Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2022

Visit LSJ’s website at www.forestnet.com

July/August 2022

RESOLUTE FOREST PRODUCTS upgrades its sawmills in U.S. South PREVIEW: Portland’s Timber Processing and Energy Expo Show!

WITH THIS ISSUE...

ON THE CUTTING EDGE OF INDUSTRY INNOVATION

B.C.’S CATS EYE LOGGING AND SAWMILLING producing high value wood products MEETING SUPPLY CHAIN CHALLENGES …to move that lumber

FEATURES July/August 2022 Volume 53 • No. 4 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: Veteran British Columbia sawmiller James Dodich is parlaying his experience working with a variety of wood product combinations into producing high value wood products, with his company Cats Eye Logging and Sawmilling. Having experimented with various combinations with his Wood-Mizer LT40 band sawmill , Dodich feels that he has found the right formula for his operation. Read all about some of the lessons Dodich has learned beginning on page 36 of this issue. (Cover photo

by Tony Kryzanowski).

Associate Publisher Hannah Rayment • (778) 688-9127 E-mail: hannah@forestnet.com Social Media: Kaitlin Davidson Digital Marketing: Diane Mettler Email: digitalmarketing@forestnet.com Subscription Enquiries (604) 990-9970 Fax: (705) 434-9052 E-mail: SubscribeLSJ@forestnet.com Design & Art Production Manager Sheila Ringdahl E-mail: artwork@forestnet.com Accounting Manager Shelina Jessa • (604) 731-1535 E-mail: accounting@forestnet.com Office P.O. Box 86670 North Vancouver, BC V7L 4L2 Phone: (604) 990-9970 Website: www.forestnet.com Subscriptions: Canada $58 a year; two years $70; three years, $85. Group accounts, six or more subscriptions, $25 per subscription per year. Outside Canada, $95 per year.

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4 Spotlight: High

30 Alberta Forest Products

Lumber prices may be headed to higher levels again, but that does not deal with many of the issues currently facing the B.C. forest industry, from severe weather through to a shortage of skilled labour.

Logging and Sawmilling Journal takes a look at what the big issues will be at the Alberta Forest Products Association (AFPA) AGM coming up, when the industry will get together in Jasper in September to celebrate its successes and talk about its challenges.

lumber prices don’t help with many industry issues

AGM Preview

8 Resolute upgrades

36 Cats Eye catches

Quebec-based Resolute Forest Products has expanded its sawmill operations with the purchase of three sawmills in the U.S. South, and has already started to upgrade the mills.

With his company Cats Eye Logging and Sawmilling, B.C.’s James Dodich is parlaying his experience working with a variety of wood product combinations into producing high value wood products.

Southern sawmills

high-end wood market

14 Portland’s Timber

40

The TP&EE show in Portland will be back this September, and will feature the latest and greatest in new mill equipment, ready to slot in for your mill upgrade.

46 The Last Word

Processing and Energy Expo (TP&EE) show is back!

22

Meeting supply chain challenges… to move that lumber

Read all about how some forest companies are successfully addressing supply chain challenges with transportation management system technology.

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2022

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).

The launch of the federal greenhouse gas offset credit system has the potential to be a game-changer for Canadian forestry, says Tony Kryzanowski.

DEPARTMENTS

Calendar...........................................7 Suppliernewsline............................41 Ad Index.........................................45 Classifieds......................................45 Subscriptions.................................45 3

HIGH spotlight

LUMBER PRICES

don’t help with many industry issues

Lumber prices may be headed to higher levels again, but that does not deal with many of the issues currently facing the B.C. forest industry, from severe weather through to shortage of skilled labour.

By Jim Stirling verything used to be more predictable. The health of the British Columbia forest industry, for instance, hinged significantly on the new housing starts forecasts in the United States.

Now, in 2022, it seems that the B.C. forest industry is being simultaneously assailed on a diversity of fronts. In the process, prosperity and plenty have been replaced by struggles and shortages. The industry’s operating environment has become ever more complex.

Most of the major influencing factors involved are not made in B.C. Global weather changes associated with a warming climate are at the root of many of them.

The mountain pine beetle epidemic

in the B.C. Interior started gathering momentum in the late-1980s and early1990s, coinciding with a trend of warmer winters which was destined to continue.

The vast tracts of even-aged pine stands across the Interior—the result of efficient fire fighting—gave the endemic beetle populations all the impetus required to become epidemic.

By 2012, Resources Canada estimated more than 18 million hectares of forest land was impacted by the beetle epidemic, with the loss of a staggering 723 million cubic metres of merchantable pine. In 2022, the impact is reflected in shrinking allowable annual cuts across Interior Timber Supply Areas and higher wood costs.

Sawmills have been forced to close or curtail production. The process is continuing. Canfor Corp announced earlier

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Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2022

E

this year that it was permanently reducing the lumber production of its Plateau Sawmill, west of Vanderhoof, in central B.C. The company is lopping off about 150 million board feet of annual lumber capacity, which will result in the loss of 70 mill jobs.

“As the allowable annual cut has been decreased in the region, it is necessary to re-size the facility to align with the sustainable fibre supply,” explained Don Kayne, Canfor’s president, when announcing the Plateau decision.

But it’s the sawmill workers, regional loggers and the Vanderhoof economy which are taking the hit from Canfor’s production curtailment decision. The to page 6

spotlight from page 4 company overall, however, is doing rather better, to say the least. Though lumber prices have since come off their heady levels, Canfor reported its lumber and pulp products recorded $1.5 billion in net income in 2021.

It’s not just the primary forest industry producers in the B.C. Interior which are suffering the beetle/climate kickbacks.

Pacific Bioenergy has closed its wood pellet manufacturing plant in Prince George after 28 years of operation. The decision means the loss of 55 direct jobs.

“Our whole business was built on not wasting fibre,” recounted John Stirling, PacBio’s CEO during a recent interview.

“Don’t burn sawmill residuals, don’t burn forestry slash—of which there are millions of tons in the province but it is expensive to get to and we don’t get a lot of help getting there. So that has been the tough uphill battle that we’ve had, and it is going to continue.”

Forest fires have always been a fact of log harvesting life in B.C. But the changing climate has created a more unpredictable and formidable foe. The problems are

compounded when, as often happens, smaller fire outbreaks combine to create mega blazes, which are indiscriminate of the tree species or age structures of the forest in their path. Standing dead pine beetle trees compound the problems and the dangers to life, forest land and infrastructure from mega fires.

Back in the day, there wasn’t much talk or concerns related to ‘supply chains’.

Not so today. Now, supply chain issues are creating shortages and price increases for the forest industry on a day to day basis. Supply chain issues have a variety of causes. But intense changes in regional

6

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2022

climate patterns around the world are again major factors.

The flooding in B.C.’s Fraser River valley in 2021 created transportation bottlenecks and disruptions to the flow of goods and services, including forest products and supplies, to the rest of the province.

The unprovoked Russian invasion of Ukraine has impacted the cost of goods from oil to wheat. The war has placed additional strains on supply chains already severely compromised by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The B.C. forest industry’s relationship with climate changes coincides with

another international phenomenon. The population in most rich countries is ageing. Post World War II baby boomers have attained or are approaching retirement age. The result today is a shortage of skilled workers throughout the forest industry.

“We lost more than a month of our chip production program this past fall (2021) because of a shortage of chip truck drivers and now it’s logging truck drivers,” reported Roger Keery, CEO of Skeena Sawmills, which operates a sawmill in Terrace, B.C. and a sister company, Skeena BioEnergy, a wood pellet manufacturer.

“This has caused ongoing difficulties in meeting our log production budget,” he commented in a recent interview.

Every mill manager in the B.C. Interior has similar frustrations. The shortages of qualified people may affect different facets of a sawmill flow in different ways but the negative impacts on operating schedules are the same.

The B.C. government is the steward of the province’s publicly owned forests.

Proposed changes to forest land access has caused another cloud of uncertainty surrounding the industry’s fibre availability situation. For example, the government has imposed a moratorium on harvesting an estimated 2.6 million hectares of B.C.’s old growth forest lands. The province is also mulling a scheme that could redistribute timber cutting rights from the largest forest companies to smaller operators and First Nations.

Ironically, it is partnerships with First Nations which are in some areas providing light in the gloomy overall outlook. More First Nations have acquired tenure on parts of their traditional territories and are entering agreements with local forest companies.

In July 2020, Skeena Sawmills entered just such a partnership. The Kitselas First Nation and the Kitsumkalum Band, through wholly owned subsidiaries, signed fibre supply agreements with Skeena Sawmills. The three-year deals call for the respective First Nations to harvest and each deliver to Skeena Sawmills about 45,000 cubic metres annually. There’s an option in the agreements to extend them for two more years after 2023. The deal has worked out well for the signatories, according to reports. The fibre supply agreements fit well with the First Nations’ aspirations for more economic development and training for band membership while Skeena gains a welcome additional fibre source when wood supply is at a premium and market demand for product is robust.

September 10-15

CALENDAR

Canadian Institute of Forestry National Conference & AGM, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario 705-744-1715, www.cif-ifc.org/ national-forest-week September 20-21

Wood Pellet Association of Canada AGM, Vancouver, BC 250-837-8821, www.pellet.org

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2022

spotlight

September 28-30

Timber Processing & Energy Expo, Portland, OR 334-834-1170, www.timberprocessingandenergyexpo.com November 6-10

Pacific Logging Congress Annual Meeting, Scottsdale, AZ 360-832-1745 www.pacificloggingcongress.org

7

millupgrades

RESOLUTE

GOES SOUTH with sawmills Quebec-based Resolute Forest Products—which will soon be part of Paper Excellence Group’s Domtar subsidiary in a recently announced deal—has expanded its sawmill operations with the purchase of three sawmills in the U.S. South, and has already started to upgrade the mills.

