Logging & Sawmilling Journal - January/February 2022

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January/February 2022

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WILDFIRE SALVAGE PROJECT delivers solid results in B.C. Interior

NEW SENNEBOGEN MACHINE LOADS UP

for Weyerhaeuser Princeton WITH THIS ISSUE...

ON THE CUTTING EDGE OF INDUSTRY INNOVATION

BROTHER ACT IN HARDWOOD SAWMILLS

at Ontario’s Haliburton Forest

Heavy Duty forestry tracks and chains available from selected equipment dealers, direct from the manufacturer, across North America.

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FEATURES January/February 2022 Volume 53 • No. 1 Editor Paul MacDonald Contributing Editors Jim Stirling, Tony Kryzanowski George Fullerton Tech Update Editor Tony Kryzanowski Publisher/CEO Anthony Robinson • (778) 991-3500 E-Mail: arobinson@forestnet.com

On the Cover: The payback in doing your due diligence on mobile equipment purchases can be rewarding in a number of ways, everything from more efficient operations to operator satisfaction—and the Weyerhaeuser sawmill in Princeton, B.C. is seeing that in spades these days, with their new Sennebogen 850E machine, the largest Sennebogen log loader operating in Western Canada (Cover photo

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22 Turnkey timber

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technology

4 Spotlight:

Log haul convoys being lined up …

Semi-autonomous log haul convoys— that could help address driver shortages—may be in the cards for northern Ontario, with a pilot project having been completed this past summer.

8

Conference coming up in April

Attendees to the Council of Forest Industries of B.C.’s (COFI) annual convention will have plenty to talk about at the first in-person convention to be held in three years, being held in Vancouver April 27 to 29.

POSTMASTER: Send US address changes to LSJ Publishing Ltd., PO Box 610, Edmonds, WA 98020-0610

12 Brothers in forestry...

“We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada”

Two brothers—both foresters—have built a hardwood sawmill chain that works out of the forests of Ontario’s well-known Cottage Country, north of Toronto.

Published January/February 2022 Printed in Canada on 20% recycled paper.

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and sawmilling

16 Doing your due

Georgia-Pacific Lumber has brought another new high-tech sawmill on stream, provided on a turnkey basis by B.C.-based sawmill equipment supplier, BID Group.

28 B.C. salvage project delivers solid results

A few different log harvesting and wood grinding outfits were involved in a recent wildfire salvage project—that delivered solid results—in the Clinton Community Forest in the B.C. Interior.

32

Included in this edition of The Edge, Canada’s leading publication on research in the forest industry, is a story from the Canadian Wood Fibre Centre (CWFC).

34 Tech Update:

We take a look at the new features in log grapples.

38 The Last Word

The B.C. government is risking dimming the lights in the province’s forest industry with its recent decisions, including deferring harvesting of 2.6 million hectares of Crown-owned old growth forests.

diligence on equipment purchases

The folks at a Weyerhaeuser sawmill in B.C. did their due diligence with their new log loader—and that homework is now paying off with a very productive new Sennebogen machine.

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - January/February 2022

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spotlight

The initial stage of the pilot project to test the validity of semi-autonomous log truck technology involved two pickup trucks driving on an actual logging road, in northern Ontario.

LOG HAUL

convoys being lined up…

Semi-autonomous log haul convoys—that could help address driver shortages— may be in the cards for northern Ontario, with a pilot project having been completed this past summer.

By Tony Kryzanowski

C

onvoys of loaded logging trucks— with an experienced and qualified log truck driver operating the lead vehicle, followed by two semi-autonomous logging trucks mimicking his driving actions and pathway some distance behind—could soon become a reality in northern Ontario.

Spearheaded by Ontario’s Nawiinginokiima Forest Management Corporation (NFMC) in co-operation with the Centre for Research & Innovation in the Bio-

Economy (CRIBE), they have partnered with Ottawa-based Provectus Robotics Solutions, in what has been described as an “aggressive” pilot project to test, prove and implement this technology on a commercial scale as soon as possible.

NFMC manages the Pic and White River Forests located in northwestern Ontario. The Sustainable Forest License (SFL) area consists of a total potential annual allowable harvest of 1.6 million cubic metres of wood.

While it is difficult at present to predict exactly when semi-autonomous log trucks

could begin delivering logs on a regular basis to area sawmills, Carmelo Notarbartolo, General Manager for NFMC, says should the technology prove viable during the current pilot project, he expects them to appear sometime after the upcoming winter log haul season with full implementation not likely till 2023.

The trucks will only travel on controlled forestry roads which still allow public access. to page 6

The team from Ottawa-based Provectus Robotics Solutions prepares to test their semi-autonomous driving technology using two pickups on a log haul road.

4

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - January/February 2022

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spotlight from page 4 The pilot project has begun and consists of a pickup truck and Class 8 log truck phase on a forestry road used to deliver logs to the White River sawmill.

Notarbartolo says the road features “a bit of everything”, being neither entirely flat, straight or wide. The general view is that if the technology works on this existing log haul road, then it will likely work more widely throughout the region.

The initial onsite phase of the pilot project—where two pick-up trucks equipped with the Provectus technology drove on the actual logging road—was completed in July. The trucks, with a driver in the lead vehicle, drove a distance of 50 kilometres several times at the expected 70 kilometre per hour speed of Class 8 log trucks.

“It was very successful,” says Jason Scheib, Director, Business Development for Provectus Robotics Solutions. “We had very dusty conditions, crossed narrow bridges, and navigated some very steep slopes with very rough roads.”

Implementation of semi-autonomous logging truck transportation technology is being driven by a severe shortage of qualified log truck drivers serving forestry enterprises in northern Ontario.

Local forest companies have expressed concern about logs sitting in decks waiting for delivery longer than desired, creating a bottleneck in the supply chain from cutblocks to mills in the region. This causes both supply problems for area mills and financial consequences for logging contractors.

Notarbartolo says he knows of no facilities in the region that have literally run out of wood, “but it has come close.”

Also, local efforts to train log truck drivers have proven unsuccessful because even if individuals complete training, they have many avenues on where to work within the transportation sector.

The concept of log truck convoys with only one certified driver in the lead could mean significant operational changes not only in northern Ontario but throughout Canada. Every region is experiencing the same, severe, qualified log truck driver shortage.

A number of factors are contributing to this shortage, the major one being retirement of older drivers and fewer millenials taking up the occupation because of the challenging hours and working conditions required for this job. There also tends to be a high turnover rate among log haul drivers and the cost for owner/operators 6

Telemetry reception and sensor technology was installed to the front of the following pickup truck (above) during the pilot project so it could follow the lead vehicle. A pickup truck without a driver follows a lead pickup truck on a designated logging road and mimics the lead vehicle’s every movement (below).

to purchase trucks has in some cases doubled since 2007.

At present, there are about 20,000 general trucking jobs vacant in Canada, which is a vacancy rate of about 7.5 percent. Being a somewhat specialized trucking endeavor—often in remote areas—the challenge of attracting qualified individuals to drive log trucks is even worse, although hard numbers are difficult to come by. There is no doubt, however, that many logging contractors have purchased their own trucks and have hired and trained their own drivers because of a shortage of dependable and qualified owner/operators.

After this initial test involving two pickups, Provectus planned to return and test a three-truck convoy to demonstrate that they are ready to move to full-size, Class 8 trucks.

The information being transmitted to

the following semi-autonomous vehicles from the lead vehicle includes global positioning system (GPS) data as well as throttle, brake and steering inputs so that they can mimic as closely as possible what the driver in that lead vehicle is doing.

There are also failsafe systems built in so that if the front vehicle encounters a problem, then the following vehicles will stop and wait. And there is also an emergency stop button in each truck.

“If the lead vehicle crashes, the two following vehicles are just going to see that incident as the vehicle stopped,” says Scheib. “We may actually have them stop three to four hundred metres before they reach that point, as the fixed safety distance.”

In terms of extra work for the lead driver, he says that they don’t expect him to do anything differently, but he must drive within the rules of the road, such as

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - January/February 2022

spotlight driving at the established speed limit.

The main challenge is making the leap to full Class 8 trucks. It will be up to NFMC to provide those trucks for technology installation. Notarbartolo says there are opportunities for forest companies and log haul contractors to share the cost and as a Crown corporation, NFMC has financial support available to help with the cost of installing this technology.

Scheib emphasizes that implementing this technology will not take jobs away.

In fact, he expects that there will be an equal amount, if not more, jobs provided because the qualified truck driver will not be working in isolation in the wilderness.

The truck convoy will include ‘safety drivers’ behind the wheel of each vehicle.

“The lead vehicle will have a fully licensed, very experienced driver and then with the two trucks behind, the intention is to have maybe a lesser license holder because people with that type of training are much easier to come by,” Scheib says.

Their technology is designed so that if there is any kind of driver input, like touching the brake, accelerator or steering wheel, then the following vehicles come under manual control of the safety driver.

However, as the years go by and there is an acceptance and confidence around the technology, the plan is for those vehicles to operate without a safety driver.

At present, Provectus Robotic Solutions is determining how much distance to leave between each vehicle. The terrain in which the logging trucks operate will likely determine that.

“For instance, if we are in terrain that is slippery, we are going to be following at a further distance and it may not even be in the line of sight of the lead vehicle,” Scheib says.

This is not the only semi-autonomous log truck transportation project underway in Canada. Although this project has a significant head start, FPInnovations has announced a partnership with Robotic Research LLC on a multi-year project to develop, test and validate an off-road platooning system for the forest industry (see The Edge section in the May/June 2021 issue of Logging and Sawmilling Journal).

FPInnovations says that its project will include trials of log truck platooning on actual resource roads that feature dust, sharp curves and steep slopes.

Provectus Robotics Solutions brings considerable experience to this pilot project from their contract work with the defense industry. Their system is already designed to manage those types of issues.

