Logging & Sawmilling Journal - November 2015

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November 2015

Revving up Resolute’s Thunder Bay sawmill Figuring out Ontario’s logging playbook Iron investments for New Brunswick logger Ken Thomas

With this issue…

The Edge!

B.C. sawmiller working with Canada’s first Wood-Mizer WM1000 Special insert: 2016 DK-Spec wall calendar

Rule the Forest

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FEATURES November 2015 Volume 46 • No. 7 Editor Paul MacDonald Contributing Editors Jim Stirling Tony Kryzanowski George Fullerton

On the Cover:

G R (Mac) Lind Logging of Princeton, British Columbia, has a long history with Caterpillar equipment, and their equipment line-up includes two Cat 320D processors, equipped with Waratah 622 heads, which continue to be proven performers (Cover photo by Paul MacDonald).

Tech Update Editor Tony Kryzanowski

Publisher Rob Stanhope E-mail: stanhope@forestnet.com Phone: (604) 990-9970 Fax: (604) 990-9971 Sales Associates James Booth (604) 990-9970 E-mail: jbooth@forestnet.com Perry Rosehill (604) 613-3001 E-mail: rosehill@forestnet.com

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4 Spotlight —

Ecosystem management project seeking long term funding

The Ecosystem Management Emulating Natural Disturbance (EMEND) project in Alberta is looking for additional funding to keep its work on evaluating logging practices in the boreal forest—and their impact on forest health—going for the long term.

8 Revving up Resolute’s

Thunder Bay mill

Resolute Forest Products has ramped up production at its Thunder Bay sawmill as part of a larger capital plan for its facilities in northwestern Ontario, a move that will allow the sawmill to capture more higher grade lumber products.

18 Iron investments

New Brunswick logger Ken Thomas has recently made some significant equipment investments, including a new John Deere 703 harvester with a Waratah H480C head, which has been working well in commercial thinnings—and still does a great job in final harvest.

14 Figuring out Ontario’s

logging playbook

Ontario logger Gord Griffiths is looking to retire, but he’s concerned about who in the next generation is willing to take over the reins, given a constantly changing logging playbook from Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources.

24

Gradual growth for B.C. sawmiller

Sawmilling operation Vancouver Urban Timberworks started out modestly, but it has gradually grown, and the company recently installed a new mill, a Wood-Mizer WM1000—the first WM1000 to operate in Canada—at their production facility in Squamish, north of Vancouver.

32 Sawmill Sid

shoots—and scores, with hockey sticks

Producing everything from guitars to hockey sticks, Ontario mill operation Sawmill Sid is working hard to see that the trees in Toronto that have been hit by the Emerald Ash Borer have added value, and don’t just end up in tub grinders.

36 The Edge

Included in this edition of The Edge, Canada’s leading publication on research in the forest industry, are stories from the Canadian Wood Fibre Centre, Alberta Innovates - Bio Solutions and NRCanada.

54 The Last Word

Jim Stirling on how B.C. forest companies are heading to North America’s lowest cost lumber producing region—the U.S. South.

DEPARTMENTS

Calendar.........................................................................................................7 Tech Update: Printing and Labeling..............................................................40 Suppliernewsline..........................................................................................44 Classifieds / Employment Opportunities.......................................................53 Ad Index / Subscriptions...............................................................................53 Logging & Sawmilling Journal - November 2015

3

spotlight

Ecosystem management

project seeking long term funding The Ecosystem Management Emulating Natural Disturbance (EMEND) project in Alberta is looking for additional funding to keep its work on evaluating logging practices in the boreal forest—and their impact on forest health—going for the long term.

By Tony Kryzanowski

T

he Canadian boreal mixed wood forest represents one of the largest and most biodiverse environments in the world. It’s also where intensive logging and forest management activity takes place.

Logging in this environment, particularly in northern Alberta, is about to become a lot more intense with a proposal by a joint-venture company called KAQUO Forestry and Resource Development to sell tree farming permits and develop the forest resources themselves on about 200,000 hectares of this type of forest in the Peace River area. The land is owned by three Métis communities. Their partnership in KAQUO is with British-based multinational, Active Energy Group Plc. The forest they are attempting to commercialize consists of about 70 per cent hardwoods such as aspen and poplar and 30 per cent softwoods such as spruce, pine and fir species in the 50 years and older range.

About 20 years ago, in a casual discussion in a banquet hall among government, industry and academic representatives, the group agreed to partner on a long term project not far from the Métisowned land called the Ecosystem Management Emulating Natural Disturbance (EMEND) project to evaluate various logging practices and their impact on forest health in this environment.

EMEND’s work started under the umbrella of the now-defunct Sustainable Forest Management Network (SFMN), established and funded by the federal government, Alberta government, and industry partners as one of Canada’s Network of Centres of Excellence.

4

Natural disturbances such as fire are common, and in fact necessary, in the boreal forest to maintain its health. The EMEND project, through applying various methods and percentages of forest harvesting, aims to discover practical forest harvest and regenerative practices that best maintain biotic communities, spatial patterns of forest structure and functional ecosystem integrity compared with mixed wood landscapes that have originated through wildfire and other inherent natural disturbances.

The Ecosystem Management Emulating Natural Disturbance project is one of the largest projects of its kind in North America, taking in 1,000 hectares within about 28 square kilometers.

In other words, researchers are attempting to provide industry with forest management options in this environment that are both practical and help to maintain the ecological integrity of logged and regenerated sites.

“EMEND is one of the few, perhaps the only real, existing legacy of the SFMN,” says Dr. John Spence, EMEND program coordinator and professor at the Renewable Resource Department at the University of Alberta.

EMEND is one of the largest projects of Logging & Sawmilling Journal - November 2015

its kind in North America, taking in 1,000 hectares within about 28 square kilometers. It is about 90 kilometres northwest of Peace River, in a Forest Management Area (FMA) managed by Daishowa-Marubeni International (DMI). Canfor owns the coniferous harvesting rights in this FMA. Spence says DMI’s pioneering of ecosystem-based forest management (EBM) in concert with scientific research like EMEND is significant.

“DMI’s idea of how to manage forests in Alberta was quite revolutionary,” he says, although since the mid-1990s, other companies have followed similar paths, one example being Alberta Pacific Forest Industries (AL-PAC).

“DMI was the company that really went at the idea of variable retention in the boreal forest in a way that is based on and driven by science,” Spence adds.

“DMI wanted to know what to do and how to do it right.”

In addition to the unprecedented size of the EMEND experiment, the project is forecast to run for one stand rotation, which is approximately 80 to 100 years, to provide as complete a disturbance and recovery picture as possible to industry and government decision makers.

The experiment essentially retains various amounts of wood fibre during harvest in different forest types, with recovery response monitored over a full forest rotation. Four forest types were selected for study. The first has a canopy of more than 70 per cent deciduous trees, the second has a canopy of more than 70 per cent deciduous trees with a white spruce understorey, the third has mixed wood to page 6

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spotlight from page 4 stands with 40 to 60 per cent spruce and aspen cover in the canopy, and the fourth is a stand with 70 per cent spruce canopy.

A total of eight harvest and fire treatments were applied to each forest type, three times within the experimental area.

Each treatment takes in a 10 hectare area, which is considered within the lower limit of a standard operational cutblock.

The eight treatments were a clearcut with 2 per cent green tree retention, 10 per cent green tree retention, 20 per cent green tree retention, 50 per cent green tree retention, 75 per cent green tree retention, 100 per cent green tree retention to act as a control, a prescribed burn on unharvested stands for comparison against various tree retentions using mechanical harvesting, and 10 per cent harvest with slash burn.

However, just 18 years into the full rotation, project managers are struggling to keep the experiment going due to constant funding challenges, with the exception of DMI, which has given its unwavering support for the project since its inception in 1998. Canfor has also been a consistent supporter to this point.

Otherwise, the cash flow to support this long term initiative from both government and industry has either been feast or famine. Proponents like U of A’s Spence spend a lot of time and effort filling out grant applications, hoping that a cheque arrives

in the mail in a timely manner, and as the funding model currently stands, there is no guarantee it will happen. When asked how difficult it has been to keep government, industry and non-government organizations engaged in EMEND, given its time horizon, Spence says “it’s been difficult and it’s becoming more difficult.”

Initially, it was industry, with support from the government, that requested that the experiment take place over a full rotation.

Spence says that EMEND now finds itself at a crossroads. Without a minimum amount of annual predictable funding, and as project champions in both academia and industry retire or move on, the project’s medium to long term future as an unprecedented land base experiment is uncertain. However, he remains “guardedly optimistic” that its funding challenges can be overcome.

He adds that it’s not a formidable minimum sum of predictable support that EMEND proponents need to keep it going.

“We need $200,000 per year on a reliable and predictable basis to keep the lights on at EMEND and to make sure we meet the core objectives,” says Spence.

EMEND is more than an experiment. It has had a major influence particularly on DMI’s forest management practices, which has helped the company keep its customers happy and earned it international attention and accolades. Jim Witiw, Biodiver-

sity and Stewardship Program Manager at DMI, says that the company agreed to take part in the experiment initially because it believed by attaching itself to this long range, adaptive management research, it would give the project more credibility.

“The signal I am getting is that DMI has among the highest levels of retention within our cutblocks of anyone in Canada,” says Witiw. It has been influenced heavily by the science at EMEND. The company has abandoned the two-pass, clearcut forest harvesting approach and has adopted an ecosystem-based forest management approach. Witiw adds that even though the monitoring of results on the EMEND site “is only at the 10 yard line”, all the evidence so far based on the company’s EBM approach is that DMI is definitely on the right track. The company targets 15 per cent retention of merchantable timber as a landscape average within its FMA, not taking into account areas it has set aside as too sensitive or wetlands.

Together, DMI and Canfor have invested about $7 million of the $18 million spent on the EMEND experiment so far, some of it as important in-kind contributions. What they have contributed has been leveraged to attract investment from other companies and to attract grant money. There has been some project-specific support provided to EMEND by Manning Diversified Forest Products and Weyerhaeuser. The EMEND management board would gladly welcome more industry

The EMEND project is located in a Forest Management Area (FMA) managed by Daishowa-Marubeni International (DMI). DMI has given its unwavering support for the project since its inception in 1998, and the company has been a pioneer in ecosystembased forest management (EBM) in concert with scientific research like EMEND. 6

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - November 2015

spotlight support. Despite its location within DMI’s FMA, Witiw says that the forest management data offered by EMEND has considerable potential applications throughout the northern boreal forest.

EMEND also serves a useful academic purpose, as 15 graduate students and three post-doctorate fellows are currently working on active research projects on the site. Both Spence and Witiw say that there is no doubt that the demise of the SFMN and the reasonably reliable funding

it supplied to EMEND has had an impact on predictable cash flow to support this long term research endeavor.

“I would say that EMEND has been in intensive care ever since the Sustainable Forest Management Network closed in 2007,” says Spence.

“We’d love to have stable funding,” adds Witiw. “It would be nice to think that we get to some point in history when this type of public research for the benefit of both the public and industry could be

leveraged somehow by stable funding that recognizes the tremendous benefit in ecosystem services that this type of work is addressing.”

EMEND is proving its value on the international stage, as federal government representatives and scientists attending international events frequently point to it as one example of how Canada is supporting sustainable forest management in the ecologically important boreal forest.

CALENDAR January 13-15

73rd Annual Truck Loggers Association Convention, Vancouver, BC 604-684-4291, www.tla.ca January 19-21

13th Annual BC Natural Resource Forum, Prince George, BC 250-640-7469 www.bcnaturalresourcesforum.com January 26-27

Forest Products Association of Nova Scotia 82nd AGM, Halifax, NS 902-895-1179, www.fpans.ca February 1-5

Paper Week Canada 2016, 100th Annual Meeting, Montreal, QC 514-392-6969 www.paperweekcanada.ca February 5

Forests Ontario Conference, Alliston, ON

416-646-1193, www.forestsontario.ca February 24-26

Association of BC Prof.

Foresters AGM, Vancouver, BC 604-687-8027, www.abcfp.ca February 25

Association of R.P.F of New Brunswick AGM, Fredericton, NB, 506-452-6933, www.arpfnb.ca March 1-2

Steep Slope Logging Conference, Richmond, BC 604-990-9970 www.steepslopelogging.events

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - November 2015

7

Ontariosawmilling

Revving up Resolute’s Thunder Bay mill Resolute Forest Products has ramped up production at its Thunder Bay sawmill as part of a larger capital plan for its facilities in northwestern Ontario, a move that will allow the sawmill to capture more higher grade lumber products.