By Tony Kryzanowski

M

ajor Canadian softwood lumber producers continue to invest in the American South, with Montreal-based Resolute Forest Products among the latest to head in that direction with the acquisition of two sawmills in Arkansas and one in Florida.

These are the company’s first American sawmills and together will produce 550 million board feet of softwood lumber annually from southern yellow pine (SYP).

While Resolute has a long history of producing SPF softwood lumber in Canada— from three sawmills in Ontario and 14 in Quebec—the addition of the three sawmills in the U.S. boosts the company’s total softwood lumber production capacity by close to 25 per cent. The company has a total of 40 wood products facilities in North America.

The three U.S. sawmills are the El Dorado and Glenwood sawmills in Arkansas and the Cross City sawmill in Florida.

The mills had recently changed hands

8

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 20222022

millupgrades

Among the major upgrades made to the Glenwood sawmill in Arkansas was an edger optimizer supplied by Baxley. Production is ramping up at this sawmill, with the addition of 25 new jobs. when B.C.-based, Conifex Timber Inc, purchased them in 2018 for nearly $173 million (U.S.).

But after making significant capital investments in all three facilities, the company opted instead to exit the U.S. market and sell these facilities to Resolute in February 2020 for approximately $176 million (U.S.), according to Conifex. The sale was part of its proposed asset divestment and restructuring plan approved in principle by the company’s lumber segment lenders in November 2019.

Conifex successfully repaid a considerable amount of its debt as a result of this sale.

Since acquiring the sawmills, Resolute has announced a capital investment program of about $35.5 million into all three American sawmills to restart the curtailed El Dorado facility and eventually ramp up

production at all three sawmills, with the aim of achieving production as close as possible to their design capabilities.

What’s attracting Canadian companies like Resolute to the American South is the abundance of affordable wood fibre close to production facilities, the ability to avoid having to pay American softwood lumber duties on Canadian-produced lumber, and the fact that southern yellow pine grows about twice as fast to achieve the same volume as an SPF tree in Canada.

In the case of Resolute, the move toward softwood lumber production in the U.S. goes even further. It is a major plank in the company’s transformation strategy.

According to David Marshall, Resolute Director, Sustainability and Public Affairs, one reason behind the company’s drive to expand its softwood lumber manufacturing

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2022

business is a recognition that the market for its paper products is shrinking. Resolute is a large global producer of newsprint and specialty papers.

“Our corporate strategy is focused on value creation by growing in wood products and pulp, maintaining a disciplined approach to capital allocation and maximizing cash generation from our paper assets, while investing in production innovation,” says Marshall.

Resolute is pivoting more toward softwood lumber production where the market continues to be robust, and the company anticipates higher softwood lumber prices. Since Resolute was eager to grow this part of its business particularly in the U.S., it definitely caught their interest

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9

millupgrades from page 9 when these three sawmills in Arkansas and Florida became available.

“The acquisition of the three sawmill operations provided the company with immediate scale in the attractive U.S. South, with quality assets in a rich fibre basket, close to growing end markets,” says Marshall. “Scaling our lumber business forms a key part of our stated transformation strategy.”

He adds that with ongoing softwood lumber disputes between the U.S. and Canada, it made sense for Resolute to expand its softwood lumber portfolio to the U.S. Resolute already had a large footprint in the region. It operates six pulp, tissue and paper operations as well as a converting facility and a chip mill in six U.S. states primarily in the American Southeast, some of which were acquired as part of the merger of Abitibi-Consolidated and Bowater in 2007. The merged companies became Resolute Forest Products.

Another advantage was the availability of wood fibre. The company will be sourcing its wood from the same private sources that supplied the sawmills previously. However, Resolute is implementing its fibre tracking system within these operations this year.

“Resolute has fibre-tracking systems at all of our North American facilities to ensure that our wood fibre supply comes from acceptable sources such as certified forests and legal harvesting operations, with the exception of our three U.S. sawmills,” says Marshall. “We expect to implement fibre-tracking systems at these facilities this year, integrating them into our multisite chain of custody certification system. Resolute is committed to 100 per cent chain of custody certification at all of our operations.”

10

Resolute is able to capture about 85 board feet per log processed through its Arkansas sawmills. The logs processed through the Cross City mill in Florida are smaller, yielding about 40 board feet per log.

Taken separately, the El Dorado sawmill can produce 180 million board feet of lumber. It began start-up operations in December 2020 after being idled by Conifex in August 2019, and to date has added 153 jobs. The Glenwood sawmill can produce 185 million board feet of lumber and decking with 141 employees, while the Cross City plant can produce 185 million board feet of lumber and decking with 197 employees.

Resolute has assigned Maxime Langlais, Vice-President of Sawing Operations, who is responsible for the company’s wood products operations in both Canada and the U.S., to oversee the various capital projects at all three sawmills. He brings considerable experience to the position, starting with managing operations within the company’s Thunder Bay region for several years where he oversaw the startup of the greenfield Sapawe sawmill, capital investment and re-start of the Ignace sawmill, expansion of the Resolute sawmill in Thunder Bay as well as installation of a wood pellet plant. He was then

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2022

given additional responsibilities for sawmill operations in Quebec and relocated to Montreal. Now he is spending time in the American Southeast managing capital projects at Resolute’s newly-acquired sawmills, and streamlining operations to achieve their production potential.

Langlais says that the Arkansas sawmills are processing larger logs in the range of about 85 board feet per log, while the Florida sawmill is processing smaller logs in the range of 40 board feet per log. The logs arrive primarily in tree length but the sawmills can process cut-to-length logs as well, when they are available.

About 50 per cent of production in Cross City is decking and represents about 15 per cent of production in Glenwood, as well. Langlais says that Resolute is evaluating the option of improving their overall decking production to meet seasonal demand.

“It is certainly an advantage to be agile

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millupgrades from page 10 and flexible in our sawmills,” he says. “So our strategy is to remain competitive by adapting and modulating production according to market needs.”

Fortunately, Resolute has the technology to make adjustments in its gang saws in all three sawmills to switch from dimensional lumber to decking, depending on market demand.

The El Dorado sawmill currently has one production line equipped with a Kockums twin saw and HSS gang saw as its primary breakdown unit. Conifex invested significantly into the El Dorado sawmill prior to its purchase by Resolute which put the company in a good position with some of the best equipment available when it purchased the sawmill in 2020.

Some of the other investments Conifex made were in a LogPro LLC overhead crane for log handling, LogPro feeders, a new Nicholson A8 debarker as well as two new, USNR natural-gas fired dry kilns and a new USNR planer and lineal high grader. New equipment at the planer mill was supplied by Piche, and Signode supplied a new strapper.

The main breakdown line at the El Dorado sawmill is fairly new so Resolute’s focus is further downstream with replacement of the sorter line with a USNR lug loader, paddle fence, trimmer and sorter.

Because the El Dorado sawmill was idle for about a year-and-a-half, Resolute spent a considerable amount of time staffing the facility and providing extensive training with a particular focus on the company’s protocols on health and safety.

The Glenwood sawmill is also a single line sawmill but with a Comact double length infeed (DLI) quad saw unit and what Langlais described as a gang ‘wiggle box’ for secondary breakdown. In this

The lumber produced at Resolute’s three sawmills in the American South is free of American softwood lumber tariffs, a major consideration when the company made its purchase of the sawmills in 2020. planer mill, and a PLC lug loader in the sawmill. Resolute has been able to ramp up production in Glenwood as a result of its investments and has created 25 more jobs.

“We’re adding production hours so we need more staff, millwrights, and electricians particularly at our Cross City operation,” says Langlais.

The capital being spent in Cross City is focused on fibre optimization and overall efficiency with the main project being a log merchandizer from Lake City, Floridabased Quality Industries. This investment is expected to increase sawmill capacity by 20 million board feet.

“The log size is smaller at this operation so we need to increase our bucking capacity to merchandize logs for the sawmill,” says Langlais.

Given Resolute’s focus on growing its softwood lumber production capabilities, Marshall says that the company is keeping its eye out for opportunities as they arise that complement their existing facilities.

case, Conifex previously invested in reconstruction of the AFS Technology dry kiln, as well as trimmer upgrades and an edger optimizer supplied by Baxley. Samuel Packaging Systems supplied a new strapper.

The Cross City sawmill has two production lines. The larger log line features a Comact OSC sharp chain infeed with OSI chipheads and L&B twins. This feeds a Comact profiler which then feeds a Comact line bar curve saw gang. Past investments have included a Comact EdgExpert lumber edging system, Comact upgrades to log handling and profiling included a new profiler and gang saw.

There is also a new USNR BioVision optimizer on the trim line. The small log line features a HewSaw R200+MSA with shifting edging tools breakdown unit.

“We are continuing to make additional improvements to the site, building on what was already done and focusing on bottlenecks in the production process,” says Langlais.

For example, the company is also adding a new bag house in the Glenwood

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industryevents

show in Portland is back…

The excitement is building for one of the premiere mill equipment shows in North America: the Timber Processing and Energy Expo (TP&EE), to be held this September in Portland, Oregon.

By Paul MacDonald

T

he excitement is building for the return of the Timber Processing and Energy Expo (TP&EE), one of the premiere wood products machinery events in the North American forest industry, to be held this September in Portland, Oregon.

That excitement is coming as a result of a few factors, including the lack of a TP&EE show in 2020 due to the pandemic, the at-times pistol-hot lumber markets the industry has seen at points in the last several years, and the need for sawmills to continually upgrade their equipment.

Though lumber markets have come down to earth from the lofty heights of 2021—when they reached levels in excess of $1,600 per thousand board feet—forest companies are continuing to do well, and are steadily turning out as much lumber as they can to meet market demands.

