Australian Forests & Timber - February 2020

February 2020

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The road to recovery Pages 3-10

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Road to Recovery

PM wants ‘quick’ bushfires Royal Commission Bruce Mitchell

T

HE Prime Minister wants any Royal Commission into the recent bushfires to last for no more than six months, and to have a focus on hazard reduction.

There have been numerous inquiries into bushfires stretching back many years, with pretty much all of them saying we’ve got to have greater management of fire risk, fuel loads and hazard reduction burns.

However, despite State Governments agreeing to adopt the recommendations, little has been done to implement them.

But Mr Morrison said he was more optimistic about his proposed Royal Commission, which has attracted industry support from the Australian Forests Products Association as well as former Victorian Labor premier John Brumby.

Mr Brumby was Premier during the tragic Black Saturday bushfires in 2009 and established a state royal commission into the events in February 2009.

Mr Morrison said there were some specific things that he would want any inquiry to do.

“The first one is I don’t want it to flick about. I don’t think it needs to go for 12 months.

I don’t think it needs to go for more than half that period of time and I will want answers

Logging contractor Brett Robin from Gippsland with a koala • he saved, and nicknamed Coota, near Mallacoota. to ensure that we’re prepared as we go into the next fire season,’’ he said.

“There’s been 100 inquiries or thereabouts since the Ash Wednesday fires all those years ago and there’s a lot of

commonality and we’d need to do a very quick audit.

“There have been agencies that have already done a lot of this work that reconciles what are the recommendations that have been made

and what’s actually being done.’’

Speaking on the Credlin program on Sky, Mr Morrison said the other part of what he thought an inquiry would look at is how we’re performing when it comes to reducing the risk of fires.

“Hazard reduction is action to take account of the climate we’re living in and which is a more challenging environment over the next decade and beyond,’’ he said.

“And hazard reduction is as important as emissions reduction and many would argue, I think, even more so because it has even more direct practical impact on the safety of a person going into a bushfire season.’’

The Prime Minister said that across the country, there was no national system of reporting to track how hazard reduction is progressing.

He said there are a range of other issues which go to land clearing laws around properties and on people’s private property, but not how native vegetation is managed, how national parks are managed, and how that can reduce fuel loads in particular areas.

“These are all responsibilities of the states and I’m not making any argument for the Federal government to be intervening in any of these areas,’’ he said.

But these people had very reasonable expectations that there are national standards, and that there is a transpar-

ency around how this is being achieved.

“There’s been plenty of chat about emissions reduction, and that’s fine,’’ Mr Morrison said.

“Hazard reduction, though, is the thing that is going to take a more practical effect on how safe people are in future fire seasons.’’

A Royal Commission has fairly widespread industry support, with Australian Forest Products CEO Ross Hampton saying it should examine how mechanical fuel reduction can complement controlled burns to reduce fuel loads across the landscape on all land tenures, as occurs in other bushfire-prone countries.

“There is near universal support for fuel load reduction after these tragic fires.

But everyone also understands that winter burn offs are dramatically dropping in area due to a narrower window of good weather,” Mr Hampton said.

“While the forestry industry is doing its part in the small area of forest we look after, the management of the rest of the forest estate – held in a mix of land tenures including National Parks and private farmland – is putting communities and lives at risk.

“The Prime Minister’s proposal to have national standards and more transparent reporting requirements could be a useful tool to ensure targets are being met.”

Government called on to secure industry’s future Philip Hopkins Bruce Mitchell

W

ARNING that New South Wales sawmills and harvesting operations have begun to close due to the bushfires, the state’s peak forestry body has urged the Government to guarantee the industry’s future.

The general manager of Timber NSW, Maree McCaskill, said jobs and stand downs were already occurring.

“The impact of the bushfires heightens the need for commercial certainty.

The extension of the Wood Supply Agreement to 2028 is a major factor along with continued wood supply,” she said. “Action is needed now if this government is committed to the long-term future of the industry.” www.timberbiz.com.au

Ms McCaskill said Timber NSW supported a federal Royal Commission into the 2019-20 bushfires.

“It is time for a mature, non-political and bipartisan examination of these major fires,” she said.

Such a Royal Commission may reveal systemic management and land management issues that otherwise would not surface, or worse be hidden behind politics and face saving.

“An outcome of this type would be a good thing for all Australians and hopefully future public policy.

It would be an outcome of strong leadership,” she said.

“It is time to lay bare the land management, planning, environment protection and disaster response systems that have resulted in the catastrophic fires since September 2019.”

A spokesman for the NSW Forestry Corporation said the fires had burnt areas of native forests and hardwood and softwood plantations.

“We are still assessing the full extent and severity of the impact. Both hardwood and softwood operating divisions have brought teams together to evaluate what has been lost, what can be salvaged and what areas have minimal damage,” the spokesman said.

The corporation’s main task had been firefighting over recent months, but work was concentrated on the business recovery plan and moving towards normal operations.

The North Coast, where State forests were extensively damaged, had only recently reopened to visitors.

“This work continues in the South Coast and Snowy

regions, with staff out assessing forests for dangerous trees, smouldering fires, blocked roads and other hazards,” the spokesman said.

“Sadly around 50,000 hectares of the softwood plantations in the South West Slopes area have been impacted by the fires, but the good news is that most of the merchantable burnt timber is expected to be salvageable.”

In Victoria, a VicForests spokesman said preliminary assessments of fire impacts were continuing.

“Once it is safe to do so, VicForests and the Office of the Conservation Regulator will conduct detailed in-field assessments of all coupes on the current Timber Release Plan impacted by fires,” he said.

“VicForests has a large

Australian Forests & Timber News February 2020

seed bank of more than a tonne that can be used to help regrow many of the forest areas.”

Nationally, early estimates are that more than 10 million ha of forest have been burnt. At least 29 people have been confirmed dead, more than 27600homes and more than 5800 outbuildings destroyed.

In Victoria, more than 1.4 million ha of forest have been burnt, five people have been killed, and about 400 homes and more than 5800 outbuildings destroyed.

Ms McCaskill said the NSW Government should appoint a Recovery Commissioner.

“A concerted and pragmatic emergency and recovery approach is required urgently,” she said.

Continued on Page 10

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Road to Recovery Timber industry must take lead in recovery debate February 2020 Issue 1 Vol. 29 Established 1991 News 3-12 My view 12 Round table 14-15 Silviculture 20 Feller bunchers 24-25 Steep slope logging 26-27 Mill profile 28 Front Cover: Machines were put to use following lightning strikes that sparked several fires early December in North-East Victoria.

Publisher and Chief Executive: Hartley Higgins General Manager: Robyn Haworth Editor: Bruce Mitchell b.mitchelll@ryanmediapl.com.au Adelaide Office (08) 8369 9512 Advertising: Gavin de Almeida g.dealmeida@ryanmediapl.com.au Adelaide Office (08) 8369 9517 Production: Peter Frezzini & NEM Creative Trader classified: g.dealmeida@ryanmediapl.com.au Adelaide Office (08) 8369 9517 Subscriptions: subs@forestsandtimber.com.au Adelaide Office (08) 8369 9522 Subcription rates One-year (8 editions) $55 Two-years (16 editions) $95 Accounts: Adelaide Office (08) 8369 9555 Postal Address: 630 Regency Road, Broadview South Australia 5083 Phone: (08) 8369 9555 Fax: (08) 8369 9501 Melbourne Office: Suite 2262, 442 Auburn Rd, Hawthorn VIC 3122 Phone: (03) 9810 3262 Website www.timberbiz.com.au Printed by Lane Print, Adelaide, SA

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THE bushfires have sparked much debate on how Australia’s timber resources should be managed.

The debate ranges from do nothing and leave it be, to careful forest management.

The first is simply untenable, as the fires in New South Wales in particular have shown. The intensity of the fires in national parks in NSW were exacerbated by the lack of strategic burn-off in the previous 12 months.

There are lessons to be learnt there.

