NZ Logger December 22

December 2022/ January 2023 | $8.00

ISSN 2703-6251

s n o i t u l so g n i r e Deliv

Value-added timber tales

All in the family

contents

DECEMBER 2022/JANUARY 2023

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FOREST TALK Drop the politics; Incompetence or theft?; EDS “should know better”; Challenges ahead for exporters; Rotating freely to save downtime; Stevens Group acquires Lincom NZ; Remote worker safety; Sustainability in the forest; ForestTECH 2022: “Business as usual”, Forwarder base units in mechanised planting, Mobile laser scanning for pruned stem detection; Truck driver health concerns; Forestry on display.

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SHAW’S WIRE ROPES IRON TEST Clambering up through the frosty, slash-strewn ground to get a better look at the Alpine RS450MI at CJ Newland Logging, reveals a big green monster of a machine on heavy duty tracks, that would be quite happy climbing directly over stumps, logs and untracked ground in general. It’s got power but it’s smooth too, as our Iron Test team found out.

NZ TIMBER It’s all about value-added timber, says Jim Childerstone, as he visits mill operations around the country

to gauge the potential impact of government legislation.

46

TALL TIMBER It’s all in the family at Brand Logging as this multi-generational business shows how it’s done.

DEPARTMENTS 2 editorial 50 fica 52 top spot 56 Sweeney Townsend New Iron 60 classifieds

December 2022/January 2023 | NZ LOGGER 1

from the editor December 2022/ January 2023 | $8.00

ns

lutio ring so

ISSN 1176-0397

PHOTO: TIM BENSEMAN

Delive

Value-added timber tales

All in the family

CJ Newland Logging’s new Alpine RS450MI yarder operated by Iron Tester John Reid, passes another stem to Jake Sutherland on the John Deere loader in Manawatu.

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2 NZ LOGGER | December 2022/January 2023

Taking stock AS WE COME TO THE END OF ANOTHER YEAR, IT’S TIME TO TAKE A deep breath and look forward to a productive year ahead. I might be tempting fate, but COVID seems less threatening for now, export opportunities are increasing in the form of chip wood and the like, and while log prices are still fluctuating, domestic demand remains consistent.

Innovations keep coming, which was clear at the recent ForestTECH 2022 conference. It was the first in three years to run its New Zealand and Australian series back-to-back. With the latest developments in remote sensing, data capture, forest inventory, tree crop management, forest establishment and mechanised planting in the spotlight, the conference did not disappoint. Imaginings for the future may seem far-fetched to some but as the technology leaps forward, it’s legislation’s turn to keep up.

On the ground, forestry maintains a strong presence, particularly evident at the recent Fast & Forward Forestry Expo, hosted by FICA in Rotorua, to strong support.

Mills have had a rough couple of years but those that remain are standing strong. Our feature on the Stuart Timber Company shows what innovation and hard work can do. With government incentives for more onshore processing of timber, it’s all about adding value says forestry stalwart, Jim Childerstone.

It’s not only the Stuart’s who are keeping it all in the family. Our Tall Timber feature this month highlights a family of loggers at Canterbury’s Brand Logging. Dad, Tony Brand, leads the way with safety at the forefront and an emphasis on the right gear and achievable targets.

As we park up for the festive season and spend some time with our own whãnau, it’s time for a well-deserved rest.

So, put your feet up and enjoy!

Until next time, stay safe.

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forest talk

Drop the politics

bottom of the table. Importantly for the public to MISUNDERSTANDING OF THE ROLE OF FORESTRY receive total disclosure, Beef + Lamb NZ fail to in climate change may rob New Zealand of one of give the numbers context. The total of whole the few remedies available, says New Zealand farms sold to forestry interests that year Farm Forestry President, Graham West. He was less than 0.5% of the area in pastoral adds that “misuse of information that’s farming. Far from “ripping the guts out of building alarm and public hysteria around rural communities” the change is less than forestry is not helpful”. what a free-market economy would expect This comes on the back of a Beef + anyway. Their report usefully maps where Lamb NZ and Federated Farmers statement these changes occurred and show it was not on recent results of an opinion survey on concentrated in any district. Instead, they are forestry offset. widely dispersed and occurred in almost every “Picking selective facts from surveys they New Zealand Farm region of New Zealand,” says Mr West. commissioned is building a narrative that suits their Forestry President, “These leaders have also said in radio interviews political purposes and deflects from the real issues,” Graham West. that farming should not be held responsible for says Mr West. “Asking those surveyed whether they cooling the climate. I don’t see why not. Farming’s support a limit on forestry offsets to mitigate fossil fuel emissions or whether there is concern around the conversion contribution to heating the planet is evident in all the emissions of farms to forests to meet climate change, addresses only a part reports going back 40-50 years. Farming’s leadership should of the issue. Both avoid the obvious question, ‘What alternatives be addressing the lack of progress in reducing global warming do you prefer?’. A more relevant question might be, ‘What global instead of deflecting public awareness on to the issue of a temperature increase is acceptable before we start using land use relatively small area being sold to forestry interests.

“Current flooding, droughts and windstorms indicate climate change as a method of cooling the planet?’.”

Beef + Lamb NZ also released an update on whole farms sold change will destroy rural economies at significant scale unless to forestry interests. They reported that in 2021 a total 52,000 ha tree crops are used to provide financial and environmental buffering. We need a better-informed debate than this. Let’s drop was sold.

“They ignore that 2,292 was to Manuka interests, and only the politics and deal to the issues – all the primary sector depends 19,717 was for carbon forestry. They simply use a total from the on the weather. New Zealand cannot afford climate change.” NZL

Incompetence or theft?

NATIONAL’S FORESTRY SPOKESPERSON, IAN MCKELVIE, SAYS some foresters could be millions of dollars out of pocket thanks to a poorly communicated change in application deadlines.

“The Ministry of Primary Industries sent an email to foresters announcing that it was moving the effective deadline to register forests for the Emissions Trading Scheme from the last day of the year to 25 October 2022, simply due to long processing times in their office.

“This left forest owners just three working days to submit their applications. Following that date, their applications will not be processed until 2023. This change will prevent some forest owners from claiming five years’ worth of backdated credits to 2018.

“Some forest owners stand to lose millions of dollars as a result of this poorly communicated change. An owner of a large native forest in the South Island claims he will lose $6–$8 million. This is more

than just incompetence, it is theft.

“Newly revealed information shows processing times to register a forest in the ETS have more than doubled in the last five years, while staff numbers have also doubled in the same period.

“Foresters should not be punished because of mismanagement and a lack of leadership from Government.

“It is crucial that landowners who planted their native and exotic trees in good faith are treated fairly. It is not good enough that foresters had almost no notice to submit their applications and stand to lose millions, simply because MPI isn’t prepared.

“To maintain confidence in the ETS, the Government must honour the commitment to issue backdated credits for the current return period. The Government should direct MPI to allow forests with backdated credits that apply in 2022 to be registered in the same year.” NZL

4 NZ LOGGER | December 2022/January 2023

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forest talk

EDS “should know better” to provide any evidence of ‘significant adverse ONCE AGAIN THE COMMERCIAL FOREST environmental impacts’ ‘in most instances’ industry is having to point out its sciencefrom when plantation forests are harvested. based environmental credentials to “Just look at the effect of the recent organisations such as the Environmental storms on the East Coast, where forests Defence Society (EDS) which “should held and pasture collapsed on a vast know better”, says President of the Forest scale. The evidence is there to see in Owners Association, Grant Dodson. plain sight.”

This comes after EDS and Pure Mr Dodson says the FOA does not Advantage joined forces to draft a represent carbon-only foresters, rather the submission on the review of the National interests of commercial forests that are to be Environmental Standards for Plantation Forestry seeking significant tightening of the Forest Owners Association well-managed and will be harvested creating employment, as well as storing carbon. rules governing exotic forest management in President, Grant Dodson.

“The carbon-only foresters can argue their New Zealand. own case to the government. But we do hold “It is well proven that commercial plantations produce better water quality than other commercial land uses, concerns that the so-called permanent carbon forests may such as farming or urban environments. We are second only become a fire and disease risk in an unmanaged state.

“There is a need for some rules around carbon-only forests to pristine native bush. It is also well known that plantation trees reduce erosion, produce less sediment, store carbon and we are encouraging the government to create a separate and produce valuable wood for housing and bioenergy,” says National Environmental Standard for this land use.

“However the EDS submission is way off the mark about the Mr Dodson.

He adds that the Environmental Defence Society has failed current regulations for plantation forestry.” NZL

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forest talk

Challenges ahead for exporters?

POST-PANDEMIC GLOBAL TRADE LOOKS DIFFERENT. BUT HOW different, and what does that mean for exporters and how they work with this new normal? These were some of the questions raised at Go Global 2022.

Catherine Beard, BusinessNZ Head of Advocacy, says hot topics were new export business models and investing in people, technology and sustainability.

“Go Global 2022 marked the first time in two years that we’ve had exporters from across New Zealand come together like this,” she says.

“Exporters arrived with their own stories to share, including individual experiences throughout recent COVID-19 disruptions.”

The Government’s key message to exporters has been that prevailing headwinds and challenges still lie ahead in 2023 for the shipping and logistics sector, she adds.

“Exporters continue to face compounding issues, both at home and abroad. But it’s not all bad. At Go Global, it was inspiring to hear stories of entrepreneurial Kiwis trading throughout what has been a rough couple of years.”

EMA Chief Executive, Brett O’Riley, says it will continue to work on behalf of its exporting business members to offer more

opportunities to share knowledge, as well as practical initiatives to support them.

Metalbird’s Phil Walters was the last speaker of the day, sharing his story and learnings of scaling a hobby selling products at a local farmer’s markets, to manufacturing and exporting internationally. NZL

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“We’ve developed an innovative solution by listening to our customers’ needs. The rotating harvester head speeds up processing wood, makes working easier for the operator and

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forest talk

Powerscreen Premiertrak 600 in use at the Bay of Plenty.

Stevens Group acquires Lincom NZ “THE PURCHASE OF THE LINCOM NZ BUSINESS FITS PERFECTLY with our aspirations to grow our already successful machinery and equipment business into the quarry, mining, and recycling sectors.

The two businesses share many synergies,” says Stevens Group General Manager, Ken Johnston.

Effective from 11th November 2022, Stevens Group has purchased Lincom NZ – the New Zealand subsidiary of Lincom Group. With its hand in forestry including roading and wood chippers, the transaction includes all machines and parts stock, and the sales rights to the brands represented by Lincom NZ, including Powerscreen, Terex Washing Systems, Pronar, Anaconda, Rapid International, and Kiverco.

Third-generation family-owned, established in 1974, Mr Johnston adds, “All the Lincom NZ staff coming across to Stevens Group was a key part of the transaction for us because good people are

everything. My Team and I are confident that the same timeless three rules that Dad and Grandpa instilled into the business over the past 48 years will help the brands take a fresh burst of energy in the New Zealand market, namely: You must have parts on the shelf in NZ when you are at the bottom of the world.

You can’t sell from an empty barrow.

Look after the customer and he will look after you”.

Lincom Group Chief Executive Officer, Stephen Watterson, comments, “The acquisition of Lincom NZ by the Stevens Group strengthens their market offering and will position them as the market leader for crushing, screening and materials handling equipment in New Zealand. Both companies share a common vision, and the Stevens Group have some great growth plans ahead. This acquisition is part of their platform to expand into other developed markets.” NZL

Remote worker safety

8 NZ LOGGER | December 2022/January 2023

allowing device sharing among different teams, with an incident response tailored by device and person.

“So, if a change was made via the portal only five minutes ago, with devices moved between people, that’s fine as it’s live. There’s also a complete audit trail to see who changed what and when.

We’ve removed a lot of pain for customers and reduced human error potential. Customers no longer have to manually update spreadsheets from device manufacturers and send them to us to make changes.”