TP&EE will be held September 28 to 30 at the Exposition Center in Portland, and over 150 equipment and technology companies have signed on so far to exhibit, and available booth space is going fast, according to show organizers.

“We’re looking at probably our biggest TP&EE—in terms of exhibitor square footage—that we’ve ever had,” says Rich Donnell, show director and editor-in-chief of Timber Processing, which serves as the host of the event, produced by Hatton Brown Expositions, LLC.

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Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2022

The last TP&EE show, held in 2018, attracted nearly 3,000 exhibitor and producer personnel from 38 U.S. states, six Canadian provinces and 17 countries.

Donnell noted that Hatton-Brown held the Panel & Engineered Lumber International Conference & Expo in Atlanta at the end of March earlier this year, geared to the panel industries, and it was very well received, and well attended.

“People were really happy to get out and attend the Atlanta show, and we think that will happen, too, with the Timber Processing show in Portland,” said Donnell. He added that there was also a lot of excitement about the upcoming TP&EE show at the Western Wood Products Association annual meeting, held in May in Washington.

“We’re ready to go with the Timber Processing show—I think it’s on everyone’s radar in the industry,” said Donnell.

The forest industry, notably on the lumber side, has seen extraordinary prices at times over the last two years. Though prices have come down a fair bit from the lofty heights seen in 2021, they are still at healthy levels. All this means that forest companies, and sawmills, are continuing to do well.

At the previous Timber Processing shows, in 2016 and 2018, there were a number of sawmills that were talking about doing upgrades, and purchasing equipment—and some companies building brand new facilities. Those that executed on that, Donnell says, have done extremely well.

industryevents

“They hit it at just the right time, and had their new equipment operating at the time of the big market upswing of the last couple of years.”

Donnell notes that forest companies, anxious to produce as much lumber as possible during good lumber markets, have been running their mills hard. With the softening in markets, now would seem an opportune time to upgrade/add sawmill equipment.

“We do a capital expenditures survey, and it shows that there are a lot of projects in the works,” he said.

Any mills that upgrade now, during a softer lumber market, would be very well positioned should the market race ahead again, and prices shoot up.

“My thinking is there is now a lot of money to be spent on capital expenditures at mills, and now is a good time to do it,” says Donnell.

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2022

“I think we are going to see a lot of machinery order conversations at the Timber Processing show in September—I think the timing is pretty good for that,” he said.

Added to that, there is a pent-up demand for going to shows in the industry.

That has been evident at industry shows in the U.S., and was clear to see at the to page 16

15

industryevents from page 15 Council of Forest Industries (COFI) conference and Interior Logging Association (ILA) show held in B.C. earlier this year.

Plain and simple, people want to attend industry shows.

The Timber Processing show is a premiere event for sawmillers.

“With TP&EE, we’ve always tried to emphasize to the mills that they should bring their production and their line guys, in addition to the management, and just to come with a lot of people from their organization,” says Donnell. “I think we’re going to see a lot of that this time around. The companies have done well financially the last couple of years, and may choose to invest some of that money in having their people at a key equipment show like the Portland show—both for ordering equipment, and information purposes, as well as a break from the sawmill.”

Major industry shows like TP&EE also offer an ideal opportunity for the mill

equipment companies to introduce new models and features.

“A lot of these equipment companies have seen order backlogs, but they are catching up to that. They have been very busy just meeting equipment orders, and getting equipment orders out the door.”

machinery and technologies—I think the timing is good for that,” says Donnell. If companies have been working on new features, the show represents an opportunity to release new equipment or talk about upcoming improvements.

“We’re seeing a lot of automated robotics that seems to be coming on pretty strong at sawmills, and we’ll likely see second generation or enhanced versions of that at the show.

“Data intelligence systems at the sawmills could be another focus,” with a growing need to install mill-wide data communications, data input and data intelligence systems. Many companies have been working away incrementally at such systems in their mills, and may choose to ramp them up now.

“It may not be as exciting as installing a new band mill, but I think we will see new generations of that, and new generations of software and operating systems,” says Donnell.

Major industry shows like the Timber Processing & Energy Expo offer an ideal opportunity for mill equipment companies to introduce new models and features.

The equipment companies are also better handling any supply chain issues that might have cropped up during COVID, though there are still supply chain snags in just about every industry.

Now would be a good time for these companies to shift more resources to technology development, Donnell believes.

“Shows like TP&EE are a good place to do some early introduction of new

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Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2022

industryevents from page 16 Data intelligence could be seen as a part of the much-talked-about area of analytics, which can deliver a number of benefits to a business, everything from streamlining production operations to improving customer service.

“Equipment suppliers can now supply the software and operating systems to whatever a sawmill needs, and they can use it however they want to enhance their operations throughout the mill.

“They can install that equipment on the green end, on the dry end, wherever they need it. It’s not entirely new—it’s becoming more enhanced and easier to do by the programs that some equipment suppliers can provide to the mills.”

In addition to the equipment show itself, TP&EE will also feature two miniconferences. The Sawmill Productivity & Efficiency Conference will feature two main subjects: Sawmill of the Future, and Project Planning and Implementation, with several speakers addressing each.

The Sawmill of the Future segment will address where mills and technology suppliers are going in terms of robotics and

data intelligence and input and output systems, and also with regard to mill flow, says Donnell.

The Project Planning segment will provide details on how best to handle an equipment upgrade, or the installation of new mill equipment and even used equipment.

There will also be a Mass Timber and Engineered Wood Products conference,

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Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2022

Whether on the conference side or the equipment show floor, a focus for the Timber Processing show is on how companies can better operate their sawmills, whether it be through new iron or new mill management software. which will bring attendees up to date what is going on in that sector, the market growth, and how that market is evolving.

Overall, whether on the conference side or the equipment show floor, a focus for the Timber Processing show is on how companies can better operate their sawmills, whether it be through new iron or new mill management software.

“The show hits both those areas,” says

industryevents

Donnell. “A mill might need upgraded software—or they might have been running the heck out of their gang saw for the last five years, and be looking to put a new gang in.”

He believes that many sawmills are hitting the time when they are going to be talking about making some big capital improvements, and will be looking at production equipment to do that—and some

mills will no doubt be pulling the trigger, and ordering equipment at TP&EE. As mentioned, there will be a strong focus on technology. For some time, the industry has been moving towards more automation—scanning the log as it’s brought into the mill, and setting up all the equipment downstream, as much as possible, on how to best handle that log based on the scanning data.

Further mill automation makes sense on a number of fronts, especially with the shortage of labour in both the U.S. and Canada these days. Many forest companies set up booths at trade shows to attract possible new employees, especially in the trades.

“It continues to be part of the move to sawmill automation—you do it not just to increase lumber recovery, but to reduce costs. The more automation you get at a mill, the fewer people you need—or you can redeploy the people you have elsewhere.”

Automated grading systems in sawmills are a prime example of how mills have become more efficient, Donnell said.

“Companies are really having to look at employing more technology because

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2022

of the labour situation—but you can only take things so far. You still need people to do things at a sawmill.”

Longer term, too, the industry will of course still need people, and it has to be on top of its game to make sure it can attract good people to staff sawmills, Donnell says.

As its name states, energy is part of the TP&EE show, with the focus on energy consumed at the mill, such as biomassgenerated energy used in dry kilns or an associated cogeneration plant. With the increase in natural gas prices, mills are no doubt looking to reduce their gas use, and optimizing the use of biomass to generate heat and energy.

But upstream, on the log production end, logging contractors who supply the mills have been hit incredibly hard by rising diesel fuel prices. Contractors have been looking for fuel surcharges from the sawmills to help manage these higher prices.

The mills, receiving sky high lumber prices, have been in a position to provide to page 20

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from page 19 surcharges. But with lumber prices more down to earth, the mills are going to be looking more carefully at all their costs.

Essentially, the mills have been doing well profit-wise for the last couple of years and have been ok with dealing with higher input costs. But in addition to extra fuel costs on the log hauling end, they have had to face higher shipping and equipment costs. “It has not hit them too hard because of the high lumber prices, but with markets coming down, the higher costs will stand out more, and people will be talking about that at the mills,” says Donnell. And no doubt they will be talking about that at the show.

Higher costs have been somewhat hidden with the high industry profits.

Another feature of the show is the presentation of the Timber Processing Person of the Year award. Eric Schooler, longtime president & CEO of Collins and former vice-president of manufacturing at Hamp-

ton Lumber, will receive the award, at a reception held on the show floor during the second afternoon.

Since forest companies were allowed to continue to operate their sawmills—under strict internal COVID protocols—and ship product both across the Canadian border and all around North America, complemented by big box stores like Home Depot and Lowe’s being designated as essential, the remodeling and renovation side of lumber demand took off. Housing construction also increased, right across North America.

There were some virtual conferences held during COVID, and forest companies and mills certainly did many more virtual meetings.

“The mills and equipment companies probably learned a lot by doing things virtually, and may be able to continue to use it a little more,” says Donnell.

“But for the Timber Processing show, it’s all about people getting together,” said Donnell, noting that some folks have not

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have been able to see industry colleagues for upwards of two years. “It’s people meeting face to face, and you’re able to get a feel for what equipment is available, and you can come away from the show knowing where things are at in the industry, equipment-wise.”

With healthy lumber markets, mills ready to do upgrades, and people wanting to get out and get together, there are a lot of positives playing into the TP&EE show, says Donnell.

“I’m as optimistic about the Timber Processing show as any show we’ve ever done,” he says.

The support the show is getting backs that up—by June, the floor plan was 95 per cent sold out.

“Everyone is ready to go—and get back to it,” says Donnell.

He added that attendance is free if done online before the show, at www. timberprocessingandenergyexpo.com

MEETING

SUPPLY CHAIN CHALLENGES…

to move that lumber Some forest companies are successfully addressing supply chain challenges with transportation management system technology.