They have developed a software package that can be installed with some tweaking over a wide range of vehicles working in a controlled access environment like logging roads.

“The research and development portion of it is really done from our standpoint,” Scheib says. “We have eleven years of experience in autonomous navigation and especially in off-road and dynamic environments. Most of the projects we have done in the past have been with extreme terrain vehicles which can traverse just about anything.”

Military vehicles with this technology installed have to survive and operate effectively and reliably in environments where they could encounter heavy weather obstacles like rain, snow, fog and smoke, while also needing to be userfriendly for the driver and system owner.

“We have a lot of experience in this market which lends itself very nicely to our involvement in this project—and our technology is 100 per cent Canadian-developed,” Scheib says.

If the pilot project succeeds, it may even be possible to expand the size of the truck convoy to up to five trucks.

One of the challenges of working in a remote environment like northern Ontario is the reliability of the GPS signal. Provectus Robotic Solutions is complementing its GPS telemetry system with what Scheib calls a mapping system of existing roads that the trucks can rely on, should the GPS signal prove unreliable.

Another challenge is to make sure that debris like snow, ice and mud don’t block signals from reaching sensors.

Scheib says that implementing this semi-autonomous transportation technology in this forest industry application is only the tip of the iceberg. They are interested in working with the forest sector to discuss other potential applications. One opportunity is within the controlled access environment of a millyard where lumber products are being transported repeatedly from one location to another.

CALENDAR

*Please note changes/cancellations due to the COVID virus. Also, please check with the organization staging the event for up-to-date details.

February 24-26, 2022 Oregon Logging Conference, Eugene, Oregon www.oregonloggingconference.com March 29-31

Montréal Wood Convention, Montreal, QC

418-650-6385 www.montrealwoodconvention.com April 12-13

Canadian Woodlands Forum Spring Meeting, Moncton, NB 902-897-6961 www.cwfcof.org

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - January/February 2022

7

industryevents

Lots to talk about at COFI convention...

Attendees to the Council of Forest Industries of B.C.’s (COFI) annual convention will have plenty to talk about at the first in-person convention to be held in three years, in April.

By Jim Stirling

I

t’s like a long awaited reunion with an old friend: the Council of Forest Industries of British Columbia (COFI) is poised for its first in-person annual convention in three years.

The gala event is scheduled for the J.W. Marriott Parq Vancouver Hotel and Convention Centre April 27-29, and will follow all public health guidelines.

Returning to some semblance of normalcy has been the hope since the World Health Organization declared the spread of COVID-19 a global pandemic. That happened in the spring of 2020 although it seems much longer ago.

Since then, business and social routines on most levels have been suspended while the virus and its variants have flourished and proved remarkably unrelenting and resilient to control efforts.

Large gatherings of people like those attracted by the COFI convention were one of the pandemic’s earliest victims.

8

And understandably so. The COFI convention attracts forest industry CEOs, vice presidents, executives and senior managers representing major forest companies across North America and from overseas.

The event is also red-lettered on the calendars of senior representatives from the industry’s key customers, suppliers, financial institutions and law firms. Government representatives on all levels are keen participants in COFI conventions including representatives of the federal, provincial, regional, local and First Nations governments.

The 2020 COFI convention was cancelled while an abbreviated virtual version of the event helped fill the void in 2021.

The events of the last couple of years introduced what now seem perfectly normal behaviours. Phenomena like abandoning the office to work from home; social distancing; wearing face masks and following vaccination protocols have all become common practices.

Another symbol of ‘COVIDizing’ an

event against the virus’ spread that will be employed at the COFI AGM will be the visibility of hand sanitizers around the convention floor. For example, the sanitizers will be sharing space on delegate tables along with the water glasses, notebooks and pencils.

The convention’s trappings maybe have altered but not the quality of its contents.

“We have planned a very robust agenda,” promises Susan Yurkovich, COFI’s CEO based in Vancouver. The anticipation has been amply demonstrated. The numbers provide an illustration. Delegate registrations have been much stronger earlier than in previous conventions, notes Yurkovich. Additionally, the convention’s popular trade show component was sold out by the end of January, she reports.

Convention program details were being confirmed when the Logging & Sawmilling Journal went to press (the latest information is available at cofi.org). Informative and stimulating speakers are a recurring feature of COFI conventions. “We’ve

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - January/February 2022

industryevents invited B.C.’s forests minister (Katrine Conroy) and the premier (John Horgan) to join us,” says Yurkovich. And traditional COFI convention favourites like the always provocative CEO’s panel discussion will return in 2022.

There is no lack of concerns and issues facing the B.C. forest industry. COFI convention delegates will be hoping to hear some clarification and context from the convention’s participants.

Unfortunately, one issue just won’t go away. The most recent chapter in the saga officially began in November 2021 when the U.S. Department of Commerce set its countervailing and anti-dumping duty rates on Canadian softwood lumber producers.

“While not unexpected, we are disappointed with the doubling of the duties on softwood lumber for Canadian producers,” responded COFI’s Yurkovich in her role as president of the B.C. Lumber Trade Council. “As we have repeatedly stated, these unfair duties hurt not only B.C. businesses and workers but also U.S. consumers looking to repair, remodel and build new homes. As U.S. producers remain unable to meet domestic demand,

these duties are a threat to post-pandemic recovery on both sides of the border.”

The Canadian government responded as it habitually has to the U.S. aggression.

A challenge to the U.S. imposition of duties was issued under the Canada-U.S.Mexico Agreement, the free trade agreement between the three countries.

“Our continued hope is that the U.S. industry will end this decades-long dispute and instead work with us to meet demand for the low carbon wood products the world needs, including American families. Until then we will vigorously to page 10

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9

industryevents from page 9 defend our industry against these baseless claims and thank the Government of Canada for standing with forest product workers and their families,” stated Yurkovich.

The U.S. remains the largest market for B.C. manufactured forest products (56 per cent). China is the second largest B.C. market at 24 per cent followed by Japan at seven per cent.

It doesn’t garner many headlines but B.C. and Canada along with its other partners continue the methodical and sometimes painstaking process toward market acceptance and development for wood products (see the green product sidebar story below). A significant percentage of the market development spadework is focused on South Korea, India and Southeast Asia.

Many forest industry executives attending the COFI convention will be understandably concerned right now with what’s happening closer to home, in some cases quite literally in their own backyards. “We are in a period of change and volatility both here and around the world,” prefaces Yurkovich.

She characterizes as “stunning” the accumulative effects of proposed and implemented changes in B.C. forest policy introduced in the last four years or so by the provincial NDP government. They include the government’s two-year moratorium on forest industry access to designated old growth timber stands in the province that are not already under protection.

The provincial government proposes re-distributing the cut to promote more secondary wood product remanufacturing,

put more wood in the hands of First Nations and help forest dependent communities in B.C. How that might work in practice and how company assets can be fairly compensated in the event of re-distribution remains unclear. More importantly, the question is how will B.C. can attract the capital to invest with all of the added turmoil and confusion this has created for the provincial forest industry.

“What the forest industry really needs is some stability,” urges Yurkovich. “And a balanced, facts-based approach to changes. These things are critically important for the B.C forest industry to continue to be an economic engine in BC and deliver low carbon products the world wants and needs.”

B.C. wood products can help offset Climate Change

W

ood products manufactured in British Columbia have the solid green credentials the world is consistently favouring—and this is likely to be a topic under discussion among delegates to the COFI annual convention.

Societies around the globe are seeking effective ways to offset some of the negative implications of Climate Change.

Sustainably harvested and manufactured B.C.-made wood products, including lumber veneer and plywood, store carbon for as long as they’re in use.

The phenomenon is a critical part of the carbon cycle and is not shared by concrete, steel and other traditional building product systems.

COFI notes that B.C.’s forest management approach plays a role in how Canada will meet its carbon emissions targets for the long term, and contributes to climate change mitigation in a number

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of different ways.

Carbon remains in the wood not only for the life of the tree, but for decades after in products such as lumber, millwork or furniture. For example, a typical 2500 square-foot wood frame home is estimated to have 30 metric tonnes of carbon stored in it, the equivalent of driving your car for seven years.

Incorporating more wood products into buildings represents a concept that is gathering traction. Some climate models have indicated that the B.C. forest sector has the potential to contribute up to 35 per cent of B.C.’s 2050 emission reduction target.

“We need to understand the carbon retention and storage in wood harvested from B.C. forests,” points out Werner Kurz, a senior researcher with Natural Resources Canada. “In the built environment, this presents opportunities to

reduce our use of concrete, plastics and steel which all have emission impacts,” he adds.

The B.C. government is encouraging the use of more wood in provinciallyowned buildings. It has established a Wood First initiative. Included in the concept is encouraging wood product valueadded innovation. The initiative aims to promote climate-friendly construction methods and support the many forestry dependent communities in the province.

B.C. has initiated building code changes allowing the construction of six storey wood frame buildings. More recently, the provincial government has been encouraging the use of mass timber in buildings where primary load bearing structures are constructed from solid or engineered wood.

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - January/February 2022

Ontariosawmilling

The Huntsville Forest Products sawmill came equipped with a McDonough double cut band headsaw with a Cleereman carriage on the front end of the processing line.

BROTHERS in forestry …and sawmilling

Two brothers—both foresters—have built a hardwood sawmill chain that works out of the forests of Ontario’s well-known Cottage Country, north of Toronto.

By Tony Kryzanowski

L

arge-scale hardwood sawmilling is making a comeback in one of Canada’s oldest commercial forests thanks to recent investments made by two Ontario forester brothers and their colleagues—and growing the business over time is definitely their game plan.

Malcolm and Gareth Cockwell are the sons of Canadian businessman, Jack Cockwell, a founding principal of the iconic investment company, Brookfield Asset Management. Blue chip company Brookfield Asset Management, which is publicly traded, is one of Canada’s top asset managers, with over $626 billion (U.S.) in assets under management, and is a major investor in both real estate and natural resources.