By Tony Kryzanowski

Among the biggest investments made by Resolute Forest Products during its recent $8 million upgrade in Thunder Bay was the installation of a Comact TBL3 optimizing sawing/ chipping/profiling unit which at 550 feet per minute, minimizes cant spacing and eliminates the need for returns to the edger.

8

R

esolute Forest Products has spent $8 million upgrading its Thunder Bay sawmill as part of the company’s overall $90 million investment into its facilities in northwestern Ontario, raising productivity at the sawmill by about 20 per cent while working to capture more higher grade products.

The Thunder Bay sawmill, which is located on Fort William First Nations land just outside the city, was built brand new in 2003. Today, it produces lumber in dimensions from 2 X 3 to 2 X 6 in lengths from 6’ to 10’. Its largest volume product is 2 X 4 lumber. Annual production has increased from 250 million board feet to 300 million board feet, and it has operated continually since its commissioning.

“We never stopped production during the downturn, although we did reduce the number of hours we operated per week,” says Maxime Langlais, sawmill general manager, who took on the position in Thunder Bay two years ago, after working in Resolute facilities in the Lac St. Jean and Abitibi areas of Quebec.

The sawmill in Thunder Bay consumes about 1.4 million cubic metres of spruce and pine annually, with about 60 per cent jackpine and 40 per cent black spruce, sourced anywhere from 50 to 250 kilometres from the sawmill. It can process logs anywhere from 2.5” to 17” in diameter on its three production lines. About two thirds of the logs arriving at the mill are tree length and one third cut-to-length (CTL) in 10’ lengths. The sawmill upgrade project added a second infeed deck for CTL logs at the front end.

Langlais says the reason for adding CTL log infeed capacity at the sawmill is to increase productivity because it results in

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - November 2015

Ontariosawmilling

A Tanguay stationary log loader ensures that all three log processing lines at the Resolute Thunder Bay sawmill receive a steady diet of jackpine or black spruce logs. more volume throughput, especially with a dedicated CTL debarker.

“Wood quality in CTL logs is also very often higher than from the slasher deck,” says Langlais, plus it provides the sawmill with more flexibility to react to market demand, as it can change the log lengths processed through this line to 8’ or 9’ as needed, simply by telling CTL contractors in the bush to make the adjustment.

In addition to the second infeed deck, the other main improvements made at the Thunder Bay sawmill were the addition of a Valon Kone Kodiak debarker dedicated to CTL logs for a total of five Valon Kone debarkers at the infeed, and installation of a gang edger upgrade on the large log line. The sawmill’s scanning technology was also upgraded and they installed a new dry kiln for a total of five on the site.

Speaking about the technology installed at the sawmill, Langlais says “it is a 99 per cent Comact sawmill and planer mill.” In the yard, logs are unloaded using a 20 ton, LeTourneau pedestal crane.

Logs are fed into the mill using a Tanguay stationary log loader. Production through the sawmill is species-specific for more consistency.

to page 10 Logging & Sawmilling Journal - November 2015

9

Ontariosawmilling Ontariosawmilling

from page 9

A 20 ton LeTourneau pedestal crane unloads the 1.4 million cubic metres of softwood that enters the Resolute Thunder Bay sawmill yard every year.

“The major reason we do this is because we need to supply our paper mill with pure spruce chips,” says Langlais.

Once inside the mill, logs encounter one of the five, 17” Valon Kone debarkers. One is equipped with a butt reducer that has the ability to reduce a log with a butt up to 22” diameter down to a more manageable, cylindrical shape for downstream processing.

Two of the sawmill’s lines are equipped with Comact DDM6 saw units with profile heads that can process logs up to 10” in diameter. However, they tend to process a steady diet of 3” to 7” diameter logs.

The large log line is equipped with a Comact single length infeed and canter quad saw system. It processes logs generally 6” in diameter and higher. All sideboards are processed through a Comact board edger.

As part of its upgrade, Resolute improved its scanning capabilities at the front end of each line and also added Comact’s TBL3 optimized sawing/chipping/profiling unit to its large log line.

The equipment minimizes cant spacing and eliminates the need for returns to the edger. It operates at speeds of up to 550 feet per minute, and offers controlled curved sawing, straight sawing, and Sshape sawing. “It’s producing a high quality product,” says Langlais.

After a two-stage unscrambler, all the lumber proceeds to one of two Comact hydraulic rotary lug loaders and then to one of two trimmer optimizers prior to stacking for kiln drying.

The planer mill consists of a Gilbert planer and a Comact GradExpert computerized grading system, then a trimmer optimizer, sorter, and two stackers. The Thunder Bay sawmill was among the first sawmills in Canada to adopt an entirely computerized lumber grading system. The GradExpert software was upgraded as part of Resolute’s recent investment.

Langlais says Resolute aims to produce as much Select lumber as possible to supply its big box store customers.

Resolute says its overall investment in northwestern Ontario has created 200 new jobs in its facilities and 200 forestry jobs.

The Thunder Bay sawmill is one of three sawmills that Resolute operates in northwestern Ontario, with a stud mill in Ignace three hours away, and a new to page 12

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Logging & Sawmilling Journal - November 2015

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Ontariosawmilling A fifth Valon Kone debarker, dedicated to the cut-to-length log infeed line, is resulting in faster log processing at the Resolute Thunder Bay sawmill.

from page 10

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Logging & Sawmilling Journal - November 2015

dimension sawmill in the commissioning stage in Atikokan two hours away.

In total, the three sawmills will produce about 560 million board feet of lumber, making Resolute the largest dimension lumber producer in Ontario. Resolute also operates a kraft pulp mill and a paper mill in Thunder Bay, so they are a major employer in the region.

The partnership with Fort William First Nations at the Thunder Bay site has benefitted both parties over the years, as the First Nation owns the sawmill building with Resolute paying annual rent. Also, about 25 of the 199 people working at the sawmill are First Nations.

In 2012, the Thunder Bay sawmill became the first facility in Canada to operate under regulations created by the federal First Nations Commercial and Industrial Development Act. This legislation allows federal reserve land to operate under provincial statutes, making it easier for industrial development to occur on First Nations land.

As a company, Resolute has demonstrated a significant commitment to working with First Nations communities throughout northwestern Ontario. In February, it signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with six area First Nations communities that sets out a framework for negotiating business agreements related to Resolute’s sawmill investments in northwestern Ontario. The MOA is expected to bring an additional $100 million in new business opportunities to First Nations businesses. The agreement has already yielded contracts for First Nations business during construction of sawmills; hauling chips, biomass and lumber from sawmills; yard services to manage loading and unloading of logs and lumber; as well as log harvesting and delivery. Rainy Lake Tribal Contracting, owned by several signatories to the MOA, leveled the site for the new sawmill near Atikokan. Also, a First Nations business owned by another MOA signatory called Dallan Forestry LP has contracts to provide yard services in a number of Resolute facilities in northwestern Ontario, including Thunder Bay.

Ontariologging

Not so silver linings playbook

Ontario logger Gord Griffiths is looking to retire, but he’s concerned about who in the next generation is willing to take over the reins, given a constantly changing logging playbook from Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources.

By Tony Kryzanowski

G

Ontario logger Gord Griffiths has spent nearly 50 years in the bush, but says the job has become so complicated with paperwork that it is increasingly more difficult for young people to enter the logging industry.

14

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - November 2015

ord Griffiths loves logging but after nearly 50 years working in the industry, this veteran Ontario logger plans to retire.

The question he has, though, is who will step in to take the place of retiring loggers like him, given the amount of paperwork that is keeping loggers in the office when they’d rather be out in the cutblock.

Gord’s son, Patrick, began working with him a while back, which allowed Gord to semi-retire. But then Patrick said, ‘no thanks’ to taking on the responsibility of an entire logging fleet. Patrick decided to continue to work as a feller buncher owner-operator instead; that way, he avoids all the hassles of dealing with the brown envelopes that seem to arrive at the contractor’s office daily. Gord understands his reluctance.

“If you came out of high school today and were looking for an occupation, it would be easier to become a doctor than to become a logger, because once you have learned all the body parts, they are all the same in everybody,” says Griffiths.

“This industry keeps changing and changing.”

Griffiths owns Hollyn Timber, based in Vermilion Bay, about 45 kilometres west of Dryden, in northwestern Ontario. The

Ontariologging

Since the terrain that Hollyn Timber works in has a lot of rock, company owner Gord Griffiths has opted for the midsize Tigercat 845C feller buncher (above) because there is less wear and tear on the undercarriage. Hollyn Timber’s most recent purchases were two John Deere 848H skidders (below). What the company values more than anything is the after-sales service support they receive, given the remote locations in which they log. company is a stump-to-dump, year round contractor that harvests about 150,000 cubic metres annually, primarily for Resolute Forest Products.

Resolute recently re-started its stud mill in Ignace, has built a brand new dimension sawmill near Atikokan, and has significantly upgraded its sawmill in Thunder Bay. Hollyn Timber’s log diet consists of both hardwood and softwood. Hardwood is sold to Weyerhaeuser in Kenora, and chip material is sold to Domtar in Dryden.

Their main species are spruce, jackpine, fir and poplar, ranging anywhere from 6” to 20” in diameter, depending on the area where they are logging. The ratio of softwood to hardwood also varies widely.

Hollyn Timber are shareholders in a Sustainable Forest License (SFL) group called the Dryden Forest Management Company, and they also have an overlapping logging license within an SFL area owned and managed by Resolute Forest Products east of Dryden. Griffiths is not only responsible for harvesting and delivering his timber, but also marketing the wood, which is a somewhat unique approach that Ontario has taken to forest management. It has its pros and cons.

Griffiths says that Hollyn Timber is fortunate to be logging in northwestern Ontario, where there are quite a few buyers for the wood, but he gives Resolute right of first refusal on all wood harvested from their SFL. He agrees that during the recent industry downturn, having the ability to sell his own wood fibre was actually an advantage versus contractors simply contracted by forest companies to offer stump-to-dump logging services, because they have control over their own destiny.

“We were actually quite busy through the downturn because of our flexibility,”

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - November 2015

he says. “We were able to find niche markets for our wood.” However, there is additional pressure on logging contractors with this approach. Recently, he received a phone call from a regular client saying they would not be accepting any hardwood that week as they were taking some downtime. By that afternoon, he had received another phone call from a different client, wanting to purchase that same hardwood. to page 16

15

Ontariologging has taken at times toward environmental protection.

“Our provincial government doesn’t appear to be very supportive of the forest industry,” says Griffiths.

In addition to providing detailed forest management plans through their SFL groups, Ontario loggers must also adhere to the guidelines and restrictions set out in the province’s Endangered Species Act, with the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) providing a new booklet of the forest management operating ground rules every year. That area of Ontario is also within the province’s sensitive and contentious woodland caribou conservation area. To some extent, that explains the number of brown envelopes arriving at the company’s office. For his part, Griffiths hopes he never sees a caribou because it would likely require an immediate adjustment to his logging operations.

“The system is more expensive to operate because if you build a road, you want to bring all the wood you can to the road,” says Griffiths. “If you have to leave patches and bypass it, there is a cost to that. There is also the stress of trying to keep up, especially with the species

from page 15 “If you had asked me Monday morning where our roundwood trucks were delivering, I would have given you a totally different answer by Wednesday,” says Griffiths. This approach requires careful planning, to ensure that processing of certain sizes and species of timber takes place within a time frame when a market for certain wood products exists.

For example, Hollyn Timber ensures that its slashing does not extend too far ahead of its market demand for certain products.

Griffiths says that it is also important to maintain tight control of sorting at roadside by species, length and size. Transportation cost is the main determining factor of how far Hollyn Timber will go to market its wood products.

The company logs primarily in the vicinity of Dryden and north of Sioux Lookout. Forestry in general is critically important to the economy in northwestern Ontario, with several communities dependent on jobs from the forestry sector. Keeping it vibrant over the years has been challenging, given the aggressive approach the Ontario government

at risk, to identify all the new things that keep coming on stream.”

Over his nearly five decades in logging, Griffiths has been engaged in a variety of wood supply activities. In addition to delivering logs in both tree length and cutto-length (CTL) dimensions, until recently he was also engaged in on-site chipping for Domtar’s pulp mill in Dryden. At one time, he owned two Peterson Pacific chippers. Now, he’s sold his chipping fleet and is down to a couple of feller bunchers, skidders, a loader and road building equipment. He has six direct employees.