In Victoria, the fires in East Gippsland, where the State Government there plans to halt native timber harvesting by 2030, those who work in the timber industry – in the very forests that were burning – were able to use their manpower, their expertise, their local knowledge and their machinery to help fight the fires.

Again, there are lessons to be learnt there.

So doing nothing cannot be an option.

Calls from industry and unions for increased thinning in forests to reduce bushfire risks have been met with concern from conservation scientists. They suggest forest thinning makes forests more fire prone.

So who’s right? Well, it’s complicated.

According to a group of University of Melbourne academics the short answer is forest thinning is a good way to lower the risk of fire and is a widely-used strategy to improve forest health. However, there are potential downsides. Thinning needs to be carefully planned to avoid effects on soil, water or sensitive habitats.

That really makes sense.

Then there is increased talk of hazardreduction burning. This concept is gaining extra ground because of its links to

the way the Aborigines, before the arrival of Europeans, used fire to manage the forests. The argument is that it was used successfully for thousands of years before European settle, why not now.

Many of these recommendations will ultimately be presented to a Royal Commission, which the Prime Minister Scott Morrison quite rightly says needs to be a short, sharp affair lasting no more than six months.

But there has been one inquiry every two years in the past 80 years.

Some of the recommendations of the Stretton Royal Commission following the Black Friday fires of 1939 have still not been fully implemented.

Maybe, just maybe, this time we will get it right. But to do so, the timber industry needs to take the lead in the debate, or face being swamped by those who have a distorted vision of the environment’s future and seek to do nothing.

Good news and bad from ravaged fire grounds Bruce Mitchell

A

ROUND 50,000 hectares of the softwood plantations in the New South Wales South West Slopes area have been impacted by the fires, but the good news is that most of the merchantable burnt timber is expected to be salvageable.

A Forestry Corporation of NSW spokesman said it was getting as many crews restarted and working on harvesting logs from areas that have been affected as soon as possible.

Salvageable pine trees need to be harvested within around 12 months, however harvested logs could be stored for years under the correct conditions.

Logging operating in Victoria and NSW are facing a race against time to salvage the millions of tonnes of timber from the states’ grounds before the wood becomes unusable.

VicForests says it has not conducted any fire recovery harvest operations so far.

Up to 40 per cent of the native woodland set aside for harvesting in East Gippsland had reportedly been burned, but the industry now believes that most of those trees can be salvaged.

Millions of tonnes of NSW plantation timber from the Tumut and Tumbarumba areas are expected to be salvageable but in East Gippsland, the salvage figures

Hyne Timber CEO Jon Kleinschmidt and James Hyne • meet with Fire and Rescue Strike Team members at the Tumbarumba Mill.

from native forests are expected to be in the tens of thousands of tonnes.

The salvage yield will be higher in plantations, which need to be completely cleared to allow replanting, than in native forests which regenerate naturally after fires, ruling out clear-felling of burnt native logging coupes.

“In the short-term, we have experienced a significant increase in demand for power poles and other products required by local communities as they begin to rebuild vital infrastructure,’’ a Forestry Corp spokesman said.

“Crews are continuing to deliver these critical products to support the rebuilding effort.

“We are committed to working with the local mills to help ensure timber is available for the NSW community to re-build after the fires and we regrow plantations so our community has a long-term timber supply into the future.’’

Key departments will be prioritising the harvesting of burnt trees in NSW state forests. The in-principle agreement came from the Regions, Industry, Agriculture and Resource Group, and the Environment, Energy and Science Group within the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment.

A spokesman for VicForests said that once it was safe

Australian Forests & Timber News February 2020

to do so, it would conduct detailed infield assessments of all coupes impacted by fires on the current Timber Release Plan.

“Until these assessments are complete, no timber operations – except emergency road clearance - will commence in the fire affected areas,’’ the spokesman said.

“The aim of emergency roadworks is to clear trees that are dangerous or have fallen or likely to fall following the fires.

“This fire response work is part of a broader effort that includes firefighting and firebreak works.”

Australian Forest Products Association chief executive Ross Hampton said the salvage operation would be “enormous” and the industry was asking for help from state and federal governments to ensure it was successful.

“It is vital that the State and Federal governments turn their minds to the enormous bushfire recovery harvesting task that lies ahead,” Mr Hampton said.

“The sheer scale of the operation required in the coming weeks and months will require careful planning and government support to ensure as much as of these burnt trees that were already designated for timber production can be recovered and delivered to mills in time, so that they don’t simply add to the fuel loads in the landscape or become a safety hazard.” www.timberbiz.com.au

Road to Recovery

• The Kangaroo Island fire emerges from the Ravine des Casoars Wilderness Protection Area four days after it started.

Picture: TIM WILSON

KIPT swings into fence post production Bruce Mitchell

K

ANGAROO Island Plantation Timbers’ former Timber Creek Mill, near Parndana, is to recommissioned to supply fence posts to the fire-ravaged island.

The company expects to begin work in the coming weeks on an operation to help replace about 3000km of fencing which has been destroyed in the region.

Executive director John Sergeant said the company hoped to get its Timber Creek Mill operations up and running as soon as possible – including restoring power and water – to

address a “chronic shortage” of fence posts.

It was last used to make posts some time ago, but the main part of the mill, producing saw logs, has not operated since 2013.

Early aerial assessments indicate that about 95 per cent of the company’s blue gum and pine trees valued in excess of $100 million and all of the island’s independent plantations have been affected by fire.

In approximate terms, and on a preliminary basis, the company estimates that only 5% of its treecrop has not been fire-affected.

A further 5% has experi-

enced predominantly ground fire, with only minor canopy damage. The remaining 90% has suffered significant canopy fire, which was severe in 35% of the estate and complete to the point of total defoliation in 55% of the estate.

The effect of this is that, whether individual trees go on to produce new growth or not, an estimated 90% of KIPT’s trees are, for all practical and economic purposes, no longer productive. When the treecrops of independent growers are included, this means that approximately 15,000 ha of plantations will need to be felled in order to return the land to production.

The company says that the task is urgent, as timber quality deteriorates with time, even when stockpiled under ideal conditions.

Moreover, the situation is complicated by the lack of an approved deep-water port and the reduced economic value and reduced volume of firedamaged timber.

The company continues to consider its options, including the form in which timber may be exported and sold (e.g. as logs, chip or pellets). Such operations would effectively subsidise the necessary landclearing following the fires.

The company says it remains committed to securing

final approval for its proposed deep-water wharf at Smith Bay. It says the proposed KI Seaport will be essential to enable the removal and sale of trees that would otherwise need to be chain-felled and completely burnt in situ: a costly process that would take several years, releasing considerably more smoke and CO2 than the fast-moving intense fires of December and January.

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Australian Forests & Timber News February 2020

5

Road to Recovery

Forest managers’ prescribed burning plan

W

ITH the devastating bushfires continuing, the peak body for forest managers – the Institute of Foresters, which is made up of some 1,200 forest and land management professionals and practitioners Australia wide and the Australian Forest Growers have released six key principles to understanding the need for prescribed burning as a key tool in managing bushfires.

President of the Institute of Foresters, Mr Bob Gordon said we have released the principles to ensure there was an informed debate on how the nation’s forests are managed.

“Our members, who are asked every day to manage the landscape, have highlighted that any discussion of future forest and fire management must have prescribed burning as part of the solution to controlling bushfires,” Mr Gordon said.

He also noted that some people confuse prescribed burning with back burning.

He said, “prescribed burning is used before bushfires occur to reduce environmental

More recently, impacts and the forestry aid suppression profession has while backpioneered, burning is used and developed as a bushfire landscapecontrol tactic.” scale pre“While pres c r i b e d scribed burnburning as a ing is not the bushfire mitipanacea for our gation tool”. bushfire prob“ S e c o n d l y, lem, fire as a while nothlandscape maning will agement tool stop intense has for thoubushfires, sands of years prescribed been part of burning will the Australian signif icantly e nv i ro n m e nt mitigate them. and properly “Not even the managed will biggest waters i g n i f i c a n t ly CFA firefighters working on the edge of the Abbeyard bombing airmitigate our fire, north of Wangaratta, building containment lines and craft can stop a bushfire probcountering spotfires. major bushfire lems. This is “The first principle is that in extreme weather, so neibecoming even more critical in the face of climate change fire as a management tool of ther can a prescribed burn, impacting on bushfire sever- the landscape has been used but history shows it can help.