Malcolm and Gareth fell in love with the picturesque hardwood forest between Toronto and Algonquin Park—in what is widely known as Ontario’s Cottage Coun12

try—at a young age, when Jack Cockwell acquired the 4,050 hectare, Limberlost Forest and Wildlife Reserve located near Huntsville in the late 1980s.

“We spent a lot of time working up there and it exposed us independently to becoming interested in the forest products sector to the point that through different paths and different institutions, we both ended up studying forestry and becoming foresters,” says Malcolm Cockwell. He graduated from the University of Toronto and brother Gareth graduated from the University of New Brunswick.

Over the years through his work at Brookfield, Jack Cockwell’s business holdings included many companies active in the resource sector, including forestry, and he always expressed a great respect for and interest in those industries. That respect rubbed off on his sons. They also recognized that land values north of Toronto will likely increase substantially over the next 150 years and that as more private land

is sub-divided, the available hardwood resource from that area is actually diminishing while hardwood lumber sawmilling capacity in North America is shrinking every year. This means fewer industry suppliers chasing fewer accessible logs. In other words, all the hardwood sawmilling business metrics are trending positive.

In 2016, they completed the purchase of another property, the 40,000 hectare, Haliburton Forest & Wild Life Reserve, about three hours north of Toronto and located near Algonquin Park. Malcolm is Managing Director of this commercial forest and recreational property that the group purchased from Peter Schleifenbaum, a forestry PhD born in Germany and longtime advocate of European-style sustainable forest management practices.

Beginning in the 1960s and for over 50 years, Schleifenbaum managed the property for its commercial forest, log

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - January/February 2022

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from page 12 home supply and recreational value. It became known for its 325 campsites and outdoor adventures like canoeing, hiking, snowmobiling, and dog sledding, as well as for its unique timber wolf enclosure.

Schleifenbaum eventually built a small sawmill in 2008 to take more control over how the property’s timber was processed.

The Reserve continues to operate today under the same business model, but the investment group has continued to expand its forest holdings and sawmilling capacity.

In early 2019, they purchased Almaguin Forest Products, two hours west in South River, and in the fall of 2020, they acquired the hardwood sawmill previously owned by Rayonier Advanced Materials in the town of Huntsville. It now operates as Huntsville Forest Products.

Under the leadership of General Manager Bill Miller, all three sawmills now operate under the umbrella of Haliburton Forest & Wild Life Reserve Ltd, representing a doubling in size of the group’s sawmilling production potential twice in two years. Today, they produce 19 million board feet annually of primarily hardwood products on a one-shift basis and have

14

about 150 employees, which includes their tourism division.

“There are a couple of fundamental truths of all sawmills and one of them is that the ambition to grow never goes away,” says Malcolm.

Purchase of the Huntsville operation, described as a ‘mature’ sawmill operating consistently since the 1970’s, with an experienced staff and with an attractive wood basket, was a major step for the company. In the short term, the new owners plan to add railway tie production in Huntsville, and down the road they intend to implement a major reorganization of the close-quartered mill to improve production and efficiency.

Malcolm says that he, his brother and their colleagues love forest management and the forestry business, often working in their offices or out in the cutblock well after hours or on weekends. The same is true of many of their employees which includes nine full time foresters and forest technicians in their Southern Ontario operations who conduct all the forest management planning for their freehold properties and assist with management on their Crown holdings. The forestry staff is led by Thomas McCay, RPF, the Chief Forester, who is now responsible for managing one of the largest hardwood forest baskets in Ontario. Independent contractors do the logging.

The recent purchase of the Huntsville hardwood mill was a good geographic fit, since it is located between their Haliburton and South River operations, and it has the capacity to eventually triple its production to 30 million board feet per year. But for now, the company is focused on optimizing their sawmills with the goal of earning a reputation for being a steady, long term supplier of hardwood lumber products to their customers.

What expansion has brought to the organization is a large number of experienced

new employees with a lot of knowledge.

However, the group’s investments in the forest industry hasn’t stopped at the borders of Cottage Country. They recently purchased another nearly 60,000-hectare private forest known as the Timmins Forest and Wild Life Preserve near Timmins, Ontario and own a 45 per cent stake in New Brunswick-based and publiclytraded, Acadian Timber Corp, which was acquired in summer 2019. Acadian logs commercial timber on its properties in New Brunswick and Maine.

Back in Ontario, the marketable wood products produced on their three sawmills fall into three categories: appearance grade lumber, industrial grade lumber and residuals from primarily mature sugar maple in the 40 centimetre range, although they manufacture wood products from a variety of other hardwoods such as oak, cherry, birch and ash. All of their products are green rough lumber. There is about a 50-50 split between their appearance grade and industrial grade products. They also harvest and saw some hemlock that is used primarily to supply their log home business.

Appearance grade lumber is used in flooring, furniture and cabinetry. Industrial grade products consist primarily of railway ties and pallet stock. A large percentage of their bark and sawdust is used in landscaping, while chips are sold to the pulp industry.

Some of their wood supply comes from their private forest holdings and some from Crown forest harvesting licenses through membership in various Sustainable Forest License (SFL) managed areas.

Malcolm says that operating commercial logging and sawmilling operations within Cottage Country is challenging, but they approach forest management from what he called a certain land ethic focused on long term forest stewardship. They practice sustainable select harvesting with the goal

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - January/February 2022

Ontariosawmilling of a healthier and more productive forest over its natural growth horizon that eventually yields bigger trees and higher value wood products.

“We’re pretty proud of how we push to get better and better, and invest in research and continuous improvement in the woods to reduce our impact, improve our yield, and over time improve the forest itself,” says Malcolm. “Do what’s best for the forest itself during each intervention and in the fullness of time, you will create value throughout the succession.”

The fact that there is a demographic shift in this part of Ontario—where the population of casual cottagers is evolving into a more permanent population of city migrants who have little knowledge of the forest industry—is not lost on Malcolm.

While he is confident that it won’t lead to reduced logging activity, he is keenly aware of the need to regularly share information about their logging practices and the natural succession of the forest with those raising these issues.

“We need to make more effort to earn our social license to keep the non-forestry folks interested and understanding, and

especially to get the new ones onto that page,” he says.

One of his major concerns for the coming years is the impact that invasive species could have on forest health. That’s already evident from the mortality rate of healthy American beech trees suffering from bark rot because of the impact of a fungus from Europe. Cockwell says that about 20 per cent of many parts of the commercial forest in that part of Ontario is facing 100 per cent beech wood mortality, resulting in a major impact on forest succession as beech could develop into more of a thicket spe-

cies than a commercial crop.

“We have to put more effort into monitoring and mitigating the impact of invasive pests,” says Malcolm. “Climate change is a problem as well. Who knows how that is going to benefit or hurt the forest—it is such a wild card.”

Another business risk that concerns him is the growing shortage of logging contractors and specifically chainsaw operators, and he believes that recruitment now will definitely pay dividends in future. So encouraging youth to consider logging as a career is a company priority.

Three-sawmill cluster in Ontario built in quick succession

A

cluster of three Ontario sawmills producing primarily hardwood products—owned by foresters Malcolm and Gareth Cockwell and a group of colleagues—marks a significant ramp up of commercial forestry activity in the midst of one of Canada’s oldest wood baskets.

The sawmills operating as Haliburton Forest Products in Haliburton, Almaguin Forest Products in South River, and Huntsville Forest Products in Huntsville currently produce about 19 million board feet per year on a one-shift basis, but each has the capability to operate up to three shifts.

The forests north of Toronto as far as the Ottawa River were part of Upper Canada prior to Confederation, and were critical in the growth of Canada as a nation.

The group’s newest acquisition, in 2020—from Rayonier Advanced Materials—was the hardwood mill in Huntsville.

It features a Nicholson ring debarker leading into a McDonough double cut band headsaw featuring a Cleereman carriage. Boards are then processed through one of the sawmill’s most recent capital upgrades, a McDonough linebar vertical resaw with Maxx infeed to improve grade recovery and overall mill production. The next steps are the TS Manufacturing bull

edger and TS Manufacturing, two person, Canadian-style trimsaws. Other TS equipment in the mill includes all vibrating conveyors, unscrambler and Canadian style trimmers. The gang is an optimized guided gang saw.

Lumber graders use a voice tally system and residuals are processed through a Forano chipper.

The Huntsville sawmill currently produces about 10 million board feet annually on a one shift basis.

The Almaguin Forest Products sawmill in South River produces about four million board feet annually on a one-shift basis. It was built and purchased in 2019 and began production in July that year.

It features a Morbark debarker leading into a PHL double cut band headsaw with a Cardinal-brand carriage.

The boards proceed through a vintage bull edger and then to a custom, one person, trim saw. The graders at this facility also use a voice tally system and the plant features a Morbark chipper.

“This purchase was a pretty big investment at the time and a good improvement,” says Malcolm Cockwell. “We spent 2020 making a lot of tweaks to the process to improve production. We learned a lot about operating this as a

‘start up’ sawmill. The biggest lesson we learned was to call in the experts early.

Do not try to troubleshoot everything yourself, like we did at first.”

The Haliburton Forest Products sawmill manufactures about five million board feet annually on a one-shift basis and was the group’s first sawmill purchase in 2010.

It features a Morbark debarker leading to a circular headsaw with a Helle-brand carriage. The boards proceed through a West Plains horizontal resaw and vintage bull edger. After that, they are processed through a Cleereman high speed, double cut, one person trimsaw. The grading is also done with a voice tally system with residuals processed through a Forano chipper.

A full size, Canadian Scale-brand weigh scale was added in 2019, giving the company a better idea of how much log volume enters the yard.

“We added the new trimsaw in 2020 to improve grade and overall product recovery,” says Malcolm. “We also added the new resaw in 2020 to replace our old, custom resaw to improve overall production and product recovery since our old resaw was very slow. We can now divert more high quality cants from the circular headsaw to the lower kerf band resaw.”

