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The latest results for Scottish Woodlands Ltd show another successful and profitable year, with an increasing headcount and continued focus on graduate recruitment. Source: Timberbiz The company, 80%-owned by its employees, reported turnover of £111.6 million in the year to 30 September 2023, with operating profits remaining strong at £4.61 million. Scottish Woodlands Ltd is involved in the creation of around one-third of all new woodland in Scotland. Staff numbers have increased to more than 250, and six more recruits will join its Graduate Development Programme in 2024. Reflecting on the latest results, Managing Director Ian Robinson said: “The timber market, especially the demand for sawn logs, remained challenging – but all other areas of the business were strong. “Scottish Woodlands Ltd continues to be healthy, vibrant and adaptable to changing market conditions. The growing recognition of the significant environmental benefits of forestry has led to the creation of our five-strong carbon team over the last three years, with an increasing focus on peatland restoration.” He added: “The company expects to plant more than 3,000 hectares of new woodlands in Scotland in 2024 and we see a positive overall outlook with opportunities for continued business growth across the UK. Scottish Woodlands Ltd continues to invest in new staff and training programmes, as well as industry-leading equipment and technology.” “Our focus remains very clear: providing excellent service to our clients and great opportunities for our people to thrive in this vibrant industry.” Since the end of its financial year last September, Scottish Woodlands Ltd has bolstered its management structure to reflect the growth of the business with the appointment of 5 regional managers. It has also grown its carbon team, led by Carbon Manager Emma Kerr and now including Erin Stoll as Peatland Project Manager – the first appointment of its type by a mainstream forestry business. The report accompanying the results to 30 September 2023 says: “Our carbon assessment service has been strongly utilised as many businesses review their ESG [environmental, social and governance] requirements. Forestry and wood products can make a major contribution to the country in achieving net zero through tree planting, increased use of wood products and in energy production.” The new recruits to Scottish Woodlands’ Graduate Development Program this year will take the total number to 58 since the programme was launched in 2017. Mr Robinson said this focus on people – clients, customers, and suppliers, as well as staff – was at the root of Scottish Woodlands’ success. “Our graduate program is a vital part of our business, and bolstering our management team has also been a significant move which reflects the growth in the size and the breadth of the business,” he added.

The demand to use mass timber in construction is increasing as society seeks to build with more sustainable materials. Building codes and design guidance for using mass timber vary substantially country to country as does the foundation on which the local codes have been developed. Source: Timberbiz Canada, Australia, the US and some European countries have regulatory frameworks, many other countries don’t. Mass timber is a combustible construction material and may present a hazard for buildings. In a fire, exposed timber can contribute additional fuel to the fire, increasing the intensity and/or duration of the fire relative to a building of non-combustible construction and increasing the collapse risk. To support the fire safe design of mass timber buildings, Arup has developed a guide which proposes features to be incorporated into the design for residential, education and business occupancies (up to 50m tall for residential and business use and up to 25m tall for education use) which have a mass timber structure. From Arup’s experience, these types of buildings currently have the greatest demand for using mass timber in their construction. This document is primarily aimed at fire safety engineers, but also provides practical guidance for others involved in the design and construction of mass timber buildings, such as architects, clients, and contractors. To develop this guidance, Arup reviewed and analysed an extensive range of public documentation recording the fire dynamics in compartments of varying sizes and with differing degrees of exposed mass timber. Arup has previously co-funded compartment fire experiments and has undertaken a series of large-scale compartment experiments that have informed this document. Arup has also gained valuable experience through the development and statutory approval of mass timber building solutions worldwide. The Guide considers the different hazards that building users (for residential, education, and business occupancies) may experience, such as their familiarity with a building, and whether they are awake and alert or asleep. Additionally, the building height must be considered, as this can impact on firefighting operations and the time taken for occupants to evacuate. Using the existing compartment fire dynamics data available to Arup, combined with Arup’s experience in understanding the fire hazards for a building based upon the occupancy type and height, allows for a qualitative assessment of the resulting risk. Design features such as evacuation strategy, fire protection measures or encapsulation of timber, can be introduced to reduce the fire risk to occupants and firefighters. The recommendations within the Guide are applicable to CLT Panel Construction, Mass Timber Frame Construction and Timber Hybrid Structures. Other mass timber floor systems such as nail laminated timber and dowel laminated timber floor systems are not directly addressed, though this Guide may be suitable for use with these composite timber systems, and this would be at the discretion of the fire safety engineer using the Guide. The Guide is not applicable to lightweight timber frame construction. You can download the guide here.  