The portal also circumvents the emergency number process and links customers to its response software at its graded monitoring stations, with trained operators to speed up the emergency response for mobile workers working alone or remotely, including suddenonset injury or illness, road accidents, vehicle failure, or other emergencies.

Ms Håkansson says long-standing customers such as WorkSafe New Zealand and Suncorp Group in Australia are already using the new portal. She adds that the portal will provide a valuable opportunity to collect industry insights on incidents by collecting anonymised data. NZL LG33108

GUARDIAN ANGEL SAFEY, PROVIDER OF LONE AND REMOTE WORK solutions in Australasia, has launched the Guardian Angel Portal to enable organisations to be more responsive to the changing safety needs of mobile workers working alone or remotely.

The portal allows customers from forestry to government agencies, finance and environmental organisations to securely view and manage all safety devices, data and planning for workers, in realtime, via an easy-to-use interface. In addition, all device monitoring, vehicle impact, and rollover alerts are delivered to the portal – with an immediate response from Guardian Angel Safety if required.

“Our portal improves connectivity and productivity for people and assets. Customers can securely view and manage all safety devices in real-time in one place, including satellite devices, smartphone apps, cell pendants, vehicle impact and rollover alerts, locationbased services, and APIs,” says Guardian Angel Safety CEO, Petra Håkansson.

“We’ve designed our portal to be flexible so customers can add new devices and solutions any time, regardless of manufacturer, as their safety needs change. In addition, within an organisation, people can be assigned to any monitored devices as required,

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forest talk

Fuchs Lubricants Managing Director, Allan McFall, completes the refill for chain and bar.

Sustainability in the forest FUCHS’ DISTRIBUTOR IN NEW ZEALAND, MCFALL FUEL, IS innovating in New Zealand forests. McFall Fuel doesn’t just manage its lubricant packaging – which used to be a big waste issue for forestry customers – it refills and reuses it.

The fuel distributor runs a fleet of mostly Euro 6 category tanker trucks that recently increased to 80 vehicles after McFall took over the Toll Petroleum transport fleet in Northland. Managing Director, Allan McFall, says Fuchs lubricants are an ideal match to the company’s main fuel business, as vehicles and equipment that use fuel also need lubricants.

Chain and bar oil is distributed in 20-litre containers that can be easily handled in the forest for frequent lubrication of cutting equipment. Chain and bar oil is used in significant quantities, not just on standard manual chainsaws but large tree-processing, felling, and harvesting heads.

“Chain and bar lubricant is a very high-use item for forestry customers. We import that in 20,000-litre bladders and we decant it into 20-litre containers,” explains Mr McFall.

Such is the scale of use that empty 20-litre containers would rapidly pile up into a big headache for forestry companies. McFall Fuel agreed to take back all the empty containers, which was already an added-value service, but there were so many of them Allan quickly realised there had to be something better than sending them to landfill or even for recycling. It was at a school camp, while using a fast commercial dishwasher, that the answer came to him.

“It got me thinking; if we could get industrial versions of these washers we could actually wash those containers and send them back out again. That’s where it all started. We developed a few different ways and means of washing them and ended up with an industrial steam washer that washes the outside of them and gets them all spick and span again.”

The energy savings from avoiding transportation and reprocessing, plus the efficiency gains in a fast reuse cycle, are many times better than recycling the plastics in containers, he says.

10 NZ LOGGER | December 2022/January 2023

“Some of those containers have been round the circle 15 to 20 times, so that’s a lot of containers saved from going to landfill over the years,” says Mr McFall. “It’s quite a process to do it but it’s well worth it as the customers love getting rid of their plastic containers, which are a big problem for them, and we love that we manage to reuse them and send them back out again instead of having to dispose of them.”

He explains that containers that come back but are not able to be reused are sent off to be shredded and are then put into posts by a Napier business.

Any waste oil collected goes to a tomato-growing business for use in its furnaces.

The ecological benefit is not lost on forestry customers, who are increasingly conscious of environmental performance. Mr McFall says he has seen a significant change over the years.

“There have been a lot of technological changes in a number of the lubricants like the engine oil and hydraulics; they have got a lot more advanced and fuel efficient. In terms of chain and bar, operators pay a lot of attention to what goes on them now because efficiency is really important. Back in the old days, it was old cooking oil and old engine oil that they used to chuck on their bars; now it’s a product in its own right, so the technology has moved on a lot.”

Mr McFall worked with Fuchs – the only major oil company to operate development laboratories and blending plants in Australia – to develop a bar and chain oil with the optimum mix of lubrication and tackiness for work in the New Zealand forests. Those qualities of innovation and value have helped cement the position of Fuchs and McFall Fuel as a major supplier to the forestry industry.

“We tried a biodegradable chain bar a few years ago. We haven’t yet quite reached the right price point, but I think that time will come as they are getting more and more conscious all the time of the environmental piece of the puzzle,” he says.

“It’s always a quality/price trade-off for forestry customers. They want quality products but, because they are big users, they are quite price conscious as well, so Fuchs is a good match.” NZL

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ForestTECH 2022

“Business as usual”

AFTER MASSIVE COVID DISRUPTIONS, ForestTECH 2022 was the first in three years to run its New Zealand and Australian series back-to-back. With the latest developments in remote sensing, data capture, forest inventory, tree crop management, forest establishment and mechanised planting in the spotlight, the conference did not disappoint. Developments jump in leaps and bounds each year and the conference left delegates with plenty to muse on.

Of course, one of the technologies that continues to amaze is GPS or GNSS, Global Navigation Satellite System, as it now goes by. Its applications in forestry, are significant, down to the individual tree monitoring level.

4D Global Managing Director, Australia, Peter Terrett, spoke on Innovations in GNSS, highlighting recent advances in satellitebased corrections to assist in field mapping, data capture and activity reporting.

While there have been significant developments for all users – such as integration to internal sensors and ease of use – since the days of receiver technology running on a car battery with only four channels, it’s in forestry applications that advances have been significant.

Being away from infrastructure, in a harsh environment, accuracy and performance depend on: • satellite geometry, • design and quality of the receiver and antenna, • availability of a suitable correction service.

GPS accuracy is no longer hit and miss. With more frequencies and multiconstellations, for forestry Mr Terrett said the four greatest recent advances are: • receiver and antenna design, • GNSS for accurate positioning, • SBAS, the Satellite Based Augmentation System, and • external device integration.

Besides the obvious advantages of lower cost, better equipment and more features, a big plus is that this technology is no longer just in the realm of surveyors. Non-spatial professionals can easily use the technology for forestry applications.

“It is easy to take high-accuracy location for

granted, but it has come a long way in just a few short years,” he adds.

Drones too came into the spotlight.

James Rennie, Director at Australian UAV, emphasised that what was experimental 10 years ago is now “business as usual”.

Drone use uptake is significant, however, he cautioned users to be careful when adopting new technology and to ask if it is “safer, faster, better and cheaper” than what they are already doing.

From thermal fauna monitoring of Koalas in Australia to ecological restoration, weed spraying and even firefighting, the technology is there, he says, the regulations just need to keep up. NZL

GPS/GNSS has come a long way since the days when it ran on a car battery with only four channels. Here, 4D Global Managing Director, Peter Terrett, is sitting on the antenna box.

Forwarder base units in mechanised planting WHILE MECHANISED PLANTING MAY BE the latest buzzword, several speakers at ForestTECH pointed out difficulties arising from ground conditions, types of seedlings, erosion, irrigation, slope angle and the like.

Product Manager at Plantma Forestry, AB, Sweden, Christer Larsson, spoke remotely on trials of a new mechanised planting system, Plantma X which uses forwarder base units rather than the traditional excavator.

One of the main features of this system is the ability to do ground preparation and planting in one go. This means there is only one operation to coordinate and no need to wait for ground settling. The adaptable machine allows for flexibility in handling different seedlings and ground conditions, as well as preferences in plant spots and 12 NZ LOGGER | December 2022/January 2023

distances between plants.

Consistency and power as well as the easy addition of fertiliser, water and additives open up more options.

He added that spot scarification allows for scarifying only around the seedling, thus reducing erosion risk on slopes.

In perfect conditions, the machine has the capacity to plant a maximum of 3,000 seedlings per hour in continuous planting, with a seedling storage capacity of up to 30 000 depending on the size of the seedlings.

The distance between seedlings, how fast the machine can travel on the terrain while preparing the ground, and the size and shape of the area all impact productivity, said Mr Larsson.

Data collection provides information on

planting spots, the operator, tree species and the like for later analysis and the trials demonstrated that the Plantma X handles slopes with ease, he added. NZL

ForestTECH 2022

Mobile laser scanning for pruned stem detection JAMIE DODD, GIS TECHNICIAN, HQPLANTATIONS IN AUSTRALIA also spoke remotely at ForestTECH. He highlighted Pruned Stem Detection in Araucaria Plantations using Mobile Laser Scanning.

About 40 000 ha of the land the company manages around Queenstown is allocated to Araucaria cunninghamii (Hoop Pine).

This low-resin wood, the only native conifer planted for timber production in Australia, allows for high-end applications in veneer and the like. With high-value pruned butts being worth up to four times the value of lower grade saw logs, pruning is critical to maximise the value of this species, he said.

“Pruning is expensive, so to make it cost-effective we want to only prune the trees with the best potential outcome, best form and the like,” explained Mr Dodd.

New scanning techniques thus come in valuable for decisions on which trees are worth pruning, particularly with no reliable external indicators to identify unpruned butt logs. The crew targets between half and two thirds of a stand, pruning to 4.8m at around a decade old.

The solution? Use mobile laser scanning in the form of the Emesent Hovermap ST-X. With 88% accuracy, the new Hovermap system provides high density data and good resource analysis, also avoiding double handling costs compared to a CT scanner, he added.

“Useful for foresters short- and long-term, extracting other metrics also allows for multiple outputs and an overall highprecision inventory of stems.”

The Hovermap allows for clear distinction between pruned and unpruned stems without manual annotation. Mr Dodd emphasised that the process is in its infancy and more work is needed on data collection, cost comparison with alternative methods, and noise around stemmed areas in the form of inherent variability of the subcanopy environment eg, thick undergrowth, small branches and close neighbouring branches.

He concluded that, “Any improvement in ability to identify pruned stems is useful given the significant price differential.” NZL

Grooved Drums and Sleeves

DIAGNOSE • DESIGN • DELIVER

forest talk

Truck driver health concerns THE DATA FROM A LOCAL SAMPLE OF 120 truck drivers reveals concerns, in particular in regard to sleep, lifestyle choices and an ageing workforce.

In response, Otago University Medical School researchers hope to launch a national survey of truck driver health and lifestyle issues in 2023.

The study will be based on the initial findings of a small-scale sample survey of Otago truck drivers, Life Behind the Wheel. Dr Rebbecca Lilley from the Otago University Injury Prevention Research Unit presented the results at the Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand Road Ahead national conference in September.

The initial survey was developed to test the methods and suitability of questions for surveying Kiwi truck drivers. A wider national study of over 1000 professional drivers would highlight any regional differences and any concerns that are more or less prevalent among Māori drivers who represent about 23% of the driver workforce.

Fatal injury study findings indicate improvements in driver health are needed, while at the same time minimal information on truck driver health has been collected in New Zealand.

“Truck drivers are an important and essential workforce, something that is now understood even more widely following COVID,” says Dr Lilley.

“It’s also an under-researched workforce compared to groups like farmers and forestry workers. Or airline pilots and many others who are in charge of operating machinery.”

Dr Lilley says stage one of the Life Behind the Wheel survey delivered data that highlights the need for a larger and more regionally representative sample.

“This work is a follow-on from a series of other studies we’ve completed into workrelated fatalities and how to reduce them.

This group (truck drivers) has concerned us in terms of health concerns being a factor in fatal accidents,” she says.

“Of course, driver health concerns also contribute to non-fatal accidents and there’s also the extra level of concern because of the risk to the general driving public.