Mr Gordon said thirdly, resince ancient times in Ausity and extent”.

Mr Gordon said to ensure tralia and it remains a key tool ducing fuel levels through informed debate on the mat- in the face of climate change,” prescribed burns enables firefighters to control fire quicker ter the Institute of Foresters, Mr Gordon said.

“Since ancient times, indig- and reduce the amount of including Australian Forest Growers had adopted the fol- enous Australians have used land burned.

“Many of the huge fires we fire to shape the landscape. lowing five key principals.

•

are now experiencing were initially burning under mild conditions, so had the fuel load been reduced it would have assisted fire-fighters to control them before the onset of dangerous fire weather conditions which has made them uncontrollable.

“Fourthly, bushfires will still burn, but reduced fuel levels will reduce environmental impact. Put simply, less fuel, means less fire.”

Mr Gordon said the fifth principle accepts that prescribed burning is not the perfect solution, but over time has been shown to be beneficial.

“The bottom line is that forest and land managers understand fire is a vital tool in managing bushfire and we must understand this if we are to have a proper debate on the matter.

“Finally, the IFA supports the use of fire in northern Australia, particularly by indigenous Australians for sustainable forest management including carbon emission reduction, forest health and ecological values.

Dr Karl recommits to Austimber 2020

P

LANS for the rescheduled AUSTimber2020 in November are well underway with all of the exhibitors, partners and suppliers re-committing to the event.

Organisers decided to postpone AUSTimber2020 until November because of the

devastating bushfires in East Gippsland and the decision was met with wide-spread industry and community support.

The AFCA Board and the Planning Committee concluded that rescheduling would enable the timber industry to continue supporting bush-

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fire response, recovery and salvage efforts in the coming months.

The organisers plan to run the April schedule unchanged with exhibitors supportive of the rescheduling and re-committing.

Dr Karl Kruszelnicki, one of Australia’s 100 National Living Treasures with a media career spanning more than 30 years, has also re-committed to being guest speaker at the Welcome Dinner on November 5.

Australian Forest Contractor Association general manager Stacey Gardiner said the bushfire crisis would have a “lasting impact on our industry and should be the focus over the coming months’’.

The Australian Forest Products Association reflected general industry opinion in saying it recognised that the decision to postpone the conference was a major decision but “one that we fully support’’.

“It recognises the reality that there are still many serious bushfires still burning and thousands of firefighters on the front line protecting communities and properties,” the AFPA said.

The Mayor of Latrobe City Council Dan Clancey said that while it was disappointing

that AUSTimber2020 has been rescheduled, it was understandable.

“Latrobe City Council fully supports the decision to hold this significant event at the most appropriate time of the year, the decision to reschedule is the best outcome for stakeholders, the community and industry partners,’’ he said.

“Latrobe City Council is proud to host the southern hemisphere’s largest timber industry show and we now turn our attention to planning for November.”

AUSTimber site manager Travis Healey said the focus now was “like many in our industry’’.

“We are sending our work crews and equipment where they are needed to support communities impacted by the devastating bushfires,’’ he said.

“We were assisting the firefighting efforts in Queensland and now all of our crews are in north east and south west of Victoria.”

AUSTimber Coordinator, Ms Dionne Olsen said tickets which have already been purchased will be honoured in November and the program remains unchanged for the new dates.

Australian Forests & Timber News February 2020

“We also want to recognise and thank our supporters, exhibitors and partners for their positive and proactive response to the decision to reschedule the show,’’ she said.

“It is their commitment to the success of the show in November that means our communities will still have the opportunity to benefit from more than 10,000 national and international attendees visiting Gippsland.

“AUSTimber is the largest timber industry show in the southern hemisphere and we have already commenced planning to facilitate a seamless transition to the future show in November.” www.timberbiz.com.au

While some things change in the forest… some things never change.

Weiler Forestry.

Weiler, Inc., an industry-leading manufacturer, has acquired the Caterpillar purpose-built forestry business. The new Weiler Forestry product line will include wheel skidders, track and wheel feller bunchers, track harvesters, and knuckleboom loaders.

Weiler’s successful track record as a nimble, customer-driven, and responsive manufacturer makes it well positioned to meet the needs of the forestry customer.

Caterpillar’s commitment to the forestry industry remains both through the Forestry excavators product line as well as dozers, excavators, and wheel loaders that support the forestry industry from road-building to the millyards.

Another thing that isn’t changing is the world class dealer organization that will continue to support your existing Caterpillar and Weiler forestry purpose-built products. Your Cat® dealer will maintain genuine OEM parts to ensure your machines are up and running, optimizing your time, labour, fuel, and investment.

You can count on your Australian Cat dealer to invest in forestry specific sales and support as part of a dedicated focus under the Weiler Forestry partnership.

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Road to Recovery

Implications still remain unclear Bruce Mitchell

I

MPLICATIONS for productive native and plantation forests ravaged by bushfires is, at this point, not clear, according to IndustryEdge managing director Tim Woods.

“We do know that areas of productive native forest are at the center of some of the fires and there are active fires in, or adjacent to, major plantation assets,’’ Mr Woods says in a report for Forest2Market.

“With every forestry resource focussed on contributing to addressing the current crisis, it will be some time before there is any clarity of the magnitude and location of specific asset losses.

“One smaller plantation owner has reported twenty percent of their estate has been destroyed, and some significant regional infrastructure has also been engulfed.’’

Mr Woods says that the collective national fire-fighting endeavour, care and recovery effort — including the contributions from harvesting and haulage contractors all the way through landowners and managers — is also ongoing.

“Much of it is provided by volunteers whose resources are stretched thin, placing their resilience under constant pressure. “However, crews are not actively working in the forests and plantations as a result,’’ he says.

“First quarter log and woodchip exports are therefore likely to be reduced as a result of the fires.’’

Longer term impacts on the Australian forestry and wood products industry were unclear and would not be known for some time.

Mr Woods says that because Australia is not selfsufficient in its own supply of wood products, any reduction in resource availability will significantly impact regional communities where sawmills and other processing facilities and jobs are located. “This is a common secondary blow for communities that face the brunt of forest fires,” he says.

“Ultimately, reduced re-

source will result in demand being met by increased imports of lumber and other wood products.

“There may be longer-term implications for exports of logs and woodchips.’’

Similarly, the implications for public policy moving forward are unclear at this time.

“At a minimum, we can be certain that the future will hold increased mitigation and adaptation planning and expenditure, including added risk management and controls,’’ he says.

Opposition to controlled burns and other management practices may temporarily decline, but whether that leads to a meaningful

re-examination of public policy that has seen native forest harvesting all but cease in some states, is another matter altogether.

“Inevitably, there is discussion about the contribution of climate change,’’ he says.

“Fires are, of course, naturally occurring events in the forest landscape. However, in an historical sense, the current Australian wildfires are simply not normal.

“These fires are as extraordinary as the havoc they have wrought, as well as the heroic efforts to combat them. In so many respects, these are already unprecedented fires, and Australia is only halfway through its fire season.’’

CSIRO to support nation’s bushfire rebuild CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, has welcomed its role in delivering practical resilience measures in relation to bushfires and climate change, as the country faces continued extreme fire weather in the future.

The CSIRO, in collaboration with other agencies and partners, will bring plans and recommendations to Australian Governments on ways we can manage and protect homes, our environment, industries and infrastructure.

“Bushfires and drought have always been a challenging, natural part of Australian life, but we are starting to see the impacts of climate change in hotter, drier seasons, which cause more fire danger days,’’ CSIRO CEO Dr Larry Marshall said.

“This is the time to act,

8

before the effects become larger. Despite our mitigation strategy, climate change will be with us for decades to come, so adaptation is the key immediate action to preserve lives, our economy, and protect our environment.