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape has announced that the forestry sector has enacted two new laws to ensure the country gets maximum value from its forestry resources. Source: Loop PNG The laws, relating to the State Marketing Agency (SMA) and Purchase Option (PO) are among several initiatives that the PNG National Forestry Authority has undertaken during the last five years under the Marape Government. These laws aim to ensure that the resource owners, the people who own the land on which the trees are being harvested for export, receive greater benefits from their resources while contributing more to the county’s revenue, particularly through downstream processing. Marape highlighted these laws in a five-year anniversary report of his government presented to Parliament last week. “In forestry, we have enacted laws that will establish the SMA and PO to buy logs from permitted operators. This cuts down on other unfair trade practices, especially transfer pricing and tax evasion,” he said. “What we have done is foundational. Its impact will come given time. We’re dealing with issues in totality, not haphazardly, to achieve one outcome.” Currently, the vast majority of timber produced in the country and exported is in the form of raw logs, a trend the Marape government seeks to change by promoting downstream processing, thereby exporting finished products that fetch higher prices than raw materials, ultimately contributing to the country’s overall economic improvements.  

Stands of weather-worn macrocarpa and pine are still a common sight in rural Canterbury, New Zealand a growing number of farmers are planting native trees on their land. Conservation biologist Dr Sara Kross, a Senior Lecturer in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Canterbury (UC), is leading a series of projects aimed at better understanding this trend. Source: Timberbiz Her team is investigating how the conservation and rewilding potential of increased native planting can coexist alongside the commercial imperatives of farming. ‘Non-crop’ planting features such as shelterbelts, hedgerows, and bush blocks are of particular interest to the researchers. “These features provide shelter for crops and livestock, as well as preventing erosion and runoff,” Dr Kross says. “But they’re also important for biodiversity and because those habitats exist at the field margin there’s a lot more interaction with the farmland and the way it’s managed.” She sees huge potential for farmers to assist the establishment of ‘green corridors’ of native plantings across Canterbury. These pathways of habitats can provide food, water, nesting, breeding, and migration sites for native species including birds, lizards, and invertebrates. While this could significantly improve biodiversity on the plains, Dr Kross acknowledges this goal can be at odds with the commercial side of farming. “Most farmers are really passionate stewards of their land and want to leave it in better condition. At the same time, their farms are businesses and that creates a hierarchy of needs.” She hopes the new research will show that improving biodiversity and meeting economic goals needn’t be mutually exclusive. Encouragingly, similar research from around the world has shown an overall positive impact for farmers who develop native habitats on farm margins. “There aren’t just ethical or aesthetic reasons to plant natives,” says Dr Kross. “It has the potential to deliver real production and financial benefits in the long run.” While it’s not currently known how much Canterbury land is planted in non-crop features, an early part of the research will see UC PhD student Mary Buford Turnage use remote sensing technology to map existing plantings. “We’re hoping to use methods that will allow us to differentiate between the native hedgerows and the exotic shelterbelts,” says Dr Kross. “That will also help us to see where the gaps are and to map connectivity.” A number of plant nurseries now specialise in advising farmers in the choice of natives to suit their requirements. Dairy farmers might select low-growing natives like flaxes, coprosmas or pohuehue (muehlenbeckia) for hedgerows in the centre of pasture so that pivot irrigators are able to move across them. Fast growing natives can be used for shelterbelts at the edges of fields, to provide weather protection for stock and enable slower growing natives to become established. Though their research is still at the early stages, Dr Kross’s team has already discovered some farmers who want to bring native birdsong back to the plains. “We went door knocking in the Methven area in January and found two great locations that one farmer was managing,” says Dr Kross. “He’d put in native hedgerows around 10 years ago, and that level of maturity makes it an excellent field site for us.”

Big River Industries Ltd has acquired Specialised Laminators (SLQ), a renowned panel products company based in Brisbane. This strategic move enhances Big River’s panel product offerings and strengthens its presence in the industry. Source: Timberbiz SLQ, established in 1977, has earned a reputation for producing high-quality decorative and functional panel products. SLQ’s products are highly regarded in the construction and architectural sectors. The acquisition will allow customers to access an expanded range of premium panel solutions through Big River’s Timberwood Panels division nationally, combining the strengths of both companies to deliver superior products and services. “Bringing SLQ into the Big River family is a significant milestone in our mission to offer top-quality panel products to our customers,” said John Lorente, CEO of Big River Group. “This acquisition allows us to expand our specialised Panels Division, providing customers with a broader selection of innovative and high-performance panel solutions. The synergies between SLQ and Big River create exciting opportunities for growth and product development.” John Closter, one of SLQ’s founders, and Wayne Austin, General Manager, will continue to lead the business under the Big River umbrella, ensuring continuity and leveraging their expertise to drive future success. “Joining Big River Group is an exciting new chapter for SLQ. We are confident that our combined expertise and resources promise enhanced product availability, improved supply chain efficiencies, and innovative panel solutions tailored to meet diverse construction needs,” said Mr Closter. Big River has been operating for over 120 years, manufacturing and distributing timber and steel formwork products, timber flooring, building products, structural plywood and related timber products. It also distributes a broad range of other building products, including MaxiWall and MaxiFloor, primarily to the commercial, residential and infrastructure construction market segments. “We are thrilled to become part of Big River, a company that shares our commitment to quality and customer satisfaction. Our customers can look forward to an expanded product range and enhanced service capabilities,” Mr Austin said. For more information, visit www.bigrivergroup.com.au