“There are some consistent concerns we are seeing from both the small sample and from overseas research which suggest more extensive research is needed,” says Dr Lilley.

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Dr Lilley says working conditions can dictate many of the lifestyle choices available to truck drivers.

“Essentially due to the nature of the job there are fewer options available to truck drivers, such as for healthy food choices, opportunities to exercise or comfortable sleep environments.

“There is now plenty of research coming out of Australia where there has been an increased focus on the health and working conditions of truck drivers.”

Dr Lilley says the initial small-scale survey is not representative of truck drivers as a whole, but it does identify some concerning trends in the current state of truck driver Health & Safety that should be acted upon and managed by employees and employers under the Health & Safety at Work Act and by Government regulators of transport safety.

Data from the stage one survey suggests many of the pre-existing conditions and poor lifestyle factors for heart disease are very common in truck drivers. On average drivers are more obese or over-weight than the rest of the New Zealand adult population.

“Sleep problems are also common and are troubling drivers while they work. Much of this sleep disruption is due to work, suggesting work schedules need deeper investigation,” says Dr Lilley.

“One in four drivers self-reported that their current health status was very poor.

The most common health complaint was pain caused by work, most commonly attributed to back pain, followed pain experienced in the knees and shoulders while driving.”

Other commonly reported diagnosed health conditions included high cholesterol and high blood pressure – common preconditions for Cardiovascular or Heart Disease which can manifest itself through sudden heart attack or stroke. Asthma also affected one in four respondents.

Dr Lilley says the 2018 New Zealand Census shows that there are over 37,000 professional drivers in New Zealand and that this group is predominantly male, and mainly European followed by Māori.

This group is also ageing with over 60% of professional truck drivers aged over 45 years and 20% being over 60.

A long-term average from 2005-2014

I y Initial results from the sample survey were presented at The Road Ahead conference in September. identifies 346 road deaths annually including 10 professional driver deaths on average each year.

“What has us most concerned about these deaths is the major role that driver fatigue and driver health is playing in triggering, or contributing, to these truck crashes – particularly the single vehicle crash events,” says Dr Lilley.

“Our study identified that in one in three fatal crashes resulting in the death of a professional driver, the driver was impaired – be that due to fatigue, to pre-existing health conditions and in a very, very small number of cases due to legal or illegal substance use.”

She says the most common health conditions highlighted in Coronial investigations included heart attacks and other cardiac events and loss of consciousness events such as blackouts due to diabetic, epileptic, or other unexplained causes.

“To underpin our increasing concern regarding the health status of our truckdriving workforce and the increased risk of fatal injury in drivers with health conditions, the truck driving workforce is rapidly aging therefore we can expect this workforce to have increasing health concerns that may affect their safety – but also public safety and vital supply chains.”

A larger sample and a refined survey format would deliver the information needed to improve the health of truck drivers and help to develop the interventions for achieving a reduction in fatal and non-fatal accidents in which driver health issues are a contributing factor, she says. NZL

To an 130 pe

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Forestry on display THE FAST & FORWARD FORESTRY EXPO, HELD IN ROTORUA IN November, aimed to showcase the significant transformation in technology and mechanisation in the forestry sector over the years.

“The monumental changes provide an environment that reduces the risks of what were manual operations across the forestry supply chain,” says Forest Industry Contractors Association (FICA) Chair, Ross Davis.

There were a good few thousand visitors to the two-day event, showcasing more than 100 heavy machines brought to site,

ranging from one tonne to sixty tonne, trade stands, hospitality, kids entertainment, a hot saw competition and static displays.

“A sold-out industry charity auction dinner with Jeremy Corbett as MC, and keynote speaker, newly appointed Rotorua Mayor, Tania Tapsell, raised more than $40,000 for a mental health and wellbeing initiative,” says FICA CEO, Prue Younger.

“We’re proud of where forestry has got to today with mechanisation and technology, so it’s been great to showcase that, while also looking at future development opportunities and getting the industry together for a catch up,” she adds. NZL

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Iron Test

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CJ Newland’s new Alpine RS450MI yarder operating near Whanganui.

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THE THE THE SUPPLIER SUPPLIER SUPPLIER TOTO NEW TO NEW NEW ZEALAND ZEALAND ZEALAND HEAVY HEAVY HEAVY INDUSTRY INDUSTRY INDUSTRY 18 NZ LOGGER | December 2022/January 2023

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THE THE SUPPLIER SUPPLIER TO NEW TO NEW ZEALAND ZEALAND HEAVY HEAVY INDUSTRY INDUSTRY

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Above left: Clint and Lisa Newland observe as Iron Tester, John Reid, runs the Alpine yarder.

Above right: The Narva spotlights on the Alpine make for excellent early morning or night shift grapple yarding.

AS WE ARRIVE AT THE CJ NEWLAND LOGGING CONTAINER NEAR Whanganui it is a bit puzzling to see the new Alpine Yarder about 100 metres away, up through the cutover hauling wood. First impressions on this log site are there is a lot going on. As well as the Alpine hauling stems there is a Tigercat skidder growling away industriously, a John Deere and Waratah 626 Big Wood is processing logs while an owner/ operator Tigercat grapple loader is loading a truck.

After a health and safety briefing where one of us is given a growling for not having quite bright enough high viz (and given an upgrade on the spot – great to see our safety monitored yet again) we set our sights on the Iron Test.

Clambering up through the frosty, slash-strewn ground to get a better look at the Alpine reveals a big green monster of a machine on heavy duty tracks that would be quite happy climbing directly over stumps, logs and untracked ground in general – kind of like the 4WD version of a yarder, and possibly the ultimate component in a twostaging operation because of that extreme-duty track gear.

Interesting concept. Huge savings for the forest owner as there are far lower landing build costs and lower roading costs as well. This machine must get a few dollar signs going off in the forest owners’ eyes for sure as it is sitting amongst freshly cut stumps on unlevelled ground quite happily working.

Teaming up Alpine’s South African-based website states their machine is “Cable yarding made really easy” and a big part of that is the capability to high lead and skyline safely without the need for guylines, allowing it to operate as a true mobile mini swing yarder – but at close to 72 tonnes it is going to sit firm on the landing/cutover under most loads thrown at it.

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This latest New Zealand spec’d Alpine is mounted on John Deere’s 3754G LC road builder/excavator. It is plain to see Clint Newland is a big fan of John Deere gear as five of the 10 machines on the site carry that label. This new base machine boasts 67% more durable frame structure and 17% more lifting power than the previous John Deere models.

The John Deere arrived at Total Hydraulic Solutions Ltd’s (THSL) View Road, Rotorua workshop with a rock bucket on it ready for the Alpine build. The electric over hydraulic control systems were designed and manufactured by THSL in Rotorua while nearby Active Engineering carried out the fitting of the Alpine SA-made mast, main winch and strawline. Active then fitted a second fuel tank, access stairs and catwalk.

This is the second Alpine build in New Zealand and the second for THSL which now holds all spare parts in its Rotorua parts department.

Andy Bedford, owner of THSL has purchased outright Alpine Logging Equipment New Zealand (ALE) after completing a four-year, 50/50 joint venture with Spencer Hill’s Logpro.

In time, ALE will have its own parts and service team (for the moment THSL remains the install and service agent for New Zealand) and together with Alpine Logging Equipment South Africa, owners Peter and George Allpass, they already have another unit in stock ready to assemble with delivery time (including grapple lead time) of about six months.

The past three years have seen Alpine busy delivering two more ASY450 models into Canada and 30+ ASY600 units into Chile with 70+ units now working globally in their 18 years of operation.

The CJ Newland Alpine has not quite done 1000 hours yet and SERIOUS BIG TIME LOGGERS is going smoothly POWER as well asFOR surpassing expectations.

Clint says: “We had pretty clear goals for this new build – it had to be quick to

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set up and move, with fast line speed and a decent line pull. Those expectations have been met and exceeded. It makes other excavatorbased haulers look pretty stupid actually.”

It is somewhat telling as to the company’s ambitions that Clint’s wife Lisa tells us they started their current logging operation with “only” four machines. (Although the business started with one machine contracted to Clint’s previous employer.) “In this industry you have to constantly grow, otherwise you are going to end up going backwards coping with all the changes that are going on,” she says.

Part of that growth has been the recent acquisition of two Oshkosh off-road log trucks, one that has been in New Zealand some time forwarding to a barge on Arapawa Island and elsewhere, with the second Oshkosh currently making its way out of Utah and heading here via California. The first Oshkosh is currently being leased out to another logger about an hour’s drive away two-staging logs over a river. But more on the Oshkosh trucks in a future issue.

Lisa notes that despite Clint being a foreman running operations for years, they found it a struggle to get a forest company to give them a chance to head out contracting on their own until Marcus Musson at Forest 360 offered them their first contract a few years ago. They smashed that first contract out and have been going from strength to strength ever since.

“Everything is better” On site, the Iron Test team is expecting Andy from THSL to walk us through the Alpine and he is inbound but has had to take a detour around the Desert Road due to it being closed today by snow and ice.

A John Deere 2656G LC grapple loader with live heel clears the chute and bunches the stems for the Tigercat 615C 6-wheel grapple skidder which runs big bunches of stems easily down the hill into a surge pile for the John Deere/Waratah processor and those logs are then fleeted and loaded out by a Tigercat 865.

When I peer down the steep face below the yarder ropes, I am alarmed to see that a ZX290 Hitachi is parked down there where it

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has been shovelling logs up towards the Alpine’s grapple. Because of the shape of the block and a steep pinch above the public road, the tailhold can’t get into this corner to allow the grapple yarder to access it. Clint Newland mentions he is off to shovel more wood as the tailhold has just been moved as far down the opposite spur as it can go (without being tethered.)

I assume he is going to run the Hitachi but he climbs into yet another big green John Deere monster, a 959 tilting harvester fitted with a Satco felling and shovelling head and tethered to a yellow John Deere 850J dozer. It’s inspiring to watch Clint manoeuvre quite comfortably on the steep ground, gathering his tether rope and hooking it over strategic stumps so he can descend at the required angle to reach bunches of stems swiftly and efficiently.

New Iron Tester, John Reid, is a Competenz trainer and contract tree faller locally in Whanganui and finds that the regular Alpine operator is one of his former students, Cameron Hastings, who learnt to drive more traditional haulers with John.

Cameron has only been in the logging industry three years after changing tack from a career as a motorsport engineer, building competition 4WD’s for Cowper Trucks. That is a bit of a surprising pathway. After digging a bit deeper we find he did a stint breaking out for a year when he was 18, so he has done the hard yards on the ground and comprehends the hauler to tail hold workings of yarder logging. His first forestry machine operator job was running a BE 70 pole hauler in nearby Lismore Forest and he operated that machine for several years.

When I ask him how visibility compares in the Alpine versus the pole he says, “About 100%” and on further inquiry he is not actually joking.

At all. “The pole hauler was usually set so far back on the ridge that I was running blind, so this is way different to run”.

“Everything in this new Alpine is better than the old pole hauler,” Cameron says. “The lighting package is excellent, it gives a really good view, the grapple camera is way clearer in the dark as you are not dealing with any glare from the sun. My first day on it was a bit

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1: With rock bucket and mast the Alpine weighs in around 72 tonnes and packs onto one large transporter.

2: Clint Newland feeds shovelled stems straight to the Alpine grapple.

3: The Alpine brings in a four-tonne average payload.

4: The Alpine grapple has been upgraded with GPS distance and height, plus battery voltage, hydraulic pressure and radio signal reports to cab screen.

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of a challenge though, just getting my head around all the buttons as it is totally different to a pole hauler. I went from pulling levers and operating clutches and stuff to getting my head around the sequences of buttons.

Clint taught me those sequences and yeah, everything is awesome on this machine, runs smooth as wide open all the time and there is nothing I miss about the old machine.