“CSIRO will provide recommendations on how we can better prepare for and manage bushfires when they occur, including new tools driven by science and technology,’’ Dr Marshall said.

The CSIRO would draw on its almost 70-year history of bushfire research across multiple fields of science including land management, building and materials design, fire protection and testing, and biodiversity management.

“But we won’t do this alone,” Dr Marshall said.

“We can bring every branch of science and technology to bear on this challenge through our partnerships with every Australian university and every government department or agency.

“We will bring solutions from science for an Australia that will face, head on, a different climate than before, in the same way we have solved some of Australia’s greatest challenges for over 100 years.”

The CSIRO will be supported by an expert panel, chaired by the Chief Scientist, Dr Alan Finkel.

CSIRO is Australia’s national science agency and an Australian authority on fire management, behaviour and prediction and it has led research to understand and predict the behaviour and spread of bushfires for almost 70 years.

Andrew Milliken of Brunt Harvesting clearing trees on • Princes Highway in East Gippsland.

Australian Forests & Timber News February 2020

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Road to Recovery

Forest contracters shouldering the heavy load in fire fight S

OUTH Buchan logging contractor Reece Reynolds has been putting in 11-hour days to help contain the fires which continue to threaten East Gippsland.

He is one of many forestry contractors who have put their machines to work around the clock in the effort to clear roads, remove hazardous trees and black out smouldering fires.

“At the peak of the fires we were pulling 15-hour days but it’s quietened down a bit,” he said.

“The machines have been working pretty much non-stop since late November and there’s still a fair bit to do.”

Mr Reynolds’ two harvesters, skidder and dozer are part of a pool of 200 mechanical resources used by the Department of Environment, Land, Water & Planning’s Forest Fire Management division at times of crisis such as this.

It’s a resource that is critical to fire prevention and containment and it’s a resource that will be considerably diminished if the State Government makes good its promise to end forest management via native timber harvesting in Victoria.

“Any sort of forest management is

• South Buchan logging contractor Reece Reynolds in the action in East Gippsland. better than none but locking it up is the path we are going down,” Mr Reynolds said.

“Forestry gives access to the forests as well as the machines which are capable of creating fire breaks and cleaning up afterwards.

“We work in National Parks as well – when there’s fire, all trees are the

same, no matter where they are on a map.”

It’s a frustration echoed by many forest workers who, just weeks after being told their industry will be shut down, have been in the bush saving property and lives.

Mr Reynolds’s own property was lucky, the wind changing direction just as it hit his fences, but other contractors have lost nearly everything, and they are bewildered by the lack of recognition of their value in the bush.

“The CFA gets a lot of well-deserved attention for the work they do, but there’s been no acknowledgement by the Government at all for the forestry contractors,” Mr Reynolds said.

Continued from Page 3

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The NSW Cabinet must direct the Environment Protection Authority to allow salvage harvesting immediately of fire impacted areas. Forest contractors were highly skilled and experiences, and able to work with Forestry Corporation staff on specific sites, she said.

Ms McCaskill said without immediate intervention, the bushfire disaster would cause a major economic contraction in the many regions where the timber industry had a major socio-economic impact.

“In the supply chain there are thousands more jobs in manufacturing, transport, wholesale, retail and construction which all depend on ongoing forestry supply,” she said.

Ms McCaskill said there were several urgent issues. These included: Salvage for infrastructure replacement. Access to material suitable for the replacement of poles, fencing and bridge girders is paramount, so salvage operations need to be fast-tracked.

Finance and cash flow. The interruption to timber supply will af-

Australian Forests & Timber News February 2020

“It makes you wonder how much people care about the forests.

“If you want to save an animal then the idea of locking it up gives wildlife no hope.

“We’ve seen wildlife taking refuge in areas harvested for native timber where the fire has stopped or cooled right off.”

Mr Reynolds said some of the work he’s doing now is reopening roads to landholders which were blocked by fallen trees.

The trees grow in ‘wildlife corridors’ which border properties along rural B-road easements, but Mr Reynolds said they create a hazard in fire conditions.

“Because there is some heavy timber in them, they become fire corridors,” he said.

“The fire quickly travels through them to burn a property and then travels on to the next one.

“There just needs to be a review of how vegetation is managed on all public land at all levels of government.”

Meanwhile, Mr Reynolds is among many who are wondering what the future of the East Gippsland timber industry will look like when the fires have finally been extinguished.

“We’re mostly burned out around here except for a few pockets. A few of the mills have stock but they’ve been hit pretty hard and it’s all pretty uncertain,” he said.

“It depends on what’s left and what’s unburned but hopefully Governments will help us.”

fect cash flow and quickly tip many small, medium and larger businesses into financial difficulty, and ultimately rapid shut-down.

Businesses are reviewing staff levels and redundancies are already under way.

Business insurance. Insurance coverage could be removed, with some large insurance companies already indicating they will no longer cover timber processors and contractors.

For the long-term, the government must commit to serious fuel load management. Current NSW targets are well below calculations made in the 2009 Black Saturday Bushfires Royal Commission in Victoria.

Aboriginal cultural/cool burning practices and management should be introduced on a broad scale on Crown lands.

Biomass plants. Timber biomass from thinning/mechanical fuel reduction is a valuable material that can be sued in biomass plants, which could also use residues from saw log production to provide valuable heat and energy.

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My view

It’s your resource, it’s your say JACK BOWEN

A

S we have now held our final staff event (Bowchella!) in celebration of our 125th birthday, I would like to pay homage to a PRODUCT that has been a vital constant in the history of Bowens …… TIMBER! And particularly Victorian hardwood timber which it appears is about to be taken away from us all by a ridiculous and totally misguided decision by the Andrews State Government.

Our founder Richard Bowen initially merchandised timber in recycled form. Once the business started to gather real momentum ‘new’ timber sourcing and production became the priority. Richard realised the building and joinery markets were where his future lay – and timber was the key product required for these markets.

Victorian hardwood timbers met the bill perfectly, being local and readily available.

With Victoria being blessed with extensive natural forests, producing some of the best hardwoods in the world, local native forest hardwood timber became the preferred building material and a key product supporting an ever increasing demand for housing and commercial/industrial construction in the State.

While local hardwood satisfied the domestic framing and joinery component, imported douglas fir (oregon) was also often utilised for the really large jobs. ‘Flitches’ (slabs), up to 25 metres long, 20 centimetres thick and 60 centimetres wide, were imported and re-sawn into various large structural ‘beams’.

Way back in 1925, Bowens supplied oregon beams for the (then) new Ford factory 12

dows, doors, linings, durable building claddings, furniture, high strength structural members, decks, screens, fences and landscaping products.

The announcement on November 7 by the Andrews Government proposing an “end to natural forestry harJack Bowen is chairman of vesting in the Victorian pubBowen Timbers. licly-owned State forest by in Geelong. Both small and 2030” defies logic, it in reality large jobs required timber completely ignores science, construction materials which common sense, community were used almost exclu- desire and facts. sively as the built environThe facts are: ment grew in Melbourne and • Timber is one of the only spread to regional areas. It’s truly renewable resourcstill the same story in 2019. es.

Today timber remains a • Trees breakdown CO2 ‘constant’ for Bowens which using the solar energy it strongly respects and supof the sun and give us ports for its ‘sensational envithe oxygen we breathe, ronmentally (friendly) qualiwhilst storing the carties’. bon to form the timber Despite the many facts that we use in our famthat support this statement, ily homes – half of the the recent decision by the dry weight of the tree is Andrews State Government carbon. seems to totally ignore the • Alternative building ‘facts’. products to timber such And of course, Bowens will as steel, aluminium and always defend a product that concrete produce vast is absolutely vital to the buildamounts of CO2 in their ing industry and such a key manufacture – over 8% product in our ‘offer’ to our of the world’s greenbuilder customers. house gas emissions We want our ‘love affair’ come from the producwith timber to continue for tion of cement alone. the good of all. Particularly, • The demand for hardwe want ongoing access in wood products by Vicperpetuity for our sustaintorian consumers conable, renewable, certified lotinues to increase – any cally sourced Victorian hardreduction in local supply wood timbers. simply means increased While locally grown Radiaimports, possibly from ta Pine and other imported tropical hardwood forsoftwood products now domests with lower environinate the structural framing mental regulations and elements in new housing, standards and at higher the need for and popularcost. ity of hardwood products re• Hardwood plantations main for a multitude of apdo not exist in Victoria plications including: feature as a building substitute flooring, staircases, cabinefor sustainable certified try, joinery, mouldings, win-

•

local native hardwood timbers, as they take 60-80 years to grow. The government’s suggestion that plantations are a viable alternative in the short term is simply misleading and untrue.