New Zealand’s electricity sector could be transformed by a radical new approach to keeping trees off power lines, says a King Country-based energy distributor. The Lines Company (TLC), based in Te Kūiti, has undertaken its first successful trial of the heli-saw – a specialised tree-trimming saw hanging from a helicopter. Source: Timberbiz The heli-saw, owned by Lakeview Helicopters in Taupō, was trialled by TLC in a forestry block in Kuratau near Taupō last month. In just over an hour the heli-saw successfully trimmed 950 metres of radiata pine along a corridor housing a 33kV network line. Material was left at the base of the trees, leaving two blocks of trees – nine years and 14 years – undamaged. TLC’s vegetation manager Jason Gaukrodger said the trial was “sensational”, saving the company weeks and weeks of work and thousands of dollars. It proved the heli-saw technology had incredible potential, he said. “I had high expectations, but this blew me out of the water in terms of how efficient it was. It was much faster than I anticipated, and the pilots had incredible control. This technology has the potential to be transformational for electricity distribution companies like ours, as well as for the forestry sector.” TLC chief executive Mike Fox said for customers the potential benefits could be huge. TLC services 24,000 connections across some of New Zealand’s most challenging geographical terrain. Around 10% of its network – approximately 150,000 hectares – is covered in forestry blocks, some poorly maintained. The company had 269km of power lines running through forestry blocks as well as 106km of line through Department of Conservation (DoC) land. It was an ongoing battle to keep trees clear of power lines, making the network vulnerable to storms and weather events. “Cyclone Gabrielle is a good example of what can happen. Across our network we sustained around $1.65 million in damage just from that one event, and the vast majority of that cost was from trees falling into lines,” Mr Fox said. “In a normal year, we’d invest around NZ$1.6 million in vegetation management but in the future, we will need to invest more because of increasingly volatile weather patterns and the increase in commercial forestry. Over the next 10 years, we’ve budgeted a further NZ$200,000 to NZ$600,000 per annum to keep trees away from power lines and in some cases, reroute some lines away from trees completely. “Those costs are huge, and at TLC we don’t have a big customer base to spread them across. The financial impact is significant, costing each customer on average NZ$60 to NZ$90 per year.” TLC will continue to trial the heli-saw technology later this month in a plantation forest south of Piopio in the King Country. A 2.6km corridor through a commercial forest will be trimmed, with support from the forestry owners. Mr Gaukrodger said the forestry sector was invited to see the heli-saw in action at Kuratau and left impressed. TLC would continue to work alongside foresters, he said. “This technology helps both TLC and forestry owners manage the risk from trees and does so cost-effectively, especially in steep or hard-to-access terrain. The other option is felling the trees completely, but removing edge trees opens up forestry blocks to wind. We can send arborists in to trim trees but we are literally looking at weeks and weeks of work. With this technology, weather permitting, we’re talking hours.” Mr Gaukrodger said when considering the heli-saw, safety was TLC’s primary concern. Heli-saws from Lakeview Helicopters are approved by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for use under H125 B3E and AS350 B2 helicopters. “We began looking at this technology a few years ago so have had time to think about every facet of safety. We’ve put a huge amount of time into health and safety documentation and into developing a helicopter guide for use on our network. The trial itself also involved a site-specific health and safety management plan,” he said. He is optimistic the upcoming trial at the end of this month will again showcase what can be achieved. “This is a tool desperately needed by our industry and none of us want it to fail. It has the potential to transform the way we manage vegetation and that’s important for TLC because across our network, more and more land is now going into commercial forest. It also allows us to reduce safety risk because we’re not having arborists up trees for extended periods of time, sometimes in challenging terrain.” Heli-saws have the potential to help distribution companies better manage faults, he said. “If a tree brings a line down and if weather permits, we could trim the whole corridor, doing the job once and doing it properly. We have to get ahead of the game and used appropriately, this could be a game-changer for us and the wider sector.” Mr Fox said TLC was keen to share its learnings and experience of the technology with other parts of the sector.