To complement his fleet, Griffiths

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Ontariologging

has chosen to work with a number of owner-operators to handle certain aspects of his operation. For example, both his delimbing and slashing are conducted by owner-operators. Griffiths says that if he can find enough reliable owner-operators to fill certain key functions in his business, he may be tempted to hold on for a while, as long as he can sneak away to his lake cabin with his wife and grandkids more often. The challenge is finding those reliable owner-operators, as the recent downturn in the forest industry caused many to shut down or leave the area. But he continues to search.

The Hollyn Timber fleet consists of a Tigercat 845C feller buncher equipped with a GN Roy 5300 head, a Timberjack 608 feller buncher, two John Deere 848H skidders purchased about a year ago, and a Timberjack 660 skidder. For roadbuilding, they use a Case 240 backhoe and a Hitachi 200 backhoe, a Champion grader as well as a Caterpillar D5 dozer. Their log loader is a Caterpillar 322 loader. He contracts his log haul to owner-operator truck drivers.

Griffiths says he tends not to favor any equipment brand over another, but places service support at the top of his list when it comes to making a purchase. He says given the remote locations where he logs, having that service support is critical to maintaining workflow. One change he has noticed among all the equipment dealers is how much harder it is to obtain parts in the event of a breakdown.

“At one time, if you had a breakdown at two in the afternoon, if you ran to the dealer for a part, you could be running by the next morning. Now, you could be waiting as long as a week for a part because they have to bring it in from somewhere,” says Griffiths. “During the downturn, I think each dealership was

having difficulties so they cut their inventories to stay afloat. But even though the situation is supposedly picking up again now, it seems like they are sticking with the same business model that they developed during the downturn.”

Griffiths opted for the midsize Tigercat 845C feller buncher a few years back because he says he wanted a lighter machine working in this rocky environment.

While he may have sacrificed some production, he is saving on the general wear and tear on his undercarriages, which he says get beat up a lot in this environment.

The rocky terrain also takes its toll on tire chains on the skidders. The terrain they log in can also vary widely from flat areas with a lot of clay, to hilly ground with large boulders, as they are logging in the Canadian Shield west of Lake Superior.

For his part, Griffiths says he still loves to go to work in the forest. However, he is concerned that with all the time logging company owners have to spend in the office these days, it may be taking the potential joy out of the job. It could be discouraging a lot of younger people from taking up this occupation, and he has evidence of that in his own family.

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - November 2015

17

Iron contractorprofile

investments

New Brunswick logger Ken Thomas has recently made some significant equipment investments, including a new John Deere 703 harvester with a Waratah H480C head, which has been working well in commercial thinnings—and still does a great job in final harvest.

By George Fullerton

A

The business plan logger Ken Thomas put together led him to make a deal on a new John Deere 703 equipped with a Waratah H480C head.

s Ken Thomas approaches his fifth decade, he has made the decision to continue to make his living working in the woods, and stick near his cultural roots around the village of Stanley in central New Brunswick.

That plan led Thomas to make a deal on a new John Deere 703 harvester in 2015, and replacing his tired Timberjack 610 forwarder with a newer John Deere 1010 forwarder.

Thomas’ forestry career began in his teen years, working in the yard in his father Ron’s cable skidding operation. Following high school, Thomas continued to work in local forestry operations. He attended the University of New Brunswick forestry program on a part-time basis in the early 1990s, and gained a degree in 1997.

“I had just ended a job operating a feller buncher, and my future wife suggested I try

university,” explains Thomas. “It provided the opportunity for a lot of good discussions with professors, putting textbook theory into the context of forestry on the ground.

“I had to juggle university with a contracting business and we had started a family, but overall I guess the formal forestry education was a positive and it helped open some doors for me.”

Thomas continued to be employed on various manual and mechanical logging operations while studying, and in the mid-1990s established a company, Silva-Care, and began contracting precommercial thinning. Initially, thinning contracts targeted private woodlots, later expanding to industrial contracts including

18

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - November 2015

Crabbe Lumber, a family owned sawmill operating in Bristol, NB. In the late-1990s, with Silva-Care’s pre-commercial thinning contracts growing, Thomas hired a supervisor to help handle the operations.

“It was a good time for pre-commercial thinning,” he says. “There were a lot of big blocks in the range of a hundred acres. It was fairly easy to lay out, and those blocks concentrated work in one area for an extended period of time.”

Silva-Care also expanded its forestry contracting to handle inventory contracts, and completed a lot of work in the to page 20

contractorprofile from page 18 northeast United States, working as far south as West Virginia.

“That inventory work was a great experience,” recalls Thomas. “I would have up to four or five foresters hired, and we saw a lot of country and a lot of timber.”

Thomas bought his own skidder in 1997 and worked it on stumpage jobs when his schedule allowed. He developed a reputation for doing high quality commercial thinning, in addition to other harvest work. The skidder stuck around operations, and was finally sold off in 2015.

In 2011, Thomas bought a Timberjack 608 harvester with a 762 head, and jumped into learning mechanical harvesting. He added a used Timberjack 610 forwarder to complete his harvesting team.

“Wood has been getting smaller all the time, and I could feel my body wearing out operating chainsaw and pulling skidder cable,” says Thomas. “I figured if I was staying in the woods business, I would have to be doing it in a harvester.

“I climbed in the harvester, and basi-

cally learned to operate it through a series of hard knocks. I know a number of local guys who had operated 608 machines and they were great with advice to help me troubleshoot problems. I also built a good relationship with a John Deere mechanic and he would often walk me through problems over the phone and get me working, after I had exhausted my own efforts.”

Thomas confessed he started out with little experience with equipment electronics, but he learned to troubleshoot—to a point—and then sometimes it was just a matter of replacing parts until things started working again.

Through the years of handling thinning contracts, Thomas had the idea that his career would eventually switch to harvesting those same pre-commercial stands.

He said that many of those stands are now ready for commercial thinning, and some are ready for final harvest. One of the challenges he deals with currently is convincing woodlot owners to carry out commercial thinning or final harvest on those managed stands.

“Many woodlot owners understand that timely harvest is necessary—but on

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Logging & Sawmilling Journal - November 2015

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contractorprofile the other hand, some woodlot owners seem to think stand quality will sustain indefinitely,” he says. “I have to help them understand that there is a time for harvest, which will give them the best value. I know there are thousands of acres in my local region that are coming to the point of requiring harvesting, both private woodlots and industrial ground.”

Thomas also encounters landowners who have the idea that a thinning harvest, even in a stand with only marginal tree quality, will improve stand quality. “You can convince some people that a final harvest is the best option, while others go ahead with a partial harvest, only to watch the rest of the stand blow down.”

This past July, Thomas took delivery of the new John Deere 703, with a Waratah H480C head.

Asked why he selected a tracked machine, he replied: “First off, tracks lower the price of the harvester by quite a bit.

Second, my operations are on pretty good soils so tracks work great. If I worked in a lot of rocky ground, I imagine I would have considered wheels a lot more—but for now tracks work great for me.”

Thomas recognizes a lot of similarities

Logger Ken Thomas (left) with equipment operator Andrew Wallace. Wallace starts out the day on the Deere 703 harvester, and then he switches with Thomas to run the forwarder after about four hours. between the 608 and the new 703, and some important improvements.

“The physical layout of the machine and its mechanical components are very similar, although it has different joysticks, which I like a lot. The new machine is about the same horsepower as the 608, but the pump set-up is different and it provides better oil delivery to the head

so that the head performance is markedly improved.”

Like most contractors, Thomas says it is a continuing effort to find qualified machine operators. Good operators are transient and in short supply—some head to page 22

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Logging & Sawmilling Journal - November 2015

21

contractorprofile

A routine chain change on the Waratah H480C head (above, right). Ken Thomas says his goal is for the Waratah head-equipped Deere 703 harvester to operate sixty hours per week. To meet that goal, Thomas puts in a couple of extended days each week.

west for bigger money and some just seem to want a change and move to a different operation.

Andrew Wallace hired on with Thomas in spring 2015. Wallace had completed an operator training course provided by New Brunswick Community College, and had some buncher and forwarder experience before he began on the 703.

Wallace starts out the day on the harvester, and then he switches with Thomas to run the forwarder after about four hours.

“The first four hours of the operating shift are the most productive, so Andrew is in for the morning while I work the forwarder,” explains Thomas. “Then we switch for the balance of the day. That way he puts productive time into learning to operate. It also avoids him operating later in the shift when his attention is less acute, and hopefully we avoid mistakes that would lead to machine downtime.”

Thomas’ goal for the harvester is to operate sixty hours per week. He says to meet that goal he puts in a couple extended days each week.

New employee Andrew Wallace was fortunate recently to be operating in some good wood.

“This is as close to a perfect piece of woods for Andrew to learn to operate the harvester as anyone could wish for,” explained Thomas, looking toward the balsam fir stand where they were operating.

“This is old agricultural land that regenerated naturally and then had some initial work to develop it for Christmas tree production, and was then left to go wild again. The stem size is uniform and there is no understory vegetation. After you cut and process a tree, the next one

is standing there right beside the previous stump.”

The woodlot, located at Williamsburg, NB, had suffered wind damage from post tropical storm Arthur in early July 2014.

Throughout the woodlot, small groups of trees as well as individual trees had snapped off or were leaning. Thomas related that fibre quality of downed trees degrades very quickly, and a remarkable amount of fibre has been lost in just one year.

“The Arthur Storm hit the area around Stanley pretty hard and caused a lot of patchy wind throw,” Thomas explained.

“It actually created quite a little bit of extra work, with woodlot owners calling to see if I could come and recover the downed timber. I think it also reminded a lot of woodlot owners that their woodlots need management and periodic harvest.”

The Williamsburg operation was a combination of partial cuts and final harvest, depending on stand condition.

In recent years, Thomas has taken winter contracts with Crabbe Lumber Ltd., harvesting blocks to feed the Crabbe family-owned mill.

“Crabbe is a good balance with my private woodlot work,” he stated. “With Crabbe, I don’t have to dedicate time and energy to seeking out that stumpage and setting up deals with land owners. Crabbe just points me to a block, and then they have another when that one is completed.

Crabbe understands the challenges the contractor faces, and they work along with those challenges.”

Crabbe’s forester, Marc Blanchard, is a very practical and understanding forester, says Thomas. “They have been calling to see if I could take on more work. Like most mills, they are looking for harvesting and trucking capacity. Our industry is

22

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - November 2015

from page 21

continuing to re-build its workforce and harvesting capacity after the out-migration of operators and contractors that left during the downturn.”

Thomas pointed out that one of the main challenges facing most New Brunswick forestry operations is the lack of a viable market for softwood pulpwood.

“We minimize the amount of pulpwood we produce by making sure the studwood is taken down to minimum top diameter spec,” he explained. “We always generate some pulpwood, but it actually costs us money to handle it and the woodlot owner is definitely not making much on the stumpage.”

For trucking, Thomas calls on his father, Ron, and other local truckers when things get busy. Thomas uses a local float service, which provides good quick service. That’s important, because his operations are often in smaller cut blocks on private woodlots, and that means he moves fairly often.

Thomas had an established relationship with the Deere dealer, formerly Wallace Equipment, and explained that the same reliable service continues under the Brandt Tractors banner.

Thomas also relies on a number of service and supply businesses in addition to Brandt. ALPA Equipment, Parts for Trucks and Auto Machinery get called upon for a variety of needs for his harvesting operation.

To date, Thomas is happy with the performance and versatility of his new John Deere harvester, pointing out it works very well in commercial thinnings, and still does a great job in final harvest, with lots of power and speed, and—especially—more uptime and greater productivity at the end of the day.

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smallsawmilling

The Wood-Mizer WM1000 is designed specifically to saw large hardwood and softwood logs.

Durable and easy to use, the mill features a saw head with a massive throat opening that moves along a twin-rail frame.

G

radual Growth for B.C. sawmiller

Sawmilling operation Vancouver Urban Timberworks started out modestly, but it has gradually grown, and the company recently installed a new mill, a Wood-Mizer WM1000—the first WM1000 to operate in Canada—at their production facility in Squamish, north of Vancouver.

ne of the newest sawmilling operations in B.C. all started with skateboarding.

