Feed aggregator

The Bandit team has launched the HM6420 hammermill grinder to market. This highly productive 40” capacity grinder is designed and manufactured to be an alternative solution for those grinding applications that may contain contaminants. Source: Timberbiz A Caterpillar C32, 1,200 horsepower engine provides ample torque and horsepower for optimal machine performance and productivity. The heart of the HM6420 is a 50” diameter x 66” wide hammermill. The heavy-duty mill features a 1.75” drum skin custom formed from rolled plate. The mill is supported by a 7” main shaft constructed of alloy steel that has been ultrasonic tested. Each pocket within the mill is manufactured from high strength A-514 steel. These combinations create a structural sound mill for added durability and integrity. The mill is equipped with 20 carbide infused hammer inserts built to withstand the toughest material fed into the machine. Each holder is securely attached to the mill via a patent-pending quick change pocket system. Each holder recesses into the mill pocket, increasing durability. A top plate covers the pocket and holds in place by six hex bolts. The hammer insert is attached to each holder utilizing two bolts. With this set-up, the mill hardware is easier and quicker to replace. A heavy-duty slat-style infeed conveyor is directly driven generating over 18,000 pounds of pulling power. The large diameter feed wheel is also directly driven and provides an additional 17,000 pounds of pulling power and 8,650 to 17,300 pounds of down force when hydraulic pressure is applied. These combinations allow the HM6420 to grind massive quantities of material efficiently and effectively at one time. A proportional feed system is standard and regulates the feed system from 82 – 132 feet per minute. The HM6420 has one of the fastest feed rates on the market allowing it to quickly process material. The proportional feed system allows operators to adjust the feed based on material being processed ensuring maximum output and grinder efficiency, all while achieving a higher quality end-product. Three screens are located on the top side of the HM6420 mill. A variety of screen sizes are available up to 7” to produce various end-product sizes. The top feed wheel moves upward, and a removable screen cradle allows for quick screen set-up changes. All work for screen changing is performed outside of the machine. An impact detection system is standard and designed to limit damage if a contaminant is struck inside the grinding chamber. Once an impact event is detected, the grinder will idle down, open the gate, disengage the clutch, and reverse the feed. A 56” wide height adjustable discharge with a stacking height of 16’ 8” is standard. The height of the discharge can easily be adjusted accommodating various grinding scenarios and situations. The standard wireless remote controls all grinding and tracking functions and features an LCD screen that will display engine coolant temperature, engine oil pressure, engine load percentage, engine RPM, and battery voltage.

John Deere has announced it has entered into an agreement with SpaceX to provide cutting-edge satellite communications (SATCOM) service to farmers. Utilizing the industry-leading Starlink network, this solution will allow farmers facing rural connectivity challenges to fully leverage precision agriculture technologies. Source: Timberbiz This partnership, an industry first, will enable John Deere customers to be more productive, profitable, and sustainable in their operations as they continue to provide food, fuel, and fibre for their communities and a growing global population. “The value of connectivity to farmers is broader than any single task or action. Connectivity unlocks vast opportunities that were previously limited or unavailable,” said Aaron Wetzel, Vice President of Production and Precision Ag Production Systems at John Deere. “For example, throughout the year, farmers must complete tasks within extremely short windows of time. This requires executing incredibly precise production steps while coordinating between machines and managing machine performance. Each of these areas are enhanced through connectivity, making the entire operation more efficient, effective, and profitable.” The SATCOM solution will connect both new and existing machines through satellite internet service and ruggedized satellite terminals. This will fully enable technologies such as autonomy, real-time data sharing, remote diagnostics, enhanced self-repair solutions, and machine-to-machine communication, all of which help farmers work more efficiently while minimizing downtime. “John Deere has led the agriculture equipment industry for more than two decades with satellite-based precision guidance technology,” said Jahmy Hindman, Senior Vice President & Chief Technology Officer at John Deere. “Now, we are bringing satellite communications service to the farm at scale so farmers with cellular coverage challenges can maximize the value of connectivity to their operations. The SATCOM solution unlocks the John Deere tech stack so every farmer can fully utilize their current precision agriculture technology in addition to the new innovative solutions they will deploy in the future. We initiated this process with a fierce focus on delivering value to our customers, and this partnership ensures we have a solution that meets their needs today and in the future.” John Deere’s SATCOM solution will leverage SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet constellation. To activate this solution, John Deere dealers will install a ruggedized Starlink terminal on compatible machines, along with a 4G LTE JDLink modem to connect the machine to the John Deere Operations Center. The SATCOM solution will initially be available through a limited release in the United States and Brazil starting in the second half of 2024.  