By Tony Kryzanowski orth American forest companies saw a strange occurrence during the recent two-year, COVID-19 pandemic.

At the start of the pandemic, many major forest companies readily admit that they were expecting a severe downturn in lumber demand. But the exact opposite unexpectedly occurred.

With more people stuck at home, home building product suppliers suddenly experienced a spike in demand because consumers had time to consider and execute home renovation projects.

Since forest companies were allowed to continue to operate their sawmills—under strict internal COVID protocols—and ship product both across the Canadian border and all around North America, complemented by big box stores like Home Depot and Lowe’s being designated as essential, the remodeling and renovation side of lumber demand took off. Housing construction also increased, right across North America.

At the same time, lumber prices spiked to near record highs. High lumber prices and greater demand were the upside of the pandemic for the forestry sector. The downside was the strains and disruptions

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Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2022

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to the supply chain between sawmills and their customers.

Disruptions in containerized traffic on the ocean, by rail and by truck, have been the result—all were severely impacted during and since the end of the pandemic. It exacerbated challenges that already existed, such as truck transportation issues due to a shortage of drivers. The Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) estimated in March that there were nearly 23,000 trucking job vacancies across Canada.

Lumber producers like Hampton Lumber and Interfor, both with operations in Canada, realized that their old

transportation

Hampton Lumber, with two sawmills in British Columbia, is one of the top 10 lumber producers in North America. As such, lumber transportation is a primary concern.

The company is finding that its new IntelliTrans Transportation Management System has significantly streamlined shipping by truck. transportation management systems (TMS) weren’t nimble enough to function well in this volatile transportation environment.

Their shipping systems were still manual, extremely time consuming, reactive and stressful. So they began to investigate systems that were more automated, more agile to be able to respond to transportation opportunities as they arose, more integrated throughout their entire companies, able to reduce wait times for arrivals

and deliveries, and fundamentally deliver transportation efficiencies that in some cases also delivered significant financial returns.

After reviewing their options, both settled on IntelliTrans TMS products.

Hampton Lumber implemented the IntelliTrans Carrierpoint TMS program

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2022

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to page 24

transportation

from page 23 specifically to manage their truck transportation system.

The company has nine sawmills in British Columbia, Oregon and Washington, producing more than two billion board feet of lumber annually for domestic and international markets. It is one of the top 10 lumber producers in North America.

Their Canadian sawmills are the Decker and Babine sawmills in Burns Lake. Most truck transportation from these sawmills serves the regional market while the majority of lumber they produce is shipped to U.S. markets by rail.

Dan Weaver, Trucking and Strategic Manager for Hampton Lumber, says that prior to the pandemic, they were already

challenged, from a truck transportation management perspective, both coming and going. Company-wide, they were feeling the effects of a shortage of truck drivers as well as equipment delivery disruptions to their sawmills because of such barriers as U.S. tariffs on products shipped from China. These challenges only became worse during and after the pandemic.

Before installation of the IntelliTrans Carrierpoint TMS, Hampton Lumber operated their shipping similar to many other forest companies, with a load board on their website that truckers and trucking companies used to access and bid on deliveries.

“A lot of it was push dispatching,” he says. “So we were making a lot of

With sawmill production at full throttle, companies like Hampton Lumber and Interfor have also modernized their shipping methods to both expand the number of carriers they use and also to plan shipping more strategically to take advantage of lower shipping rates or to delay shipping till rates come down.

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Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2022

phone calls, sending lists out and doing everything pretty much manually through email. We just couldn’t do that anymore … we were really hand-holding every transaction. We couldn’t come up with enough bodies to handle everything.”

The company realized that it needed to start leveraging the advantages of technology offered by the variety of TMS programs available and evaluated as many as four different options.

Once they chose IntelliTrans Carrierpoint, it was rolled out to all operations at the same time. It took just over a year for it to be implemented as their truck transportation system and a little longer for both the company and their shippers to understand its full capabilities while they became comfortable with it.

Now, about 90 percent of Hampton Lumber’s truck loads are handled through Carrierpoint.

Weaver says that one advantage that Carrierpoint has delivered is providing immediate feedback when transportation costs have ‘corrected’, meaning that through quick action, Hampton could ship lumber loads by truck more cheaply.

Conversely, it also allows the company to time its shipping better, waiting for cheaper options when shipping prices are high because of tight demand.

Implementing the system has also allowed Hampton Lumber to implement an auto-pay system with trucking companies. Essentially, once the system receives delivery confirmation, payment is automatic. This has been a motivating factor to encourage their regular carriers to participate in Carrierpoint.

Weaver says that Hampton Lumber has realized many other benefits as well.

First, every delivery order posted by Hampton on its Carrierpoint TMS portal is available for review by hundreds of carriers, providing the company with many to page 26

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transportation

from page 24 more shipping options. They have been able to add many new carriers because of the system, which has become critical in today’s truck transportation market.

Second, the system is transparent so that when Hampton selects a bid, the carrier books a pick-up appointment, and it is clear to everyone exactly when that load will be picked up.

“Before Carrierpoint, tracking pick-ups used to be much more manual,” Weaver says, typically handled on spreadsheets at the individual mill level.

However, Hampton Lumber has not taken an ‘all or nothing’ approach to working with its carriers, some of whom have indicated that they don’t have the time or ability to hook into Carrierpoint.

So the company has been flexible, realizing that they need all carriers on board to make its deliveries. While they use all sorts of incentives for carriers to link into Carrierpoint, such as the auto-pay benefit, they continue to use alternative methods to work with all carriers.

The delivery information is still generated within the Carrierpoint TMS, but it is just shared with carriers not on the system differently, perhaps through an email.

Carrierpoint TMS also helps Hampton Lumber plan shipments more strategically

in response to consumption trends, such as the typical lumber treater demand uptick in the spring or something like supplying a large apartment complex construction project.

“That’s also one of the benefits of the system. That surge of lumber demand all comes into the system, it’s sortable, it’s easy to review what transportation rates we’ve experienced in the past, and who made the deliveries,” says Weaver.

“You just have a lot of history right there to review.”

In terms of capital outlay, he says that most of their investment to implement the system was in human capital, to train employees on how to get the most out of Carrierpoint. Overall, he estimates the system itself cost the company probably under a million dollars. It’s also an investment in the future, as it complements the tech savvy skills of the next wave of truckers and truck companies entering the industry.

Major North American lumber producer Interfor, based in Vancouver, also incorporated IntelliTrans products into their transportation system. At the time of implementation, the lumber producer had 16 sawmills in Canada and the United States. They exported 25 per cent of their products worldwide and counted both Home Depot and Lowe’s as customers.

Since this implementation, the company has expanded significantly, with the purchase of sawmills owned by EACOM in Eastern Canada.

Interfor implemented the IntelliTrans Carrierpoint TMS as well as the IntelliTrans supply chain visibility platform.

For Interfor, the IntelliTrans technology proved especially vital during the early stages of the global pandemic when uncertainty was roiling the various transportation modes that the company depended on to get its products to market.

“We were very pleased to have the TMS in place when COVID-19 hit,” said Craig Dohm, Vice-President of Logistics for Interfor. He oversees a team that manages all of the organization’s supply chain and transportation needs.

“It (TMS) definitely helped us manage the situation more proactively and

Hampton Lumber implemented the IntelliTrans Carrierpoint TMS program specifically to manage their truck transportation system.

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transportation

Like many forest companies, Hampton Lumber and Interfor were surprised by the uptick in lumber demand during the pandemic. They ramped up production but also invested in IntelliTrans transportation management products to replace their manual transportation management systems.

efficiently,” he added. “Using our TMS, we were able to find some additional capacity that would have taken us quite a bit more time and effort to find with our previous manual systems.”

Furthermore, with its new supply chain management platform in place, Interfor has been able to gain efficiencies and give its logistics team members more time back

in their busy work days.

“We’re always asking more of our associates, so the less time they have to spend cutting and pasting out of Excel spreadsheets, the better,” Dohm said.

“Now, they can focus on the strategic side of the business.”

In terms of savings by implementing the IntelliTrans TMS, a case study revealed that one company saved $3.65 million annually. Its supply chain visibility platform

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from page 26

saved them $5 million. Implementing bill audit and pay services as part of the IntelliTrans system has provided savings of another $4.8 million and reduced demurrage costs by 23 per cent.

In addition to the solutions mentioned above, IntelliTrans TMS covers rail, truck, and ocean containerized freight, and its Visibility offering covers rail, truck, ocean containerized freight, and barge shipments.

industryevents

LOTS ON THE AGENDA for Alberta forest products conference

There will be plenty to talk about—from relations with indigenous groups to supply chain issues—when the Alberta Forest Products Association (AFPA) returns to an in-person conference in September.

By Tony Kryzanowski

A

Jason Krips (above) was named the new President and CEO of the AFPA just when COVID became a major issue, and this will be his first in-person conference as CEO.

fter a three-year hiatus due to the COVID pandemic, the Alberta Forest Products Association (AFPA) will hold its 80th Annual General Meeting & Conference September 28 to 30 at Jasper Park Lodge, in Jasper, Alberta.

The last day of the conference, September 30th, is also ‘Orange Shirt Day’ across Canada. AFPA will recognize this day as part of Recommendation #92 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report which calls on corporate Canada to engage in reconciliation.

Orange Shirt Day raises awareness about the history and legacies of the residential school system attended by Indigenous peoples in Canada.

“We take our relations with Indigenous peoples and the land that we have our activity on very seriously,” says Jason Krips, AFPA President and CEO. “Our companies work closely with Indigenous nations

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to ensure that any harvesting is done respecting Indigenous lands and lands that have been used for trapping, hunting or religious and medicinal purposes.”