The two 27-year-old owners of Vancouver Urban Timberworks, Eric Savics and Danny Hagge, first started hanging out, doing skateboarding in their teenage years.

Hagge explains that even back then, the woodworking bug had bit, while in school.

“Even when I was in grade eight, I would

be trading in all my breaks for woodworking classes—I had a huge interest in woodworking,” says Hagge. The interest seemed to be natural, especially since Hagge’s Dad had a boatbuilding shop for 25 years.

After high school, Hagge did carpentry for four years, and along the way, bought a Granberg twin-engine, diesel-powered Alaskan Chainsaw Mill, after a friend introduced him to the mill. “It was all supposed to be a hobby—it was never my intention to have a sawmilling business,” explains Hagge.

24

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - November 2015

By Paul MacDonald

O

The start-up of Vancouver Urban Timberworks came in 2009, explained Eric Savics.

“That was really the first time I heard Danny talking about salvaging urban logs,” says Savics. “Danny pointed to a construction site where hardwood trees were being taken down, and told me that this was happening every day all around Vancouver—that really got my interest. to page 26

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smallsawmilling from page 24

The Vancouver Urban Timberworks crew, clockwise from top left: Eric Savics, Kalli Niedoba, Danny Hagge and Dylan McIntosh.

26

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - November 2015

“The next thing I know, the driveway of the house we were in is stacked with slabs and lumber, from this urban wood.

With the Alaskan Chainsaw, we were cutting wood non-stop, filling the yard of the house up—it looked like a lumber sales yard in this North Vancouver neighborhood.”

They decided to do a feasibility study, contacting arborists from Hope in the Fraser Valley to Pemberton, north of Whistler, to get the big picture story on what was being done with urban timber.

“We got some really interesting information,” said Savics. “Then we went to the forestry department at UBC and got some more information about what was coming down in terms of urban timber.

Then we went to retailers and looked at what they were getting per board foot. At each step along the way, we were getting more excited about the potential.”

The two young men were truly on a mission. The last part of the fact finding part of the mission was to California, to visit California Urban Lumber, in the San Francisco Bay area.

“We were trying to see if there were other companies out there already, if there was a business model based on urban lumber we could look at,” says Hagge.

“We had pages of questions for them— they were really helpful and politely answered our questions. I think they were intrigued by two 20-year-old guys from Canada coming all that way to talk with them.”

California Urban Lumber is a long established custom sawmilling operation that utilizes urban timber, and has a good equipment and tool set-up. “We knew that we would be a long ways away from having a business of that size, but it was really the final inspiration we needed to move forward,” says Savics.

And move forward they did, and Vancouver Urban Timberworks was set up in a small shop in an industrial area of North Vancouver.

“When we were operating the mill from the house, we were getting sales from Craigslist. We had inquiries from furniture manufacturing people that wanted high quality, large slab, large diameter soft and hardwoods. They were asking about the moisture content of the wood, and we were selling wet slabs—and that prompted the move to the shop, too, because we needed a dry place to store the wood.”

They quickly had their 2,000 square foot shop full of dry timber from their first

smallsawmilling big kiln load, dried at kiln operation, FraserWood Industries, in Squamish, B.C. “When we had a fully stocked shop of dry materials, that’s when the furniture inquiries really started coming in,” explained Savics. “A lot of customers were coming in and asking if we could build what they were looking for, like a big live edge board table.

“Danny and I looked at each other, and we said, well, let’s just do any project that comes in the door—let’s just try it.

We weren’t hesitant—we jumped on it.”

So in addition to offering hardwood and softwood cut from urban timber, Vancouver Urban Timberworks also offers customers help with the design/build side, and have since done a broad range of furniture designs for customers.

Vancouver Urban Timberworks is working on setting up its own kiln operation, but the really big news for the company is the new sawmill it has set up at its satellite facility in Squamish, 65 kilometres north of Vancouver.

The Alaskan Chainsaw Mill, and a TimberKing 1600 portable bandsaw mill, had served them well, but it was clearly time to ramp things up. They installed a WoodMizer WM1000—the first WM1000 to

Since they’ve had the WM1000, Vancouver Urban Timberworks has been cutting a lot of customer wood, but they are working at achieving more of a balance, and looking to cut more of the urban wood they source, and building up their inventory. operate in Canada.

The Wood-Mizer WM1000 is designed specifically to saw large hardwood and softwood logs. Durable and said to be easy to use, the mill features a saw head with a massive throat opening that moves along a twin-rail frame.

The WM1000 breaks down large logs with a capacity center cut of 67”, and uses thin-kerf narrow band blades that

measure 2” to 3” wide and provides more material recovery. Vancouver Urban Timberworks finds that using a 2” blade on their WM1000 works best for the wood they are handling.

The oversize blade wheels on the WM1000 reduce stress on the blade and to page 28

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smallsawmilling

Wood-Mizer’s long history, and its record of supporting customers, were convincing factors in Vancouver Urban Timberworks’ choice of the equipment—as were the capabilities of the WM1000. They needed a mill that can cut on the smaller end, at 36 inches, to the wide end, at 66 inches. from page 27 the long blade length gives longer cutting time between sharpenings. With the WM1000, logs can be sawed into half, quarters, or cut into manageable cants for resawing. The operator safely controls all cutting functions while standing on a platform that moves with the head and includes computerized setworks.

The WM1000 was a good fit for the move forward Vancouver Urban Timberworks wanted to achieve as a business.

“We really needed to move on in terms of equipment—with the Alaskan Chainsaw Mill, we were running every single slab by hand,” says Hagge. “We looked around at other equipment, but we had really agreed years ago that the WM1000 was the logical next step for us as a business.”

But, of course, they had to build a track record as a successful operating company before they could get financing for this equipment.

“We had a good business plan, but regardless of that, we were still 20-something

kids with no financial history, and no credit history for the business. So we needed to build our business first,” says Savics.

“Once we did that, we knew that to run an efficient business running wide material, we needed a proper sawmill.

And we did not want to just buy something a bit better—we wanted to buy the best. When we saw the WM1000, we knew it was the saw for us.”

Wood-Mizer’s long history, and its record of supporting customers, were also convincing factors in their choice—as were the capabilities of the WM1000.

“We need a mill that can cut on the smaller end, at 36 inches, to the wide end, 66 inches,” says Hagge.

Reflecting the solid business approach Hagge and Savics take, they travelled to a few places in the U.S. that are using the WM1000—and received good reports on its performance.

“Before the WM1000, it seems that a lot of companies were refurbishing really old saws and old carriage mills, with some interesting equipment fabrications being done,” says Hagge. Interesting is probably an understatement.

“So when the WM1000 came out, everyone in the slab industry was really excited—it is an affordable, quality, great production mill for a medium volume business.” to page 30

28

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - November 2015

smallsawmilling from page 28 Since they’ve had the WM1000, they’ve been cutting a lot of customer wood, but they are working at achieving more of a balance, and looking to cut more of the urban wood they source, and building up their inventory.

The two partners report that the WM1000 has worked out very well. The experience they had running the smaller equipment mill made a difference. “It has helped, having that experience running the smaller bandsaw mill,” says Hagge.

“That was a big help—the WM1000 is basically a much larger bandsaw mill.”

From the research they’ve done, they don’t expect the WM1000 to require much in the way of maintenance. “From what we’ve heard from other people running the equipment, such as Goby Walnut in Portland, Oregon, the saw is almost maintenance-free.”

Most of the time, the maintenance is focused on the bandsaw blades, which is so important, says Hagge. “If you maintain a sharp blade with a proper set, you’re going to cut straight.”

And they are getting straight and nicely finished wood products. In the past, they’ve often used their CNC equipment in North Vancouver to level material.

“But with the cutting we’re doing now, the wood looks like it has come out of a planer,” says Savics.

“It’s all about a sharp blade and the set—if you have anything mixed up with your blade sharpening, you’ll get a wandering cut. And if you are cutting 60–plus inches, your blade has to be perfect,” says Hagge.

“It’s quite the art,” he added, noting they have set up their own sharpening and setting equipment. “The sharpening is easy—making sure we maintain a proper set is going to be a learning curve for us.”

Hagge takes care of the technical saw aspects, such as the sharpening and setting. The two partners balance each other remarkably well in the business.

“We’re both capable of doing the other person’s work, but we’re almost polar opposites in what we bring to the business,” says Savics. “We really know what our strengths are, and I think that’s why our business partnership is so strong.

“Danny is the hands-on, equipment guy,” adds Savics. ‘We’re lucky to have his skills and ingenuity because despite upkeep and maintenance, breakdowns still happen with sawmill equipment.”

Savics focuses more on the sales and service side, though he is also learning more about trees and the milling side.

“We’re still learning every day on the best way to deal with our product, from log to lumber,” he says. “When we first started out, we would pick up anything the tree service people would offer us. But now we understand urban wood better.”

For example, twists or a crotch in a tree can be a sure sign of trouble. “Half of it might turn out to be firewood or a slight crotch could result in rot through the whole centre of a log. We now know more about what to avoid.”

Hagge says the two partners offer complimentary business skills. “We used to run everything together,” he says. “But Eric always leaned towards wanting to deal with sales and customers. And I always liked the production work. We easily agreed on where we were strong and where we wanted to go.

“I like to see a log opened up, and turned into eight slabs,” says Hagge. “My idea of production is to see four logs cut a day, sticked, stacked and stickered and ready for the kiln.”

The whole area of drying such large slabs of wood has been an interesting challenge. “We’re not talking about drying

30

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - November 2015

2 x 4s or large timbers and beams—the science of drying that type of wood has been figured out pretty well,” says Hagge.

“We’re dealing with drying wide diameter hardwoods, and big thicknesses. Our drying process is so different.

“Softwood can be pretty straightforward—hardwoods are a whole another matter. With the hardwood cellular structure, the drying process is so intricate.

Slow, slow drying is the only way to deal with hardwoods.”

Sometimes there might be some imperfections in the wood, but that is often welcomed by the woodworkers who are buying it, as they are producing artisan products, such as custom furniture. As far as they’re concerned, twists and cracks add character to the wood.

With the new sawmilling equipment in place and working well, Savics and Hagge are starting to think about the next step for the business, which would likely be setting up a larger woodworking shop and showroom in the Vancouver area, to complement the Squamish production facility. They’d also like to expand the online sales component of the business.

“We always thought that people would want to physically see the material they are buying, but that is not necessarily so,” says Savics. “That could definitely open up a new revenue avenue for us.”

Their six years in business have not been without challenges. But their slow and steady approach has paid off.

“We have had hiccups, especially in terms of machinery,” says Savics. “But I think the reason the setbacks haven’t buried us is that we are quite deliberate and analytical in the moves we make.

Everything we do has been backed by a ton of research, due diligence and a lot of conversations between us.”

And there have been a lot of conversations with people in the industry, who Savics and Hagge both note have been very generous with their time.

Along the way, they have had mentors such as Peter Dickson at drying operation FraserWood, who they have worked with, and who has spent many an hour with Hagge and Savics talking about the intricacies of drying. “Peter may not realize it, but he has been a huge mentor for us,” says Savics.

The support they have received, along with their efforts, will pay off, they believe. “All of our patience and hard work together is going to build this sawmill to be a pretty well-known custom sawmill in the Lower Mainland and B.C.,” says Hagge.

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smallsawmilling

Workers for Sawmill Sid, a portable sawmilling and consulting company located near Toronto, position logs on a portable sawmill in an urban salvage yard, for processing into solid wood products.

Sawmill Sid shoots—and scores, with hockey sticks Producing everything from guitars to hockey sticks, Ontario mill operation Sawmill Sid is working hard to see that the trees in Toronto that have been hit by the Emerald Ash Borer have added value, and don’t just end up in tub grinders.

32

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - November 2015

By Tony Kryzanowski

E

xperts predict that nearly all of the City of Toronto’s 850,000 white ash trees will die over the next decade because of attacks from an invasive Asian insect called the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB).

But one enterprising portable sawmill company located north of the city is making sure the fibre doesn’t end up in tub grinders.

The EAB appeared in Michigan in 2002 in packaging material from Asia. It spread later that year to southern Ontario.

The current regulated area for the EAB in Canada takes in southern Ontario and southwestern Quebec.

Typically with this type of urban wood fibre infestation, massive amounts of infected wood are sent to landfills for disposal. But a company called Sawmill Sid, located in Perkinsfield, Ontario has found a business niche making solid wood products from these infected trees instead.