Due to the continued weak and uncertain market environment, Stora Enso plans to initiate a new profit improvement program which could lead to a potential reduction of approximately 1000 employees. Source: Timberbiz The profit improvement program is designed to improve Stora Enso’s long-term competitiveness by focusing on core business activities that can drive the Group’s strategy supported by a decentralised operating model. The profit improvement program would be implemented without any new production site closures. The majority of the savings would materialise during 2025, and the larger part of the employee reductions are planned to take place during the first half of 2024. The employee reductions, efficiency improvements and synergy opportunities would impact all divisions and Group functions and reflect the size of their respective organisations. “Although difficult, this plan is necessary to ensure our long-term success and competitiveness. Last year, we completed a restructuring program which led to the identification of synergy opportunities, which we plan to address with our new profit improvement initiative. “We are facing persistent weakness in the macroeconomic and geopolitical environment and need to focus on core business activities which align with our strategy. Through this programme we would strengthen our focus on profitability making us more competitive and resilient to market uncertainties,” Hans Sohlström, Stora Enso’s President and CEO said. No decisions regarding the planned employee reductions will be taken until the change negotiations have been concluded according to local regulations. At the end of last year Stora Enso completed a restructuring program which was initiated in June 2023 and resulted in 1150 employee reductions.  

Radial Timber is a Victorian based company that grows, mills and distributes a range of unique and standard products from durable and sustainable Victorian Hardwoods. Their latest innovative radial saw technology is unique and proudly developed in Gippsland Victoria. Source: Timberbiz The radial saw works by taking very small diameter hardwood sawlogs and cuts them up into wedges like a pizza. Once the saw has cut the log into wedges, it then cuts those wedges into boards whilst maximising the recovery of sawn timber from smaller logs. As such, radial sawing has a range of both environmental and technical benefits. Where conventional sawing methods require large diameter logs, the radial saw helps make small hardwood logs more viable by maximising the yield of high value timber products. Twenty years ago Radial Timber started with a prototype plant which was very manual labour intensive, and very low in productivity. Over the years the team at Radial kept refining and developing ideas and concepts. They realised if they were ever going move forward, they had to scale up to a fully commercial plant. As the demand for their radial sawn commercial timber increased, the team made plans to improve production as well as their processing methods. The team at Radial Timber started early discussions with engineering company AE Gibson & Sons, to discuss their concepts and ideas. They wanted to get a reputable engineering business in Australia to produce the sawmill equipment and help them to develop and improve on the sawmill machinery they already had on site. Once Radial Timber had the IP in place for the unique process, they knew they were onto a winner. The engineering team at AE Gibson & Sons took it in their stride to engineer a fully customised unique machine. The Gibson team understood the brief and came back with an implementation plan to engineer a suitable solution. Prior to the Gibson machine design, the initial radial saw was difficult to load and position the log accurately. It was also time consuming to extract the wedges from the cut zone. With the newly designed radial saw the log is positioned and dogged automatically, and the saw cut pattern is PLC controlled. As each saw cut is completed, the log rotates 45 degrees resulting in eight cuts per log. This greatly increases the machine production outputted and it’s all controlled by an operator located safely in a control cabin. The timber wedges move from the log saw to a transfer deck and then the resaw, where each wedge is cut into multiple boards. With eight timber wedges and up to five or six boards out of each wedge, this results in 35 or more long timber boards coming out of every small log. “It helps to predict exactly what you’re recovering from each log, if it’s a six metre timber log most of the boards are six metres long,” Radial Timber owner and managing director Chris McEvoy said. This was so important, since the company could see the log size coming from forests were getting smaller, and the increased need to recover more from the small logs. This helped them make the decision to invest in improving their overall process with Gibson machinery and technology. Radial Timber has also invested in plantation forests, with 1000 hectares of plantations that have been planted over the last 20 years with 1000 hectares more to go. The important thing about the latest radial technology is that it’s ideally suited to plantation timber. With plantation timber you can grow a tree to a certain size and a certain height. This enables Radial to plan and predict exactly what they are going to get out of every piece of timber. The more uniform the timber product, the higher the recovery with less wastage and the more profitability there will be.