Krips added that the AFPA is on the journey, like many other organizations in Canada, investigating ways to engage further with Canada’s Indigenous peoples and communities. It has hosted webinars involving members and Indigenous guests to discuss reconciliation and in particular economic reconciliation.

“We’re trying to increase opportunities for learnings for our members and we are working to provide a lumber grading school for Indigenous participants,” says Krips.

All of those in attendance at the conference are being encouraged to don orange shirts on September 30th. A blessing and opening remarks will be provided to page 32

industryevents

AFPA members and staff are looking forward to the return of an in-person conference in September with so much to discuss including the impact that COVID has had on Alberta’s forest industry and supply chains, the huge swings in lumber prices that have occurred over the past few years, and the consternation among members about the poor state of rail service. from page 30 by an elder after breakfast, followed by a presentation related to opportunities for greater Aboriginal economic involvement in the forestry sector provided by special guest speaker J.P. Gladu.

Gladu’s forestry background makes him an ideal guest speaker as it relates to opportunities for economic reconciliation with First Nations. He previously served as the President and CEO of the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB) from 2012 until 2020 and is currently principal of a consulting firm called Mokwateh. He completed a forestry technician diploma in 1993 followed by obtaining an undergraduate degree in forestry from Northern Arizona University in 2000. He holds an Executive MBA from Queens University and the ICD.D designation from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto.

Gladu has over 25 years of experience in the natural resource sector. His career path includes work with Indigenous communities and organizations, environmental non-government organizations, industry and governments from across Canada.

Currently, Gladu holds several positions on corporate boards, is on the board of the First Nations Major Projects Coalition Advisory Centre and is Chair of Canada Forest Trust and the Boreal Leadership Champions.

Overall, Krips says that both AFPA members and staff are looking forward to the return of an in-person conference 32

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2022

with so much to discuss as it relates in particular to the impact that COVID has had on Alberta’s forest industry and supply chains, the huge swings in lumber prices that have occurred over the past few years, the softwood lumber tariff placed on Canadian lumber exported to the United States, and the consternation among members about the poor state of rail service, which is critical to shipping their products to market.

In some cases, AFPA members are only receiving 25 to 30 per cent of the number of railcars that they are requesting, which is causing significant product backlogs particularly in Alberta’s pulp sector, raising concerns of product degradation, the need to pay for warehousing while waiting for more railcars, as well as having to pay extra expenses to truck product to larger centres to make rail connections.

“Transportation, in particular rail transportation, is a big challenge for our members right now,” says Krips. “We’re finding that our sector continues to suffer from major transportation issues with too many mills unable to get the railcars that they need and this certainly has massive implications for Alberta’s forestry communities and customer relations around the globe.”

AFPA has increased its advocacy on this issue in concert with about a half-dozen northern Alberta mayors to express their concerns, with letters sent to both the

to page 34

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The Alberta forest industry is a major player in the provincial economy. The AFPA has a PricewaterhouseCoopers economic report to share with members that shows the industry contributes $13.6 billion in economic output, $2.7 billion in labour income and more than 31,500 jobs in over 70 Alberta communities.

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Minister and Deputy Minister of Transport Canada, and also meeting with Transport Canada officials. There has also been advocacy through the media with hopes of stimulating a national conversation on ways to improve the national rail service and increase accountability to the system.

The past three years has been an interesting journey for the AFPA itself as Krips was named the new President and CEO in April 2020 just when COVID became a major issue. In fact, this will be his first in-person conference as CEO, although he is very familiar with the event and the AFPA from his previous positions with the Government of Alberta for a couple of decades. He was Deputy Minister for two different departments, Agriculture and Forestry as well as Economic, Trade and Tourism.

He says that since he has joined the AFPA, the organization has enhanced its policy capacity with the retention and hiring of several key individuals skilled and able to assist on key forest management, environment, and Indigenous relations issues. ‘‘I enjoyed my time with the Government of Alberta but this opportunity came along to be part of an industry that I think is a big economic contributor to the province,” says Krips.

In addition to the focus on Orange Shirt Day on September 30th, the conference will also feature a keynote address as the event opens with the welcome dinner on Wednesday, September 28th, delivered by Nate Horner, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry.

The next morning features a keynote address by a representative from the Ministry of Environment & Parks and then a popular returning presentation called the ‘Alberta Economic Overview’ provided by Todd Hirsch, Vice-President and Chief Economist at ATB Financial. The economic landscape in Alberta has changed markedly over the past year with the bounce back of oil and gas prices, heating up the resource sector as it relates to competition for employees, and with billions of dollars of new revenue deposited into provincial government coffers, putting the province into a surplus position rather than the predicted massive deficit. Alberta will also have a new premier in September elected from the United Conservative Party caucus following the recent resignation of Premier Jason Kenney. A general election will be held next spring.

Lunch on Thursday, September 29th, will feature the traditional AFPA Health & Safety Awards as well as the AFPA Grade Awards.

Another popular session returns in the afternoon where AFPA members can connect with senior members of key government ministries in what is called the ‘Deputy Ministers’ Panel Sessions’.

Attending will be Shannon Marchand from Agriculture and Forestry, Bev Yee from Environment & Parks, Donavon Young from Indigenous Relations, and Kate White from Jobs, Economy and Innovation to answer questions on hot button issues from AFPA members.

Of major interest to members is what direction forest products markets are headed and providing that input later on Thursday afternoon will be Paul Jannke from Forest Economic Advisors LLC and Brian McClay from McClay & Associates.

AFPA also has a hot-off-the-presses economic report to share with AFPA members conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers showing the contribution that Alberta’s forestry sector is making to the province. It shows that the industry contributes about $13.6 billion in economic output, $2.7 billion in labour income and more than 31,500 jobs in over 70 Alberta communities.

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2022

Cats Eye CATCHES HIGH-END valueadded

WOOD MARKET

With his company Cats Eye Logging and Sawmilling, B.C. sawmiller James Dodich is parlaying his experience working with a variety of wood product combinations into producing high value wood products.

By Tony Kryzanowski

A

fter 20 years, veteran British Columbia sawmiller James Dodich knows what he wants—and how to get there.

Given the number of hours Dodich has carted his portable sawmill around, dealing with the subtleties of customer service, and experimented with various wood product combinations, he feels that he has found the right formula for his operation.

“I’m into free time and I’m into profit,” he says plainly.

Who would blame him, considering where he lives. The area around Golden, British Columbia, where his business is located on a windy road up a mountainside, is one of the most pristine mountain environments in Canada. This is his playground for sawmilling, mountain climbing, skiing, hunting, fishing and even gold mining.

When it comes to the business of sawmilling, Dodich has been through the wars. It’s been a constant learning experience. Now, he has found the right combination of raw material at the right price, sawmilling and moulding equipment, and very specific, high value lumber products that sell to make a comfortable living that fits his lifestyle.

Lesson #1 here is don’t mess with success, once you have found it.

Lesson #2 has to do with production costs. Dodich wouldn’t even think of turning on his 1997 Wood-Mizer band sawmill until he has a clear understanding—in advance—of where the material he is producing will end up as a marketable 36

product. He knows that each cut costs him money, which has to be justified in the sale price of the final product to customers. As he says, he’s into profit.

Cats Eye Logging and Sawmilling opened for business in 1999 with a specific focus on portable sawmilling.

Dodich transported his sawmill and

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2022

various accessories to where the custom sawmilling was required. His interest in the business started when he was in his early teens, after he and his father rebuilt a headrig on the family property.

Once he finished high school, he began a career as a hand faller for a helicopter logging company, while in the off-

valueadded

A real workhorse: James Dodich uses his circa 1997 Wood-Mizer LT40 band sawmill primarily as a resaw these days as the first step in his wood product value adding process.

season harvesting trees for heli-ski landing pads and ski runs at various locations in B.C. Through his 20s, Dodich gained experience logging and operating heavy equipment.

However, Dodich found logging and travel was too demanding on his time.

Meanwhile, he had discovered what was

possible in small sawmilling with an MSG Industries band sawmill that his father had purchased in 1996. After taking some time to learn the pros and cons of this style of sawmilling through trial and error, he was able to upgrade and purchase a gas-powered LT40 Wood-Mizer band sawmill, as well as a blade grinder and

It’s unusual to find a sawmiller eager to saw 1” material on his band sawmill, but when paired with a planer and moulder to produce highly sought wood products like Douglas fir tongue and groove lumber, it’s worth it for James Dodich.

tooth setter. That was in 1999, the year Dodich started the business—and he hasn’t looked back since.

At the start of his portable custom sawmilling venture, Dodich says that he worked at as many as 100 different sites between the communities of Donald and Invermere, in southeastern B.C. As business changed more to manufacturing, he found it most efficient to keep the WoodMizer band sawmill at his property and have clients haul logs to his mill.

“I’ve done a lot of things that are so unconventional that you’d never do them twice, but you are so thankful that you did them once for what they taught you,” Dodich says.

He started selling high demand wood products while backing off the portable sawmilling aspect of his business.

Dodich was approached by an experienced local sawmiller who was making a living by custom sawmilling components for windows and doors, producing high volumes of clear, vertical grain Douglas fir framing blanks. Dodich tapped into that market, purchasing culls and rejected logs from the local Louisiana-Pacific plywood plant in Golden as his raw material. That was his biggest challenge, trying to find clear lumber in what essentially was a pile of log rejects. It wasn’t particularly easy or profitable because he ended up with a lot of leftover 8’ long logs in his yard in his quest to find and saw clears. It was the typical story of trying to make a silk purse from a sow’s ear.