• Victoria is blessed with 7,600,000 hectares of native state forest – a vast estate, yet only 0.04% is harvested annually for the timber products consumers demand. Put in simple language, only 4 trees out of every 10,000 are harvested each year and every tree is replaced as the areas are regenerated by law. The reality is that the current area harvested annually to supply the exquisite hardwood products consumers demand is simply a drop in the ocean.

• Hardwood product production also has significantly high social benefits as the timber supply chain creates thousands of jobs, particularly in regional areas: 320-380 businesses, 21,000 direct employees, 30-40,000 indirect employees – including 13,000 who live and are employed in the suburbs of Melbourne, producing and selling: furniture, flooring, staircases, cabinetry, joinery, mouldings, windows, doors, linings, cladding, decking, frames & trusses, glued laminated structural, structural framing, fencing landscaping, and paper based products.

• Sustainable, independently certified forest practices are currently used in Victorian hardwood forests. This ensures that the trees har-

Australian Forests & Timber News February 2020

vested are replaced and regrown in perpetuity – for our use, our kids use, and for all future generations.

• One positive announcement from the Andrews Government is clarifying the issue of Old Growth harvesting, which in reality has been very small the past few years but which now is totally banned.

I am constantly frustrated when Victorian native timber forest harvesting is used as a political football to manipulate green voters. Conservation is clearly about the ‘wise use of resources’. It does not mean locking resources up.

Locking up Victoria’s sustainably managed native hardwood forests, and in its place having to increase imported timbers, is environmental negligence. Surely using local, sustainable, renewable and certified timbers makes far better sense.

No Victorian government has ever taken away from its people a public resource which the people own, utilize widely, and continue to desire and purchase.

No Victorian state government has ever said it will totally shut down its local hardwood timber product supply chain, ‘forest through supply chain to home’ – the Andrews Government is the first.

We want sustainable, renewable, certified, local Victorian hardwood timbers to continue to be a major offering by Bowens just as it was 125 years ago. This is a bad decision on any measure, economically, socially and particularly environmentally.

It’s your resource – it’s your say – don’t let the Victorian Government take it away. www.timberbiz.com.au

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Round table Briefs Court halts logging in Gippsland THE Victorian native timber industry has been dealt a further blow after the Supreme Court ordered a halt to logging in parts of Victoria’s central highlands due to the impact of this summer’s bushfires.

The environmental group WOTCH — Wildlife of the Central Highlands —successfully argued that the East Gippsland fires had placed further strain on threatened species in the state, and that areas untouched by fire in the Central Highlands, near Healesville, must not be logged.

The Supreme Court granted an interim injunction ahead of a full hearing on February 18.

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Timber industry protestors at a rally on the steps of Parliament House in • Melbourne and below Cr Dale Harrimnan at the Melbourne protest.

Where the Vic timber decision will hurt

T

HE decision by the Victorian Government late last year to shut down native forestry by 2030 has been labelled bad for the environment, bad for climate change action, bad for regional Victorian jobs and bad for the prosperity of regional and outer metropolitan Victorian communities where the timber is processed.

Australian Forests & Timber spoke to industry and community leaders about the effects the shutdown will have on them and the community as a whole. We asked them:

1/ What immediate impact will the Victorian Government’s decision have?

2/ Where do you see the future for the industry?

3/ What are the immediate options for you?

Brad Meyer operates Meyer Logging at Romsey north of Melbourne. It is a fourthgeneration family operation harvesting 35,000 cubic metres of timber each year in central Victoria, around the Toolangi State Forest.

Initially it will have limited impact but it just means that the past 30 years we have built up our business - and we’ve put a lot of money into our machinery - and when it comes to an end our machinery isn’t going to be worth anything because who is going to want second-hand logging machinery when there is no industry.

Long term, I’m going to keep working for as long as I’ve got a contract with VicForests. Hopefully we can get a change of government and we can turn it all around.

The industry is sustainable, it

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has been proven that it is, and there is no reason to shut the industry down.

We will continue working. But we will need to be a little bit more cautious where we spend our money, where we update machinery and where we don’t.

But it really does put us on hold. People are beginning to leave the industry and it’s our challenge to keep our employees.

Both our crews have nobody on them older than 28 and we want to keep them but half to three-quarters of them have houses and mortgages and they need a future.

In the future we will have a problem finding trained and experienced staff if things turn around.

There definitely could be a compromise. Just need to get the parties together and look at the common sense and the

3

facts. Maybe the industry has to get smaller but there is definitely no reason why is should be shut down altogether.

The Donchi family’s Fenning Timber business based in Bairnsdale has been working in the timber industry for over

Australian Forests & Timber News February 2020

six generations in which it has provided a lot of the large timber products cut from Victoria’s forests to help build the nations rail and power supply infrastructure. Fenning’s Resources Manager Brian Donchi has himself dedicated more than forty years of his

www.timberbiz.com.au

Round table ment it would appear there is already fractions within government about this announcement, ensure a Parliamentary Inquiry is held on this important industry to prove the Government was wrong in making this decision and ensure everything possible is being done to kick Labor out at the next state election given the coalitions announcement of fully supporting the Victorian Timber Industry.

This debate is far from over; we must not allow the Victorian Labor Party to win this announcement on shutting down our native timber industry for their own political gain of getting the greens vote to satisfy inner city conservationists who have their own agenda of locking up all forests.

We must encourage all Victorians to support the Victorian timber industry in this campaign because the industry has contributed some much to the nation over the past century in products Jobs and economic wealth there would not be anybody in Victoria who hasn’t relied on using one of our many products made from our states beautiful renewable timber resource.

working life to the Victorian forest industry sector.

The impact will be felt across the entire State of Victoria with thousand jobs being impacted with thousands of other businesses jobs also being affected by the flow on effect who supply all the equipment trucks and parts and services to this huge forest industry which will also include international jobs as well being impacted by equipment suppliers overseas.

The saddest thing will be the younger generations will not have the same opportunities to work in this amazing industry as they will be required to move away from home to seek other employment opportunities away from their family, friends and community.

The economic loss across Victoria will also be a significant impact especially in re-

1

gional areas where there is no other opportunity to pick up the huge financial loss of income which the forest industry provides to local communities.

All Victorians who like solid wood furniture will also be denied the opportunity to purchase items of furniture made from our states beautiful renewable timber resource which has been taking place for well over a century. They will be required to pick between chipboard of imported solid wood furniture which is likely to have been supplied from a less sustainable forest overseas The Government has a short memory as a lot of our nation’s infrastructure for the Nation was built by the timber supplied by Victoria’s forests to think it will be all locked up to burn is ridicules it demonstrates the lack of appreciation

• Brad Meyer from Meyer Logging at Romsey. www.timberbiz.com.au

Three-term Latrobe City councillor Dale Harriman has spent the past four years as president of the National Timber Councils Association.

He is a long-term Gippslander, having moved there as an 8-year-old, and has grown up around the timber industry.

We have already seen local business’s cutting back on staff and contractors. This is already having an impact on local shops.

Many of our small business owners are already seeing a decline in trade.

The industry should have a strong future, but due to this decision we are going to see a repeat of the Tasmanian disaster. The native timber industry is sustainable, is well managed and produces high quality wood.

It is far in excess of the levels provided in Asian and South American countries where our timber will soon be coming from.