The Sydney Timber Architecture and Construction Forum will be held on 22 February 2024 and organised by WoodSolutions. This in-person event will take place at the NSW Teachers Federation Conference Centre, located in the heart of Sydney. Source: Timberbiz At the forum, you’ll have the opportunity to connect with industry experts, architects, builders, and suppliers, all passionate about timber. Discover the latest trends, innovative techniques, and sustainable practices that are shaping the future of timber construction. Immerse yourself in a morning filled with presentations on the latest in active moisture management from international guests, the latest in Passive House construction, and the new face of industrial buildings in wood. Learn from speakers who will share their expertise, success stories, and valuable insights. Gain practical knowledge that to apply to projects, while exchanging ideas with like-minded professionals. The seminar will feature internationally renowned expert Jason Teetaert of Structure Monitoring Technology, a leader in real-time building physics tracking. He has travelled from Canada to showcase permanent roof leak detection, which is able to pinpoint moisture breaches early before major damage. This proactive safeguard system uses sensor networks installed directly into roof assemblies. This is an event targeted at architects, engineers and builders. For more information and to book click here.

Recent research suggesting that hazard-reduction burning increases bushfire risk has come under fire from the NSW Rural Fire Service. Source: Timberbiz RFS community risk director Simon Heemstra has echoed comments from Forestry Australia that there is no panacea for reducing the impacts of catastrophic bushfires. The research – “Identifying and managing disturbance-stimulated flammability in woody ecosystems” – published in scientific journal Biological Reviews, draws on studies of the severe bushfires in 2009 and 2019-2020 to identify factors that may increase the intensity of a burn. It found that that the risk of extreme blazes decreased as trees grew taller. However, Dr Heemstra told the ABC that while the report offered some insights regarding fuel accumulation it did not outline anything the organisation could put into practice. “To wholesale adopt the recommendations of this report would make the landscape much more dangerous and threaten life and property,” he said. Dr Heemstra said prescribed burns reduced the fuel load, helped certain vegetation reproduce, made putting out small fires easier, and provided training for RFS staff. “There is always a reduction in risk when you reduce part of the fuel,” he told the ABC. “Fires are going to be not as intense, not run as fast, and be more easily controlled. “Our losses of property and risk to human life are significantly reduced once we reduce fuel load. “The more we implement prescribed burning and have strategies to try to reduce ignitions and suppress fires, the more we’re reducing these big fires with a very significant impact.” Dr Heemstra said the report was overly simplistic in its suggestions about lightning strike modelling and drones dropping retardants on ignitions to prevent sparks becoming bushfire blazes. “There are options we need to look at in the future, but it’s not a silver bullet and it needs to go in the mix with everything else we are doing as far as bushfire risk management,” he said. Dr Heemstra told the ABC the RFS aimed to burn bushland every five to 10 years to minimise risk. He said that was an ancient practice. “The Australian landscape was shaped after tens of thousands of years of management through Aboriginal Australians and their cultural burning practices,” he said. “There is a lot to be learned and understood from the use of fire in the landscape.” Forestry Australia Science Policy Adviser Dr Tony Bartlett said that while there was no panacea for reducing the impacts of catastrophic bushfires, prescribed burning was a scientifically proven part of the solution. “Simply, reduced fuel levels in forests will reduce the severity of bushfires on all bar the most catastrophic fire weather conditions,” he said. “Any criticism that prescribed burning can make Australian forests more flammable is misguided. Criticising prescribed burning is like dismissing the value of seat belts in cars because people still die in car accidents. Both seat belts and prescribed burns are highly beneficial most of the time. “Forestry Australia’s view is that using cool burning to reduce fuel hazards is critical to good forest fire management and very consistent with the way Aboriginal people managed these forests for thousands of years.”