So that’s when he struck on the idea of to page 38

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2022

37

valueadded With his focus on slower speeds and quality, it’s possible for sawmiller James Dodich to operate his Wood-Mizer LT40 band sawmill and his moulders by himself, thus saving on labour costs.

from page 37 adding value through planing and moulding. His first purchase was a Woodmaster Tools of Canada single head planer. Dodich describes it as a device well-suited for making rough lumber blanks into material that is all the same thickness.

“You can also take the planer fixture out and put a mandrel in so that you operate knives specifically for shaping and moulding the wood,” he explained.

“As soon as I got that machine, I made money with it,” he adds. “I did a stairs, deck, and railing package for a motel in Golden. The demand was there right away, and if I was careful and went slow, I could make a good product. It just showed me that there was a lot of room to move in that direction. I discovered that I could make money with small size lumber products.”

The planer/moulder also opened up an entirely new avenue for raw material, because by focusing on small lumber sizes to plane, mould, and shape, he didn’t need to start with high quality logs or lumber.

However, Dodich says that he was still custom cutting to customer needs, which was not always easy to supply as large, premium logs are not always available.

Along came an opportunity to saw and mould a large order of 1” X 6” tongue and groove pine in 16’ lengths. That’s when the ying and yang of time and profitability really snapped into place for him. Dodich filled the customer’s order and still had a

considerable amount of rough stock left over. So he chose to finish machining it and have some inventory.

“That material sort of sold itself,” he says. “The first person came by and bought 50 pieces to finish his porch, and he told his friend and on it went. Within a short time, the tongue and groove wood was sold. I liked how people just called in the morning, asked about the tongue and groove, showed up an hour later and picked it up. Done deal.”

That pathway to success is now the foundation of his business. He edges and resaws rough, dried Douglas fir lumber on his Wood-Mizer and then adds value on his planer, moulder and shaper line.

At present, his equipment consists of the 1997 Wood-Mizer LT40 with hydraulic controls, debarker and auto-feed resaw accessories. Today, he uses it primarily as a lumber resaw, which also provides him with the ability to produce high value bevelled siding. The Wood-Mizer has proven to be a very dependable workhorse for him, with parts readily available as needed. It can produce timbers and lumber up to 20’ 10” long.

The value added line consists of a Canwood BW-200P planer moulder, capable of processing wood up to 14” wide. Some of the products Dodich has been able to produce on this unit are tongue and groove flooring and paneling up to 1” X 12”. It works well processing both 1” and 2” material.

He deploys his Woodmaster Tools of

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Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2022

Canada single head planer when he needs high volumes of lumber components that are all the same thickness.

Dodich describes both his band sawmill and planers as money-makers because of the products he has focused on.

At one time, he worked with all wood species available in the area. Now he works almost exclusively with Douglas fir, producing a wide variety of interior trim components, paneling, flooring, exterior siding and trim. They don’t sit around the yard very long as, over time, he has built a significant customer base.

Dodich is generally able to handle all the production by himself on both the band sawmill and planers.

He rarely processes actual logs any more, preferring to purchase surplus lumber like sideboards from other sawmillers.

They are eager to sell him their surplus 1” lumber and ungraded 2” lumber in shorter lengths of 8’ to 12’ long. Aiming for that raw material is a conscious choice as given their length, they can be protected from the elements with a couple sheets of plywood. He has a definite preference for kiln-dried wood.

With a focus on high value and profitable wood products, Dodich finds that he needs to purchase less raw material, needs to produce less volume to achieve his profitability targets, and thus has created more time for his other interests. Now in his early 50s, Dodich is right where he wants to be.

THE

ON THE CUTTING EDGE OF INDUSTRY INNOVATION

Adopting novel legacy forest practices— a history of applied technology and development led by CWFC/CFS

BY TONY KRYZANOWSKI

ver the past four decades, the Canadian Wood Fibre Centre (CWFC) and Canadian Forest Service (CFS) Forest Technology Development Group—working in conjunction with forest companies, governments, and other partners throughout Canada—have amassed a large repository of legacy trial and demonstration sites featuring realistic and practitioner-oriented research.

Typically, these sites take conventional forest management practices and test the application of advanced practices, to evaluate and validate the biological forest response. The goal is to develop practical approaches and affordable tools that practitioners can apply as they manage activities in the commercial forest. The potential exists to actually enhance natural forest response in some instances when some of these economical practices are applied.

These sites also include long term technology development and transfer venues that demonstrate actual practices to practitioners. They have been the location for numerous technical field workshops, tours, active demonstrations and conference field trips.

The Technology Development and Knowledge Transfer team at CWFC, CFS and industry are deeply invested in protecting these legacy sites as they feature ongoing research and outcomes from specific forest management practices initiated through input from industry itself.

“These sites really focus on applied field trials, tests and research studies that incorporate economic, ecological and technical objectives addressing major forest issues,” says Derek Sidders, Program Manager, Technology Development and Transfer at CWFC. “That’s the real essence of these sites—to take issues identified by

the forest industry/community at a given time at a scaled level, looking at long term implications while also providing a significant short term benefit. What’s demonstrated on these sites is also operationally adoptable by industry.”

CWFC/CFS, in co-operation with its partners, is now engaged in packaging this information. It is using novel tools such as drones, fixed cameras, web-based wireless technologies, and user-friendly media to bring this vast library of knowledge to the next generation of forest management planners, researchers, government agencies, and industry, as well as those researching the impacts of a changing climate on Canada’s commercial forest.

As industry and governments confront the implications on Canada’s forest resource of a changing climate and fibre supply, the ability to tap into the knowledge accumulated within these novel legacy forest management practices research and demonstration sites is invaluable as, for example, they demonstrate the carbon implications of certain enhanced forest management practices.

As shown at the top of this page, the applied research, technology and knowledge transfer focus within these legacy sites are many and varied.

For example, in the final decades of the past century and into the early 2000’s, industry and government believed that it was important to address backlog reforestation in primary areas where significant harvesting was taking place.

“There were some questions as to the quality, results and sustainability of those operations. We’ve found now through our legacy sites that we are able to go beyond what is sustainable from the perspective of natural systems, with the ability to tweak natural systems to maximize yields, ecosystem values, health and so

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O

on through the use of adaptive high tech practices,” says Sidders.

New site prep techniques and tools were invented, some by CFS; one example is the Grizz tool patented in 1990 with potential use right across Canada.

Another technique and tool involves high speed horizontal mixing, which is like taking the forest and turning it into selective patches of garden mix. Prime movers were adapted and patterns developed to carry out these site prep techniques.

Applying these site prep techniques on legacy sites has resulted in what Sidders describes as a “phenomenal” response, evident on such sites as the 1,000-hectare, Ecosystem Management Emulating Natural Disturbance (EMEND) project in northern Alberta, which is one of the largest mixed wood development research studies in the world.

Other legacy sites from the Northwest Territories’ Taiga Plains to Manitoba feature the patterning of mixed wood management, demonstrating partial harvesting systems, selective harvesting, species selection, and patterning to remove unhealthy, dead, dying or disturbed material while converting it into wood products and enhancing the distribution within the stand and distance among the trees.

Again, these demonstrated practices have delivered very positive results while showing how to minimize site disturbance.

Some legacy sites also demonstrate the value of commercial thinning in high density pure stands of primarily white spruce for health and enhanced growth.

For more information related to CWFC/CFS technology development legacy sites, contact Derek Sidders at derek. sidders@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca or Tim Keddy at tim.keddy@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca.

SUPPLIERNEWSLINE

By Tony Kryzanowski

Western Forest Products invests $29 million in B.C. sawmills

Western Forest Products has announced it will make a $29 million capital investment into its B.C. operations.

Specifically, the investments include $12.3 million for a new continuous dry kiln at the Saltair sawmill in Ladysmith, allowing for increased capacity for continuous drying of lumber while reducing energy consumption. The sawmill is the largest single line sawmill on the B.C. Coast following the previous multi-phase strategic capital investment of over $42 million undertaken to modernize the sawmill beginning in 2013. The facility has three existing kilns on site for drying lumber.

Another $7.9 million will be spent at the Duke Point mill facility in Nanaimo to optimize the centralized planer facility with new equipment including a machine-stress-rated (MSR) lumber grading machine. The sawmill and planer have undergone a previous multi-phase strategic capital investment of over $45 million beginning in 2015 to modernize the facility.

Another $8.3 million in other capital investments in the company’s B.C. operations will include new kiln control systems at the Saltair sawmill and its Value-Added Division in Chemainus to increase supply of kiln-dried finished products for customers. www.westernforest.com

Long time Optimil Machinery employee Robert Jefferies passes

It is with great sadness that Optimil Machinery announces that long time employee, Robert Jefferies, has passed away. He will be missed by family and friends.

He will also be missed by his working friends at Optimil Machinery and customers around the globe that have been accustomed to calling to page 42

Ponsse launches electric forest machine

Ponsse and Ponsse-owned company, Epec, are introducing the Ponsse EV1, an electric forest machine technology concept.

While the forest machine itself will be commercially available later, Epec’s technology can already be used in electric or hybrid-electric commercial vehicles and non-road mobile machines. Ponsse’s technological concept is said to be a look into the future, paving the way for technological development and sustainable harvesting solutions.

Ponsse says it aims to lead the way in the development of forest machine technologies, and is part of sustainable forestry, seeking carbon neutrality in its operations and solutions. This launch of a new technology concept is part of the company’s strategy and a tangible step towards the goal of carbon neutrality, it says.

“Technological development is fast and offers us excellent opportunities to develop our solutions further, even in unexpected directions,” says Juho Nummela, President and CEO, Ponsse Plc. “We have worked hard with our technology company Epec to enable this concept. At the same time, both companies have developed their capabilities, and we have gained significant new knowledge during this project. This launch of a new technology concept is a peek into the future and one of the solutions offered by electric powertrains.