This is an ideological and politically expedient decision. It is not based on any rational thinking and is only being done to save ALP seats in Melbourne. This means that no compromise is possible. Plus, the industry has continually compromised and the Greens and Labor have continually demanded more.

It’s been a death of a thousand cuts. Fight this irresponsible decision and get the facts out to those that matter in Labor held seats

by the Victorian Labor Party to this important forestry industry sector who helped build this nation from Victoria’s State Forests.

Our forests will require a lot more work to ensure they are more acceptable to fire if the Government is serious about looking after all the flora and fauna within the states forests. This is where our industry can play an important role in forest fire mitigation work by undertaking more forest thinning’s work to help reduce the intensity of wild fires across the entire landscape with strategic works.

I see this as the key to future forest management by treating more forest by selectively taking out all the residual understory and selectively only removing a percentage of trees to maintain a viable industry that can contribute towards climate change in these dryer forests unlike Daniel Andrews plan of doing nothing and locking everything up to be destroyed by fire.

These current fire events are proof our forests require a lot more treatment by undertaking a more strategic approach to introducing other options to manage forest fuel loads.

(We must) keep as much political pressure on the Victorian Labor party as possible to change their mind on this stupid announce- Australian Sustainable

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Australian Forests & Timber News February 2020

Hardwoods (ASH) is the largest sustainable hardwood operation in Australia with the largest hardwood manufacturing facility creating a range of timber products used for internal and external joinery, furniture, windows, staircases and high strength structural timbers. ASH is a privately owned Australian company based in Heyfield, Victoria, with more than 200 employees. Daniel Wright is the company’s National Business Development Manager.

1

The impacts are designed to impact the industry in 5 years and then ultimately 10 years’ time.

We have guaranteed supply for 5 then a tender process for half the current volume for the period between 2024-2030. The immediate impacts are that Anti-forestry activists have already moved to end native forestry in other states. Our manufacturing customer base and downstream supply are confused and in limbo with many at risk of closing.

We have to import. The plantations touted as being ‘transitioned to’ do not exist and would require 50+ years to plant and grow.

Without this, the industry will either fold or be forced to import from overseas. This will risk sending much of the manufacturing supply chain out of business. Using another species of hardwood when your entire business is based around one species effectively means starting up a new business and marketing to new clients – a massive risk at gigantic expense and with no guarantees.

Remembering that the effects will take place from 2024 and then ultimately from 2030, we use the time we have to fight to have it over turned. And we hold the Liberal/National coalition to their promise (to overturn the decision) and advocate people who want to see this industry continue to vote for the Victorian Coalition. Additionally, we look to invest our resource supply in other states or countries that want to see sustainable businesses thrive. You have to remember we are in this position because of poor Government policy.

It’s hard to bank your future with Government inconsistencies. We have already begun investing in imported species that are removed from the political risk the Andrews Government has created.

This will continue.

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15

Post shortages

• It is estimated that the total number of vineyard posts replaced per annum is in excess of 3.5 million.

Crisis in supply of agricultural posts David T. Quill

T

HE recent fires in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia have created an incalculable demand for agricultural treated pine posts needed for recovery efforts. This demand will highlight the absurdity of suitable resource for the domestic preservation industry being exported.

The chart, extracted from the KPMG Australian Pine Log Price Index, clearly illustrates the decline in availability of material for the preservation market at the expense of export highlighted from 2012 onwards.

Prior to any of the fires over the recent Christmas and New Year period rural supply companies were embarrassed by the inability to supply posts to the agricultural sector.

The viticultural industry refers to use wooden posts for trellising and annual mainte16

nance of vineyards requires a 4% replacement of post due to breakage in harvesting and other operations. It is estimated that the total number of vineyard posts replaced her annum is in excess of 3.5 million in addition to the post required for rehabilitation of fire damage vineyards.

Companies involved throughout southern Australia in the post preservation industry are under increasing pressure to receive raw material supplies in random

lengths, requiring the development and installation of merchandising facilities to produce the product required by the market. The greatest demand by both the viticultural and agricultural sector is for posts to have a small end diameter ranging from 100 mm to 125 mm.

Raw material supplied in random lengths fails to address end market requirements and produces significant volumes of hard to dispose of residues.

Forestry companies can make a significant contribution to the recovery effort from the current bushfires by delivering increased volumes of raw material to the roundwood market.

Manufacturers of harvesting equipment have invested millions of dollars into perfecting the merchandising capabilities of modern forest harvesters. The forest is the best place to produce specific size classes of product so that non-preferred sizes can be diverted to other markets.

I was not able to gain information on the current or potential requirement by the agricultural sector for fence posts, but the damage from the recent fires as well as the age and condition of many existing fences throughout Australia the demand is significant and is far in excess of rural trader’s ability to supply.

The Green Triangle Region supplies the majority

Australian Forests & Timber News February 2020

of treated pine posts to the Australian agricultural and viticultural sector. Some processors are, due to insufficient or lack of raw materials as far as one year behind meeting customer demands all.

Forestry companies which were traditionally owned by State Governments have now been acquired by domestic and overseas fund managers who seem to have a stronger desire to satisfy overseas demand than to meet domestic requirements in spite of the fact that the plantations were originally established to meet domestic needs all.

In summary, softwood plantation owners have the opportunity to assist in the recovery efforts resulting from the recent fires by reviewing their practices in supplying raw material to domestic processors.

In the words of Tony Pasin MP, member for Barker “Australian logs for Australian jobs”. www.timberbiz.com.au

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In the news What’s On 16-21 February 2020 Gottstein understanding wood Science Course Albury, Victoria and Canberra, ACT

25-26 February Structural Design and Mid-Rise CLT and LVL Timber Buildings: two-day workshop Adelaide

17-18 March ForestTECH, Vancouver, Canada

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3-5 APRIL

• Susana Gonzalez from New Zealand’s Interpine Forestry Innovation helps a delegate to ForestTECH 2019 with virtual reality goggles.

Technology helping create revolution Philip Hopkins

F

LEET Space Technologies is helping to create the new industrial revolution, the ForestTECH2019 conference was told.

“And that focuses on instant connectivity, automation, machine learning and real time data,” said Olivia Macolino, sales operations and communications executive at Fleet Space.

“Our (Fleet’s) plan is to revolutionize industrial IoT (the Internet of Things).

Our aim is to connect everything.”

The Australian leg of ForestTECH2019, held in Melbourne, was organised by the Forest Industry Engineering Association.

Fleet’s main tool is a small ‘box’ dubbed the Fleet Portal.

It is 21.5cm wide, 8.5cm high and 18.5cm deep, and weights two kilograms.

It’s made for scaleable IoT in remote areas, combining global satellite connectivity with LoRaWAN so clients can build their network anywhere.

The LoRa wireless network allows users to send data and

reach very long ranges at low data-rates without interference Ms Macolino said Fleet’s work done so far included helping Snowy Hydro monitor their extensive pipeline network.

Snowy staff had to go out and monitor everything manually.

“They’re in bushland, it’s obviously dangerous to be going around climbing through things.

There’s obviously a lot of accidents and deaths that happen in this industry,” she said “And part of our job in the industry it is to try and reduce all those risks.

So what we did here … we implemented solutions and put monitoring devices into their pipelines to help them monitor things externally.

So they can actually find out what’s happening with their pipes from their office, and then be able to go out and do maintenance rather than constant checking of everything.”

Ms Macolino said another client was an investor with 300,000 trees.

“They also go out and manually monitor growth – measuring every single tree to see the progress.

Instead of doing that, what we’ve been able to do is combine our IoT solution for them,” she said, which allowed the monitoring of the trees.

“So now, the researcher can stay in the office, and they can actually do their job much safer and much better, much more effectively.”

Ms Macolino said Australia was basically 95 per cent connected with 3G and 4G. “This is an issue, especially in the field that we’re coming into, industrial IoT. So where there is any type of failure in regional and rural areas, it is quite patchy,” she said, creating problems with connecting to the internet.

Fleet’s solution was to develop nano satellites, which were low cost and could be used by clients.

Fleet now had four satellites but planned to put up

hundreds in future years, she said, with the tiny Portal being able to send all the data back and forth.

