewardship Council Australia and New Zealand has launched the first public consultation on the revised FSC Forest Stewardship Standard for Australia. The public consultation marks an important milestone in the revision process initiated by FSC ANZ to ensure the FSS continues to promote best-practice responsible forest management and remains fit for purpose. Source: Timberbiz “The Board considers the Forest Stewardship Standard to be the keystone of everything FSC ANZ does as an organisation, locking the whole together,” new chair James Felton-Taylor said. “We are grateful for the incredible work the SDG has put into developing this first draft. We encourage everyone with a passion for responsible forestry to take part in the public consultation.” The consultation is open from 1 July to 31 August 2025. All stakeholders are invited to review the draft and provide feedback via the FSC Public Consultation Platform. To support stakeholder understanding and engagement, FSC ANZ will host two identical webinars presenting an overview of the revision process and the main proposed changes to the Standard: 29 July, 18:00 – 19:30 PM AEST – go to https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/1bb8afa5-1b62-4480-92d3-8f171ed61965@124e69db-ef65-496b-96a9-5d56bec1d291 to register 1 August, 10:00 – 11:30 AM AEST – go to https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/6ed9666f-4fa4-48b1-bd63-81d7223b235f@124e69db-ef65-496b-96a9-5d56bec1d291 to register Members of the Standards Development Group (SDG), who drafted the revised version of the FSS, will attend both webinars. The webinars will not be recorded. Some of the most significant proposed changes include: Stricter controls on the use of highly hazardous pesticides Stronger safeguards for workers’ rights The introduction of the Indigenous Cultural Landscapes concept New cultural empathy requirements for specific forestry roles. Feedback from the consultation will be compiled by FSC ANZ and submitted to the SDG to inform the development of the second draft, scheduled for consultation in 2026. A public consultation report and the SDG’s formal responses to the feedback received will be shared in the second round of consultation. The SDG encourages all interested stakeholders to provide feedback on this first draft of the revised standard. It welcomes feedback that can help improve the draft and encourages stakeholders to be as constructive as possible in their feedback. Input that suggests how specific changes can be improved is especially welcome. If you have any questions contact Stefan Jensen, Senior Policy Manager at FSC ANZ and SDG facilitator: s.jensen@au.fsc.org For more information about the revision process, go to https://anz.fsc.org/forest-management-certification/revision-of-fsc-std-aus-01-2018-en-national-forest-stewardship Take part in the consultation go to https://consultation-platform.fsc.org/en/consultations/take/c3b2e63e12551

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