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - January/February 2022

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millyardmachines A new Sennebogen 850E log loader from equipment dealer Great West Equipment has been proving its stuff in the yard at the Weyerhaeuser mill in Princeton, B.C.

DOING YOUR

DUE DILIGENCE ON EQUIPMENT PURCHASES The folks at a Weyerhaeuser sawmill in B.C. did their due diligence with their new log loader—and that homework is now paying off with a very productive new Sennebogen machine.

By Paul MacDonald

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he payback in doing your due diligence on mobile equipment purchases can be rewarding in a number of ways, everything from more efficient operations to operator satisfaction—and a Weyerhaeuser sawmill in the B.C. Interior, is seeing that in spades these days, with their new Sennebogen 850E machine.

Equipped with a Weldco-Beales S24 grapple, the Sennebogen 850E log loader has been proving its stuff in the yard at the Weyerhaeuser mill in Princeton, B.C. for the past year—and is the largest Sennebogen log loader operating in Western Canada.

But flash back to early 2020, and 16

Weyerhaeuser Princeton had started the search for a new millyard machine, one with a bit more oomph to it. Their existing log loader had performed capably for a decade, but it was time for a modern piece of mobile equipment. And the ultimate decision on what machine to go with involved everyone from mill management to yard management to equipment operators.

“We wanted something a little bigger,” explained Kyle MacMurchy, fibre optimization manager at the mill. “Our millyard is not that big, acres-wise, and the volume for the sawmill kept going up.

“We were running out of room, so we needed something that we could use to go higher stacking logs—and something bigger.”

The mill occupies a 150-acre site just across the Similkameen River from the main part of Princeton—it’s essentially bordered on one side by the river, and the other by Old Hedley Road, so there is really no room to expand the millyard. “We need to make the best use of the land we have,” says MacMurchy.

Princeton Weyerhaeuser has seen some major mill equipment upgrades over the last decade, as the sawmill continues its efforts to make operations more efficient, and reduce costs.

The two-line sawmill turns out upwards of 300 million board feet of SPF lumber annually, drawing its timber from throughout the Similkameen Region. Producing that amount of lumber requires a smooth

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - January/February 2022

millyardmachines

running operation, most importantly in the millyard, and in feeding logs into the mill. The mill runs two 10-hour shifts a day, Monday to Thursday, and a 12-hour afternoon shift each day, Friday to Sunday.

All of this means that the sawmill requires a steady source of logs from its 60 acre millyard—and the Sennebogen is now a part of delivering that.

To get to the point of acquiring the 850E machine, that’s where the due diligence came in.

“When we go down the capital path, we look at what is the best investment in a machine, and go through a detailed process to understand what is available in the market, what the machines are capable of doing, their horsepower, their weight, and the volumes we are looking to move,” explained MacMurchy.

They looked at a few different machine candidates, and that included a trip across the line, pre-COVID-19, to look at a Sennebogen loader in action at a sawmill in

Saint Maries, Idaho. The visit was set up

by B.C. Sennebogen dealer, Great West Equipment.

“It was a bit smaller machine than what we ended up buying, but it was a tracked machine, and it was handling very similar wood in very similar conditions—that was extremely helpful to us,” says MacMurchy.

“When we were looking at the machine in Idaho, one of the things that got our interest is that there are many different Sennebogen models, and you can interchange components, like the size of the boom and stick depending on the work and the volumes you want to do—that’s kind of when we started thinking that a Sennebogen would be a good option for Princeton.

“With all the options it has, you can essentially pick and choose what will make your work site successful.”

Sennebogen says it offers very flexible equipment configurations in terms of drive types, safety packages and boom lengths, for each application. The 850E, for example, can be fitted with one of several boom and stick configurations providing a maximum reach of up to 69 feet.

Weyerhaeuser Princeton were looking to do something different than just replacing their older machine with something similar in size. By opting for an 850E loader, they could, in effect, have an oversized machine for the work and the grapple, and avoid the reliability issues they had seen before with previous machines.

“We really wanted to improve the long term reliability of our new loader, and avoid the issues we had seen in the past with the carriers doing this work,” said MacMurchy.

With this, one of the goals with new equipment at the mill is to ensure, as much as possible, that they are able to get a high level of performance, day-in, dayout, and year-in, year-out. In other words, long term reliability.

One of the key considerations in Weyerhaeuser Princeton making the new equipment decision is that the Sennebogen is purpose-built as a material handler—around the world, it’s in use handling materials such as logs, bulk materials and scrap in hundreds of locations.

“It’s different from the other machines that we’ve had, which were excavator conversions—they were converted to log loaders,” explained MacMurchy.

Further reinforcing the move was the relationship the mill has with equipment to page 18

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - January/February 2022

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An addition to the Sennebogen 850E loader at Weyerhaeuser Princeton was a nickname: it’s dubbed “The Ogopogo”, after the fictional lake monster that is supposed to inhabit B.C.’s Lake Okanagan. The name is painted along the side of the stick on the machine. from page 17 and Sennebogen dealer, Great West Equipment, which has supplied the operation with a number of Volvo wheel loaders. They also have a solid relationship with grapple supplier, Weldco-Beales. The machine is equipped with a 24 square foot grapple.

“Great West Equipment has been fantastic,” said MacMurchy. “They really helped us understand what the opportunities were for the machine at Princeton, and helped us get the right machine for the site.”

The mill looked at a few different options with the 850E, including going for a rubber tired machine. But to achieve the greatest level of machine stability, and considering that the Princeton yard is only partially paved, they opted for a track machine.

Sennebogen’s modular design concept allows customers to order the 850E with a rubber-tired or tracked undercarriage, or illustrating its flexibility, it can be adapted to any other required mounting for gantries, pedestals, rail cars, barges and ship applications. The operating weight for the rubber-tired machine is 134,200

lbs. while its tracked sibling comes in at 146,300 lbs.

Dave Holland, lead hand at the Weyerhaeuser Princeton millyard, says the machine has received an enthusiastic thumbs-up from operators. “The operators talk a lot about how stable the machine is out in the yard.”

It’s also clear that Sennebogen has put a good deal of thought into the design of the 850E cab, which is very operator-friendly, and is designed for a comfortable work environment. The Maxcab on the 850E is longer and roomier than its previous iterations, providing more space for the operator, says Sennebogen. Known for its good visibility, the Maxcab on the 850E features joystick travel controls eliminating the steering wheel, ensuring an unobstructed forward line of sight. Dual cameras for rear and right-side visibility are standard.

With features like these, Holland said he considers the 850E a “game changer”.

The rising cab on the machine also makes it much easier, and safer, to stack timber in the yard.

“One of our goals is to keep the operators safe and stable, and keep the machine on the ground,” MacMurchy

SPROCKETS.

says. Previous machines at the operation could be light in the back end when operators are reaching out and up, with a full grapple of wood, he noted. That is no longer an issue with the 850E. That was a major consideration: at all Weyerhaeuser Canada operations, safety is a high priority, whether it involves the safe operation of equipment, or setting up extremely detailed COVID-19 protocols, which the company was quick to do in the last 24 months.

The 850E models feature intelligent hydraulic design, without complex electronics, says Sennebogen.

In terms of serviceability, the machine gets good marks from Holland. “Access is good,” he says. “It’s better than most excavators I’ve worked on. You can get on both sides of the engine without having to cram yourself against the counterweight.

It seems like the components are spread out, so you are able to get a hand in there and work on things.

“Some of the fittings are European metric which can be a bit of hurdle, but that is probably the only shortcoming I can really think of—we’ve got 1200 hours on our 850E, and it’s performing great.”

COVID has had an impact in terms for service training. The 850 E purchase includes a two-day training session, involving Sennebogen folks from the Sennebogen training centre in North Carolina, and the mechanics who are going to be working on the machine at Princeton.

With the border now open, it’s likely the training will be scheduled in the near future.

“There is always a bit of a learning curve with a new piece of equipment and new technology, which is where the two-day training course would have been handy. But our guys are resourceful.” to page 20

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The Weyerhaeuser Princeton mill turns out 300 million board feet of SPF lumber annually, which requires a smooth running operation, including in the millyard.

Helping to move timber efficiently is the Sennebogen 850E which is equipped with a Weldco-Beales S24 grapple (above). from page 18 With the border scheduled to open soon, it’s likely the training will be scheduled in the near future.

The 850E is also offering the mill a “significant” improvement in fuel economy, with its Tier 4f compliant 298 kW Cummins engine, says MacMurchy. The machine saves up to 30 per cent more fuel thanks to its innovative Green Hybrid energy recovery system. Sennebogen says

the motor and the hydraulics are matched for ideal power transmission.

In terms of on the ground servicing at Weyerhaeuser Princeton, the service and fuel trucks are taken to the 850E, rather than the other way around. “The machine weighs in at 160,000 pounds, so doing that minimizes track wear. And we’re trying to avoid wearing out the pavement we do have in the millyard, and keeping the machine out on the dirt, where it should be,” says MacMurchy.

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As with any new machine, there is often some tweaking required, to best suit it to the operation. Holland said they did this in-house, with welders putting an extra step on the carbody for better access, and moving a handrail to achieve the best three-point access to the cab.

Another addition, too, is a nickname for the machine: it’s dubbed “The Ogopogo”, after the fictional lake monster that is supposed to inhabit B.C.’s Lake Okanagan. The name is painted along the side of the stick on the machine.

The report card on the 850E is good, so far.

“It’s done extremely well,” says MacMurchy. “The machine has been pretty much problem-free. We had a couple of little hiccups over the past year, but Great West Equipment was there to fix the problems as they came up.”

He notes that Weyerhaeuser Princeton handles up to 100 logging truckloads of wood a day, mixed species, that often needs separating in the millyard. “We need a machine that is very efficient and that can move a lot of wood up or down the decks, depending on the decks that we’re into, and the wood the mill is consuming.”