Because the company—owned by Sidney Gendron and his wife, Sheila Storey— offers portable sawmilling services, it’s a particularly good fit for processing infected ash logs because the logs cannot be transported out of a quarantined area

prior to treatment. So bringing the sawmill to the wood source, processing it into solid wood dimensions, and transporting it locally for kiln drying results in safe, higher value wood products.

As the company has discovered since it was founded in 2005, the amount of infected ash is only the proverbial tip of the iceberg of the massive amount of urban wood available for re-purposing into solid wood products. In addition to white ash, which currently represents about 80 per cent of their production, Sawmill Sid also re-purposes other varieties of urban wood. They have even re-purposed the silver maple tree that inspired the writing of the song, “The Maple Leaf Forever” by Alexander Muir in 1867—the year that Canada became a country.

“Parts of that tree have become bracelets for the Pan-Am Games, there’s furniture that has gone overseas, and Jim Cuddy from the band ‘Blue Rodeo’ has made a couple of guitars from it,” says Gendron, adding that their participation and the recognition garnered from this particular job catapulted the business forward.

Most other contractors contacted by the City of Toronto about this salvage job just wanted to cut the tree up into firewood.

In addition to re-purposing urban wood, Sawmill Sid also provides a valuable service to forest plantation owners for breaking down large diameter logs into components that can more easily be processed by their sawmill customers.

The backbone of the business is working with individuals and municipalities that want to make better use of wood from old buildings such as barns, trees damaged by storms, trees in forest plantations, wood salvaged from land development, or trees removed from municipal parks and boulevards.

Sawmill Sid provides both consulting and portable sawmilling services, with the goal of finding a home for all tree parts, from the stump to the branches. Their clients have first crack at the solid wood products they produce. In the case of contract work for municipalities, the company will produce lumber according to the needs of their shopping list.

“We don’t leave anything behind,” says Gendron. “It doesn’t matter if it is sawdust, wood chips, the bark—there is a buyer for every part of that tree when we are done. We’ll put tarps down under our sawmills when we are sawmilling, even in the bush, because we can capture that waste and take it to market.”

This is as opposed to the common practice among municipalities of simply tub grinding the wood collected in their landfills or processing as much as they can into firewood as a means of disposal.

“We’re trying to work with people and get them to recognize that there is a better value turning all those logs into valuable lumber,” says Gendron. “We have a number of municipalities working with us now.” That includes the municipalities of Pickering, Markham, and Richmond. They are also in discussions with Simcoe County on making better use of their waste wood.

Sawmill Sid started with a Norwood LumberMate 2000 portable sawmill. Gendron describes it as a very durable and versatile sawmill that has provided the company with a remarkable amount of uptime. While it may look small, they purchased extensions for it and were able to regularly breakdown logs that were 25’ long and 30” in diameter.

Their fleet has since expanded to include a new Wood-Mizer LT40 portable sawmill and a Norwood LumberPro HD36. They also own a custom-made, portable sawmill built for them by a Toronto engineering firm, All-Weld. This custom sawmill allows them to process a 60” log. The company also works with four other to page 34 Logging & Sawmilling Journal - November 2015

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smallsawmilling from page 33 portable sawmill contractors to meet their customers’ needs, as required. Because of the amount of work the company is doing and the amount of manual labor involved in this endeavor, Gendron says they have definitely trended toward new portable sawmills with more hydraulic controls to make their jobs less labor-intensive—but they have kept their more manual sawmills around, particularly for use in colder weather when the hydraulics on their newer sawmills struggle. Their business is a year-round endeavor.

Gendron adds that their business model can be replicated in other parts of Canada, particularly in regions where there are a lot of damaged or diseased trees in urban areas. The area infected with the mountain pine beetle came to mind.

They have an impressive customer list that includes Weston Forest Products through its office in Toronto. Sawmill Sid is the only portable sawmill firm that the forest company contracts in Ontario, calling on them to mill larger dimension logs such as red pine into smaller dimensions for further processing in one of the company’s large, dimension sawmills. They also purchase any popular hardwood or softwood dimensional lumber that Sawmill Sid can provide.

Sawmill Sid also works with a large real estate investment firm, Bentall Kennedy, to reclaim downed timber from commercial and residential construction sites and they supply solid wood products to a variety of custom furniture makers and wood workers. An organization in the west end of Toronto called Partners In Project Green are highly supportive of their services because of their urban wood re-purposing mission.

Gendron says the endeavor started like many others—as a hobby, with the intention to mill the wooden structural components from an old barn for use in a post and beam family home. He was working in the home construction industry at the time and credits his wife, who has a strong accounting background, for really recognizing the business potential of offering consulting services for re-purposing urban wood as well as custom portable sawmilling services. The result was an investment in a higher quality, commercial grade, portable sawmilling unit rather than a smaller hobby model.

“It kind of snowballed from there,” says Gendron. “When people who knew us from the construction industry discovered that we had the portable sawmill, as well as

other contractors, renovators, and building supply stores, they saw us as a value-added business to them rather than competition.”

Since then, Gendron and Storey have downsized their home construction business to grow their consulting and portable sawmilling business.

Gendron adds that he had no idea just how much urban wood was available to re-purpose into solid wood products until he started promoting his services, and doubts that many members of the public have any idea either.

The business, which now caters to customers throughout Ontario, is on a growth trajectory with the recent expansion of their portable sawmill fleet, “and in a sad way, it has been because of the ash borer beetle,” says Gendron.

Soon, they expect to have as many as 20 employees, many of whom have already received intensive training in portable sawmilling techniques. The company is also a leader in helping individuals, companies like Bentall Kennedy and Ontario municipalities deal with the impact of the EAB, having educated themselves on the rules dictated by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) on the proper management, transport and use of the infected ash wood fibre.

“They (Bentall Kennedy) are a firm believer in what we are doing and they have been bringing business to us,” Gendron.

“We are not just a portable sawmill company anymore. We have actually taken it to the point where these companies will come to us and ask us what they can do with the timber.”

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Sawmill Sid had a portable sawmill custom made so that they could break down logs up to 60” in diameter. Wood milled by Sawmill Sid has been re-purposed for such end products as hockey sticks and baseball bats.

In addition to managing the wood fibre, their clients also want the manufactured solid wood products to stay local.

So wood milled by Sawmill Sid has been re-purposed for such end products as hockey sticks, baseball bats, and firewood for pizza ovens. They are even in negotiations with a Toronto company interested in securing some of their wood fibre for the production of biofuels.

“We’ve been doing our research to find the best possible use for this wood,” says Gendron, “and that has garnered us some business and attention.” While the attention hasn’t always been positive, he adds that it’s a different world today where the public wants to find the best possible use for that urban wood resource. People are questioning whether it should be used simply for firewood, or sold to local artisans to manufacture furniture or other value-added products.

“Support local” is a big part of their business philosophy, and that includes the purchase of their portable sawmills. They try to support local business as much as possible, wherever they are working, and they also donate a lot of solid wood particularly to schools for use by students.

“Our company is a value-adding service to basically mom and pop operations right up to multi-million dollar companies,” says Gendron. Their goal is to become the largest portable sawmilling company in Ontario, where businesses and municipalities call them first before anyone else.

November 2015

The Edge Better, Faster, Cheaper:

Airborne LiDAR and Enhanced Forest Inventory taking off across Canada

I

f you were walking in a Canadian forest this past summer, there is a probability you might have got zapped by a laser.

That’s because LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging, also known as Airborne Laser Scanning), as part of Enhanced Forest Inventories (EFI), is taking off across Canada. But not to worry, it’s perfectly safe… nor will you know you just got scanned by LiDAR. A recent informal compilation of usage of the technology across Canada revealed over five million hectares (ha) of forested land where EFI has been created (Table 1). There is also 25+ million ha of forested land base across Canada where Airborne LiDAR has been flown, but a full EFI has not yet been generated. A further 50+ million ha is in the planning or proposed stages for LiDAR acquisition.

So why the uptake of a technology that has been viewed as expensive? Well, according to suppliers, costs are coming down: Technological improvements and new entries to the North American LiDAR

survey industry (there are now several LiDAR systems in B.C. alone) have pushed the per hectare cost of LiDAR data to alltime lows.1 Costs have plummeted.2 And while costs are going down, benefits are going up. Cost-benefit studies3,4 have consistently shown a two-year or less payback for those adopting the technology. Estimates provided by forest company Tembec5 show a savings of $1.57/m3 harvested. The Province of Quebec has estimated a savings6 to the forest industry of $2.13/m3 harvested. J.D. Irving has described the technology to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Natural Resources with this statement: “It’s a Game-Changer”.7 And it’s not just in Canada where the scanners are flying. An early report8 by the US Forest Service (USFS) provided a favourable comparison of the costbenefits of a LiDAR based inventory vs. a traditional inventory for annual sampling in a 500,000 ha even-aged managed forest, reporting a time savings of 28 per cent

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and dollar savings of 45 per cent. A 2011 study9 by the USFS in Oregon on an operational implementation of LiDAR-based EFI concluded it was cost competitive compared to traditional methods for areas of 20,000 ha and greater. Oregon has since gone ahead with a full acquisition at the state level. The government of Montana is evaluating an acquisition for the state, referring to Oregon’s program. The State of Maine has reported10 a benefit to cost ratio of 4:1, with a payback of 2.3 years for all uses within a State sponsored LiDAR acquisition. Forest resource management was ranked as the third highest benefit and that’s just from the better terrain models. An Australian study11 in a 250,000 ha forest showed positive cash flow after two years, and a five year total NPV of AU$1.4 million.

There is ‘pull’ from the industry for the provinces to adopt the technology as part of provincial inventories: It is urgent that Government acquires and makes LiDAR coverage available for the entire

The Edge Province (N.B.) as soon as possible.12 New Brunswick has responded and plans to cover 7.8 million ha by 2022 (Table 1). In B.C., where the technology offers significant savings in the mountainous terrain, there is even greater industry pull: The Truck Loggers Association has made the recommendation to the Ministry of Forests that it deploy LiDAR in its Pacific Timber Sales Area (PTSA) review, as the TFL take-backs have made the inventory patchy.13 In the B.C. Legislature, it was recently asked why isn’t the Province of B.C. using the technology in provincial forest inventories14: “Next question: what technology is being used for inventory in B.C.? Why isn’t the best LiDAR technology available that’s being used in Alberta?” Question from B. Routley to Hon. S. Thompson, Minister, March 5, 2015.

The Ministry is not being left behind15.

“The Ministry (B.C.) is using new technology in testing LiDAR sensing technology to update forest inventory information. The technology is providing quality information in a shorter time period, enabling better informed decisions related to the forest resource.”

Better, Faster, Cheaper. If a technology has these three characteristics, it is very likely to be rapidly taken up in operational situations. From the get-go, everyone realized that LiDAR-based EFI was better.

Now, as the big picture clears on all the uses the data can be put to, it is rapidly being realized as cheaper. Research and experience will only lead to the technology becoming faster.

LiDAR and Enhanced Forest Inventories are earning their stripes for all three characteristics—and uptake is increasing across Canada.

Table 1: Informal scan of operational scale adoptions of LiDAR for forestry purposes and Enhanced Forest Inventory.

Details and comments

Atlantic

All four Atlantic provinces have partnered in a proposal to capture A-Lidar at 6 hits/m2 over 23,000,000 ha. In Newfoundland, the Corner Brook Pulp and Paper flagship site (119,000 ha of strips in a sampling design) is saving the company money by substituting less expensive balsam fir based upon EFI showing where wood of suitable density is located.

The Black Brook pilot study in N.B. (194,000 ha with EFI) has proven very successful with J.D. Irving calling it a ‘Game Changer’. The Province of N.B. has 1,500,000 ha of LiDAR coverage with another 1,700,000 ha for 2015 and plans to get to full coverage of 7,800,000 ha by 2022.

Quebec

Quebec has about 7,700,000 ha of LiDAR (all uses). MFFPQDirection des inventaires forestiers has LiDAR coverage for Lac St.-Jean (2012, 1,200,000 ha), Mauricie (2014, 130,000 ha), and a proposal for Outaouais (2015). MFFPQ-DIF has released its costs/benefit study for a provincial level adoption of LiDAR (52,500,000 ha).

Ontario

Tembec’s Hearst (1,250,000 ha) and Romeo-Malette (625,000 ha) flagship sites have operationally used LiDAR and EFI for several years with annual savings of $2.4 million.