The track gear is far superior, and it is a big advantage being able to just move the machine over a few metres whenever you want without having to unhook guy lines. The power is unreal in this one, you can’t run out of power, it’s just got heaps left in reserve.”

Andy Bedford arrives after dicing with death on icy roads and tries to tell us this new Alpine is basically very similar to the last one except for it being heaps easier to operate, with a massive amount of work going into the past five years improving electronics over the hydraulics. Clint corrects him sternly by stating that it is on a green base and so it is “way better”. Andy agrees, saying, “It is on a John Deere, so it is way cooler”.

“Alpine has built a couple of similar models and put them into Canada on Hitachi bases since the first Alpine was built here a few years back on the Komatsu base. This one here is fairly unique having a high cab and a lot more guarding compared to the Canadian units which have different regulations to us, so were low cabs and minimal guarding, basically just an excavator with a winch slapped on it whereas the New Zealand version is a bit more refined,” he says.

Andy adds that the ASY450 has been a long project with Logpro’s first New Zealand machine (the Komatsu PC400) being the first real large two-drum

interlock built (there is a three-drum in Australia) The PC400 Alpine base was built in 2018 and featured in NZ Logger’s April 2019 issue.

Since that Komatsu machine, four ASY450 units have been built (along with 30-plus ASY600MI). Two ASY450 were sold by Integral Equipment in Canada – this was during COVID times and THSL continued development of software from New Zealand for the nearly two years while the world was in lockdown. The third unit was sold to Newlands (by Logpro) and that fourth unit is sitting in the factory now in South Africa.

Why have more units not been sold in New Zealand? Andy explains: ”Simply because we wanted to get these four all up and running and work out the bugs, also the factory was flat out with ASY600 orders.

The Komatsu was fairly straightforward and had very few issues. The next three production units were made to be simpler in theory as they have the same motor for in-haul and out-haul; no out haul clutch. The catch was that they were a little more complicated in terms of the control system. We have spent a lot of time developing a simpler

operator interface. In turn this has made a more sophisticated back-end programme.

“We have also spent more time incorporating the grapple interface (this was an upgrade to the Komatsu). You are now able to see grapple battery voltage, hydraulic pressure, radio signal, distance and height (with GPS on the grapple).”

Andy goes on to explain that the CJ Newland machine has been a massive step forward in the programming yet again.

“We went digital with foot pedals and levers for this machine (fly by wire)… this gave the ability to move functions easily, tune ramps and dead bands; the end result was a smoother machine to drive and set up.

“Performance-wise we are at 13-tonne line pull, 4-tonne average pay load, 9m/s outhaul, 500m main rope (Clint is running 22mm for main) and 950m of haul back which is 19mm rope.”

Some benefits from the John Deere base and the hydraulic setup have been we are running cooler (we just learnt more from the first units so applied the learnings to this machine) – on a warm, 35 degree day the machine is getting to 70 degrees on 500t/day average and averaging 28Lph fuel burn.”

Jake Sutherland takes a log from the Alpine during the Iron Test.

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MADE IN CANADA FOR NZ CONDITIONS

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Delivering solutions “I guess the main advantage is cycle times,” says Andy. This machine is built for speed, sending out the gear to the backline and then it is not fighting itself to make line tension (the hydraulic interlock unit means we are not forcing oil into the haul back from the base machine to force the line tension) so it has a true line pull. This results in a faster, more consistent cycle time, add that up over a day and suddenly you are looking at a big pile of wood, from what we see Clint is averaging 500T a day on an eight- to nine-hour day in good wood.

The second big advantage is that the spec that it is built to is impressive. There is a no-expense-spared approach from Alpine South Africa. They have used the best components and it shows (no need for tail motors every six months); servicing costs are relatively low with no brake bands or clutches just gear oils for service.

“We will have New Zealand stock some time next year, all going to plan, if we don’t sell the unit in the factory before then. Install time, depending on base machine choice by the buyer and engineering requirements setting up a machine ready to go is six to 20 weeks, it really does depend on the build and spec of the machine and what the new buyer requires,” Andy explains.

The THSL-designed control system means we are developing the control system and upgrading this to make life for the operator easier.

It also means all the technical expertise is here in New Zealand, and we are not waiting on answers as we are delivering the solutions right here.”

Looking to the future, Andy says he will look to grow ALE in New Zealand now. “We hope to make a concerted effort to get more machines to market which will allow us to grow the infrastructure, sales, service and support.”

When THSL began this build they tasked their electrical engineer, Brayden, with the electronics build and programming and once the machine was delivered Brayden got the job of training Clint in its use.

Brayden found the biggest challenge was designing the programming

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for all the new components. “The most enjoyable part of the project though for me is visiting the site and seeing it working beyond expectations, and how happy it makes the loggers,” he says.

Lisa explains that Clint is one of those people who has driven a lot of different machines and seems to just pick things up intuitively fairly quickly. “His favourite thing is bulldozers actually but once Brayden showed him what control does what, he was into it and then Clint showed Cam and Cam got it fairly quick too. Being from an engineering background and having a few years in another hauler, places Cam quite well as he can pick up if something is not quite going right early on and avoid dramas by catching them before they develop too far.

“Nothing phases him actually… quite relaxed as is Jake on the machine clearing the chute. We really value guys like that who are calm and collected which is why Jake is the back-up operator for the Alpine now. Clint had quite a lot of input into the Alpine build as he had seen a lot of systems and seen what jobs are ahead of us in this area and kind of built it to best suit this terrain. And when you get people like Andy and Brayden involved, it just works out really well.

“Clint has always been a person who wants to have the biggest and the best gear that pulls a lot of wood. That’s good business for us.

Anything that is capable of doing what that machine is doing is worth the investment that we put in it. I do get a bit worried about what he is going to come up with next though and what that is going to cost. But we have a really good crew and really good machinery that’s generally only a few years old, so we are able to do 8,000+ tonne a month when we aren’t on quota with just the five operators which is really good going for a crew that size.”

“Shockingly” fuel efficient “Fuel wise we had a figure in mind for consumption with the Alpine,” Lisa says. “And it is nowhere near it, it is SO efficient. It really shocked POWER FOR BIG TIME LOGGERS us – weSERIOUS were thinking thousands and thousands of litres a week but no, Clint was really surprised about that. I was really nervous when

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1: Jake Sutherland grabs a log from the Alpine.

2: The Alpine yarder can set up in the cutover with no, or very little, earthworks.

3: Mechanisation has been a priority at CJ Newland with these stems machine felled, fed to the Alpine, grabbed by another grapple, passed to a bunch for the grapple skidder and dragged to the processor without a hand being laid on them.

4: No guylines means the Alpine is quick to shift around the cutover for more efficient logging.

Clint said he wanted to get a hauler. I have visited some of the crews he was running that had haulers and they always seemed to be broken down and I just thought we would be better to stay ground-based. Clint first looked at the Harvestline and then when he compared the pulling power with the Alpine he thought that was a better way to go and I thought, ‘Oh no, I see a lot of bills coming here’ but no, it has been really good and a lot of that is because everything is brand new and hauler stock in New Zealand has tended to be quite old. We expected there would be some teething problems due to the technology but there has been very little.”

Iron Tester, John Reid, muses that impressive fuel efficiency is not

surprising given that it’s basically just pumping oil around and that oil is doing all the work: “The rate Clint’s crew goes through forests, there better have been somebody out there planting new forests somewhere or they are going to run out.”

Lisa agrees, saying that quite a few of their first blocks have been on the smaller side and challenging but because Clint has the tether and can go almost anywhere, they have just ploughed through them and are now starting into bigger blocks that they can really get their teeth into. “We are running out of ground-based logging in Whanganui.

The only decent-sized ground base is the sand blocks and the rates on those blocks don’t stack up for us, as our gear is set up for bigger

Above left: The view from the Alpine seat (left); Lisa Newland with the Alpine winch (centre); Andy Bedford of THSL (left) discusses the Alpine with Iron Tester, John Reid (right).

Below: Another truck heads down to the road at Turakina, Manawatu. wood. Owning this Alpine has really opened up a lot of new work for us.

“I think anyone in New Zealand wanting to buy an Alpine will find it a lot easier than we did now that the dealership is back in New Zealand with Andy in Rotorua. When we started dealing with Alpine the sales rep was in Amsterdam trying to move back to New Zealand, the winch was in South Africa, there had only been one

ever built in New Zealand, so it was an 18-month build through travel restrictions, COVID etc. We had Paul Laird from John Deere/ Agrowquip project manage the build for us, so he was going between Active Engineering and Total Hydraulics checking that they had everything they needed and that was so helpful. We got there in the end and now the results are clear to see in our production statistics which is where it counts at the end of the day.”

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iron tester: John Reid

INTUITIVE DESIGN

IT IS A LITTLE BIT CONCERNING BEING asked to Iron Test a new multi-million-dollar innovative machine with ropes and winches and steep slopes, so I had to do a bit of selfassessment to see if I had enough experience first. My first forestry job was at 14 years old, post cutting. After that I did a bit of work in various crews running a Madill 071, a Thunderbird TMY, a Log Champ, a BE 60 and the last machine I ran a few days ago was a BE 70. For quite a few years I have been training people to operate haulers, as well as training people in felling trees, windthrow falling, breaking out, setting up haulers for new buyers etc. In fact, I trained the young bloke who runs this Alpine now, but I didn’t train him on this new machine. Yeah, probably would have a chance of pulling it off if luck goes my way.

In between my 14-year-old start and today I went shepherding up in the steep hill country behind Whanganui and more shepherding on stations down the South Island in the summers and did logging and played rugby in winter, followed by shepherding on Waipoua Station next to Mangatu Forest in Gisborne.

That was interesting as it coincided with some political changes which saw the close of the Forest Service Camp at Mangatu which gutted the local school and saw things change dramatically for the area.

A bit of production thinning on the sand dunes of Santoft forest with my brother followed, then Pete Dancer brought his American gear over to Lismore Forest 16km North East of Whanganui, so I joined that crew as I was one of the few locals here at the time with logging qualifications. Lismore was planted in 1963 as a Crown Forest of close to 5000 hectares of mostly steep Papa

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hill country. I have been logging ever since pretty much apart from four or five years as a bush inspector for the Department of Labour. I didn’t really enjoy that job too much, so I went back to running a hauler in Lismore.

I have actually spent most of my life on my feet either breaking out or falling, logmaking or processing on the landing. Apart from haulers I didn’t get in a machine until I bought my own machine in my forties as I was good at falling and breaking out. Back in the day you had to wait for somebody to die before you got in a machine because all the old guys were in machines.

First impressions of this yarder are that it is a flash unit. All the controls are a bit daunting at first, but that is just a matter of getting to know the system. There is an element of intuitive design that has gone into these controls, and seeing all the functions playing out on the screen so you know where you are at there is good. It would be fairly easy to get proficient with this machine and I would rate it as easier to learn to operate than other yarders.

An example of non-intuitive would be when, say, a carriage shows you a red light when the sky clamp is off or on. Intuitively you would think that means Stop, which is not right.

There is none of that kind of second-guessing stuff in this Alpine machine. I can see myself being pretty relaxed in there in no time.

It has all the mod cons as far as a comfortable seat, great climate control, excellent communications set up and sound system as well as really good visibility.

They have obviously thought about a lot of the problems encountered in older haulers such as slack in your lines, it has automatic tension on the main, so you don’t have to be worrying about that.

3

Iron Tester, John Reid.

The grapple was straightforward to operate, standard size grapple, went around the logs okay and seemed to grip them well.

As for the power? Holy, it’s got power to burn. And you don’t even feel the power it’s so smooth. It also has this cool function where you can go into the machine screen and pre-programme, so for example when Jake moved the tail hold to a new setting and we had a bunch of repeated drags from basically one spot fed by Clint, you can look at all your pressures and set those in place like a rinse and repeat type cycle which is really good.