Their log levels will vary depending on where they are in terms of timing around break-up and the fire season.

“We work around keeping the mill in wood more than anything else,” says MacMurchy. If it’s looking like it might be a while before they get logs in, they will try to bulk up. For example, they were hit by seven weeks of fire season this past summer, which affected log deliveries, big time.

“We did not expect that, but we were fortunate in that we went into July with one of our largest log inventories—and hats off to our timberlands group that did everything they could to keep the mill running during that time.”

And they work to maximize the value of the timber, of course, with rotating the wood, with the mill consuming first the logs that have been in the yard the longest.

And handling a lot of this is the new 850E, giving operators good visibility, whether they are putting the logs up, or taking them down, and preparing them for the mill.

“We have not had to build the decks higher just yet, but it’s expected that will come with time,” says MacMurchy.

“With this purchase, we had an opportunity to get a machine that would help us grow for the future—and that is what the Sennebogen 850E has done for us,” he concluded.

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - January/February 2022 1/29/20 3:16 PM

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newmillconstruction

Turnkey timber technology Georgia-Pacific Lumber has brought another new high-tech sawmill on stream, provided on a turnkey basis by B.C.-based sawmill equipment supplier, BID Group.

By Tony Kryzanowski

And the future is “now” when it comes to the use of greater automation and artificial intelligence with the ability to process, convey, sort and stack dimensional lumber automatically.

The technology also has the ability to learn and adapt. Overall, this allows companies like Georgia-Pacific Lumber to address their cost structure, which was the objective with all three projects that the BID Group supplied for the company in the southeastern U.S. over the past five years. G-P Lumber understood that it needed to upgrade some of its aging sawmills.

“One of the biggest differences that I have seen is that working in the sawmill used to be very labour-intensive and required a lot of manpower to move the lumber or transition from one machine centre to another,” says Johnnie Temples, who was Plant Manager in Albany at the time of construction and was recently promoted to Regional Manager, overseeing

T

Group—demonstrates unequivocally that today’s lumber mills can now more appropriately be called lumber factories.

While the BID Group has its base in Canada, it now has 15 locations situated to serve its global customer base with its hightech services and automated equipment.

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Logging & Sawmilling Journal - January/February 2022

he recent completion of a $150 million (U.S.) greenfield sawmill by Georgia-Pacific Lumber near Albany, Georgia—provided on a turnkey basis by equipment and service provider, the BID

newmillconstruction Georgia-Pacific Lumber Regional Manager Johnnie Temples (at left) appreciates the extremely efficient layout provided as a collaboration between the company’s engineers and the BID Group in the design of G-P Lumber’s new, greenfield, dimensional lumber sawmill in Albany, Georgia.

Rick Kimble, G-P Lumber Government and Public Affairs Manager, says that today’s sawmills—as reflected in the greenfield project recently completed in Albany, as well as the two recently completed brownfield projects featuring similar technology from the BID Group in Warrenton, Georgia and Talladega, Alabama—are able to produce about twice the volume of lumber with the same number of workers.

The company hopes that by having the

operations at all three sawmills where the BID Group’s technology was installed.

“The technology and equipment today can automatically do all that through automation,” he adds. “There is instrumentation and software installed so that technically, we wouldn’t have to touch the product. It will automatically convey, grade, sort, and stack by itself with very little interaction with the employee.”

Today, the job of the production line worker is to monitor and manage the process, rather than physically operate the equipment. Production at the Albany sawmill hasn’t quite reached that point, but Temples says that they are the majority of the way there.

In the past, individual sawmills typically produced between 120 to 150 million board feet of dimensional lumber annually with 200 to 300 employees. Sawmills today are much larger, with the Albany sawmill aiming to produce 300 million board feet per year with under 150 employees.

“I would be comfortable saying that we are probably producing more volume with fewer resources than what we have done in the past,” Temples says.

opportunity to work with automation, it will attract more workers while helping them to feel more fulfilled in their jobs.

One of the biggest takeaways they took from the first two projects was the importance of having the right management team in place to fully realize the full potential of what this cutting edge technology can deliver, as it relates to achieving

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Georgia-Pacific Lumber expects to produce 300 million board feet of dimensional lumber with under 150 employees at their Albany, Georgia sawmill. The plant is equipped with cutting edge automation and artificial intelligence systems. from page 23 the company’s cost structure goal.

Staff from the Albany plant spent considerable time shadowing operations at the first two plants so that workers were well-prepared once production began in Albany in spring 2020.

G-P Lumber appreciates its partnership with the BID Group, especially the work G-P Lumber’s Steve Hendrick and the BID Group’s Simon Potvin carried out on collaborating to create an efficient design of the Albany sawmill. Temples says because it was a greenfield project, it was possible to work with the BID Group to ensure that the best design—from the log merchandizer to lumber loading—was developed to fit the footprint of the 320,000 square foot facility located just outside of Albany in Dougherty County. One added benefit is that everything is under one roof.

“This layout is extremely efficient,” says Temples. “There is not a lot of wasted effort transferring product from one department to another and that was noticed by other industry people visiting the site.”

In terms of outcomes and efficiency, that is probably best represented with how efficiently product is loaded and delivered from the Albany plant.

The sawmill is designed with an inbound and an outbound scale as well as load cells on forklifts. Truck drivers check in using a remote kiosk and that information is transmitted directly to the forklift and load supervision employees so that they know in advance what product the driver is there to pick up. They can have it staged in advance and ready to be loaded, in addition to having information about the truck’s inbound empty weight so that the correct number of bundles are loaded. Once loaded, the truck proceeds

to the outbound scale and departs.

“We’ve got that down to right around a 20-minute turnaround time from the time a flatbed arrives to the time they leave,” says Temples.

Another example of the cutting edge artificial intelligence technology employed at the sawmill is the lumber grading module.

“The program module that we currently have actually learns as we continue to operate,” says Temples.

Initially, the goal was to identify blonde knots and internal stress fractures which are challenging to identify.

“With that AI module, we can actually pick up a lot of that automatically and grade out and give our consumers what they desire,” says Temples. “What we are seeing is tighter windows with the AI module.”

G-P Lumber was obviously satisfied that the wood basket existed within a reasonable driving distance from Albany to support the sawmill. The Southern Yellow Pine (SYP) logs arrive cut-to-length or tree length up to 60’ and are bucked to required lengths on the front end merchandizer. The tops range from 5” to 8”, with logs scanned and bucked to specific lengths to maximize lumber production.

The Albany sawmill is essentially designed to maximize production of dimensional lumber from 2 X 4 to 2 X 8, although it has the capability to adjust production parameters to respond to market demand. to page 26

24

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - January/February 2022

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newmillconstruction from page 24 Construction began in July 2019 and production began in May 2020. The entire production line from the merchandizer to lumber stacking was supplied by the BID Group on a turnkey basis through its various divisions.

Two DeShazo cranes feed logs into the sawmill. The logs are bucked, debarked, and processed through primary and secondary log processors supplied

by Comact, featuring the Comact Optimized Length Infeed (OLI) unit leading to a TBL shape sawing gang unit. The lumber proceeds through a Comact trim line and then a GradExpert lumber scanner with Artificial Intelligence, leading to a Comact 75-bin sorter. The lumber is stacked in advance of kiln drying using a MoCo stacker. The lumber is dried in one of three natural gas-fired, continuous dry kilns supplied by Del-Tech. The unstacker leading to the planer was an in-house design from the BID Group.

The lumber is processed through a Miller Manufacturing planer and infeed bridge, leading to a Comact GradExpert computerized lumber grader with Artificial

Intelligence, and then a 65-bay sorter.

Comact supplied the lumber packaging system leading to three Signode strappers.

The BID Group managed the installation of the entire project working with the G-P Lumber engineering department.

Temples says that working with a turnkey operator, “lessened the complexity of the whole transaction.”

Luckily, the project was designed and constructed just before and only at the start of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The biggest impact was during the plant commissioning when it became necessary to improvise communication with BID Group and Comact personnel situated in Canada to provide remote commissioning assistance. Being the third of three projects using the BID Group technology, Albany sawmill staff have also benefited from the mentoring and troubleshooting support available from more experienced staff working in Warrenton and Talladega.

“We’ve got quicker turnaround times for the log trucks and quicker turnaround times for the flatbeds hauling the materials out,” says Kimble. “Everyone is happier in an environment like this where things are

more efficient and run a little bit smoother. They make more money because they can make more loads.”

In October, G-P Lumber announced that it has hired the BID Group to deliver a new sawmill in Pineland, Texas on a turnkey basis. On site work will begin in early 2022 with startup scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2022. The sawmill is the largest business in Sabine County where Pineland is situated.

As with Albany, the site will feature BID Group’s wood processing technologies including equipment, software, automation systems, and AI-enabled optimization.

G-P Lumber will spend $120 million (U.S.) to replace the existing stud mill that was built in the 1960’s. Production capacity will increase from 380 million board feet annually to 450 million board feet.

As in the case of Albany, the company expects a significant improvement in product flow in and out of the plant on a daily basis.

Over the past five years, G-P Lumber has invested about $700 million (U.S.) to grow and improve its lumber business.

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SALVAGE PRO delivers solid results

A few different log harvesting and wood grinding outfits were involved in a recent wildfire salvage project—that delivered solid results—in the Clinton Community Forest in the B.C. Interior.

By Jim Stirling

T

he impacts of the Elephant Hill wildfire of 2017 won’t soon be forgotten in the south Cariboo region of British Columbia.

In 2021, log harvesting contractors were among a team of regional residents co-operating to salvage what they could of the fire-scorched timber and help in the slow process of restoring and safeguarding the vitality of the damaged forestland—and the people living on it.

Conditions were prime for the Elephant Hill fire to spread. And spread it did.