Manitoba and Saskatchewan No known adoptions for forestry.

For more information: Steve D’Eon, Knowledge Exchange Specialist, Canadian Wood Fibre Centre sdeon@nrcan.gc.ca 613 639-1037 Sources: 1 http://www.chartwell-consultants.com/ affordable-lidar/ 2 http://www.silvatech.ca/environmental-management-projects.html 3 http://www.cif-ifc.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/ Woodsjan22.pdf slide 48.

4 http://www.cif-ifc.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/ Platt_BPG_2014.pdf slides 26, 27.

5 http://www.woodbusiness.ca/wood-panels/ tech-advantage 6 http://www.mffp.gouv.qc.ca/publications/forets/connaissances/Analyse_retombees_LiDAR-Finale.pdf

Region

Alberta

The Province of Alberta acquired LiDAR at 2 hits/m2 for the entire working area (28,000,000 ha). West Fraser Hinton and Sundre flagship sites (989,000 and 535,000 ha) have benefited from EFI for several years. One major licence (1,200,000 ha) has adopted EFI. Several other companies were evaluating their options as of May 2015.

Interior B.C.

The Clearwater area was flown (65,000 ha) in 2006 for A-LiDAR. The Fort Nelson and Fort St. John areas were flown prior to 2010. The Horn River Basin in northeastern B.C. was flown (70,000 ha) for oil and gas but made available for forestry purposes. One division of a company in the Kootenay area and in the Central Interior (430,000 ha) have LiDAR.

Coastal B.C.

BCTS along with Western Forest Products partnered on an 114,000 ha area on northern Vancouver Island. BCTS has acquired/is acquiring LiDAR for blocks in the Seaward, Strait of Georgia, and Chinook operating areas. Coastal companies have acquired about 1,000,000 ha of LiDAR with some building an EFI; others have committed to acquiring a full LiDAR.

http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?DocId=7861684&Language=E&Mode=1 8 http://www.ndep.gov/USDAFS_LIDAR.pdf 9 J. of Forestry Vol. 109(5): 267-273.

10 http://www.maine.gov/geolib/projects/LiDAR/ USGS_Maine_Fact_Sheet2014.pdf 11 http://silvilaser2012.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Silvilaser2012_Full_Proceedings.pdf page 146.

12 http://www2.gnb.ca/content/dam/gnb/Departments/nr-rn/pdf/en/ForestsCrownLands/ScheduleC. pdf page 29

http://www.tla.ca/sites/default/files/news_ policy/2014-fall_truckloggerbc_lidarcanprovideinsight_sorensen.pdf page 33 14 http://www.leg.bc.ca/ hansard/40th4th/20150305pm-CommitteeA-Blues. htm 15 http://www.cofi.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/ bc_industry_impact_01-2015.pdf page 35.

With files from Sandra Allen, Dean Toole, and Caroline Gosslin (CWFC), and Matt Kurowski and Colin Koszman (FPInnovations).

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - November 2015

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The Edge

Think tank identifies Mexico as primary target market for more softwood lumber exports

By Tony Kryzanowski

C

anada’s Softwood Lumber Agreement with the United States expired in October. This could have a significant impact on western Canadian softwood lumber producers as two-thirds of Canadian lumber production is in the West.

According to the Canada West Foundation (CWF), a public policy think tank, Canadian lumber exporters should prepare for life without a Softwood Lumber Agreement (SLA) while learning from their positive experiences developing other markets like China and Japan. Their focus should be on Mexico as a primary target, says the CWF. Representatives from CWF delivered this particularly timely message at this year’s Alberta Forest Products Association (AFPA) convention. Alberta Innovates Bio Solutions (AI Bio) is a major and long term sponsor of the event, given its focus on initiatives to advance the development of the bio-economy in Alberta. The forest industry, along with agriculture, are two areas where AI Bio focuses its efforts to fulfill its mandate.

The message of the need for diversification that was delivered by CWF representatives was sweet music to the ears of AI Bio Chief Executive Officer, Steve Price. AI Bio has been promoting both product and market diversification within the province’s forest sector for years, as a hedge against too much dependence on the American softwood lumber market.

“I think we will always export softwood lumber to the U.S. market, but I think the real growth opportunity is to be in these other markets and to develop alternate product lines, which will result in alternative revenue streams and a buoyant and successful industry in Alberta,” Price says.

“AI Bio is here to help industry investigate potential new bioindustrial products as an alternative to softwood lumber, and industry should spend at least the next year

investigating opportunities in this area.”

To put Canada’s dependence on the American market for softwood lumber into perspective, CWF noted in its report entitled, “Branching Out – Preparing for Life Without a Softwood Lumber Agreement,” that 66 per cent of all Canadian softwood lumber was shipped to the United States in 2014. Three-quarters of softwood production is in western Canada.

“Every time housing starts to improve in the United States, we run back to that market,” Trevor McLeod, Director of the Centre for Natural Resources Policy at CWF told a rapt audience at the AFPA convention. While the recently expired SLA was popular with some Canadian producers because it brought export stability and predictability, McLeod said there is considerable danger in depending too much on the U.S. market. Nor should Canadian exporters expect the U.S. to rush back to the negotiating table for a new SLA any time soon.

“The Americans are not interested in an SLA because they have bigger fish to fry,” McLeod said. “They have decided to update the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).” So now instead of freer trade among Canada, the United States and Mexico with NAFTA, the TPP brings 12 countries to the table.

“Our ability to move the Americans on

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issues that are important to us is going to be a lot more difficult,” said McLeod.

So how should Canadian softwood lumber producers prepare for life without an SLA? Carlo Dade, CWF Director of the Centre for Trade & Investment Policy, said there are export opportunities built into both NAFTA and the TPP, adding that Canadian softwood lumber exporters have an opportunity to build on the success they’ve had establishing new markets in both Japan and China.

“The rise of the middle class worldwide is creating greater demand for consumer products,” he said. “And countries like Chile, Vietnam and Mexico have significantly growing consuming classes.” Canada and Mexico are free trade partners in NAFTA, and both Chile and Vietnam are free trade partners with Canada in the TPP. Dade said that the real prize among these three is Mexico. Yet for some unknown reason, Canadian softwood lumber exporters have not exploited this market, even though it represents an easily accessible and attractive market for softwood lumber. Canada not only has a free trade agreement with Mexico through NAFTA, but excellent direct rail, road and marine access to this market.

“There really is no better case for us than Mexico,” he said. Currently, 55 per cent of softwood lumber exports to Mexico are from the United States and 27 percent from Chile. Canada is currently in sixth spot, despite Mexican construction workers having considerable experience building with Canadian softwood lumber.

“Canadian softwood lumber exporters are already selling to Mexicans in the United States, as 25 percent of the U.S. construction workforce is Hispanic,” Dade concluded.

The Edge

Short rotation woody crop commercialization is on the cusp as the world focuses on green energy and a changing climate

By Tony Kryzanowski

C

anadian investment into research programs over the past 15 years to develop new sources of woody biomass feedstock for use in bioenergy and bioproducts applications is paying off, as work done to establish best practices and systems, research plantation sites, and demonstration pilot projects has brought this technology to the cusp of commercial application.

In addition to feedstock options to help develop the bioenergy industry, Derek Sidders, program lead with the Silviculture and Afforestation Innovation Group (SAIG), says: “We are also looking at providing methodologies for developing fibre sources that can be customized to meet the niche requirements of bioproducts innovators.”

Sidders adds that SAIG’s work has been focused on establishing and managing short rotation woody fibre plantations; optimizing individual components along the supply chain from the plantation to the end user in areas such as harvesting, recovery, conditioning, pre-processing and transportation; and evaluation of the growth and characteristics of the feedstock as it relates to product value, carbon budgets, and its cleansing attributes for land, air and water.

System development work has resulted in a national network of research plantation sites situated right across Canada, demonstrating different management practices, feedstock with different rotation ages, and fibre samples grown specifically to meet the needs of niche bioproduct industries.

In some instances, the sites demonstrate high yield afforestation of large stem, purpose-grown fibre.

“These plantations, primarily consisting

of blocks of identical hybrid poplar clones, are located all across Canada, typically resulting in trees that are 25 to 30 centimetres in diameter and 18 to 22 metres tall,” says Sidders. “They have growth characteristics and fibre attributes that are very similar, which provides us with the ability to customize the growing stock to meet the needs of a final user.”

Researchers have also developed another plantation design resulting in concentrated woody biomass suited for power production as a possible alternative to coal, consisting of hedge plantations of willow, hybrid poplar and clonal aspen with short rotation of only three to five years.

“The intent of these plantations is to grow biomass in very short timeframes, recover them, and grow multiple coppice crops from the individual stumps, which typically have a longevity of up to 22 years,” says Sidders. “So we should be able to harvest up to seven rotations from each root system.” An added value with this system is that it could potentially be used to ameliorate and rehabilitate forest sites disturbed for other land uses.

A third plantation design that researchers have developed is the mixed wood afforestation model, consisting of fastgrowing hybrid poplar or aspen growing as a cover crop, along with softwoods such as white spruce, white pine, or other tolerant softwood species that have localized and regional potential. In addition to offering multiple commercial crops, establishing these types of plantations has the potential to help jurisdictions adapt to a changing climate.

“This gives us a good bang for our buck in terms of protecting softwood stems from increasingly extreme climate risk

while rehabilitating sites by re-establishing woody root systems and capturing leaf fall from the fast growing hybrids,” says Sidders.

The hardwoods could be carefully harvested after 12 to 16 years. After removal, the established softwoods would then release to become a second crop.

“From a changing climate standpoint, trees grown in this plantation model also sequester carbon, carry carbon, and create a new value on that site, with the potential for fibre use in both conventional forest products as well as developing bioproducts,” says Sidders.

This model has the added advantage of potential use to rehabilitate sites or to increase the productivity of existing sites using a mixed configuration of native species assisted by a short rotation woody crop.

Sidders says there are a number of initiatives underway from coast to coast evaluating short rotation woody biomass as an alternative to fossil fuels in energy production, making better use of marginal to moderate quality land, and as a diversification strategy among farmers where a portion of their land is dedicated to both agricultural production and to afforestation.

“We are on the cusp of commercializing these systems mostly with the push for biofuels and green energy being a great option for reducing greenhouse gases,” Sidders says.

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - November 2015

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For more information about the vast catalogue of practical approaches to establishing, maintaining and capitalizing on short rotation woody fibre crops in Canada for commercial use in either bioenergy or bioproduct development, contact Derek Sidders at (780) 435-7355.

TECHUPDATE

By Tony Kryzanowski

Printing and Labeling are detected in sequence, the system will inform production staff and automatically stop the line.

Complete with a human-machine interface, IdealSTAMP provides operators with historical quality trends, simple calibration, and an integrated sensor display. To complement its streamlined installation, this system is easily integrated into PLC networks, has customizable alarming and can be readily supported remotely. www.amss.ca

Autolog

AMS Solutions

Automated stamp and label monitoring is a requirement in modern planer mills, and AMS Solutions has used its machine vision and controls expertise to produce IdealSTAMP. This vision system inspects multiple areas of a lumber stamp to ensure quality levels are maintained and stamp/print heads are operating properly. If quality scores drop below userconfigured thresholds, or a preset number of unstamped boards

The days of rubber wheels are over, says Autolog. The company’s second generation ProGSP lumber marking system is built on the company’s reputation of high print quality, durability, reliability and lowest cost of ownership.

Further integrating the HP thermal inkjet technology, the new customizable and compact system is designed for the harsh environment of mills, thus increasing uptime. Maintenance is simplified and downtime minimized by an electric height positioning

actuator. Extremely user-friendly interface allows hassle-free integration and reduces dependency on customer line control by streamlining print commands, says the company.

Key features include: direct real time Ethernet/IP connectivity (Allen-Bradley ControlLogix and PLC5) or configurable ASCII serial communication is available; double speed mode; an entirely configurable and flexible user interface; adjustable print density by print controller; and automatic print job loading. www.autolog.com

Timberstar

Printing on lumber has its own set of unique challenges such as dust, vibrations, and extremely fast moving, unstable lumber.

In the midst of this, every stamp on a piece of lumber must meet a strict set of requirements in terms of clarity and accuracy.