You can custom set it for every line which is a major time saver and stress reliever. It also means less fatigue on the operator as well.

The machine feels stable. Not scarily shaking around like some I have operated. I also thought my trainer was very good too. And he seems very happy in this machine which says a lot. I would seriously rate this machine.

If I was going to get back into contracting, I would definitely be wanting to buy one. It has good utility in short to medium drags typical of Whanganui’s forests, good speed and can be moved into some gnarly spots where you wouldn’t even think of moving a lot of other haulers. NZL

1: The John Deere cooling package on the Alpine yarder.

2: Brayden, Andy, John, Clint, Lisa, Cameron and Jake with the Alpine yarder.

3: Cameron Hastings is happy with his new ride.

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HAULBACK WINCH: • High quality German motor and planetary gearbox • Drum Capacity 950 metres 19mm • Bare drum line pull – 13 tonnes • Full drum line pull – 9.5 tonnes • Bare drum line speed – 6.8 m/s • Full drum line speed – 9.8 m/s.

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202 kW (271 hp at 1900 rpm) 304 L/m x 2 4.3m m 72,000kg

1: Air cleaner bay and electrical supply for the Alpine.

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3: The John Deere hydraulic pump and filtration bay on the Alpine yarder is well laid out.

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NZ Timber

SURVIVING TWO D MILL CLOSURES Story: Jim Childerstone

34 NZ LOGGER | December 2022/January 2023

O DECADES OF

From left: A family affair – Brendon Stuart, Caleb Stuart, Emma Stuart, Andy Stuart, Roger Stuart, Catherine Stuart, David Beel and Mike Stuart.

December 2022/January 2023 | NZ LOGGER 35

NZ Timber

A

SMALL SURVIVING TIMBER MILL near the rural West Otago township of Tapanui has battled on regardless of changing times, with some updated innovations.

Stuart’s Timber Company now supplies a wide range of products throughout the Southern provinces.

From the Queenstown Lakes District, Central Otago to Dunedin and Invercargill, wholesale building supply firms, farming communities and builders vie for the mill’s products.

These range from landscaping to structural framing, dressed timber, weatherboarding, garden, horticulture, and post and pole supplies.

The family business is headed by second generation, Roger Stuart, who believes the business is moving from small to more midsized.

Roger explains, “The company has almost done the full cycle, from manufacturing outdoor furniture to finger jointing, and laminating in the late 1980s and 90s.

However, the Stuart family enterprise is now back to the basics of timber production.”

The past two decades have seen many local based saw mills winding up operations.

Part of the reason was the demand for export logs making it marginal for local mills to compete, and a lot to do with modernised economy of scale manufacturing.

Also, the effects of globalisation, manufacturing of wood products by low wage economies such as China, India and South Korea put paid to local processing.

On top of that, the volume of wood harvested in this country exceeded demand of the Nation’s building industry at the time.

Nearby Ernslaw One’s Blue Mountain Lumber closed down about 15 years ago, as well as a couple of regional mills in Northern Southland Stuart’s Timber Company is currently cashing in on the recent regional building boom, particularly in Central Otago, Wanaka and Queenstown.

Moving with the times Roger, Managing Director, admits to tough times since the company’s launch back in 1980 by his father Campbell Stuart and his three brothers.

“It was a matter of modernising the plant where possible, and when funding was available,” Roger explains.

Gone was the old 60-inch breakdown saw and 44-inch breast bench, and in with the electronically mechanised band saw in 2005. One of the original twin flitch re-cutting 36 NZ LOGGER | December 2022/January 2023

breast benches will be replaced with more modern and efficient equipment. Cant hooks for positioning logs on the bench, are now implements of a past epoch.

Operating the head rig, mill hand, Max McCormack, says it does take a bit of concentration focusing on the operating machinery for any length of time.

“It’s a somewhat sedentary job so we move about the sawmill doing other tasks to remain active,” he told NZ Logger.

Management makes certain all employees are trained to handle the variety of mill jobs.

“We now have 38 permanent employees,

manufacture, then finger jointing and lamination. But then in 2006 it was used as the main sawmill building, Roger explains.

However, it is diversification, offering a wide range of timber products and strong relationships with timber retailers that has put the mill in a strong position.

“The company has built up good relationships with most of the log suppliers in the Southern region over the years, buying 90% S grade and 10% pruned logs plus roundwood for the post and pole operation.

“Stuart Timber has taken the opportunity to upgrade our operation, purchasing

Above: Chris McCullum beside his Waratah post cutter.

Below: The log carriage in operation.

of which seven are whanau and have become skilled in their jobs,” Roger says.

When it comes to job creation, the Tapanui district indicates how forestry and related industries benefit rural areas.

In effect this involves 25 families living around the township with the rest residing in nearby Gore.

“In some cases there are two or more working at the sawmill from the same families,” says Roger.

Logs are supplied from local woodlot owners and corporate foresters The family must have taken something of a gamble to erect a 1500 m3 work shed on the six hectare site back in 2001, which now houses the main mill processing operations.

This was originally built for furniture

equipment no longer required by other mills in the region,” Roger explains.

“A larger treatment cylinder was purchased from Craig Pine and a pressure steaming cylinder was purchased from the Lumsden treatment plant when it closed down.”

The newest family member, Emma Stuart (nephew Andy Stuart’s daughter), is learning about the treatment and steaming operation when we visit.

Set up in the shed the four-side planer mill consists of a Weinig, primarily for gauging and larger runs. “Also a SCM Superset for profiling weatherboards, is ideal for smaller runs of both weatherboard and customer profiles,” says Roger.

A more recent innovation is the installation of an optimizer docking saw sorting out

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fence and pallet timber to length, operated

by Roger’s wife Catherine.

“For environmentally-friendly treatment, we are now using MicroPro, ideal for raised garden beds and anything that requires dressing after treatment. This, alongside traditional CCA and Boron treating,” he says.

Changes afoot The family has been using coal to fire its kilns, but is now in the process of looking at a boiler conversion to use some of the off-cut wood, sawdust and shavings to fire what will most likely be a new boiler installation. “This will not be a cheap exercise,” says Roger.

He says they are still investigating the most efficient and cost-effective system, possibly something around the two- to threemegawatt mark.

Coal is starting to get expensive as well as with Co2 emissions tax under the ETS and having to get rid of the ash to landfills costs money.

Many Southland/Otago mills, businesses and institutions have now converted for chip use, with some help from local and national entities such as the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA).

The company has an on-site chipper and post peeler. Chip is sold to Mataura’s Daiken MDF plant, but could be more convenient to heat the plant.

Stuart’s mill sells most of its products to the big box retailers in Central Otago, Dunedin, Invercargill and locally, and pole timber from the yard to merchants involved with barn and implement shed construction.

Asked to comment on the company’s future development and the Government’s recent incentives for value-added wood

38 NZ LOGGER | December 2022/January 2023

Top: Max McCormack operating the head rig.

Above: Scott Mackenzie and Turipa Mahaki operating the breast bench.

Below: Sawdust and chip pad.

NO LIMITS. NO BOUNDARIES. 2023

NZ Timber

processing, Roger observes that engineered wood products are gaining momentum, but the company does not currently have any plans to go down the engineered wood line again.

Forest industry stakeholders point out that the new Forest Industries Transformation Act proposal is short on specifics on how it will assist on-shore added-value products.

“When we get a more detailed picture of how they intend to go about this, and what sort of investment or incentives are available, we will take a serious look at it,” Roger says.

Currently the company needs to invest in its new heating system.

On the recent controversy of livestock farmers being asked by Government to pay towards greenhouse gas emissions, which is dragging forestry into the controversy, Roger says the whole thing was “just ridiculous”, particularly antagonism developing between farmers and foresters with the advent of permanent carbon farming forests. But he admits to not being too familiar with this issue.

New Zealand Forestry Owners Association President, Grant Dodson, says he understands that up to now the issue of mill closures centres around the fact that “New Zealand has a very small domestic market”.

“To date the production of sufficient structural timber for domestic construction can effectively be fulfilled by one or two bigger mills,” says Grant.

“Red Stag and Carter Holt Harvey have invested to expand production to fill this gap. In doing so, they have increased scale and reduced costs, and this competition has forced many small players to close.

“A number of smaller mills have, however, done reasonably well at a lower production scale, particularly filling niche markets and supplying smaller customers that the big players don’t service.

“Mills unable to find sufficient sales in the domestic market have been exporting. This is a difficult market, and people like Marty Verry, who owns Red Stag, often talk about export destination countries having various tariffs and other trade barriers that make it hard for unsubsidised New Zealand mills to compete.” NZL

LG33116

Top: Emma Stuart sorts out dried posts for treatment.

Middle: Planing in process.

Right: Mike Stevenson loading the kiln trolly.

40 NZ LOGGER | December 2022/January 2023

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NZ Timber

Projected development of duplexes at Jack’s Point, Queenstown.

VALUE-ADDED TIMBER: HOW IT’S DONE Story: Jim Childerstone

F

ORESTRY MINISTER, STUART NASH, recently saw how the Forest Industries Transformation Act could be applied to foster value-added timber products At a visit to a newly-built Cromwell timber manufacturing plant he witnessed an all-timber housing operation in action.

Swiss backed, Hector Egger New Zealand, built a substantial factory premises in Cromwell’s industrial area over a year ago.

It aims to produce up to 100 buildings per year, from standalone housing to multilevel units such as apartments, motels and hotels.

To achieve this, the factory runs two seven man shifts per day in the electronically mechanised plant.

Current builds range from $500,000 to $7 million, much of it for Central Otago and Lakes District clients.

The bulk of the timber used is engineered laminated veneer lumber (LVL) and cross42 NZ LOGGER | December 2022/January 2023

laminated timber (CLT) sourced from Nelson Pine Products and glulam from Levin-based Techlam’s plant, explains Hector Egger Managing Director, Stephan Mausli.

“Building components are delivered on site, fully lined, insulated, fitted with conduits and flush boxes, window and door openings, pre-cut to 1 mm tolerances and external walls, lined with breathable and water proof membrane,” he says.

The company builds a 3D model of the initial design process detailing every aspect of the project. It includes every piece of timber, every staple and every screw in the model so the connections can be resolved prefabrication,” Stephan explains.

Hector Egger New Zealand is a 50-50 joint venture with Swiss-based Hector Egger Holzbau AG and local investors, including Tristan Franklin (Director) and

Stephan.

“All our timber comes from sustainably managed New Zealand forests,” he says.

“Mostly manufactured in this country, with the added benefit of carbon retention in finished products. Thus our buildings help mitigate greenhouse gases.”

Viewing the factory floor from the office balcony Stephan points out the various components of residences being built for a project being developed by Queenstown architects.

This includes up to 20 meter engineered timber beams spanning the roof ridge lines. The rest of the timbered exterior cladding and flooring was mostly cut from 12 meter lengths off engineered wood.

The only metal sighted is the aluminium window frames. A suggestion that this is available through Christchurch-based Health Based Buildings, cut from native hardwood, native red beech, is worth

The factory floor.

looking at and could be an option, says Stephan.

The Queenstown initiative by property developers Black Robin is being funded through Capital Markets.

It is believed to be the first development ever financed through New Zealand’s Stock Exchange for growth businesses, according to Chief Executive Colin Magee.

The first home has already pre-sold for $2.75 million at Jack’s Point south of the township.

Other home units for the southern provinces would range from $500,000 upwards, says Stephan.

He explains that Hector Egger Holzbau AG is a leading European manufacturer with 20 years’ experience in off-site

prefabrication of timber buildings and structures.

The Cromwell factory layout is a copy of its largest Swiss factory, using Swiss imported machinery, says Stephan.

He considers himself a New Zealander after moving here nearly 20 years ago as a qualified structural engineer in Switzerland. NZL

The exterior of the factory.