There were drought conditions, hot and gusty winds and vulnerable stressed-out timber types.

The wildfire started to gather steam near Ashcroft in the southern interior. It surged in a generally northeastern direction

through the forests and hills, ending some 190,000 hectares and weeks later.

In the fire’s wake were destroyed homes and livelihoods, losses of livestock and wildlife, and an instant ecosystem change. The Elephant Hill wildfire also threw a wrench into the present and mid-term timber supply equation for the regional forest industry.

Sections of the Clinton and District Community Forest (CCF) were in the way of the blaze.

“Wildfires are not selective,” observed Steve Law, the CCF’s general manager.

The 63,000-hectare community forest is solely owned by the Village of Clinton.

The dominant species is Interior Dry Belt Douglas fir. The thick-barked trees act as fire retardants, said Law, but not enough to prevent areas of intense damage.

The clock on the value of fire-damaged

timber starts ticking while the forest still smoulders. “The window of opportunity for sawlogs is about four years,” explained Law. Most markets don’t want or can’t use chips made from burned wood. However, grinding the fibre for hog fuel remains an option. Law and the CCF looked to the Forest Enhancement Society of B.C. (FESBC) to lend a hand.

A neat feature of FESBC-funded projects is they make more otherwise uneconomic harvesting feasible. In the CCF’s case, the FESBC’s funding allowed the salvage of more low grade, fire-damaged fibre. The FESBC supplied $512,000 in funding to recover and utilize about 32,000 cubic metres of low quality, residual fibre from the Clinton Community Forest.

“By using the wood instead of burning it in piles, greenhouse gas emissions are avoided,” points out Ray Raatz, FESBC’s

This drone picture shows Arrow’s Peterson 5710D horizontal grinder complemented with a Tigercat 875 used as a log loader for the Peterson grinder.

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Logging & Sawmilling Journal - January/February 2022

BClogging

OJECT

operations manager on the Clinton Community Forest Project. “So the people of Clinton, through their community forest, are doing their part to take action on climate change,” he added. To say nothing of reducing future forest fire risk from leaving debris piles and improving the quality of the Clinton airshed.

Law explained that the CCF split the FESBC-funded work into two distinct projects. One was recovering the low quality, residual fibre volumes most heavily damaged in the fire. The other—and initial phase—was more of an eye to the future.

It called for the creation of a fire/fuel guard to the southeast of the Village of Clinton. The structure is about 100 metres wide and six kilometres long, said Law. But it is no clearcut. Sparks and burning material from a wind-driven, out of control forest fire can easily leap a lot further than a 100 metre break in the forest.

“The idea is to modify fire behaviour by removing fibre-like understory and inhibiting fire’s ability to climb into the canopy,” continued Law. The fire/fuel break is designed more to give fire fighters—and planners—a breathing space.

It allows valuable time to analyze a fire’s behaviour and better allocate resources

Arrow Transportation Systems Inc was a key member of the Clinton Community Forest salvage team, and the project was both a team and family effort. Working on the project for Arrow was Greg Kilba, division manager of portable wood processing and log buyer with Arrow Transportation Systems, pictured above with his son, Benton, and father, Mike, who also worked on the project. to slow its spread and protect people and buildings.

Law added the CCF plans to begin a planting program in the spring of 2022.

He expected it to include an aspen planting trial to restore a mix of fire resistant and alternate species.

The CCF turned to its core of local and regional log harvesting and trucking contractors for the on-the-ground work on the fire break and fibre salvage operations.

Steve Cole was one of the local contractors to work on both projects. He used two skidders for his share of the work, a John Deere 748G and a Tigercat 630D. “The fire break work was very specific,” recalled Cole. “It required leaving spaced, green timber on the site along with specific brush heights.” The burned wood salvage work for Cole’s machines included skidding dead and dying interior Douglas fir beetle-infested stems.

His company, Cole Forest Consulting, is based in nearby 100 Mile House, B.C. Cole started the company in 2007 after extensive experience working with the provincial government.

Arrow Transportation Systems Inc was another key member of the Clinton Community Forest salvage team. Arrow is an interesting company. In 2021 Arrow Transportation marked its 100th year of operation in B.C., an especially significant milestone in a young province like B.C. Arrow might be an old company,

relatively speaking, but it’s certainly not anchored in the past. Arrow got into the wood grinding business in a serious way in 2020, recalled Greg Kilba, division manager of portable wood processing and Log Buyer with Arrow Transportation Systems, based in Kamloops, B.C. Arrow was agile enough to spot an opportunity and act upon it. “Arrow is very quick to adapt and look for opportunities,” noted Kilba.

Arrow had most of the fire-damaged wood harvested from the Clinton Community Forest trucked into and stockpiled at its facility in Kamloops. The CCF wood was slated for grinding with an end use in the nearby Domtar plant as a biofuel to make electricity and thermal power.

Kilba has more than 15 years’ experience in the residual wood grinding business and has assembled Arrow’s wood grinding equipment. The workhorse is a 2020 Peterson 5710D horizontal grinder using a three-stage processing system.

It’s complemented with a 2019 Tigercat 875 used as a log loader for the Peterson grinder.

“One of the good things about the Tigercat is the house opens right up for easier servicing access,” noted Kilba. Log handling and grinding fire-damaged wood is a messy affair. It places a premium on keeping equipment and components

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - January/February 2022

to page 30 29

BClogging from page 29 clean and dust free for safe and efficient operation. The last thing needed is an equipment fire.

Kilba explained the Tigercat also contributes low fuel consumption and smooth handling capability.

Arrow Transportation also has experience within its equipment back-up and service team. Woodland Equipment Inc has a branch in Kamloops and the company has been representing Peterson grinders and chippers in the B.C. and Alberta marketplaces for more than 25 years.

“Woodland does a very good job servicing our machines,” confirms Kilba. The Inland Group in Kamloops supports the Tigercat line of equipment.

“All of the industry partners in the Clinton Community Forest project came together to find ways to utilize this burned timber in a proactive way,” continued Kilba. “It’s a big change in the grinding industry in the last year or two. Everyone’s working together and that’s really something I’ve noticed.”

Jennifer Gunter concurs with the cooperative approach to finding forest

The Clinton Community Forest turned to its core of regional log harvesting and trucking contractors for the on-the-ground work on the fire break and fibre salvage operations. Steve Cole, of Cole Forest Consulting, was one of the local contractors to work on both projects. He used two skidders for his share of the work, a John Deere 748G and a Tigercat 630D. management solutions. “This story of the Clinton Community Forest is a great example of how community forests can explore forest management practices and try something new, which has resulted in a long term investment in the land base,” explained the executive director of the B.C. Community Forest Association. “Community forests are important,

regionally and provincially, to provide a base for ingenuity and innovation.”

Kilba gives credit to the role of loggers in the process. “They’ve been very proactive and utilizing all the fibre even though they’re not filling their pockets with money,” he observed. “Kudos to the loggers: they know it’s the right thing to do.”

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Logging & Sawmilling Journal - January/February 2022

THE

ON THE CUTTING EDGE OF INDUSTRY INNOVATION

Federal Two Billion Tree Program described—and how afforestation can play an important role

BY TONY KRYZANOWSKI

U

p to $3.24 billion has been committed by the federal government for its Two Billion Tree Program which will operate for 10 years, from 2021 to 2031.

The primary goal of the program is to address climate change through carbon capture by incrementally planting and growing trees to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 12 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per year by 2050.

Tree plantings that qualify include afforestation on lands that could naturally sustain productive forests but have not been forested for some time, reforestation to regenerate forest after natural disturbances like wildfire, and urban planting to beautify and help cool communities. Afforestation through planting of fast growing trees will play an important role toward this program’s success.

Trees are natural carbon sinks. A clonal hybrid poplar that measures 30 centimetres in diameter at about 1.3 metres from the ground and measuring about 27 metres tall represents about one cubic metre of wood and translates closely to one tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent of emission reduction. A properly established and managed high yield afforestation plantation can produce between 10 to 14 cubic metres of stem wood fibre per hectare per year till maturity at approximately 20 years old.

Other program goals include biodiversity through the restoration of habitat, contributing to greater well being by creating new jobs, increasing green spaces, providing sanctuary for spiritual meaning, regulating temperatures, improving mental health and also reducing wildfire risks and other environmental impacts. Trees can be planted in areas where there is no formal reforestation responsibility or where reforestation is not a normal business practice and in the case of afforestation, where trees have not existed for a significant amount of time but are site suitable.

The page opposite is a flow chart illustrating proper high yield afforestation planning, operational design, and development management practices, including tree clonal/species selection, site selection, and vegetation management.

32

The Canadian Wood Fibre Centre (CWFC) has created and validated this high yield afforestation plantation roadmap in partnership with industry, provinces, landowners, R & D organizations and service providers. It is supported by 20 years of research, development and knowledge transfer in Canada and is available to anyone interested in using this model to establish afforestation plantations.

The following case study shows in greater detail the necessary steps to establish a successful fast growing, high yield hybrid poplar or select clonal aspen plantation.

The first step is to select a suitable site and hybrid poplar or clonal aspen species depending on the local soil and bio geoclimatic conditions.

The second step is to select suitable planting stock, represented as cuttings or rooted cuttings. A cutting is one-year-old plant material harvested from the previous growing season that features dormant buds.

It typically measures 0.3 to 1.5 centimetres in diameter and 15 to 25 centimetres long. Other potential plant material is greenhouse-grown rooted cuttings that have 30 to 40 centimetre tops and established root systems. They are grown from cuttings harvested from stool beds, established intentionally to produce growing stock.

The third step is the handling, conditioning and packaging of plant material. The cuttings or rooted cuttings are packaged to minimize moisture loss and frozen to maintain their dormant state in temperatures ranging from -3 to -4 degrees Celsius.

