Timber plantations are of high importance for the future wood supply

"European global players on the pulp & paper market - most of them are the product of mega-mergers - have used their heft to go global. For starters, they have invested billions in new pulp mills in South America that are three times bigger than any in Canada. The ability to spread fixed costs over so much capacity is an unbeatable advantage.
The eucalyptus trees that feed these mills grow to maturity in less than a decade in the Brazilian and Uruguayan sun, compared to the 70 or 80 years it takes for Northern tree species in the US, Canada and Europe. The South American pulp is shipped back to Europe and turned into dozens of different grades of paper on the most modern and fastest machines in existence. The equipment is designed by Austrian ones at Andritz, Finnish ones at Metso or German ones at Voith."

The move by many countries to develop forest plantation is a key step towards conserving and managing the natural forest sustainably.

Fast-growing plantation forests are broadly defined as having average growth rates starting from 10m³/ha/year, with short rotations from less than 6 years to around 30 years.

Establishment of fast growing forests is one of the most effective ways to meet the growing demand for wood. Small in area, they are disproportionately significant in terms of world wood supply. They can decrease the pressure to log natural forests and can help protect natural resources such as water, soil and wildlife. They have the potential to improve the economic welfare of the communities in which they are sited.

At the same time, intensively managed, industrial forest plantations of a single species on a short rotation arouse controversy as to their benefits for the community, the land and the environment.

Social and environmental needs are increasingly affecting planning and management methods applied to plantations whose original prime objective was the profitable production of industrial wood.

Our cutting-edge expertise in management of forest plantations allows us to support our customers to

• increase the productivity of their plantation land by cost reduction and operations optimization
• harmonize economic conditions and ecological needs 
• fullfil their coroporate social responsibility over local communities