“Sustainable development is a significant future success factor for Ponsse,” added Nummela. “We want to strongly develop our solutions with Epec.”

The Ponsse EV1 concept has been developed for forwarders with a 15-tonne load-carrying capacity, the most popular Ponsse forwarder size category. The concept machine features a fully electric powertrain, as well as Epec’s power Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2022

distribution unit and hybrid control unit.

The machine’s powertrain operates fully with battery energy. Batteries are charged using a Range Extender, which is a combustion engine at this stage of development. Testing and development are advancing continuously, say the companies. This technology is said to provide significant improvements in fuel economy in this size category.

Ponsse has been studying and developing new technological solutions for several years now. The Ponsse EV1 concept took its first steps in 2019 when Ponsse and Epec started to investigate responsible power source solutions in line with sustainable development.

The Ponsse EV1 features Epec Flow, Epec’s electromobility system solution.

The solution is based on the Epec Flow Power Distribution Unit (PDU), to which electric motors, batteries and various devices can be connected. The PDU’s integrated safety solutions enable effective manufacturing and maintenance of the machines, as well as their operations in demanding conditions. The Epec Flow Hybrid Control Unit (HCU) controls the electric powertrain and includes software developed through simulations, enabling optimal energy consumption, productivity and usability.

“The Epec Flow solution is at the heart of everything,” said Jyri Kylä-Kaila, Managing Director of Epec.

“It has been developed for the electrification of various commercial vehicles and non-road mobile machines.

The software can be developed using simulation models, and the solution can be agilely developed for the needs of different machinery. The different systems, including the transmission and control system, work seamlessly together, enabling the manufacture of safe and efficient zero-emission machines in the future,” said Kylä-Kaila. www.ponsse.com

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suppliernewsline from page 41 for Robert by name for many service trips and start-ups.

Robert was always willing to go on a moment’s notice to help a customer in trouble, even if it meant driving by car for four days straight to get there. Robert spent most of his life working in the forest industry; his customers and sawmills were his life. Friends and colleagues would say that he had sawdust in his blood, which one can never get out. Robert was a part of the evolution of Optimil Machinery’s

products. His constant feedback on improvements helped get the company to where it is today.

Robert was a natural prankster and always made the jobsite as entertaining as possible, yet had a seriousness of getting a job up and going and on schedule. Many a time, he would go over and beyond the call of duty to ensure that when he left the site, the customer was satisfied and felt he had achieved the goals they were expecting.

Optimil Machinery would like to thank Robert and his family for their dedication

over the years. It took a special person to be able to do what he was able to do, says the company, and Robert will be sincerely missed. www.optimil.com

Leadership change at Tigercat

Effective August 2, Grant Somerville stepped away from his role as president of Tigercat Industries.

The timing is related to Somerville’s original intention to serve as president for

BID Group busy with turnkey Canfor contracts, launching Global Learning Center/Equipment Fundamental Series and acquiring Smith Sawmill Service BID Group has announced it will be partnering with Canfor Corporation to deliver a new state-of-the-art sawmill complex in southern Alabama. Through its industryleading wood processing technologies and integrated solutions offering, BID will manage, design, build, equip, install, and provide full start-up services for the project.

“This project will employ the best complement of modern technologies to meet our growing customer demand for the highest quality products, enhance our sustainability goals, and transform our workplace to offer employees a modern facility that will operate for generations to come,” said Stephen Mackie, Executive Vice President, North American Operations, Canfor. “Working with an industry leader like BID provides the confidence that this major project will be done right and delivered on time,” The new operation will incorporate the full spectrum of BID’s best-in-class wood processing technologies including equipment, software, automation systems, Artificial Intelligence-enabled optimization, and the plant-wide Industry 4.0 solution, OPER8.

BID’s Integrated Solutions Team will provide the design, engineering, planning, fabrication, and installation services for the turnkey project. The sustainment of the plant’s operational life cycle excellence will be supported by BID’s Reliability program which will provide comprehensive service, parts, consumables, and upgrades. The project will incorporate new leading-edge solutions from its strategic partner Rockwell.

Work on site will begin late in 2023 and startup of the sawmill is scheduled for the third quarter of 2024.

BID Group is also partnering with

Canfor to deliver a sawmill modernization project for Canfor’s Urbana, Arkansas operation.

BID will manage, design, build, equip, install, and provide start-up services for the project.

The scope for the sawmill will incorporate the full spectrum of the BID Group’s wood processing technologies including a 31” VTO debarker with flare reducer, a high-speed canter line that will allow for increased efficiency while processing a broad log profile, software, automation systems, and artificial intelligence-enabled optimization.

In other company news, BID Group announced the launch of its Global Learning Center.

With its expertly crafted and specially designed courses, BID aims to reduce the knowledge gap in sawmills by growing employees’ technical excellence, allowing high-value customers to achieve and sustain top-quartile performance, says the company.

Over the last year, BID has created a dedicated team of experts working on the management of its Global Learning Center and the creation of content. The team members have years of expertise in learning management and the wood processing industry. BID has also invested in the expansion of its campus in St. George, South Carolina, where there are four classrooms with scaled-down and full-size equipment for a hands-on learning experience.

In addition to on-campus, webinars and private learning offers, BID has developed a new online learning offering using a Learning Management System (LMS). BID’s experts in the different fields of wood processing have developed the Equipment

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Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2022

Fundamental Series, containing more than 250 courses created precisely for each of the main operational machine centers. With its in-house technical content, the online learning offer also has material provided by Rockwell Automation, a strategic partner for BID, as well as multiple courses to grow leadership and professional expertise.

“At BID, we believe that first-class wood processing starts with first-class learning opportunities,” said Simon Potvin, President of Wood Processing. “The launch of the Global Learning Center marks a commitment to our highly valued customers that we will support them in different ways, through our broad offering of services, to aid in their daily challenges.

“Profits rely on people’s knowledge and their ability to anticipate, identify, and fix problems,” added Potvin. “This new service offering will allow mills to get the most out of their equipment and run at peak performance by building and growing their team’s expertise.”

The Global Learning Center is now fully operational and has already started welcoming new students.

Also, BID announced it has completed the purchase of Smith Sawmill Service.

“We are very excited to welcome our friends at Smith’s facilities in Timpson, TX, Shreveport, LA, and Polkton, NC to the BID team,” said Alistair Cook, President and CEO at BID. “The combination of our organizations brings together two customer-centric teams to further expand BID’s industry-leading operational life cycle product and service offering to include the essential recurring saw and tooling capabilities required to support the growing needs of our customers.” www.bidgroup.ca

suppliernewsline a five-year term when he took on the role in 2017. Tigercat founder Ken MacDonald has assumed the role of president.

“I wish to thank Grant for all of the contributions that he has made to our company during his entire 30 years with us,” said MacDonald. “I want to particularly recognize the leadership he provided during his presidency. He very capably steered us through and oversaw record production and sales volumes in 2019.

“Grant then went on to lead our team through the incredibly trying last twoand-a-half years during which we dealt with the COVID pandemic as well as the effects on our business related to the war in Ukraine. Despite these challenges, he took everything in stride and saw to it that we still managed to complete two major plant expansions and launch several new product lines.”

Somerville will continue to serve the company as a director. In his new role, he will offer advice, and support various engineering initiatives focused on the development of new products and the improvement of existing products. www.tigercat.com

USNR acquires equipment and technology supplier Timber Automation

JoeScan to debut new scan heads

JoeScan describes itself as the sawmill scanning experts and will soon bring the proven simplicity of their JS-50 scan head to more parts of the sawmill.

“Mills love how our latest JS-50 WX model performs on their edgers and trimmers,” says Joey Nelson, JoeScan president. “It’s a robust, reliable platform that is very easy to use. So we’ve been working hard to develop next-gen scanners for more machine centres.”

JoeScan will debut several new scanners at the TP&EE trade show in Portland, Oregon on September 28, 29, and 30. www.joescan.com

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2022

USNR, a division of Wood Technologies International, has acquired Timber Automation, an industry leader in wood processing equipment and technology.

USNR says that this combination solidifies its leadership position in providing equipment and technology to the global wood processing industry, adding more than 250 employees and over 200,000 square feet of manufacturing space.

The transaction will help Timber Automation gain wider market distribution for its state-of-the-art sawmill and wood yard equipment, while USNR will benefit from the addition of Timber Automation’s highly skilled team members and production capacity.

“The addition of Timber Automation’s LogPro line of log yard equipment represents a major market expansion for USNR, and their Baxley products—including optimization, edgers, and lumber processing equipment—complement our product to page 44

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suppliernewsline from page 43 offering, providing our customers with more options of high quality machinery,” says Dale Brown, President of USNR. “We are also excited to build upon the VAB division’s highly innovative optimization and grading solutions and the opportunity to bring those products to new markets.”

“We knew that USNR was the right owner for Timber Automation from the outset,” says John Steck, President of Timber Automation. “USNR’s reputation for doing right by the customer aligns perfectly with our company culture and values. This partnership will help give us wider visibility and provide better solutions for customers.” www.usnr.com

Swedish silviculture attachments manufacturer Bracke Forest acquired by Komatsu

Komatsu has acquired Bracke Forest, headquartered in Bräcke, Sweden, which develops, manufactures, and sells application-specific attachments for silviculture.

With extensive know-how of silviculture over the years, Bracke develops, manufactures, and sells applicationspecific attachments for use in silviculture processes. Since 2014, Bracke and Komatsu have engaged in joint development by sharing respective technologies and experience accumulated over the years respectively in forest and construction machines. In 2021, Komatsu launched the

D61EM-23M0, the world’s first bulldozerbased automatic crawler planter, in Brazil.