December 2022/January 2023 | NZ LOGGER 43

NZ Timber

GOVERNMENT INCENTIVES FOR VALUE-ADDED TIMBER? T Story: Jim Childerstone

44 NZ LOGGER | December 2022/January 2023

of the focus of the new ‘Forests, Our Low Carbon Future’ campaign, and the recently released Industry Transformation Plan (ITP).

“We can expect considerable demand for timber internationally, particularly engineered wood products for medium rise construction in a modern climate friendly world, he says: “Significant investment in scale and technology is typically required to be competitive in these specialised areas.

Other key areas of opportunity are in bio materials, biochemical and bioenergy”.

Referring to the closure of medium-sized, overseas-owned Blue Mountain Lumber in 2008, Ernslaw One Regional Manager, Phil De la Mare, explains it had been loss-making for a number of years “where a New Zealand owner would have closed it earlier”.

Asked if the company would have continued with the mill had the current initiatives been available at the time, he replies: “We unsuccessfully tried to build a new mill in the Coromandel in the 2000s. We lost in the Environment Court, so if the MPI initiative kicks the Resource Management Act to touch for greenfield sawmills, then the answer could be Yes, but the playing field has moved on in everything else.”

Commenting on the future of engineered timber Phil says, “Engineered timber for high rise buildings will only happen at scale when owners, government ministries, councils, universities, engineers, architects, specifiers, quantity surveyors and the village priest are all aligned. Steel and concrete manufacturers have always been very strong at lobbying... at the expense of timber. We have a lot of lobbying and educating to do.”

David Cormack, CEO of Wenita Forest Products says Wenita is broadly supportive of the plan saying the sector can do this by: • providing low emissions construction materials and fuels, • increasing domestic processing of lower grade logs, • increasing export earnings from highvalue products made from wood, • replacing emissions-intensive building products with engineered wood products, • increasing the resilience and productivity of our plantation forests.

David urges ongoing government support

and partnership as essential for this plan to be successful.

He says some of the ways government can support the plan are to coordinate and bring together the different parts of the sector forest owners, processors, forest advisors etc. “to work together on the plan”.

Also, “lead by example and show the way with the wood-first policy for government construction projects, and demonstrate new building products and construction techniques.”

David suggests supporting increased domestic processing with tax relief, simpler consenting processes and recognition plus rewards for the carbon locked-up in processed wood products. That is, carbon credits for wood products.

On the question of wood-based biomass for heat energy and electric power generation, Otago-based Pioneer Energy is expanding its operation to Milton and the Central North Island. It already has chipping operations in Naseby, Dunedin, Timaru and Pukaki, where it is trialling wilding conifers as a resource.

Pioneer’s Richard Ireland, at this stage, believes it is not efficient and too costly. “It only makes sense where fuel is available and cheap, and/or existing electrical infrastructure is not capable,” he says.

However Scion Research notes it’s a matter of economy of scale where excess steam is used to run generators. It cites Red Stag sawmill near Rotorua which has three boilers with a capacity of around 55MW thermal and two steam turbine generators ranging from 1 to 3.4 MW electric and 1 to 2.9MW electric maximum.

It reports a large cogeneration plant at Kinleith Mill, Tokorua producing steam and power for the pulp mill where the boiler can run on wood or gas, or both. The boiler is around 130MW thermal and steam turbine generator is around 39MW. The Pan Pac pulp and sawmill site at Whirinaki runs a cogen (co-generation) plant producing 14MW electricity from a thermal 45MW boiler.

Experiments with wood-based liquid fuels and chemical extraction are ongoing with research bodies. Port Blakely, for example, is in the process of researching extraction of essential oils by utilising the thinnings of one of its plantations. NZL

4

AP21327

HE INCREASE IN LOG EXPORTS SINCE the millennium and general closure of local timber mills and wood processors has prompted action by both Government and the forestry industry to initiate more onshore processing of this country’s forestry resources.

In an email addressed to NZ Logger, the Hon Stuart Nash, Minister of Forestry, listed several steps under the Forestry and Wood Processing Industries Transformation Plan (ITP) on actions to transform the industry.

These include: “Boosting productivity and supporting New Zealand’s drive to a low emissions future.

This includes the allocated $57m through the current 2022 Budget to stimulate investment in the domestic production of value-added wood products. But the Government would want input from all forestry stakeholders. It awaits suggestions of investment proposals, but it would be subject to Cabinet approval” – hopefully before the end of the year.

The plan is to transform the entire supply chain in over a generation, the Minister writes.

• Increase woody biomass supply: The Government will plant 10,000 ha of forest, including alternative species to meet growing demand for biomass.

• Government investment to grow wood processing capacity: Ensuring the sector has the right assets to produce high value and low carbon products.

• Improve financial incentives: Exploring the appropriate mix of financial incentives to stimulate investment in advanced wood processing and wood based bio-product technologies. This includes accelerated depreciation and investment grants.

• Supporting the development of regional manufacturing clusters: The government will partner with the sector to explore, assess, and deliver processing manufacturing clusters.

So far some positive and some mixed responses to the original worded proposals has been received from stakeholders.

Forest Owners Association President, Grant Dodson, writes: “Despite the traditional sawmilling sector there is much opportunity in remanufacturing and engineered wood products. This is part

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Tall Timber

Tony Brand.

ALL IN THE FAMILY Story: Richard Stringfellow, Safetree Toroawhi

M

ULTI-GENERATIONAL BUSINESSES are common in forestry, particularly among contractors. Brand Logging, Canterbury, is no exception.

Dad, Tony Brand, founded the business in 1984 and his wife, Kerin, does the books.

Eldest son, Simon, is Operations Manager and younger son, Adam, is Manager for one of the crews. Daughter, Gemma Mason,

Adam Brand.

46 NZ LOGGER | December 2022/January 2023

works one day a week in the office and her husband Craig is a Diesel Mechanic and works in the workshop.

So, there are no prizes for guessing what this family talk about when they meet up for Sunday dinner.

“Yeah, when we get together socially, we do talk a bit about forestry,” says Tony.

“It’s good seeing the kids involved in

the industry you work in. Sometimes I hear people say, ‘Oh, I don’t want my kids doing what I’m doing’. Well, I don’t think that. I think we’ve got a great industry and they’ll be set up for life if they carry on with it.”

Tony says his father got him into forestry: “We lived in Nelson and my dad worked for Baigents, putting in the forestry roads for the logging crews and the trucks. And I

Simon Brand.

used to go to work with him as a kid for the holidays. I just loved the skidders and the chainsaws and the smell of the timber.”

Today, Brand Logging runs four harvesting crews and a large repair workshop in Ashley that employs 12 people. It also runs one logging truck and some roading equipment, along with a Husqvarna Crown dealership in Rangiora. Enough to keep everyone busy.

Family focus So, what’s it like working for your Dad? “It’s great working for Dad,” says Adam. “He’s seen it all in the industry so he’s always good to get advice from.

“Working in a family business is great.

It gives us something in common. We’ve always got something to talk about when we catch up.”

What’s the best thing his sons have learnt from their father about running the forestry operation?

“I suppose one of the big things I’ve learnt from Dad is that dealing with people is a big part of the job,” Simon says.

He and his father work pretty well together,

Kerin Brand (left) with Gemma Mason.

Tall Timber

A vehicle renewal programme helps keep the crew safe.

he says. “He trusts me to look after the day-to-day running of the logging operation.

“He doesn’t come into the forest often these days because the other businesses keep him busy. But he’s still involved enough that I can ask him for advice if need to on the odd job that may have different challenges.”

Simon says the best thing about working in a family business has been growing up with it around him. “You just learn it from a young age.”

Adam says that when he joined the business his dad gave him good advice on how the ‘bosses kid’ could earn respect from the crew.

“When I was starting out, the best thing

Achievable targets avoid accidents and environmental problems.

48 NZ LOGGER | December 2022/January 2023

Dad taught me was a good work ethic. He told me the way to earn respect from the guys was to just get into it and work hard.

And he was right.

“I think the best thing that Dad does as a business owner is, he looks after the guys, he looks after the gear and overall that looks after the company.”

Keeping it safe So, does Tony worry about his sons working in a high-hazard industry like forestry?

No, “When it comes to safety, whether it’s my kids or any one of our staff, we want them all to be safe and go home at the end of the day,” Tony says.

Safetree Certified, Tony says Brand

Logging’s approach to keeping the team safe is based on good training, good gear and good working conditions.

“We don’t scrimp on gear; we supply the guys with the right equipment and make sure all the machines are up to standard.

“Driving is a critical risk in forestry, so we’ve been updating our vehicles to safer ones. We can control how people drive on our site but on the open road there are other drivers, stock… anything can happen.

So, we want our vehicles to offer good protection.

Fatigue is also a big issue in forestry, so operators are encouraged to jump out of their machines regularly for a quick stretch and a break.

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From left: Simon, Adam and Tony Brand.

“When it comes to production, we make sure the targets aren’t excessive and if we don’t make them there’s no punishment or coming in on Saturday to catch up.

“If you make the targets too high or start putting on production pressure that’s when bad stuff could happen – health and safety problems, environmental problems, machinery breakages.”

Simon says a key aspect that helps the business run as smoothly as it does is good staff retention.

“Of our 21 guys, one of them has worked for us for 30 years or more, three for over 20 years and another eight have worked here a decade or more. Fourteen of our guys were introduced to logging by us. Having

experienced, trained operators helps things run smoothly. The guys know how to do the job right and safely.”

He thinks people stay because the company tries to look after them and because the crews have a good culture.

“At lunchtime, everyone comes down to the container to eat together and have a laugh. A lot of the guys socialise out of work as well.”

So, with much of the business now being taken care of by his children, is Tony ready to step back?

“I’m not sure I’ll ever retire. Once you’ve got your kids involved you feel like you can’t walk away really. Although to be honest they probably wouldn’t mind if I did!” NZL

The second generation of Brands has taken over running the forestry operations.

December 2022/January 2023 | NZ LOGGER 49

FICA.ORG.NZ

your voice The voice of forestry contractors since 2002

Is the Fair Pay Agreement Fair?

A MESSAGE FROM PRUE YOUNGER, CEO, FICA

The Fair Payment Agreements (FPA) Bill has now become law, with significant amendments added to the version considered by Parliament’s Select Committee. Labour’s majority ensured it became law despite vigorous objections from the opposition parties. National, if elected to Government next year, has stated it will repeal the Fair Payment Agreements Act.

The coverage of a proposed FPA:

The FPA purpose, however, remains clear, namely to enable employment terms to be improved for employees by providing a framework for bargaining for fair pay agreements that specify industry- or occupation-wide minimum employment terms.

The FPA Regulations have not as yet been made public.

The fundamentals of the new Act are that FPA Bargaining is initiated by: • at least 1,000 employees who would be within the coverage of the proposed FPA supporting the application to initiate bargaining for the proposed FPA; or

• must be specified with sufficient clarity so that all employees and employers are able to determine whether they are within the coverage of the proposed FPA; and • must be specified in accordance with any regulations; and • must include any other information required by regulations.

One might look at it and say it is a move to a much greater unionised workforce across all sectors.

Data from Stats NZ shows more than 80% of workers aged between 15 and 34 are not in a union. With older workers the stats show between 5% and 10% more people are members of unions. Under the proposed Act, workers in a sector do not have to be members of a union for a union to bargain on their behalf.

• at least 10% of all employees who would be within the coverage of the proposed FPA supporting the application to initiate bargaining for the proposed FPA; or

• A FPA can be negotiated for workers who are not members of a union and who may not want to be members of a union.

• the public interest test being satisfied.

• Unions competing to negotiate a FPA may cause confusion for both workers and employers.

The key elements to activate the public interest test are that the Chief Executive (of presumably MBIE) be satisfied with the portion of employees who would be within the coverage of the proposed FPA. A particular focus for a public interest test approval is migrant workers where there is exploitation, systemic health and safety issues and a systemic failure to comply with minimum employment standards for employees, with the focus being on employers employing less than 20 workers. Under the public interest test none of the workers need to be members of unions.