University of Queensland researchers have found improving timber production efficiencies by just 5% could unlock supply for an extra 8000 homes to be built in Australia each year. Source: Timberbiz The industry supported modelling was carried out at the $16.5 million Australian Research Council to Advance Timber for Australia’s Future Built Environment (ARC Advance Timber Hub) at UQ. Associate Professor Joe Gattas, who co-leads two research areas at the Hub, said supply chain efficiencies could result in more affordable and sustainable housing options for Australians. “Early consultation with our industry partners has shown us where efficiencies can be made across all stages of the forest to building supply chain,” Dr Gattas said. “Our research will investigate how to deliver these improvements using new technologies such as computer vision and artificial intelligence to get more usable material out of each tree and augmented reality and robotics to enhance productivity for time-consuming and repetitive tasks. “Every gain in the supply chain allows more houses to be built and we hope this will increase the use of Australian-grown timber as a more sustainable choice for construction.” Hub Director, Professor Keith Crews, said the research would encourage growth in the timber industry and identify new ways the material could be used in construction. “We all benefit from more timber in construction – by delivering a boost for industry and supporting sustainability targets because timber removes carbon from the environment and stores it,” Professor Crews said. “Timber has a key role in helping Australia transition to a circular and net-zero economy. “While timber is commonly used in smaller dwellings such as housing, we are working with the State Government and industry to look at ways it can be incorporated into larger projects such as athlete accommodation for the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games. “Making more timber available will also help support the Australian Government’s National Housing Accord to deliver 10,000 affordable homes over the next five years.” Federal Assistant Minister for Education, Senator Anthony Chisholm, said the Advance Timber Hub funded through the ARC’s Industrial Transformation Research Program, demonstrated the benefits of investing in publicly funded research in Australia. “Australians want our country to be a nation that makes things through sustainable practices, but this can only be done when we back initiatives like the ARC’s Linkage Program, which promotes innovative national and international research collaboration and partnerships with global suppliers,” Senator Chisholm said. “The Advance Timber Hub will enable an advanced manufacturing transformation of Australia’s timber and construction industries, supporting resource diversification and creating new opportunities for regional development and employment.” Acting ARC CEO, Dr Richard Johnson said the linkage program is all about bringing together researchers and industry partners to drive innovation and translation. “The ARC is pleased to support this Research Hub, which involves strong collaboration among national and international universities and industry partners, to stimulate rapid growth in innovation in the timber industry,” Dr Johnson said. Partners include researchers from 12 Australian and five international universities and research institutes working in collaboration with 28 industry partners.  

Taxpayers have forked out almost half a million dollars on overseas copy paper for federal agencies, as the Coalition pushes for a return of paper manufacturing in Australia. Source: Herald Sun Australia’s last white paper mill at Maryvale in Victoria stopped making the product last year, resulting in up to 200 job losses. The average price of imported paper has soared by up to $100 a tonne to around $2000, up about 5% last year. Opposition forestry spokesman Jonno Duniam said the end of copy paper production had also cost Australia thousands of indirect jobs, as well as economic activity. Senator Duniam pointed the finger at both the Victorian and federal governments, saying the shutdown of Australian manufacturing “could and should have been prevented”. “A re-elected Coalition government would seek to work closely with industry to return paper manufacturing to Australia,” he said. New figures reveal federal government departments and agencies spent at least $450,000 last year on overseas paper after Australian-made supply ended. The Defence Department made up the bulk of the costs, spending almost $200,000 so far in 2023-24. This was followed by the Home Affairs department, which spent more than $62,000, the Australian Taxation Office at almost $55,000, and the Agriculture department at about $20,000. “In December 2022, the only paper manufacturer in Australia ceased operation, and Australian made paper can no longer be sourced,” an agriculture department spokesman said. Some government agencies reinforced their commitment to going paperless. But major government departments including health are yet to respond to the questions from estimates, which are now overdue. Senator Duniam accused Forestry Minister Murray Watt of being “asleep at the wheel” while his Victorian Labor colleagues terminated the native forestry industry”. “The Victorian Labor government’s blinkered, ideological opposition to forestry always leads to worse outcomes, including for the environment,” the Tasmanian Liberal said, adding other countries had lower standards. “It was a culmination of failures by Dan Andrews and Jacinta Allen who sold out Gippsland workers and formally banned Victorian native timber harvesting from the start of 2024.” Manufacturer Opal Australia shut its paper manufacturing facilities after struggling to secure timber supply. The decision was announced after the Supreme Court put regulations on VicForests, affecting its ability to meet contracts, because it did not do enough to protect endangered gliders. Opal Australia will in mid-February have a major shutdown at its Latrobe Valley site to upgrade it so it can focus on brown packaging.