The D61EM-23M0 performs automatic traveling, stopping, and planting on the preset courses. www.brackeforest.com

Strongco announces new build for Dartmouth, Nova Scotia branch

Strongco Corporation says that construction has begun on a new facility where their Dartmouth, Nova Scotia branch will be relocated. It’s estimated to be completed by the fall of 2022.

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The new facility will be located on four acres of land at 276 Higney Avenue in Dartmouth and will support the regional equipment sales, rental, and administration services for the Volvo Construction Equipment, Sennebogen and Eco Log Forestry product lines they distribute in Nova Scotia.

It’s a purpose-built facility with over 21,000 square feet and eight new modern service bays. All service bays provide 35’ of operating height with two 10-ton overhead cranes. The increased parts warehouse will support a large inventory of their OEM parts. www.strongco.com

Doosan introduces new crawler excavator series

Doosan Infracore North America has introduced its next-generation “7” Series crawler excavators. The initial launch includes four models, the DX140LCR-7, DX225LC-7, DX255LC-7 and EX350LC-7.

Doosan says that its “7” Series crawler excavators deliver fuel efficiency and productivity with more comfort features, intelligent controls and smart machine functionality so operators can handle whatever comes their way.

Updates to the “7” Series excavators include a strengthened work group with reinforced castings and forged steel pivot points for withstanding high impact work.

A new Y-shaped seal at the end of the excavator’s arm provides better sealing to the bucket connection, for more performance and durability.

Doosan added material to the excavator’s mainframe for higher performance and jobsite versatility. The excavator’s X-chassis undercarriage further enhances durability and stability, while the track chain is sealed and self-lubricating for reduced maintenance. Cast-steel, heavyduty sprockets are designed to stand up to challenging work environments, and track rollers and idlers are provided with oil level check plugs to maximize machine uptime. na.DoosonEquipment.com

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2022

Greenergy offers biofuels to Ontario and area forest sector

With terminals across Ontario, fuel supplier Greenergy says it is giving forestry operators in these areas and beyond what they need, which is access to a reliable supply of high percentage biodiesel blends and other quality fuels designed to reduce emissions.

These blends are made from various renewable materials such as organic waste and replace fossil diesel used to power numerous on-road and off-road diesel engines like harvesters, skidders, forwarders, and feller bunchers.

“These fuels are especially significant for the forestry sector because of industry efforts to further reduce its carbon footprint from diesel machinery, helping curtail greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 80 per cent,” says Mike Healey, Greenergy’s Vice-President of Commercial and Business Development.

With a commitment to meet customer needs, Greenergy focuses on supply security by maintaining optionality across its supply chain and thus minimizing reliance on any single refiner or third party for its raw materials. It is also capable of blending fuels to high specifications at its terminals, from Thunder Bay to Johnstown, supplying biodiesel blends to suit customer preferences that can range from the standard B4 to B45 and higher. www.greenergy.com

Paper Excellence Group to purchase Resolute Forest Products

The Paper Excellence Group, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Domtar Corporation, and Resolute Forest Products Inc, have entered into an agreement under which Domtar will acquire all of the outstanding common shares of Resolute stock.

With this addition to its family of companies, the Paper Excellence Group says it will further build out its portfolio in North America following the successful acquisition of Domtar last year.

classified Resolute will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Domtar, under the auspices of the Group, and continue to operate on a business-as-usual basis under the Resolute name. The Resolute management team will remain in place at the company’s headquarters. Considering the quality workforce available with Resolute and Domtar, Paper Excellence says that Montreal will become an important hub for the Group’s North American businesses. Furthermore, the Group plans to retain Resolute’s production locations and levels of jobs.

As part of its commitment to building a premiere North American diversified forest products company and creating long-term growth, the Group intends to support Resolute management’s existing growth strategy, focused on strategic investments in its lumber and pulp businesses, and maximizing the value of its paper and tissue businesses. It also plans to undertake a detailed feasibility study for the eventual conversion of Resolute’s Gatineau, Quebec, newsprint mill to the production of packaging paper. www.resolutefp.com

Search begins for new Canadian Woodlands Forum Executive Director

The Canadian Woodlands Forum (CWF) is looking for a new executive director.

Peter Robichaud has served the CWF for over 27 years and as executive director since 2001. He recently announced his well-earned retirement from the CWF. Peter will work with the incoming executive director for some time to ensure a smooth transition.

Peter has worked tirelessly managing the organization during his tenure, delivering valuable educational programming, operational and business management training, forestry advocacy and maintaining a solid base of continuing membership from across the forest industry. Peter will no doubt be missed but is leaving a very solid organization that is well prepared to handle the challenges of the forestry sector of today and into the future. In this exciting role, the new executive director will report to the board of directors. www.cwfcof.org

AD INDEX ADVERTISER PAGE Agri-Cover, Inc..........................................34 BID Group...................................................11 Brunette Machinery................................32 Cal Saw & Tool...........................................10 Can-Am Chains........................................... 2 Cardinal Sawquip...................................... 6 Connexus Industries................................. 6 Drop Manufacturing..............................12 Gear Centre.................................................. 9 Inland Truck & Equipment....................33 Itipack..........................................................17 Liebherr.......................................................47 Linck.............................................................25 Metal Detectors.......................................18 Microtec......................................................17 Mid-South Engineering.........................16 MPM Engineering....................................28 Mühlböck Drying Technology............20 Optimil Machinery.................................... 7 Ponsse.........................................................31 Porter Engineering..................................19 Prologic+ Scanners.................................23 SmithCo Mfg.............................................26 StrongCo/EcoLog....................................29 Tigercat.......................................................48 Timber Processing & Energy Expo.....21 USNR............................................................27 Valutec Wood Dryers..............................13 VK North America....................................15 Weyerhaeuser............................................. 5

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thelastword

The launch of the federal greenhouse gas offset credit system has the potential to be a game-changer for Canadian forestry

By Tony Kryzanowski

I

n a historic move that could change the face of forestry in Canada and even potentially the Canadian landscape, the federal government has launched a Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Offset Credit System as part of Canada’s 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan.

This changes everything. Tree farming on previously unforested land, called afforestation, has suddenly become affordable.

Forest companies—and landowners—will soon have the ability to begin to recuperate the cost of establishing tree farms the year after making the investment, through the sale of GHG offset credits. All that is currently lacking is the federally-developed offset protocols for forest management, which are currently being developed and presumably will be announced before 2030.

And it’s about time. Trees are nature’s carbon sponges. How do we know that? Because we already know how much carbon dioxide is sequestered as a percentage of the volume of a tree. On an individual tree basis, the formula to convert the mass, for example, of a hybrid poplar to its potential for carbon and carbon dioxide sequestration is volume in cubic metres multiplied by dry weight in kilograms multiplied by 45 per cent and then multiplied by 3.667 to arrive at the CO2 equivalent. A reference sheet is available from the Canadian Wood Fibre Centre (CWFC).

Given this opportunity to sell carbon offset credits from tree farms, it’s worth reviewing the numbers compiled and verified by CWFC for forestry companies and landowners to understand why this pursuit is worthwhile.

According to the CWFC, native species in natural forests average 1.7 cubic metres per hectare per year of fibre production.

Initially, it will make the most sense for forest companies and landowners to plant fast-growing species like clonal hybrid poplar and select aspen to maximize carbon sequestration potential. With afforestation of fast-growing hardwood clones, production increases 6 to 12 times that of the natural forest, delivering a significant fibre production sequestration enhancement and more fibre more quickly for forest companies. It is possible to achieve an increased production of 13 to 20 carbon dioxide equivalent tonnes vs. a natural forest per hectare per year over the first 30 years of growth.

CWFC has also determined that one tonne of sequestered carbon dioxide is equivalent to a 27 centimetre DBH hybrid poplar measuring 27 metres tall. That’s one tree. Now consider hundreds of trees planted on just one hectare of land. The effect, and income potential on the sale of offset credits, increases as more land is dedicated and more trees are grown on a properly managed tree farm.

Since the tree farm begins to grow within the first year, it is possible to calculate a plantation’s carbon sequestration potential within a defined area from that point onward, and the amount of carbon offset credit potential increases every year until the plantation reaches maturity. For a typical moderate to high intensity managed hybrid poplar plantation, the growth rate is 12 to 20 cubic metres of growth per hectare per year over the tree’s lifespan at 100 per cent stocking.

Suffice to say that the sectors most likely to realize an immediate potential dividend from this GHG offset credit program from a significantly increased fibre supply will be the pulp, panelboard and bioenergy industries.

However, the softwood industry can benefit as well by following CWFC’s

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mixedwood management plantation model, where a shade tolerant species like white spruce or white pine is planted in the understorey of fast-growing hardwood species, and achieves maturity at a significantly accelerated rate vs. the natural forest.

In other words, this presents the opportunity for both the lumber and pulp industries to co-operate on land management, sharing in the carbon offset credit revenue to help pay for the establishment of the plantation, while benefiting from additional fibre sources over a shorter time span. Softwood and hardwood consumers already co-operate on logging.

Therefore, there is no reason why they cannot co-operate on tree farming.

There is plenty of room in Canada for both conventional crop farming and tree farming. The key is to plan strategically and aim, for example, at productive land parcels that are difficult to farm but could still generate income through the sale of carbon offset credits. Parcels as small as one hectare could still be monetized into a valuable tree farm.

Then there are also the intangible benefits to consider with tree farming on unforested land. Among these are additional nesting habitats for birds as well as cover and habitat for all forms of wildlife which have often suffered because of land clearing over the past two centuries. Leaf fall from hardwood crops also add nutrients to the soil and have a positive impact on moisture retention.

If Canada wants to achieve its GHG reduction targets, it’s going to have to do a lot more than just pump carbon dioxide back into the ground. Making tree farming affordable goes a long way toward building a natural climate change solution that can be a model for the rest of the world.

All-round Power.

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