The coverage of a proposed FPA must be described according to: • the occupation, including the work or the type of work, that the proposed FPA would cover (an occupation-based agreement); or • the industry and the occupations, including the work or the type of work within that industry, that the proposed FPA would cover (an industry-based agreement).

An occupation-based agreement must apply to: • all covered employees who are employed in the occupation covered by the agreement; and

• FPAs designed to cover whole industries and occupations so the agreements may have to be individual sectors within sectors may well lead to complication, multiple and different agreements and general confusion.

• An industry-wide FPA applies not only to workers with entry skills but to all workers in an industry, including highly paid roles.

• Some employers may not be able to fund increases There are thoughts that there are unintended consequences coming out of the Government’s and the Unions’ push for Fair Payment Agreements. And the question also to ask is, will the complexity and change in the FPAs achieve a tangible and workable outcome?

The Fair Pay Agreements Bill was introduced into Parliament on 29 March 2022 and received Royal Assent on 1 November 2022.

The Fair Pay Agreement system brings together employers and unions within a sector to bargain for minimum terms and conditions for all employees in that industry or occupation. The system includes support for bargaining parties to help them navigate the bargaining process and reach an outcome, as well as processes to ensure compliance.

Check out more information on: https://www.mbie.govt.nz/ business-and-employment/employment-and-skills/fair-payagreements/

• all covered employers in relation to the agreement.

An industry-based agreement must apply to: • all covered employees who are employed in the occupation and industry covered by the agreement; and • all covered employers in relation to the agreement.

50 NZ LOGGER | December 2022/January 2023

Prue Younger CEO, FOREST INDUSTRY CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION

A

your voice The voice of forestry contractors since 2002

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December 2022/January 2023 | NZ LOGGER 51

Te Taura-a-nuku Safety/performance/quality

“TAKATO KAU ANA TE WHANAU O TANE” “THE OFFSPRING OF TANE LIE PROSTATE” This whakatauaki (proverb) refers to the trees as the family of Tane being felled – the hard work has been done and the land is ready to be replanted. It also references the correct processes for traditionally harvesting and felling the rakau to ensure the safety of the tangata (people, and in this case the crew) and also the safety of preserving the Ngahere (forest) by rites of karakia and mihi.

Te Taura - The cord The steel cable Tewhatewha held by the Pou (taonga), which is a weapon used by leaders of taua (war party) or Ue (collective group of people) symbolises the importance of the mahi and that it can only be done safely as a collective as stated in the whakatauki.

This is our new cable logging trophy (below), designed and carved by Mr Caine Tawhai, representing this specific function within our industry.

Recently presented to the team at Lahar

Logging, it symbolises and represents what team excellence in cable logging is all about.

This issue we bring you results for Period 3 from the competition and more photographs of top performers.

These folk continue to impress with the standards achieved and maintained.

As with previous years, Period 4 and Full Year results will be included in the first issue of NZ Logger for 2023, the February edition.

Until then, we hope you all keep safe and focused until you are able to enjoy a well-earned break in what continues to be uncertain times.

Ka mau te wehi! Awesome individuals, awesome teams and awesome people behind the scenes supporting them in what they do!!

Makerikeri Silviculture (2020), Mitchell Silviculture, Puklowski Silviculture, Gutsell Forestry Services, Johnson Forestry Services, McHoull Contracting, Wayne Cumming Contracting, Howard Forestry Services, Inta-Wood Forestry, Heslip Forest Contracting, Otautau Contractors, X Men Forestry, Proforest Services, FM Silviculture, Tane Mahuta, Waikato Forestry Services, Rai Valley Silviculture, Thomassen Logging, Forest View Logging, Griffin Logging, Penetito Forestry, Pride Forestry, Mangoihe Logging, CMH Contracting, Kaha Logging, Roxburgh Contracting, Te Waa Logging, Mike Hurring Logging, Bluewood Logging, Storm Logging, Onward Logging, Down and Out Logging, Forest Pro Logging, Eastside Logging, Lahar Logging, Moutere Logging, JD Harvesting, Whisker Logging, Kimberly Logging, Dewes Contractors, Dempsey Logging.

Into safety?

Into performance?

Into quality?

Contact Shane Perrett on 0274 781 908 at primefm@xtra.co.nz NZL

Sponsors – they don’t have to do this but they choose to!

Awesome companies, awesome people and awesome support!

They back you and your workmates to succeed as professionals, so why wouldn’t you support them?

They believe in what we do and what you do.

So, a big ongoing thank you to our Strategic Partners – STIHL and NZ Logger and sponsor SWAZI. The best way to keep our industry working is to get out and support those businesses that support New Zealand.

Participating Companies

“Te Taura-a-nuku”

52 NZ LOGGER | December 2022/January 2023

This competition wouldn’t be what it is without our participating companies.

We understand the commitment it takes from them to be part of Top Spot and value their ongoing support and feedback.

Our ongoing thanks to: Rayonier/ Matariki Forests, Wenita Forest Products, Ernslaw One, OneFortyOne New Zealand, Crown Forestry, Forest View Contracting,

Kale van der Hulle from STR Logging.

Safety/performance/quality

PERIOD 3 RESULTS FUNCTION

CREW

PARTICIPANT

TASK

PLACING

Shaquille McIlroy

BOC

1=

Break Out Cable

Lahar Log 4

Break Out Cable

Lahar Log 4

Simon Katene

BOC

1=

Break Out Cable

Dewes Log 3

Tahi Hiroki

BOC

1=

Break Out Cable

Dewes Log 3

Dan Cobden

BOC

1=

Ground Base Extraction

CMH 60

Grant Talbot

Forward

1

Ground Base Extraction

CMH 59

Daniel Keefe

Forward

2

Ground Base Extraction

Whisker Log 3

Michael Jeffree

GBE

1=

Ground Base Extraction

Dempsey Log 8

Charles Marshall

GBE

1=

Ground Base Extraction

Whisker Log 2

Ross Bertram

GBE

3rd

Ground Base Extraction

Kaha Log 15

Jesse Tamatea

Shovel

1

Ground Base Extraction

Forestpro Log 1

Jack Benson

Shovel

2

Ground Base Extraction

Raywood Log 4

Reece Tamanui

Shovel

3

Mechanised Felling/ Processing

Moutere Log 7

Pou Anderson

Fell

1=

Mechanised Felling/ Processing

Mangoihe 5

Kris Trevena

Fell

1=

Mechanised Felling/ Processing

Forestpro Log 1

Robert Hawker

Fell

3

Mechanised Felling/ Processing

Whisker Log 3

Chet Swan

Fell/Process

1

Mechanised Felling/ Processing

CMH 60

Tory Hona

Fell/Process

2

Mechanised Felling/ Processing

CMH 59

William Parker

Fell/Process

3

Mechanised Felling/ Processing

Whisker Log 2

Kit Bradley

Process

1=

Mechanised Felling/ Processing

Kaha Log 15

William Stevenson

Process

1=

Mechanised Felling/ Processing

Moutere Log 7

Charles Wipaki

Process

1=

Mechanised Felling/ Processing

Dempsey Log 8

Spencer Waru

Process

1=

Mechanised Felling/ Processing

Forestpro Log 1

Freedom Stevens

Process

1=

Machine Operation on the Landing

Moutere Log 18

Dave Munro

MOL

1=

Machine Operation on the Landing

Whisker Log 2

Ben Blackmore

MOL

1=

Machine Operation on the Landing

Lahar Log 4

Lindon Blake

MOL

1=

Machine Operation on the Landing

Kaha Log 15

Corey Carmichael

MOL

1=

Machine Operation on the Landing

Moutere Log 7

Hariata Wipaki

MOL

1=

Machine Operation on the Landing

Dempsey Log 8

Magnus Tulloch

MOL

1=

Machine Operation on the Landing

Dempsey Log 8

Tane Simon

MOL

1=

Manual Tree Felling

Kaha Log 15

Chris Winter

MTF

1

Manual Tree Felling

STR Logging

Kale van der Hulle

MTF

2

Manual Tree Felling

Lahar Log 4

Jack Kristiansen

MTF

3

Poleman/ Spotter

Lahar Log 4

Andre McDonnell

Poleman

1

Poleman/ Spotter

Mangoihe 5

Madison Watkins

Poleman

2

Poleman/ Spotter

Dewes Log 3

Dion Robin

Poleman

3

Skidwork

Moutere Log 18

Jackson Ormsby-Chemis

QC

1=

Skidwork

Lahar Log 4

George Hinana

QC

1=

Skidwork

Kimberly Log 22

Dave Waitoa

QC

1=

Yarder Operation

Lahar Log 4

Smiler Katene

Yarder

1=

Yarder Operation

Kaha Log 15

Bronson Hiroti

Yarder

1=

Yarder Operation

Dewes Log 3

Quinton Collins

Yarder

3

December 2022/January 2023 | NZ LOGGER 53

Safety/performance/quality

Phil de la Mare, General Manager South Island, Ernslaw One, with James Sell.

Phil with Haydon Smith.

Shannon Todd of Bluewood Logging making some dust in Dunkeld Forest, Blue Mountains.

Jimmy White and Phil in some beautiful D Fir that has just been thinned.

Phil with Jarob Verdoner.

The Griffin Logging boys hard at it in Brocks forest above SHW 1, looking North over Lake Waihola.

54 NZ LOGGER | December 2022/January 2023

Safety/performance/quality

From left: Kelvin Stratford, Phil and Dave McKee.

From left: Phil with Adam McIvor, Shannon Todd and George Whyte.

Lahar Logging with the new trophy for the Top Yarder crew.

December 2022/January 2023 | NZ LOGGER 55

CAT 336GC FOR SPARROW LOGGING Sparrow Logging recently took delivery of this Cat 336GC to take care of felling duties for its Southland operation. The big PFS-guarded Cat is fitted with a Woodsman Pro FH1350C felling head. Operator, Shorty, is pictured with the new unit on a stunning Southland day! Machine sold by Southland Account Manager, Brodie Keen, from Terra Cat.

NEW MACHINERY FOR ACL LOGGING ACL Logging has taken delivery of a new FX3230LL felling machine, delivered by Porter Equipment’s Selwyn Tilly. The machine is fitted with single bar shoes, a Satco custom bonnet, Satco 630H felling head, and Pro Steel certified tow hitch. This machine will be attached to a T-Winch and used for felling in Northland.

MADILL TOWER YARDER FOR BLACK CONTRACTING Porter Group forestry experts recently travelled south to assist customer, Black Contracting, in running up its all-new Madill 172B Tower Yarder. Stationed south of Dunedin, this machine will assist the team at Black Contracting in hauling logs to the skid site for processing. Machine sold and delivered by Porter Equipment Territory Manager for Otago/Southland, Ross Moody.

56 NZ LOGGER | December 2022/January 2023

SATCO FOR CENTRAL LOGGING LIMITED Central Logging Limited has taken delivery of a Satco 3L2. The 3L2 was spec’d with the Logmaker controller. Mapping was a must as Central Logging Limited is a woodlot harvesting crew and Michael uses the mapping to show where the boundaries are in the blocks.

NEW TIGERCAT FOR DAVE PAUL LOGGING

FALCON WINCH ASSIST FOR BECKETT LOGGING

Otago’s Dave Paul Logging has taken delivery of a new Tigercat LS855E fitted with a 5195 felling head. Operator, Jeremy Hills, says he is rapt with the performance and new features after coming off the Tigercat LS855C. Pictured: Marie Paul and Jeremy Hills on delivery day.

Beckett Logging has taken delivery of a new Falcon Winch Assist on a Hyundai HX300 High & Wide base, now winching in the bush after its commissioning south of Gisborne. Machine produced and delivered by Trinder Engineering and Porter Group – NZ North Island.

Photo: Darrin Barr NZ Sales & Support for DC Equipment.