Peter Wiebe, a planer mechanic in Vanderhoof, B.C., solved

to page 42 40

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - November 2015

T E C H N O LO G I E S F O R T H E S AW M I L L I N D U ST RY

D a m i e n M E Y E R L I N C K G m b H Montreal-CANADA  : +1 450 449 9173 @ : d.meyer@linck.com

www.linck.com

Success by competence and experience    

more than 140 profiling lines in operation worldwide Sawlines with sideboard optimisation since 1983 Sawlines with curve sawing since 1989 Sawlines processing sorted and unsorted logs

Innovation. Quality.

Profitability.

MADE IN GERMANY

techupdate from page 40 the common issues related to lumber marking by engineering and producing a new grade printer. Now, over 30 years later, Timberstar Manufacturing Ltd. is still innovating and improving the art of printing on lumber in modern high speed planer mills.

Brothers Jake Wiebe and John Wiebe have grown the business into an international success story, with lumber printer installations worldwide. The average mill realizes enough savings in operating and maintenance costs to pay for the investment of a new Timberstar printer in just three months, says the company.

Timberstar is still a family-owned and operated company that places a high priority on customer satisfaction. www.timberstar.ca

Samuel

The Samuel Coding and Labeling Group has fully automated lumber bar code and ink jet grade mark systems operating dependably and consistently in some of the highest producing mills in the world.

With numerous installations in locations ranging from the Alaska Highway to Florida, the Samuel bar coding and ink jet grade mark systems have proven their performance in a very wide range of severe environments. Designed to easily integrate

into mills, Samuel’s systems offer numerous options including integrated Allen-Bradley Ethernet modules for ControLogix.

Samuel provides complete service including hardware, software, controls and installation, as well as ongoing support. www.samuelsystems.com

Z-TEC Automation Systems

The Z-TEC WinJet II lumber marking system demonstrates the latest in industrial printing technology. WinJet II maintains its lead by continuously evolving and incorporating new features and designs, like Z-TEC’s proprietary capping and wiping stations, so workers don’t have to lock out and climb out on the line just to wipe a cartridge.

42

With up to 300 distinct messages per minute, the high quality graphics and text options allow operators to print variable information on to the product without slowing production. Everything from project conception and system design, to the installation plan is tailored to meet the specific needs of customers. Z-TEC Automation Systems also offers 24/7/365 day support for its products. www.ztec.com

International Bar Coding

The International Bar Coding PA10G printer applicator is the culmination of 20 years’ experience in the home building products industry.

The PA10G is designed from the ground up for the rugged requirements of the modern mill environment. Implementation of a PA10G provides accurate and robust labeling solutions at the speeds of next generation handling lines in an adaptable package configurable to operate through PC, PLC, or manual control. Enclosed in a warehouse grade heavy duty steel case, the PA10G’s internalized components and limited amount of moving parts mean less wear on components, longer periods between tune-ups and better return over the lifetime of its purchase. It is able to accurately print and apply over 300 pieces per minute. www.ibcworld.net

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - November 2015

SUPPLIERNEWSLINE Trelleborg manufactures its first tire in North America

Trelleborg has manufactured its very first tire in North America at its new production facility in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

The 430,000 square feet production facility is Trelleborg’s first plant in North America dedicated to the manufacture of premium radial tires. The facility utilizes state-of-the-art equipment designed to the latest Trelleborg technology standards.

“Having a manufacturing presence in North America is central to our growth strategy,” said Andrea Masella, country manager, agricultural and forestry tires, Trelleborg Wheel Systems Americas.

The production of the company’s first North American-made tire represents a significant milestone for Trelleborg, and for its customers, he added.

The new production facility enables the company to increase production capacity and ensure close proximity of Trelleborg premium tires both for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and tire dealers.

North American customers can now know that Trelleborg’s industry leading tires are manufactured in the U.S. With a modern facility in a prime location and the opportunity to capitalize on existing partnership agreements with major OEMs and distributors—facilitating the transfer of technology from one part of the world to another—the company is confident it is well positioned to face the future, said Masella.

The Spartanburg plant is one of the most automated manufacturing facilities in the industry, said Marco D’Angelo, Industrial Director, Trelleborg Wheel Systems. “This enables us to guarantee the highest standard of production to customers across the North American market,” he added.

The Spartanburg production facility represents an investment of $50 million and plans are to create up to 150 jobs by 2018. www.trelleborg.com/wheels

Southstar introduces new smaller sized head: the QS450 harvester/processor

The fast and versatile Southstar QS450 harvester/processor head is said to be perfect for a steady diet of smaller diameter wood in the 14” to 20” range. Designed for a carrier in the 16 to 24 ton size class, the head is a good choice for harvesting, processing, thinning and in-woods debarking operations, says Southstar.

With four extra-wide feed rollers for increased surface contact, this multi-tree high production processor is packed full of design features that set it apart from the competition, according to the company. Some of these new features include the patent pending Side Stepping drive which allows the operator to align butts and trim defects out of one stem, but not the other.

44

By Tony Kryzanowski

Other features of the QS450 include dual find end sensors to eliminate waste when multi-tree processing.

To extend the working life of these new heads, Southstar has incorporated a number of design features such as hose through routing, DGlide bushings and taper lock collars and fabricated delimbing arms with replaceable wear resistant cutting edges. www.southstarequipment. com

Autolog develops new modular scanner frame

Autolog has developed a modular scanner frame for its line of transverse trimmer, edger, and gang/bull edger optimizers.

This new frame offers an opportunity for a substantial reduction in total project costs. With its convenient modular design, the frame can be set up on site by section, even at mills with difficult access, providing the customer with an easy and cost efficient way to replace their obsolete frame with a new state-of-the-art frame.

With Autolog’s new modular scanner frame, it is no longer necessary to open the roof to remove an existing frame to replace it with the new one, no longer necessary to rent a costly crane and be influenced by the weather conditions, and no longer necessary to disassemble and re-assemble the chain races already in place as each section of the modular frame can be built directly around them.

Autolog offers increased savings in transportation costs by delivering the frame in sections on a pallet, and the company can pre-design and build the frame according to the substructures’ existing footprint, without any extra costs. www.autolog.com

European kiln company establishes Canadian subsidiary

Valutec is taking the plunge into the North American market, and the investment has begun with the formation of a subsidiary, Valutec Wood Dryers Inc., which will be headquartered in Vancouver.

“We see great opportunities to expand into the world market, especially since the interest in our new generation of continuous kilns continues to rise,” says Robert Larsson, Valutec CEO.

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - November 2015

to page 46

suppliernewsline from page 44 The investment means Valutec steps into a market that has a long tradition of wood processing. This is an advantage, according to Larsson.

Valutec, with its long history of lumber drying, is a market leader in Europe. Over the years, the company has delivered more than 3,000 batch kilns and 1,000 continuous kilns, primarily to the Nordic countries, but it has also delivered many kilns to major sawmill markets like Germany and Russia.

Canadian wood product buyers informed on sustainable forest practices

The Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) and PwC Canada have released an updated Buyers’ Guide to Canada’s Sustainable Forest Products so that customers can be well-informed and confident that their purchasing decisions are environmentally and socially responsible.

The guide provides practical advice to

help ensure buying decisions go beyond the traditional concerns of price, quality, and availability to also consider environmental and social impacts such as climate change, legality and certification. It will help inform the growing number of companies who wish to adopt green procurement policies as part of their efforts to achieve their own sustainability goals.

“There is no country better than Canada when it comes to meeting the growing global demand for sustainable forest products and we welcome scrutiny of our exceptional environmental performance,” says David Lindsay, President and CEO of FPAC. “This fact-based guide will help discerning buyers feel confident of their choice in forest products sourced from Canada.” www.fpac.ca

BID Group develops partnership with Cumul8

The BID Group of Companies has created a partnership with the Cumul8 division of Eight Solutions to develop a data visualization and analytic solution for the BID Group. This solution will use Cumul8 technology and be exclusively distributed by the BID Group throughout the North American forestry industry.

“One of our core values is customer service and support,” says Alistair Cook, CEO of BID Group. “This partnership with Cumul8 will help us build a new set of standards for our customers that will move them to another level in terms of understanding raw data so they can make better-informed decisions faster, and save time and money.”

The Cumul8­–BID Group solution will provide a live, mobile, visual understanding of all of the data being generated at the operating level in individual mills and between mills. It allows users to gain a better understanding of their machine data and interpret that data in a meaningful way.

“This is an outstanding opportunity for BID and Eight to work together to solve a data analytics challenge in the forestry industry,” says Rory Armes, CEO of Eight Solutions. “Our goal is to equip BID Group with the right visual data analytic tools to assist their clients in understanding their individual company data, from the equipment on the ground floor right up to the executive offices.” www.bidgroup.ca www.valutec.se to page 48 46

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - November 2015

STIHL HARVESTER CHAIN - OUR BITE IS WORSE THAN OUR BARK! Today’s technologically advanced harvesters are pushing the envelope when it comes to size and cutting capacity.

Harvester chain is constantly under incredible stress and the chain that can perform to the high standards demanded by the forestry industry, is STIHL harvester chain. German engineered for the highest quality and manufactured at our saw chain facility in Switzerland, STIHL RMHS harvester chain will stay sharp longer and break less…it’s the best option.

• Engineered for extreme durability • Pre-stretched for extended life • OILOMATIC ® for superior lubrication • Excellent cutting characteristics • Available in .63 and .80 gauge • .404 pitch

STIHL is now offering a NEW line of Xtreme Workwear. Check out www.stihl.ca to locate a STIHL Dealer near you and look for the Xtreme Workwear logo!

ADVANCE PLUS SAFETY PANTS STIHL is excited to introduce the latest in high-performance safety apparel, ADVANCE Plus. Made with today's arborist and forest worker in mind, these NEW pants offer the ultimate in comfort and protection. If you're ready to feel the difference and take NEW your game to the next level, get yourself into these pants today.

• Schoeller ® Dryskin® outer fabric is lightweight, water-repellent, breathable and stretchable; allowing for maximum mobility and comfort • Exceeds the cUL/BNQ standard and meets the WCB-BC standard for cut protection, with 3,600 feet per minute threshold chain speed • Four layers of Kevlar ® pads in the front and back (below the knee) • Chain saw protection comes up to waistband

QUALITY AT WORK. For 89 years, STIHL has been a world-class innovator in outdoor power equipment. German engineered products featuring the latest pioneering technologies make STIHL the market leader. STIHL products are only available at independent STIHL Dealers who provide expert advice and on-site service. Thank you for supporting the leading team and for making STIHL the Number 1 Selling Brand in Canada.

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* “#1 Selling Brand in Canada” is based on an independent market share analysis of gasoline-powered handheld outdoor power equipment from 2014. Source: TraQline Canada.

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suppliernewsline Momentum building in Australia for AUSTimber2016

They may have recently lost the title for the tallest timber apartment building in the world, but that’s not stopping the Australians from further developing their timber-processing sector—and AUSTimber2016 (being held April 11 to 16, 2016) is gearing up to capitalize on this new-found enthusiasm for wood.

At an exchange rate of $U.S.1.05 in 2012, Australian exports were suffering. But now that the exchange rate is hovering below $U.S.0.75, the Australian forest products industry is showing good growth—very welcome at a time when mineral commodity prices are falling for the important Australian mining sector.

In addition to this change in fortunes at the commodity level, there are interesting developments in advanced manufacturing using timber. In a similar move to the Wood First policies of B.C., Ontario and Quebec, Latrobe City Council (the local government area in which AUSTimber2016 will be staged) adopted their own Wood Encouragement Policy earlier this year. It has also embarked on a crusade (with some success) to have this policy adopted at the municipal level throughout Australia.

With housing supply currently unable to keep up with population growth in the major Australian cities, the country is exploring new ways to deliver housing stock. This includes moving away from the traditional urban sprawl of detached houses with backyards, to embrace mid-rise buildings in inner urban settings.

Pointing to better use of existing infrastructure, planners are suggesting a similar approach to Europe where four to six storey buildings with apartments of comfortable proportions line major transport routes. As timber offers lighter weight construction, the thought is that by using prefabrication and the foundations of existing buildings, new dwellings can be supplied with minimal disruption to locals, and offer the opportunity to breathe new life into handy, but tired, neighborhoods.

The key timber states of South Australia and Victoria are now investigating ways and means of developing a stronger advanced manufacturing sector using timber, with something of a focus on prefabrication.