CWFC site suitability map

They are packaged in plastic, placed in conventional tree nursery boxes, and stored in humidity-controlled freezers. They aren’t removed until approximately a week before planting to allow them to thaw and to be hydrated/watered.

The fourth phase is site preparation, which should be planned carefully to occur in advance of planting in a timely manner, considering the critical window for your planting schedule. Usually the soils on afforestation sites are moderately compact with little organic material. Site preparation to about 30 centimetres is required. Multiple passes are also required to allow for moisture penetration and finer surface mixing through discing or tillage to allow for a loose rooting environment for trees to establish quickly and capture the organic benefits of the annual vegetation growth usually associated with these sites.

The fifth phase is planting, using mechanical implements or hand planting, where a tree planter carries the cuttings/ rooted cuttings in a moisture laden bag and plants it on a marked location. The location is established in advance by using a marking implement that maximizes the distribution efficiency of the trees and allows them to access equal amounts of site resources while leaving space for efficient post-planting vegetation management.

The sixth and final phase is vegetation management. The goal is to manage annual vegetation growth around each planting until the trees achieve crown closure in 3 to 5 years. The more effective the vegetation management, the better the chances of survival and the less time it takes for crown closure when vegetation management is no longer required. The preferred method is mechanical vegetation management using a small tool tractor equipped with a disc, tiller or cultivator.

For more information about establishing and managing a fast growing, high yield afforestation plantation, contact Derek Sidders at derek.sidders@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca or Tim Keddy at tim.keddy@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca.

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - January/February 2022

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Logging & Sawmilling Journal - January/February 2022

33

TECHUPDATE LOG GRAPPLES

By Tony Kryzanowski Brandt

Brandt says that its hard-to-the-core forestry grapples deliver the productivity and reliability its customers need to succeed. Customers can count on these durable grapples to help them accomplish more with optimized lug geometry for pencilling at full reach or underneath the boom, precise jaw placement when handling single stems, and near-vertical jaw orientation for superior pile penetration, says the company.

The grapples excel in the toughest situations and maximize uptime with a QT-100 steel frame, strategically placed highstrength abrasion-resistant steel, a high-torque drive system motor, and weld-on outriggers to retain the load while protecting the pivot frame from damage.

The external centralized grease bank simplifies daily maintenance. Easy-to-service components like the split top-access cover to service the control valve and upper hydraulics ensure repairs are completed in a timely fashion so customers can spend more time working, and make the most of their harvest season.

Brandt says it delivers the industry’s largest network of fullservice dealerships to back their customers so they can get the job done on time, every time. www.brandt.ca

Tigercat

Tigercat designs and builds a line of durable loading and shovel logging grapples, well-matched to the power and productivity of Tigercat carriers.

The BT08 butt-n-top grapple and PC08, PC10 and PC12 power clam grapples are designed for use on the 875E and 880E loggers.

The large outriggers are said to be ideal for moving and loading heavy, large diameter and longlength timber.

The Tigercat SC08 shovel clam grapple is matched to the LS855E and LSX870D shovel loggers for an end-to-end Tigercat package.

The jaw profile easily rolls the logs into a tight bunch for increased control and productivity in demanding, high volume shovel logging applications.

All Tigercat grapples feature durable, boxed-style jaws fabricated from high strength steel using fatigue-resistant welded construction. All tine tips are made from abrasion-resistant steel and can be replaced.

Boom hose protection is maximized by routing the hoses on top of the boom and under the connecting pin. The cylinder guard design allows for easy hose access and eliminates the need for covers. www.tigercat.com 34

Weldco-Beales Mfg

Since 1945, Weldco-Beales Mfg (WBM) has grown substantially from a small welding shop in Vancouver, originally specializing in forestry attachments, to operating four comprehensive manufacturing facilities located across Canada, offering an extensive product line serving a vast variety of industries.

Some of WBM’s most popular forestry attachments include clam grapples and butt-n-top grapples for excavators, and both cut-to-length and tree length log grapples for wheel loaders.

In 2017, WBM released its innovative Horizontal Cylinder and Linkage (HCL) series clam grapple, combining the performance and versatility of a basket-style grapple jaw with the proven efficiency of a power-tilt excavator grapple.

WBM says that it is driven by continuous improvement and is proud to showcase their newest line of forestry grapples: cutto-length (CTL) dangle head grapples. Their proven jaw profile maximizes capacity, increases productivity, reduces loading cycles, and allows for easier penetration of log piles.

The company says it is known for its robust construction of attachments and these grapples are no exception. High strength alloy steel is used throughout for maximum durability and service life, and the heavy duty bearing and gear drive system allows for 360-degree continuous rotation. CTL dangle head grapples are available in both bypass and non-bypass configurations. https://weldco-beales.com/inventory/ctl-dangle-head-grapple/

Hultdins

Olofsfors says that its Hultdins SuperGrip SG grapples are the forest industry standard on log trucks and forwarders.

The company’s traditional models are starting to become common on excavators for tree service, land clearing, feeding chippers or grinders, as well as part time logging.

All SG grapples are equipped with Indexator GV rotators, and links are available to match any forwarder, log truck or excavator mount.

SG grapples are available in five model sizes with openings from 60” to 89”. They feature: high strength steel and robotized welded construction throughout; cushioned cylinder, tapered sleeve pin joints, and excellent arm geometry with wide opening and minimum closing dimensions; synchronized arms with dual solid cast steel connecting rods; and, a grapple saw option is available on all models.

On January 1, 2022, Olofsfors Inc became the distributor for Hultdins products in the North American market and Indexator rotators will also be part of the distribution. www.olofsfors.com

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - January/February 2022

techupdate Cat

Cat says that its GLL forestry grapples are productive, durable, and the high quality customers expect from Cat products.

Integrated to the machine’s hydraulics, its forestry grapples can handle a wide range of tasks with ease while keeping customers working with simple serviceability. The company adds that GLL forestry grapples are a high-performing solution.

Performance is maximized with a leg profile optimized for a variety of tasks, maximum holding power and control from the cylinder valves, and interlocking legs designed to secure maximum or minimum load. The minimum opening at 5” can be used to handle single, small stems. This grapple is optimal for applications such as high-volume loading, truck loading, highdecking in mill yards, shovel logging, and chucking.

High-strength alloy steel is used to construct the grapples for the highest level of durability in tough applications. Extended use from bearings is possible with heavy-duty, lip-type excluder seals and sealed pin joints.

Serviceability is simple with easy-to-replace Hardox wear strips on the grapple legs and easy-to-access grease points and fully serviceable cylinders. Customers spend more time working with long service intervals, plus some servicing can be done in the field with hand tools, says Cat. https://www.cat.com/en_US/by-industry/forestry/work-tools.html

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T-Mar Industries

Using tech tools like robotic welding systems alongside tried and true methods of customer service, T-Mar Industries is able to bring new and improved functionality to every generation of equipment its produces. This includes its heavy-duty and extreme-duty grapple series.

A number of recent design advancements have been made.

The geometry has been improved on T-Mar Industries’ Extreme-Duty MK3 grapples which decreases cylinder pressure, increases longevity and allows the grapple to handle heavier loads.

The use of aluminum-bronze bushings and induction-hardened pins improves longevity.

T-Mar Industries has included quick-attach brush rake and saw attachments for all grapple models and wedge-lock mounting that ensures a strong, secure connection over years of use.

There is also increased rotate torque across all models.

Their HD56S grapple boasts a tight 4 3/8” closing size without sacrificing tip-to-tip bunching capacity compared to the larger HD60S. They have also upgraded the leg tip from 6” to 8” on both the HD56S and HD60S, narrowing the gap between tines to improve handling of small limbs. In both form and function, T-Mar Industries says that it’s a leader in grapples. www.tmarequipment.com

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35

SUPPLIERNEWSLINE

Nisula Forest and Top Down sign B.C. dealership agreement

Nisula Forest Oy and Top Down Enterprises Inc. have signed a dealership agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, Top Down Enterprises will sell Nisula Forest products and parts, and offer customer service in British Columbia for Nisula Forest products.

Nisula Forest said it is proud to present its first dealer in North America. It noted that customers from the west coast have been actively asking for products for forest fuel reduction operations, partly due to the huge forest fires in the last several years in western Canada and U.S. Located in Kamloops, B.C., Top Down Enterprises is in a perfect spot to offer great customer service around B.C., says Nisula Forest.

“If you are in Western Canada and looking for the best commercial thinning, or forest fuel reduction equipment, and great customer service, feel free to contact Mike Niedziejko and his team,” said Timo Savornin, Sales Director at Nisula Forest Oy. www.topdownent.ca

Canfor purchases Millar Western forestry assets in Alberta

In a blockbuster deal for the forest industry, Canfor has entered into an agreement with Millar Western Forest Products Ltd to acquire the company’s solid wood operations and associated tenure for $420 million, including $56 million in working capital.

Canfor says it expects to generate at least $25 million in annual synergies principally related to alignment with the company’s marketing programs and operational enhancements. Millar Western’s solid wood operations, located in Alberta, will add 630 million board feet of production capacity and have access to a globally competitive, high-quality timber supply.

The assets consist of three well-capi36

talized operations including two sawmill complexes in Whitecourt and Fox Creek, and the high-value, specialty Spruceland Millworks facility in Acheson that is dedicated to serving strategic markets and generates higher, more stable returns, says the company.

“The acquisition of Millar Western’s solid wood operations, including the highly successful Spruceland Millworks facility, is well aligned with Canfor’s strategy to grow and diversify our global operating platform. We are excited to expand our Alberta operations to meet the growing demand of our customers for high-quality and sustainable wood products,” says Don Kayne, President & CEO, Canfor.