SUMITOMO FOR OLLERENSHAW LOGGING

NEW HYUNDAI FOR FLAVELL LOGGING

Otago’s Ollerenshaw Logging has taken delivery of a new Sumitomo SH370-6, fitted with a Waratah 625C and guarded by Duffy Engineering. Operator, Kevin, has spent six years processing and says he loves the performance and reliability of the Sumitomo.

Porter Equipment’s Colin Duley recently delivered this all new Hyundai HX400L forestry machine fitted with Woodsman Pro 850 processing head to Ray and his team at Flavell Logging’s Taupō skid site. The HX400 joins the crew’s Madill 124B swing yarder and Hyundai FX3230G.

December 2022/January 2023 | NZ LOGGER 57

NEW HYUNDAI FOR KAIHU KAURI MILL

CAT 345GC HARVESTLINE FOR KURU CONTRACTING

Nelson’s Kaihu Kauri mill has taken delivery of a new Hyundai HL757-9 wheel loader. Fitted with custom forks, this loader will be used in Nelson’s swamp Kauri mill turning old kauri stumps into furniture sold all around the world. Machine sold and delivered

by Porter Equipment Northland Territory Manager, Selwyn Tilly.

This new Cat 345GC Harvestline is a key addition to the East Coast and Hawkes Bay steep slope operations of Tolaga Bay-based Kuru Contracting. The Next Gen 345GC package combined with the cable logging system makes for efficient log extraction and quick line shifts in hard-to-access areas and tight landings, say owners Ricky and Leanne Kuru. The 345GC Harvestline is working in conjunction with the Cat 500-Series.

FOURTH ELTEC FOR FAST FRONTIER Fast Frontier has taken delivery of its fourth Eltec machine by Shaw’s. The new Eltec FHL277L has been fitted with an existing Waratah. Working out of Tokoroa, this machine is performing felling duties for the crew. Its increased processing speed and ability to tackle steep slopes makes it well suited for the job.

NEW SKIDDER FOR HAVARD LOGGING Gavin and the team at Havard Logging have taken delivery of a new 948L-II skidder.

Operator, Tom, who brings plenty of experience to the job, is stepping straight from a very reliable 848L (also pictured) into the new 948L-II. He says he is very happy with the extra performance of the 948L and is looking forward to putting it to use. Machine sold and supported by the team at AGrowQuip Manawatu.

58 NZ LOGGER | December 2022/January 2023

QUADCO/TIMBERPRO COMBO FOR MCH NEW MACHINERY FOR KAHA HARVESTING Kaha Harvesting has taken delivery of a SAT630H, pictured here hard at work.

Nathan and Hamish from Mechanised Cable Harvesting (MCH) have taken delivery of a new TimberPro TL775D running a QB4400 Fixed felling head. Sold by Southstar Equipment New Zealand.

SANY SY305H FOR EASTSIDE LOGGING Marty and the team at Eastside Logging have taken delivery of a Sany SY305H, complete with a DC winch assist package. Working out of Ruatoria, this machine will be tethering for East Side’s Madill 172. Sold and serviced

by Shaw’s.

NEW MACHINERY FOR STEVE JONES LOGGING Steve and the team at Steve Jones Logging recently took delivery of a new 948L-II skidder working in Mount Trotter, Otago. Machine sold by Lyndon Sayers and supported by Drummond & Etheridge Southland and Otago branches.

December 2022/January 2023 | NZ LOGGER 59

USED FORESTRY EQUIPMENT

SPECIAL OFFERS DECEMBER 2022 1996 Thunderbird TTY6170 Pole Hauler

2011 Sumitomo SH330-5 Processor

NZ new with new Alison Transmission 12 months ago, main drum, recently upgraded back working available for sale January 2023 ex Palmerston North.

12,000 hrs, Satco 323T processing head 7,000 hrs ex Taupo – D008083. $210,000.00 +GST

$695,000.00* +GST

NOW $150,000* +GST

Komatsu PC400LC-8

2015 Tigercat 875 Log Loader

Woodsman 850 Processing Head, 2,303 hrs, EMS Guarding Package, ex Taupo.

8,297 hrs and Ensign 1730 Grapple, ex Taupo.

$280,000.00 +GST

$240,000.00 +GST

NOW OFFERS

NOW $220,000* +GST

2018 Tigercat 880D Harvester

2016 Sumitomo SH240-TLFS Log Loader

5,000 hrs, Woodsman 850 Processing Head, tidy machine, ex Palmerston North. $693,000.00 +GST

10,900 Hours. Just serviced, fitted with new sprockets, Ensign 1730 Grapple, Ex Invercargill.

NOW $680,000.00 +GST

$180,000* +GST

2015 Tigercat LS855C Feller Buncher

2017 Tigercat LH855D Harvester

8,800 hrs, Tigercat 5195 Felling Head & new undercarriage ex Christchurch.

8,385 hrs, Woodsman Pro 750 Processing Head, ex Taupo.

$450,000.00 +GST

$550,000.00 +GST

NOW $420,000.00 +GST

NOW $495,000* +GST

Komatsu PC270LC-8

Komatsu PC270-8 Feller Buncher

13,260 hrs, new chains & ensign grapple, ex Invercargill.

5,642 hrs, 1350 Woodsman Felling Head, ex Taupo.

$110,000.00 + GST

$230,000.00 +GST

NOW $95,000.00 +GST

NOW $199,000* +GST

2012 CAT 336DL Processor

Tigercat LH855E Harvester

14,850 hrs, 2014 Satco 325 & guarding, ex Taupo - D121633. $160,000.00 +GST

4,829 hrs, Southstar 600 Processor, extra corner posts both sides & grouser extensions ex Palmerston North.

NOW $100,000.00 +GST

$650,000.00 +GST

2015 Tigercat LS855C Feller Buncher

Caterpillar 329D Log Loader

13,500 Hours. Just Serviced, good undercarriage, 5195 Felling Head, Ex Dunedin.

17,600 hrs, Ensign 1730 Grapple, DFM Cabin, ex Taupo.

$350,000.00 +GST

$95,000.00 +GST

Hyundai 320-9 ex Harvester & NOW Timbermax Winch Combo

2017 Cat 538GF Log Loader

(D129255) with high and wide, quick hitch, catwalks, handrails, ROPS etc (8,000 hrs), fitted with Timbermax T20HD (200 hrs) ex Dunedin.

NOW $625,000* +GST

NOW $80,000* +GST with 9,850 hrs, ensign 1530 Grapple, ex Invercargill.

$170,000* +GST

$605,000* +GST Lending is subject to Speirs Finance Group lending criteria, terms, and conditions.

Get in touch with your local AB Equipment Branch today.

Marcus Bourke Northland 027 241 6126 I Phil McKenzie Central North Island 027 565 3956 Ben Kendrick Gisborne Hawkes Bay 021 658 554 I Ryan Petersen Lower North Island 027 221 3293 Martin Talbot-Price Upper South Island 027 574 1712 I Hayden McCulloch Lower South Island 027 288 1952

0800 30 30 90 I abequipment.co.nz

*Ts&Cs apply.

NZ LOGGER classified

PROTECT YOUR POLYCARBONATE WINDOWS

Polycarbonate windows have safety qualities, but they are susceptible to scratching and damage when in the bush causing severe reduction in vision for the operator and creating health and safety issues.

We lower the requirement for polycarbonatereplacementby applyingprotectivefilmtoyour machine windows either in the bush or at the yard.

This will assist extending the life of the polycarbonate.

Forestry contractors get the benefits of not replacing the polycarbonate - only the film when necessary.

MOBILE SERVICE NATIONWIDE

AFTER

CONTACT: SHANE 027 626 2231 extremewindowtints@xtra.co.nz

@ExtremeWindowTints Extreme_Window_Tints

LG33039

BEFORE

December 2022/January 2023 | NZ LOGGER 61

NZ LOGGER classified

62 NZ LOGGER | December 2022/January 2023

NZ LOGGER classified

Madill Komatsu CAT Thunderbird John Deere Hyundai Tigercat Sumitomo Swing Units for Madill’s & Kenworth Logging Trucks Large Stocks of Heavy Alloy Cores & Completes Full Custom Build Service Fast & Efficient

sales@bopradiatorspecialists.co.nz

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STRONG & RELIABLE GRAPPLES STRONG && RELIABLE RELIABLE GRAPPLES GRAPPLES STRONG Made in NZ

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• M SERIES 852 AND 864 – STRONG & RELIABLE GRAPPLES • GRAPPLES AND ALL SPARES IN STOCK WITH OVERNIGHT DELIVERY • PROVEN AFTER SALES SERVICE

ProvenAfter AfterSales Sales Proven Service Service

ContactMarty MartyororBruce Bruce Contact Ph027 027324 3249091 9091 Ph 79Chambers ChambersStreet, Street,Tokoroa Tokoroa 79 enquiries@cdlloggrapples.co.nz enquiries@cdlloggrapples.co.nz

A DIVISION OF

December 2022/January 2023 | NZ LOGGER 63

LG32972

Griffin Logging has a new 124 Madill starting a long term corporate contract in May of next year and is looking for an experienced operator.

Our work is within 30minutes travel of Dunedin and Milton.

EXPOSE YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE

If interested please phone Shane 0272748233

GET THE RIGHT EXPOSURE THROUGH NZ LOGGER MAGAZINE AND CAPTURE THE FOREST INDUSTRY BUYERS DIRECTLY.

CONTACT OLIVIA TO ADVERTISE 027 685 5066

THURSDAY 30tH MARCH SATURDAY 1st APRIL 2023, PAIHIA, BAY OF ISLANDS TD33119

AP32758

SWING YARDER POSITION OTAGO

CONTACT OLIVIA TO ADVERTISE 027 685 5066

Get the right exposure through NZ Logger magazine and capture the Forest industry buyers directly.

EXPOSE YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE

NZ LOGGER classified

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Nor Mec 64 NZ LOGGER | December 2022/January 2023

Blen Ons

FL100 Felling Head Suitable for carriers in 30 tonne + range.

Priced from $110,634.00 For more information contact: Karl 021 1926 567 North Island Gerard 0274 794 664 South Island

Waratah FL100 Felling Head

Waratah 626

Waratah 625C

Refurbished - Full rotation, Parker valve, H16 or TimberRite POA

Arriving Soon – to be rebuilt.

POA

Waratah 626 Currently under rebuild POA

Refurbished

5% 5% OFF

OFF

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Delimb Covers Scan for Best Practice Guidelines of Working around Attachments

Cab Safety Labels

5%

Head Safety Labels

Joystick Window Labels

Latch Pins

Free with every Safety purchase

5%

OFF

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Delimb Covers Delimb Covers

Chain Guard with hardware kit

Northland Mechanised logging services

CNI, Waikato, Wairarapa Waratah Forestry Services

Hawkes Bay Forestry Maintenance HB

Nelson Tasman Heavy Diesel

Blenheim Onsite Mechanical

Greymouth SM Hydraulics

Dunedin Heavy Diesel support

Southland Heavy Equipment Repair

Komatsu PC300HW

WG Boom Set

Forestry Cab Options • Komatsu • EMS • Active • Ensign Komatsu Integrated Control System

Internal Hose Routing

HD Slew Guard

Komatsu High/Wide

Komatsu HD Cooler Package Options

Optional Guarding Packages

Komatsu Forest working closely with Komatsu Ltd Japan have developed two new Forest Xtreme models the PC270HW & PC300HW. These two models feature unique forest specifications from the Komatsu Osaka factory; • High & Wide undercarriage / Forestry Boom Set / Forestry Cabin Options supplied from KF are; • Large HD Cooling / Guarding Packages / Forestry Cabins

Komatsu’s unique ‘Forest Combinations’ Komatsu Forest Pty Ltd 15C Hyland Cresent Rotorua, New Zealand John Kosar M: 0274 865 844 Paul Roche M: 021 350 747 E: info.au@komatsuforest.com