Forest and Wood Communities Australia unfortunately finds it necessary to address the recent peculiar actions of environmental activists targeting Victorian plantation timber harvesting. While respecting differing opinions, it is crucial to underscore the irony and misinformed nature of these activists protesting in plantations which were expressly established for timber utilization. Plantation timber stands as a testament to commitment to sustainability and is meticulously designed to provide a renewable source of timber. Unfortunately, recent protests indicate a surreal misunderstanding of these practices, as activists inexplicably move into plantations with the rather baffling intention of opposing timber harvesting contrary to the very purpose for which these plantations exist. Forest and Wood Communities Australia fully supports environmental awareness and responsible resource management. However, the actions of these so-called eco-activists border on the absurd, as they protest the utilization of timber in the very spaces created for that very purpose. It is perplexing to witness these activists targeting Blue-gum plantation timber in Victoria, via the states Koala population. The truth couldn’t be further from the activist portrayals as Victoria has a thriving koala population of approximately 459,865 animals, with an estimated 412,948 in native forest and woodland and a further 46,917 in eucalypt plantations. In several areas, the population density is so high it is unsustainable, with the Victorian government spending millions of dollars on sterilization and relocation programs. Aside from these obvious facts brought to you by scientists from the Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research (ARI), Victorian Chief conservation regulator Kate Gavens said plantation operators must adhere to harvesting conditions such as obtaining a permit from the regulator to harvest where there are koalas present, alongside consulting with an ecologist to decide how to ‘manage’ the koalas. “It includes having trained koala spotters on-site, retaining vegetation where you do spot koalas, and taking action if you do spot a koala,” Ms Gavens said. It seems the unhinged anti-everything inner-city activists cannot grasp that plantation forestry serves as an efficient way to meet the growing demand for timber while minimizing the impact elsewhere. The activists’ misguided approach undermines the pragmatic and ecologically sound reasons behind the establishment of these plantations. Forest and Wood Communities Australia condemns in the strongest possible terms the recent call for a moratorium on timber harvesting by environmentalists. Such an extreme proposition, lacking a factual basis, not only disregards the scientific foundation of sustainable forestry but also threatens the livelihoods of communities dependent on the forest and wood industries. The irony in the activists’ actions is undeniable. Forest and Wood Communities Australia extends an invitation to these activists to engage in a rational dialogue, understanding the comprehensive efforts undertaken to promote responsible forestry. The organization encourages activists to redirect their passion toward constructive efforts that support sustainability, rather than engaging in actions that unwittingly challenge the very practices they purportedly champion. Mick Harrington. Executive Officer of Forest and Wood Communities Australia

Pressure is piling up for the Federal Government to cut the nearly $10m funding of the Environmental Defenders Office. The Federal Opposition has been joined by Australian Energy Producers and the Australian Forest Products Association in calling for action against the EDO. The Northern Territory Chief Minister Eva Lawler has already said her government would be reviewing its $100,000-a-year funding arrangement. The call for defunding follow the EDO losing an action brought by the North East Forest Alliance  against the Commonwealth of Australia and the State of NSW with its lawyers arguing that the RFA should not have been renewed without assessment and approval under federal environment laws, and a landmark case against Santos’s $5.3bn Barossa LNG project, with claims the company’s proposed 262km pipeline would cause irreparable damage to First Nations people and their sites. In the second case, a Federal Court judge described a “cultural mapping” exercise and other key components of the Environmental Defenders Office case against the Santos Barossa gas project as “so lacking in integrity that no weight can be placed on them” and tainted by “confection” and “construction” of evidence. Opposition spokeswoman for Indigenous Australians Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price in The Australian today wrote that “the absurdity of the Albanese government funding an organisation hellbent on undermining government processes beggars’ belief and points to a government that is both out of touch and out of its depth”. “That Anthony Albanese and Environment and Water Minister Tanya Plibersek would continue to allow taxpayer money to be wasted like this is simply astonishing. It begs the question: is this all just a thinly veiled attempt to, as Queensland senator Susan McDonald puts it, ‘secure votes in inner-city seats under threat from the Greens’?” Very well put. All it seems Tanya Plibersek can say to the EDO is ‘I hope they take notice’. That might not be enough.