Forest Products Industry

Ponsse has launched a global Operators Club for forest machine operators, with Finland being the first country where the club will begin its operations. Source: Timberbiz This unique community will offer its members, among other benefits, free events and training sessions, opportunities to network with other operators, and direct channel to the Ponsse Vieremä factory – all the way to the company’s owners and product development. The Ponsse Operators Club is a new global community for forest machine operators. It is open to those currently operating forest machines, students training to become operators, teachers at forest machine schools, and professionals working in forest machine education and training. The club will first take place in Finland. Later this year it will expand to Uruguay in South America. The club will then be rolled out to other Ponsse operating countries around the world. More detailed schedules and participating countries will be announced closer to the launch. By joining the club, members receive a wide range of free benefits. These include invitations to events and training sessions held at Ponsse’s premises, where participants can test Ponsse products and solutions. These events also offer opportunities to network with other forest machine operators, regardless of machine brand. “Operators now have the opportunity to influence the development of Ponsse products by sharing their experiences and insights during the events. We want to involve operators more strongly in our product development, and the club enables this on a larger scale,” said Marko Mattila, Chief, Sales, Service & Marketing Officer at Ponsse. “Our founder, Einari Vidgrén, said that forest machine operators are the best experts, and Ponsse wants to listen to them. Establishing this community is therefore a matter of honour for us.” Members of the Ponsse Operators Club will also receive useful information about work ergonomics, solutions that make daily work easier, and the technology behind Ponsse’s cut-to-length harvesting solutions. Finnish operators around the country can now join the club and read more about its benefits at www.ponsse.com/fi/operators-club

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The story of the first-ever Combilift C-Series demonstrates the lasting value of choosing the right tool for the job. Still in operation after 28 years at JG Kelly Supplies in Monaghan, Ireland, the original multi-directional forklift has helped transform the company’s handling of long loads, improving safety, increasing efficiency. Source: Timberbiz Still in operation after 28 years, the original multi-directional forklift has proved that purpose-built equipment can deliver exceptional returns for decades. Before the company started operating a Combilift, traditional forklift methods created significant operational and safety challenges. Long PVC stillages measuring up to six metres had to be moved through a doorway only four metres wide. Conventional counterbalance forklifts could not handle the task safely or efficiently. “Before, we just used to use counterbalance trucks. We had to reverse a lorry in here and we’re on a main busy road in the town,” Operator Tony McManus said. “But now, it just pulls up in the loading bay. We can offload it safely, both sides if needed, with minimal obstruction to traffic.” The C-Series’ multi-directional capability provided the ideal solution, allowing operators to move long loads sideways with greater control and stability, while navigating tight spaces and narrow doorways safely and efficiently. And the benefits extend beyond traffic disruption.  It has also shortened unloading times and significantly improved safety for operators, pedestrians, and passing vehicles. “With the C-Series, it’s less labour intensive than it used to be. It would take a lot of people to offload containers before, but now, one operator can offload a container in a short space of time compared to before,” Mr McManus aid. An additional safety feature is the forklift’s integrated platform, which has further enhanced load stability when handling such long products. Operators can now safely support lengthy stillages during transport, reducing the risks associated with moving oversized loads and making the entire process more controlled and efficient. Safety on site has been greatly improved by the introduction of the C-Series, but equally remarkable is the machine’s longevity. “I never expected we’d still be using the same forklift nearly three decades later. But it’s a testament to the build quality of the machine as it’s still running after 28 years,” JG Kelly Managing Director Paul Kelly said. While multiple conventional forklifts have come and gone over the same period, the original C-Series remains in operation. Its continued performance is attributed to robust engineering, regular preventative maintenance, and responsive local support. “It doesn’t really take much maintenance. We have changed filters or timing belts over the years, but it’s still got the original engine from when it arrived here,” Mr McManus said. Routine checks of oil, coolant, hydraulics, tyres, and greasing have helped keep the machine operating reliably, while major repairs have been rare throughout its 28-year lifespan. Having a machine out of action can have a major impact on day-to-day operations. However, according to Mr McManus, that has rarely been an issue. “In 28 years, it’s very rarely had to be taken away for repairs,” he said. “Any issues we’ve had have usually been fixed on site, and quickly. That’s the main thing, because if the machine is out of action for any length of time, we’re in trouble.”