“We’ve got cutting-edge computing in our Portal so that you don’t have the constant flow of data, you only have the necessary information that goes out to the satellite.

And that reduces costs because there are other solutions out there that go straight from the device to the satellite,” she said.

“And then from the satellite, it goes into the cloud software.

So we’re very flexible in how we do that; we can work with the software that people want to use.”

Ms Macolino said Fleet had a ground station in South Australia.

“Before the information gets to the cloud, it goes through from the satellite station,” she said.

The forestry company had devices that they created for all different types of monitoring, such as physiology, species selection, hydrology and also irrigation scheduling, she said.

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15 June - 16 June Timber Offsite Construction Conference (FRAME) Crown Promenade, Melbourne, Victoria.

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SUBSCRIBE TODAY sign up at www.timberbiz.com.au 18

Australian Forests & Timber News February 2020

To be included in What’s On please send events listings to b.mitchell@ ryanmediapl.com.au www.timberbiz.com.au

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2/5 Legana Park Drive, Legana, Tasmania, 7277 Anthony Williams 0487 700 306

New South Wales

Victoria - Head Office 8 Wallace Avenue, Point Cook, Victoria, 3030

14 Wembley Place, Bathurst, New South Wales, 2795 Jake Graham 0417 725 092

South Australia

Peter Randalls 0418 356 306, Davin Frankel 0437 541 154

17 Bodey Circuit, Mount Gambier, South Australia, 5290 David Herrewyn 0419 594 043

Phone (03) 9369 8988 Email randalls@randalls.com.au Web www.randalls.com.au

715 Kandanga-Imbil Road, Imbil , Queensland, 4570 Adrian Hartwig 0409 785 536

Queensland

SP 761 LF

Heavy duty and compact all-rounder for T3 pine thinning, pine clear fell and Blue Gum debarking.

Victoria-Gippsland

9 Rovan Place, Bairnsdale, Victoria, 3875 Mike Cooper 0409 459 870

New Zealand STH

28 Paterson Street, Invercargill, New Zealand, 9810 Brett McIntyre 0272 014 149

New Zealand NTH

41 Lee Martin Road, Hamilton, New Zealand, 3283 Jason Donaldson 0274 488 693

Silviculture

Improving productivity in Australia’s private native forests N EW evidence-based information has demonstrated the financial viability of private native forests in southern Queensland and northern New South Wales, as well as the potential improvements in yield and profit associated with effective forest management practices.

Researchers found silviculturally treated plots have trees with average growth rates approximately four times higher than those in non-treated plots.

The researchers are exploring methods of educating landowners about the positive impacts of such practices on their businesses, the broader economy and the environment.

Data from 203 permanent monitoring plots was analysed to determine the impacts of forest management

in the two regions, which are vital to the supply of domestic hardwood.

Mapping carried out during the project found there are approximately 1.9 million hectares of commercially harvestable private native forest in southern Queensland, and 525,600 hectares in the upper north east region of New South Wales.

The need for privately grown hardwood is likely to increase over the next decade. Despite the significant size of this resource, the research suggested variable quality in forest management practices has negatively impacted on its overall productive condition, with many of the sites found to contain a high proportion of un-merchantable trees.

The good news is the majority of private, native forest sites surveyed were con-

sidered to have untapped potential (e.g. appropriate commercial species) that could be released with effective forest management practices.

Dr Tom Lewis, a research scientist at the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, was involved with the research. He said one example of practice improvement would be regrowth as an alternative to re-clearing for grazing, because it would lead to greater yield and profit for growers, improved ecological conditions and biodiversity, and opportunities for carbon sequestration.

«On average, silviculturally treated plots were found to have trees with growth rates approximately four times higher than those in nontreated plots,” Dr Lewis said.

The financial viability of

such treatment options was also considered by the researchers. Case studies of individual properties were used to demonstrate the value of ongoing forest management with and without silvicultural thinning treatments.

In the majority of cases, the treated stands were shown to generate a positive financial return on investment vastly exceeding returns from nontreated stands.

In their report, the researchers recommend making incentives such as annuity payments available to landholders, if widespread adoption of silvicultural treatments is realistically to be achieved. Incentives of this type would enable landholders to engage trained forestry professionals to carry out appropriate silvicultural treatments, which would not only boost the do-

mestic supply of hardwood, but also have a positive impact on regional employment.

Going forward, the researchers plan to communicate the proven benefits and importance of effective forest management to private forest owners in a number of ways, including field days and workshops, fact sheets, property case studies and a decision support tool.

The research project was supported by FWPA in collaboration with the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, the University of Queensland School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, Private Forestry Service Queensland, the NSW Department of Primary Industries and Queensland Herbarium, Department of Environment and Science.

Partnership super-charging the growth of genetically improved plants THE efforts of genomics programs to produce genetically improved forestry stock could be enhanced, thanks to a program that is exploring ways to speed up plant growth during the breeding stage.

The goal is to put genetically superior plants out of the laboratory and into the ground at a much faster rate, mean20

ing more immediate gains for forest productivity.

Forest Growers Research, the New Zealand organisation responsible for the planning and management of research funded by the Forest Growers Levy, has established a partnership with Scion, the Radiata Pine Breeding Company, and other industry stakeholders, to develop an

automated tissue culture process.

Tissue culture refers to the process of growing plants in a nutrient-rich laboratory environment to speed up the production of small rooted plantlets.

The recently formed partnership - known as Tissue Culture for the 21st Century - is a seven-year program that

aims to produce a reliable and cost-effective tissue culture process through the use of bioreactors. This kind of process would reduce the time it takes to get plants through the breeding and genomics stage, and into the forest.

When you consider genetically improved tree stocks have been found to offer value gains of between 20 and 30

Australian Forests & Timber News February 2020

per cent, the forest industry could benefit significantly if more of this type of stock was available, and sooner.

Finding ways of producing genetically improved material more quickly would help maximise returns, with a reliable and cost-effective tissue culture program being one possible means of enabling this. www.timberbiz.com.au

FORESTRY & ENGINEERING PTY LTD AUSTRALIA

Total Logging Solutions Log Max - Heads above the competition!

Log Max harvesting heads are designed for installation on various types of carriers, from light wheeled harvesters to large tracked harvesters. Low weight is essential for the CTL-method using wheeled harvesters. This has resulted in Log Max being top of the range when comparing pulling force to weight ratio.

A product of technical excellence and performance.

The company is well-known and well-reputed in the industry. Well-experienced technical support and customer care.

Concentrated work with ISO/quality assurance in every ongoing process Continuous staff education regarding commitment and understanding of each customer’s needs..

Altogether, this has made Log Max an established brand worldwide.

®

Eco Log Forwarder 594E

The Eco Log 594E is our largest model forwarder with a loading capacity of 20 tons.

Volvo Penta engine with a full 320 hp Updated cab with smart solutions, improved comfort and better visibility Enhanced control system IQAN MD4 7-inch touchscreen for an even better overview Replacement of components provides easier service The new 594E belongs to the new generation of E-forwarders that has been developed with the driver in focus. The model has been fitted with a completely new cab, where space, comfort and visibility are prioritized - all in order for you to work as a driver, both more comfortable and efficiently.

We also provide the market’s best warranty on our forwarders - 2 years warranty or 3000h operating time (Whichever comes first).

Eco Log Harvester 590E

The Eco Log 590E is our largest model harvester. With a 320 hp Volvo Penta engine and a 310 kNm crane, you can handle all types of work quickly, safely and costeffectively.

• Volvo Penta 320 hp engine • 350 ° swivel cab • 25 ° lateral tilt • Can be equipped with balanced bogie • Powerful crane with lifting force of 310 kNm With the Eco Log 590E no job is too big. The new Volvo Penta engine is specifically designed for high performance, reliability and fuel efficiency, and provides 320hp at your disposal. Eco Log’s unique pendulum arm suspension gives the 590E the best possible terrain features.

2 years warranty or 3000h operating time (Whichever comes first). Extended warranty to10,000h on frame and pendulum arms and 6000h on hydraulic pumps and motors.