The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2022. www.canfor.com

Resolute renews partnership agreement with Ontario First Nation

Resolute and Lac des Mille Lacs First Nation recently celebrated the renewal of a long-term partnership agreement at a signing ceremony held in Thunder Bay. For nearly 25 years, Resolute and Lac des Mille Lacs First Nation, a Treaty 3 Nation located in northwestern Ontario, have enjoyed a productive, mutually beneficial partnership. The First Nations community participates in forest management and land use planning, and plays an active role in local citizen committees, providing valuable input and expertise on matters related to local development and commercial enterprise.

Resolute also announced a $25,000 contribution to the Lac des Mille Lacs Education Centre, an innovative, multicultural school established in 2019 in Thunder Bay. “We recognize the importance of Indigenous-led educational programming, with their potential to revitalize communities and create lasting positive effects in students’ lives,” says Remi G. Lalonde, President and CEO of Resolute.

“The contribution by Resolute will

By Tony Kryzanowski support curriculum development, including natural resources programming with a focus on experiential learning, Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe) language instruction, and our hockey program,” says Lac des Mille Lacs Chief Whitecloud. www.resolutefp.com

Bandit purchases The Trelan Company as part of major expansion

Due to the strong demand for Bandit products, Bandit is on a major expansion campaign.

Three expansions of Bandit plants were completed in 2021 and two other expansions will be completed in the first quarter of 2022. Three additional facilities will be built in 2022. Total capital expenditures for 2022 will be $16.5 million (U.S.).

Most recently, Bandit Industries has purchased The Trelan Company. Bandit purchased the assets and properties of Trelan from the Schumacher family in December.

Trelan has a long strong history in the whole tree chipper arena. The first Trelan chippers were produced in the early 1970s. Trelan’s unique chippers will enhance Bandit’s extensive line of whole tree chippers. The Trelan chippers will add volume without affecting the sale of Bandit’s line of whole tree chippers.

Bandit will use the 45,000 square foot manufacturing and 10,000 square feet of storage buildings to continue to produce the Trelan machines and to produce additional Bandit machines. www.banditchippers.com

Enhancements for John Deere’s M-Series bunchers, harvesters and shovel loggers

John Deere now offers new options and updates to its M-Series tracked feller bunchers, harvesters, and shovel logger that include enhancements to the previously-released Smooth Boom Control (SBC), as well as improved seat and heated-ventilated seat (HVS) and premium radio that is XM ready.

Updated SBC improves the amount of pressure needed to operate a function, giving the operator more feel and control of the movement, especially during fine metering. This allows for a wider tuning range for individual functions and

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - January/February 2022

classified

DEMO show on track for 2024

DEMO International is recognized as one of North America’s largest and unique outdoor equipment shows.

The “all live and in action, in-woods” event not only serves to feature the latest in forestry operations-related (OEM) equipment, products and services, but has also provided the opportunity over the course of its 55-year history to feature and demonstrate the state-of-the-art design, technologies and innovation with members of the forestry sector worldwide.

Preparations for DEMO International, originally scheduled for 2020, were on track as the Canadian Woodlands Forum worked with its partners and host, SBC Cedar, to develop and invest in a world class show site, which at that time was 75 per cent complete.

However, the COVID pandemic prompted the decision on two occasions to postpone the event based on the circumstances and with the best interest of the health and safety of exhibitors, visitors, partners and contractors.

The DEMO International management team has been actively engaged in reviewing and discussing the circumstances around the pandemic and the likelihood/ feasibility of executing the show in 2022.

As part of the due diligence process and in consultation with most of the major DEMO exhibitors, the collateral impacts of the pandemic over the last 20 months continue to raise concerns with respect to international travel restrictions, interruptions to the supply chain, impacting availability of raw materials, production, inventory levels and delivery timelines.

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AD INDEX ADVERTISER PAGE Atlantic Heavy Equipment Show................ 26 Autolog/Carbotech.............................................5 Bandit................................................................... 39 BID Group............................................................ 27 Central Boiler..................................................... 30 COFI - BC Council of Forest Industries....... 11 Drop Manufacturing....................................... 18 G & R Manufacturing..........................................7 Galardy Technical Services Ltd.................... 24 HAIX North America........................................ 23 ILA Conference and TradeShow.................. 30 James G Murphy............................................... 35 Linck...................................................................... 13 Nordic Traction Group.......................................2 Olofsfors............................................................... 19 Ponsse.................................................................. 31 Prolenc Manufacturing.................................. 17 Sennebogen....................................................... 21 SmithCo Mfg...................................................... 20 Stihl........................................................................ 25 Tigercat................................................................ 40 TS Manufacturing............................................. 14 Valutec Wood Dryers..........................................9

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improves the set-up for multiple operator preferences and skill levels.

The new dual density foam seat provides more support and comfort during operation.

Additionally, John Deere has added adjustable suspension dampers to reduce vibration and provide more variable dampening. Lastly, for improved overall comfort, a heated and ventilated seat option has been made available. www.deere.com/en/forestry

Despite their best intentions, these challenges have made it extremely difficult for many manufacturers to maintain their participation in the 2022 show.

Based on the assessment and recommendation from the DEMO International management team, the Canadian Woodlands Forum Board of Directors in partnership with host SBC Cedar and show partners, have made the difficult decision to postpone DEMO International until September 2024.

As disappointing as this decision is, those involved with the show feel this deferral will put the show back on track with its typical four-year cycle, and will provide time for the global economy and supply chains to recover. In addition, with DEMO International always drawing a large international crowd, as well as people from all parts of Canada, it’s felt that travel conditions would continue to improve over the next couple of years, and that 2024 would offer a safer environment and ensure the successful show exhibitors and visitors have come to expect.

The Canadian Woodlands Forum and partners will continue to update all exhibitors and look forward to working with partners towards a very successful event in 2024. www.DEMOInternational.com

thebottomline

B.C. government risking dimming the lights on forest industry

By Jim Stirling

T

he natural rhythms of the mature forest are often comfortably familiar.

Every year, for example, wild flowers reappear on the forest floor in the same places they always have.

But new plans influencing how B.C. forests are managed and harvested have the potential for long lasting and widely spread changes to familiar patterns. The wild flowers might have to take their chances.

This musing is prompted by the British Columbia government’s recent decision to not make a decision surrounding the issue of harvesting ‘old growth’ forests.

Instead, the provincial government opted to foment uncertainty by deferring for at least two years any harvesting decisions on about 2.6 million hectares of B.C. Crown-owned forest land. The area joins at least a further 10 million hectares of Crown forest land already protected for other uses.

Some old growth forests contain unique ecosystems worthy of preservation. Others do not. But trying to define what constitutes an old growth forest is the first challenge. Pitch the question to a diverse group of forest industry workers and observers and stand by for a lively discussion.

The provincial government gives a definition a shot. It reckons a coastal B.C. forest would have to contain trees at least 250 years old to qualify as ‘old growth’. In the Interior, the government’s yardstick is at least 140 years.

‘Old growth’ is also apparently subdividable. The government says ‘old growth’ includes categories like big tree old growth; rare old growth and ancient old growth. If all the present ‘old growth’ deferrals were to be made permanent, B.C. Forests Minister Katrine Conroy has estimated 4,500 jobs would be affected.

For affected, read lost.

When there are issues surrounding the definition of ‘old growth’, it follows there

are questions about how much of it remains. Wildfires, for example, have taken their toll on all B.C.’s forests in the last five years. The provincial government hasn’t committed sufficient funds to comprehensively update basic forest classifications and inventories. The information is critical to developing management strategies.

Those 4,500 potential lost jobs Forests Minister Conroy alluded to couldn’t cloud the industry’s horizon at a worse time.

The provincial forest industry is already reeling. The cycle started when the warm-

government reviews have indicated that the big five companies’ share of the provincial cut is too large. The government wants to give more access to fibre to First Nations and encourage the establishment of more value-added plants. The government proposes taking the fibre required from the largest licencees.

Canfor Corp is comfortably the largest tenure holder in B.C., supporting nine sawmills, four pulp and paper mills, three pellet plants and employs 4,000 people.

Canfor is followed in terms of cubic metres of tenure held by West Fraser Timber Co and Western Forest Products. Interfor Corp and Tolko Industries round out the top five. Collectively, the five companies hold about 27 million cubic metres of the province’s 48 million cubic metres of harvestable timber.

Don Kayne, Canfor’s President and CEO, succinctly stated the company’s position. He said the manufacture of lumber in sawmills is the backbone of B.C.’s forestry sector.

“Without a solid primary industry in British Columbia that has got the hosting conditions to invest ... then we have no pulp and paper industry, we have no pellet industry, we have no secondary manufacturing industry, we have no (cross laminated timber) plants—we have none of that,” declared Kayne. “We need to figure out how to have a sustainable, globally competitive primary industry here in British Columbia to support all the rest of our ambitions.”

Right now, that’s not happening. Kayne and Canfor are presenting their shareholders’ interests. But they make a valid point that should be turning on a light within a provincial government charged with directing the provincial forest industry’s future. The risk is continued government inaction could permanently dim more lights in communities across the province.

The B.C. government has set in motion an unprecedented level of uncertainty and concern in the forest industry.

38

ing climate exacerbated the impacts of the mountain pine beetle epidemic in the B.C. Interior. Rising wood prices resulted, triggering a chain reaction. Sawmills closed, production was curtailed, jobs were lost and the economic clamps were tightened in communities around B.C. Now there’s the additional uncertainties about old growth harvesting hovering over the industry.

“The government has set in motion an unprecedented level of uncertainty and concern among the thousands of hard working men and women who face the prospect of losing their jobs without any information about training or support programs,” pointed out Bob Brash in a recent Letter to the Editor. Brash is Executive Director of the Truck Loggers Association of B.C. Other elephants are squeezing into the B.C. forest industry’s living room. At the time of writing this, rumours were rampant about what specifically the provincial government has in mind when it comes to re-distributing timber harvesting rights in the province. The provincial allowable annual cut is on a downward spiral with the mountain pine beetle epidemic, accentuated by recent wildfire losses. Recent

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - January/February 2022

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