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Urging industry to make better use of wood that is wasted or burned for energy, researchers have released the first structural tests of non-straight, forked, and double-curved roundwood logs used as columns. Source: Timberbiz In his mission to normalise the use of ‘misfit wood’, Aalto University (Finland) architect and researcher Jaakko Torvinen has shown how standard, business-as-usual calculation methods can predict load-bearing capacity for organically shaped logs. It’s actually a pretty simple equation that can be used to gauge its load-bearing capacity, says Mr Torvinen. What’s surprising is that nobody has done this earlier. According to Mr Torvinen, the timber and construction industries have for centuries been tied to the assumption that the best material is used for sawlogs. “We’re so used to thinking in terms of standardised planks or beams,” he said. “This explains why nobody has ever looked at a tree trunk and come up with an algorithm to gauge its strength.” The result is a level of material wastage that Mr Torvinen finds shocking. “If it’s not suitable as sawlogs, it goes to pulpwood or energy wood,’ he said. “But our assumption that ‘generic is best’ is old-school thinking and we’re wasting way too much good wood.” Mr Torvinen’s latest research is one step towards helping cut the millions of tonnes of imperfect wood that go to the scrap heap, instead of into use as functional, economically viable and aesthetically desirable options in construction. In presenting the first-ever load tests on organically shaped roundwood columns (curved, double-curved or forked, raw wood) from trees that would usually be deemed unfit for dressing, the study initially shows that current, typical methods can be used also for calculating their load-bearing capacity. Combined with digital design and fabrication methods, such studies open up opportunities to utilise overlooked materials in new ways, says Mr Torvinen. The end goal is to reduce the obstacles to mass-customisation being a realistic and financially viable option for the industry. “Using standard timber only is something that cash-strapped consumers are ready to abandon. So, I want to clear the path to industry embracing the possibilities of misfit wood too,” he said. Mr Torvinen’s high profile list of recent projects is testament to the visual appeal of using knotty, forked, or charred misfit pillars and whole-tree elements. The architect was responsible for the hauntingly beautiful outlines of Helsinki’s temporary Pikku Finlandia building and his architecturally atmospheric testament to slow-living, Puusauna, earned a prestigious 2026 Wallpaper Design Award. He hopes that his latest paper complements these stunning examples of misfit wood’s aesthetic potential by providing the first practical calculations to take us one step closer to recognising its viability in construction. “In future projects, when a designer or client wants misfit wood in a building, it won’t be laughed at as an icebreaker but considered as a legitimate design proposal like any other,” Mr Torvinen said. Read the full study: Torvinen Jaakko, Töpler Janusch, Fink Gerhard & Kuittinen Matti, (2026). ‘Structural Potential of Curved and Bifurcated Misfit Wood Logs’. Wood Material Science and Engineering https://doi.org/10.1080/17480272.2026.2679658

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A new collaborative approach to managing wild deer in Ruahine Forest Park in New Zealand aims to reduce pressure on native forests while recognising the important role hunters and local communities play in caring for this special place. Source: Timberbiz The newly finalised Ruahine Adaptive Wild Deer Management Plan (2025–2030) sets out a five-year, evidence-based program of work developed with iwi and supported by a locally representative advisory group. Monitoring shows deer numbers are above levels needed for forest recovery in parts of the park. Department of Conservation Manawatū Operations Manager Moana Smith-Dunlop says Ruahine Forest Park is highly valued for recreation, livelihoods and wellbeing, but its unique ecosystems are under increasing pressure. “Our forests give us clean water, healthy soils, and the beautiful places people love spending time naturing in,” she said. “In parts of Ruahine, high deer numbers are putting real pressure on forest regeneration. If we don’t act, we risk losing values that matter to all of us. “Deer tend to browse plants they prefer, and monitoring shows we’re not seeing those species coming through the understory. Overtime, that changes the composition of the forest.” Recreational hunting has long been part of the Ruahine, with hunters removing thousands of deer each year. Despite this effort, monitoring shows wild deer numbers remain too high in some areas, particularly where forest values are most at risk. DOC Wild Animals Manager Mike Perry says the plan brings people together around a shared goal to give forests a chance to recover and uses a coordinated mix of tools. “While the plan was being developed, this collaborative approach was trialled. Through a mix of organised management hunts, a commercial harvest trial, and targeted DOC led management, a further 951 deer were removed from the park alongside ongoing recreational hunting,” Mr Perry said. DOC led management is focused on the high value north-west part of the park, while recreational and commercial hunting will continue to contribute across the wider landscape. “This is adaptive management in action,” he said. “What we do each year will be guided by monitoring, shared learning and local knowledge. “Nature can and does recover when pressure is reduced. This plan is about people taking practical action for nature together. We won’t see change overnight, but when iwi, hunters, communities and DOC work together, the results are stronger, more visible and longer lasting.” The plan replaces outdated earlier planning documents, while existing access, concessions and statutory processes remain unchanged.  

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