Apart from the carbon benefits of using wood fibre— and playing further into the timing of AUSTimber2016—a driving force is the impending demise of the automotive manufacturing sector in Australia (local assembly is slated to cease in 2017), which is based in these states. As thousands of these advanced manufacturing jobs disappear, state governments (with federal support) are looking to encourage new enterprises to replace them.

With a strong local housing market and close proximity to booming housing markets in nearby Asian countries, Australia is looking to employ advanced technology and retrained manufacturing workers to meet this demand. This is sure to be a topic under discussion at AUSTimber2016.

Canada’s technological innovations in processing timber will no doubt find an appreciative audience in the Australian timber industry.

More information about AUSTimber2016 is available at www.austimber.org.au

from page 46

Komatsu announces next-generation harvester lineup

Komatsu says that it is the first forestry OEM in North America to offer a complete line of Tier 4 final powered wheeled harvesters.

These new Komatsu 901, 911, 931 and 951 harvesters represent a totally new generation of harvesters, with breakthrough improvements in operator comfort, convenience, performance and productivity, says the company.

The operator comfort and convenience transformation begins with a totally new cab design and operating environment. The modern design features first class ergonomics, high end automotive fit and finish, and a MaxiXplorer control and information system with seven new software options and a more powerful computer.

These next-gen harvesters also include game changing technology to improve performance and productivity. The lineup features powerful, yet more fuel-efficient, Tier 4 final low emission engines, and new higher lift capacity H-series parallel cranes with 360 degree cab/crane rotation and four-way cab/crane leveling. An innovative 3PS three-pump hydraulic system design produces significantly higher hydraulic working flows, and a new hydrostatic transmission (HST) generates higher torque. The result is a totally new design, generating higher productivity and lower fuel consumption for processed timber volume, compared to prior models. www.komatsuforest.us

XR Rotators suited for extreme applications

The new Hultdins XR range consists of compact, powerful rotators designed for extreme applications. They feature superb bearing capacity and very high torque, says the company. XR rotators can handle very high dynamic and static loads in both directions, as well as high side forces.

Thanks to its compact “power-dense design” with the rotator, bearings, and swivel in a single assembly, the XR is well-protected from external damage, making it a perfect choice for the toughest environments, says the company. The XR rotators also provide large through channels for grapple cylinders or high oil flow applications. www.hultdins.com to page 50

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Logging & Sawmilling Journal - November 2015

FACTORY APPROVED

FORESTRY TESTED SATCO harvester heads are built to handle rugged logging conditions and are the only Cat Forest Products factory endorsed attachment. The Cat® machine and SATCO head are engineered and tested together. This combination provides the ultimate performance, enabling you to harvest large timber around the clock.

The full line of SATCO heads ensure there is a model well suited to the many different forest types around the globe.

Look to your Cat dealer for financing and all the machines you need for sustainable harvesting and land management, forestry road construction, hauling and millyard. Total support from one source.

© 2015 Caterpillar. All Rights Reserved. CAT, CATERPILLAR, BUILT FOR IT, their respective logos, “Caterpillar Yellow,” the “Power Edge” trade dress as well as corporate and product identity used herein, are trademarks of Caterpillar and may not be used without permission. www.cat.com www.caterpillar.com

suppliernewsline from page 48

New BRON mulchers built to take the heat

BRON has introduced a new series of mulcher models, the 490 and 590, to replace the previous generation of 475 and 500 models. Both new machines are powered by a fuelefficient Cummins QSX15 Tier-3i, 15-litre engine.

The 490 is rated at a 480 hp peak at 1800 rpm. The 590 is rated at a 589 hp peak at 1800 rpm. The increased speed rating over the previous models provides additional range for the engine to operate, and results in improved efficiency by using less fuel per horsepower.

Hydraulic power comes from closed-loop pumps for both track drives and mulching head, providing performance and control for high productivity.

The purpose-built frames that are unique between the two models incorporate new oscillating track frames with D4 as standard on the 490, with an optional D5. The 590 comes standard with D5 tracks. These tracks are powered by heavy duty planetary drives that are matched to the size of the selected undercarriage.

Two specially designed extreme service heat exchangers are built for improved cooling in even the hottest climates. www.bronrwf.com

Beka-Lube offers precise auto-lubricator

Beka-Lube Products Inc., a Canadian marketer of aftermarket automated lubrication systems, now offers a single-point lubricator, BEKAONE. The new BEKAONE single-point lubricator reliably and precisely supplies grease to any existing lube point.

It makes sense for hard-to-access and hard-to-service lube points in almost any application including motors, drives, bearings, conveyors, compressors, and chains.

“It’s easy to forget to check the lubrication every day,” says Dave McDougall, Product Manager, Beka-Lube Products. “BEKAONE takes care of servicing hard50

to-reach lubrication points on a regular basis, so you can forget.”

BEKAONE will operate independently and automatically for up to two years. It’s easy to install and refill. Set-up for lube cycle and dose is right on the pump itself and the pump displays how many cycles are remaining. BEKAONE’s compact size means it can fit into tight spaces. It also has 10 bar pressure. Each unit can be refilled up to six times manually with just a grease gun.

Manufactured in Germany, the BEKAONE is said to be tough enough for the Canadian climate. www.beka-lube.com

Uniboard to invest over $7M at Quebec MDF plant

The $7 million investment by Uniboard in its Mont-Laurier, Quebec MDF plant will increase the productivity of the plant through the use of a revolutionary new wood fibre mat-preheating technology. This process innovation is a first for North America and will allow Uniboard to better service its customer base in Canada and the U.S. This cutting edge process technology will continue to position the Mont-Laurier MDF/HDF plant as a North American leader, says the company. It will further strengthen Uniboard’s overall network of particleboard, MDF and thermally fused laminate facilities located in Sayabec, Val-d’Or, Laval and Mont-Laurier, Quebec.

The announcement related to Mont-Laurier is in line with previous announcements of major investments improving productivity at Uniboard’s mills in Sayabec and Val-d’Or, totaling some $90 million of growth investments over the next two years. www.uniboard.com

Hyster offers new short wheelbase lift truck

Hyster recently introduced its new H300HD2S and H330HD2S industrial lift trucks. Suitable for applications such as steel manufacturing, concrete and lumber, the new models are designed to offer 30,000 to 33,000 lbs of capacity with a shorter wheelbase.

These models are in response to customer demand for superb maneuverability combined with excellent capacity, says the company. Featuring an outstanding outside turning radius for the most compact operating conditions, where space is limited and ease of use is paramount, the new trucks allow users to make efficient use of facility space.

Standard to these models is a Cummins QSB 4.5 L Tier 4 Interim engine mated to a three-speed power-shift ZF WG 161 transmission, which enables smooth shifting, precise inching and fast acceleration. The powertrain is engineered to offer outstanding fuel economy while providing full-rated lifting capacity. www.hyster.com

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - November 2015

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Logging & Sawmilling Journal - November 2015

INDEX Advertiser Page Accurate Fabricating................................. 7 AusTimber 2016..................................... 51 Bandit Industries.................................... 23 Bell's Machining..................................... 21 Brandt Tractor........................................ 25 Caterpillar.............................................. 49 Cleanfix NA............................................ 17 Comact.................................................. 11 DK Spec................................ Wall Calendar Finning................................................... 29 Flexxaire................................................. 20 GCAR Design......................................... 13 Globalstar................................................ 5 GN Roy.................................................. 17 IPG - Intertape Polymer.......................... 12 John Deere............................................ 31 Linck GmbH.......................................... 41 Linden Fab............................................. 10 Nokian Tyres............................................ 2 Olofsfors / Iggesund................................ 16 Peerless.................................................. 46 Peterson................................................. 43 River Cable............................................ 26 SonicAire by IES..................................... 33 Southstar Equipment.............................. 35 Steep Slope Logging Conference............. 52 Stihl....................................................... 47 T-Mar Industries..................................... 28 Tigercat.................................................. 56 Tsubaki.................................................. 45 Waratah................................................. 55 Wood-Mizer............................................. 9 Woodland Equipment............................. 19 WorkSafeBC........................................... 21 WSCA Convention.................................. 40 Z-Tec Automation................................... 27

53

thelastword

B.C. forest companies are heading to North America's lowest cost lumber producing region—the U.S. South

By Jim Stirling

T

he levels of capital investment in British Columbia’s sawmilling industry are increasingly dependent on the political agendas of the two senior levels of government.

Forest companies are mindful of protecting their financial futures and long term interests. They will look outside B.C. for growth potential if governments don’t commit to a defined forest strategy at home which supports investment.

That is one reason why forest licencees are increasingly looking south of the border to invest, primarily in the southern yellow pine belt of the United States. The other key reason is the aftermath of the mountain pine beetle epidemic in the B.C. Interior.

The U.S South is now North America’s lowest cost lumber producing region.

More B.C. companies are looking to the U.S. for investment opportunities as a consequence, especially as the provincial and federal governments continue to vascillate about developing any cohesive vision which accommodates a constitutionally changed forest sector.

The latest large B.C.-based licencee to look south for higher returns on its investments is Conifex Timber Inc. The company spent $21 million to secure an out-of-commission sawmill in El Dorado, in southern Arkansas.

Conifex joins other major B.C.-based forest companies like Canfor, West Fraser and Interfor in diversifying into the U.S. Estimates are that B.C.-based companies now own at least 30 sawmills in the U.S., with many of those acquisitions coming within the last few years.

There’s no surprise about the timing.

It’s a case of Supply and Demand 101.

The sawlog availability in the B.C. Interior is spiralling down—steeply in some regions —as the realities of the beetle epidemic bite deeper. And, inevitably, the prices for the sawlogs that are available increases proportionately. Ergo, the B.C. Interior has lost some of its competitive sheen.

Purchasing an asset like a boarded-up sawmill in the U.S. South for a relative song is one thing. Overcoming those factors that precipitated its condition and bringing the mill up to Conifex’s standards and positioning it for consistent profitability is quite another.

Obviously Conifex’s board of directors is confident that can be accomplished with this investment, but the company still has a dilemma. It already has a major rehabilitation project on its books. Conifex plans a major consolidation and upgrade of its Mackenzie operation in north central B.C. The Mackenzie complex—like Conifex’s Fort St. James sawmill before it and now the El Dorado mill in Arkansas— were all mothballed for varying reasons by their previous owners. Conifex has learned how to turn around others’ misfortunes. The company also has an ace in the hand with its long term timber supply in B.C. The pine component was hit hard by the beetle but Conifex’s timber cutting rights in the forests north of Fort St. James and Mackenzie have healthy spruce, balsam and deciduous populations.

Conifex’s decision is should hard-toraise funds be first invested in Mackenzie or El Dorado? And that is where both levels of government could play a role in swaying the company’s ‘which first’ decision.

“The key variable that determines our spending is the program and strategy the province adopts,” pointed out Ken Shields, Conifex’s CEO in a recent interview with the Vancouver Sun newspaper. Shields was referring in part to the impacts of the Canada-U.S. softwood lumber agreement that expired at the end of October. The most recent agreement imposed taxes on Canadian softwood lumber exports to the U.S. when the commodity’s price fell below a prescribed level.

Federal fall elections in Canada have suspended negotiations between the two

54

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - November 2015

countries to hammer out a new agreement. Both countries know the outgoing agreement contains a year grace period before any new terms come into force.

It will be well into 2016 before the file is officially advanced.

B.C. has a huge inventory of beetlekilled fibre despite the concerted salvage efforts of licencees and their logging contractors. B.C. licencees are part of a forest fibre working group with the provincial government to develop ways to productively utilize more of that inventory through alternate products. These include manufacturing wood pellets from beetle residuals and electricity generation from the wood biomass.

The challenge for the province and the industry is to broker a deal that will permit the fibre to flow where it can be productively utilized. And the main sticking point there is the price of and for the raw material. It comes down to the development of new rules for a changed forest industry. That’s never easy. But fiddling with existing rules in the hope they can be stretched enough to work in a changed environment isn’t the answer.

But as that process drags on in B.C., forest companies still have to satisfy their shareholders. One strategy to help accomplish that objective is with the acquisition of U.S. sawmills.

Under the circumstances, having a business presence in both Canada and the U.S. South makes sense. And spare a thought here for B.C. forest ministry staff.

They’re part of a Liberal government preoccupied with the sole issue of advancing LNG exports. Promoting forest policy changes, especially far reaching ones, is a tough sell.

What it’s all boiling down to is that without a more favourable operational framework, more B.C.-based forest companies will discover they simply can’t afford to come home again.

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