The Neuson Forest name guarantees technical expertise, mastery of complex hydraulic processes under the most difficult conditions and perfect service. With more than 25 years of experience we have made our machines into one of the highest performing and most costeffective solutions for fully mechanised wood harvesting.

Nothing is too steep with its compact design, the great stability, tilt 25° forward, +/-15° sideways and the powerful parallel crane.

Hire to purchase. Machines are in stock and available now.

To enquire about any of these brands please contact Johan

johan@nordic.com.au

+61 (0)2 6947 4505

Green Triangle Awards

Family affair from Waterloo to the Green Triangle Bruce Mitchell

L

.V. DOHNT has been one of the leading faces, and possibly one of the most recognised businesses in the Green Triangle timber region for around 80 years.

Awards have ranged from two Green Triangle Timber Industry awards – Trainee Award in 2018 and the Excellence in Infield Forest Operations in 2019 – the 2017 Telstra Medium Business Awards, and induction into the Family Business Hall of Fame in 2016.

Now a fourth-generation family business, the company is one of Australia’s largest infield chipping companies with the main production service areas being the south-east of South Australia, Western Victoria and the Great Southern Region of Western Australian.

The family arrived in South Australia from Prussia in 1839, with Gottfried Dohnt seeking a better life after having fought in the Battle of Waterloo with the Prussian Army alongside the British when they defeated Napoleon and his French army in 1815.

Lawrence Victor Dohnt, the great grandson of Gottfried, founded the company in 1932 and was one of the first logging contractors for the Woods and Forests Department at Bundaleer in South Australia’s mid north.

Following the initiation of a second contract, Lawrence moved his family and the company to the South East of South Australia to supply logs from thinnings to a temporary mill at Penola and then supplying the Nangwarry Sawmill in 1940.

Current managing director, Phillip Dohnt, has said the benefits of a family business includes flexibility and it assists to be more dynamic.

“One thing I push is that we want non-family members to feel part of the family,” he said.

“We go out of our way to help them, particularly if they have any troubles or issues. It’s all about building the right culture.

“Our culture is that everyone is important and everyone plays a part in our success.”

Today the company mainly concentrates on in-field chipping in both blue gum and pine plantations. These operations make up about 80 per cent of the company’s business which employs about 150 people nationally with about 75-80 in the Green Triangle region and a further 70 to 75 in Western Australia.

“We have operations in the 22

L.V. Dohnt managing director Phillip Dohnt and, inset, • scenes from the company’s past including a family photograph

featuring company founder Lawrence Victor Dohnt and his wife Katherine in the centre front. fu from Western Australia, which has seen the development of a patent square flail chain now sold in Canada and the USA. The company was formed in 2004 to research and develop flail chain, curtain chains, Green Triangle that are based flail rods, and flail drums for at Nangwarry with additional the wood chipping industry.

He met his partner in the operations in Albany and Esperance in Western Austral- business around 15 years ago “purely by accident”. ia,’’ Phillip said.

“L V Dohnt was buying chain “In Albany we have three infield chipping systems work- from Germany, so we decided ing in Blue Gum plantations to developed our own chain and have it manufactured in for two companies.

That work will be on-going China,’’ Phillip said.

“We changed the design to but the other Western Australian operation in Esperance, a what we call a square chain where they also have three with four corners that wear in-field chipping systems at instead of the traditional work, has a limited life-span. two.’’

The “square” chain has The Esperance operation is the remnants of the failed El- been found to be about 40 per ders Forestry managed invest- cent more robust.

And given the high-wear ment scheme.

“It’s a project with a limited and high-cost of chains, that’s a significant saving. life-span,’’ Phillip said.

“After wages, fuel, repairs “It’s not being replanted. It’s a one-off with probably an- and maintenance that’s our next highest consumable,’’ he other three years to run.’’

In the Green Triangle, said.

This partnership has also Blue Gums and the associated managed investment produced other new prodschemes also had a bit of a ucts such as a 15mm Flail Chain, single hole flail drums rocky start.

“In time the Blue Gum har- and Curtain Chain, giving LV vest will reduce just a little Dohnt & Co the unique opbecause of a lack of stock,’’ portunity to solve customers’ needs and improving fibre Phillip said.

Phillip has also branched recovery outside the normal out, forming Function Chains forest industry.

Phillip for sees a hard road Pty Ltd with Michael Huang-

ahead for contractors in the timber industry.

“I see there has been a real shift in the contracting business, where the forest owners are pushing more and more risk on to the contractor,’’ he said.

“There is no “working together” for things that are outside the contractors’ control.

In a lot of cases contractors are now seen as a consumable, not an integral part of the supply chain.

“It seems a case where a number of the forest owners wanting to both minimise their costs and pass on the risk management costs to contractors to absorb, there are not the margins within the business to do this and once our assets are twiddled away,

Australian Forests & Timber News February 2020

exiting from the industry is the only option,’’ Phillip said.

“At the end of the day it is the contractor who carries the overheads associated with the tens of millions of dollars’ worth of equipment they use, along with trying to retain their highly skilled work force with no income or compensation.”.

Long term he sees it being extremely difficult for contractors across Australia to make a living and meet future challenges. Sustainability is an important part of FSC, however the way contractors are being treated now is not sustainable and he doesn’t know of one contractor in the South East who isn’t looking to reduce their exposure or totally exit the Industry. www.timberbiz.com.au

Business Profile Looking Back 2018: The recentlylaunched showcase midrise timber building, a brilliant innovative educational tool, will benefit Australia’s construction and forestry industries by demonstrating the extraordinary capacity of timber as a sustainable, renewable and versatile building resource.

Housed within the Carpentry School at the Holmesglen Institute, the WoodSolutions midrise demo superbly shows the structural, fire, and acoustic systems typically seen in midrise multi-residential timber buildings around the world.

The structure is representative of a section taken out of a seven-storey timber tower, with the ground floor representing the first two floors of a real building, the middle representing the middle three floors, and the top showing the systems typically seen in the top two-storeys.

2015: Australian Paper and Planet Ark are calling on Australian businesses and Government to close the recycling loop by making the switch to Australian made recycled paper.

While 76% of Australian businesses recycle paper, only one in six reams of new paper purchased contains recycled content.

Australian Paper is partnering with Planet Ark to encourage businesses to make the switch to locally made, recycled office and printing papers. The Make it Australian Recycled partnership aims to increase recycling of office paper, reduce Australian waste paper going to landfill and increase demand for locally made, high-recycled content paper in business and government.

2010: AUSTRALIA’S peak engineered wood body has alerted Victorian timber traders, specifiers and end-users that an imported structural plywood product on the market has failed Australian standards and has exhibited gross delamination.

The Engineered Wood Products Association of Australasia sounded the warning on the non-compliant bracing plywood to prevent its use in structural applications.

An inspection of the imported plywood material has shown firstly that the plywood is unbranded with any reference to the Australian standard and secondly, it exhibits gross glueline failure and delamination. www.timberbiz.com.au

From Burra to the bush I

N founding Summiitt Earthworks in 2001, Tim Gardner realised a long-held goal to run his own business.

The civil construction and forestry company, based in Burra NSW, initially started out small, and then grew steadily over the years, adding to its fleet of equipment and expanding its suite of services.

Born and bred in Canberra, Tim initially started out as a landscaper out of school, and had subsequently become involved with machinery, having spent time as a plant operator for the National Parks and Wildlife Service on the Main Range near Thredbo in the Snowy Mountains.

“I thought I was an okay operator until I got into the mountains – that lifted the game and really pushed the limits of what was possible with a machine in some pretty intense situations on the Main Range with shear drops and no room for mistakes,” he said.

From there, Tim became involved in civil works with some local Canberra customers, regularly asking questions and gaining valuable knowledge, prior to taking the leap and starting his own business.

“I’d always had a focus on having my own business, and that’s how Summiitt came about – sometimes you just have to have a crack and back yourself,” he said.

“I started out with a second-hand UD tipper and a new Bobcat. The truck nearly sent me broke within 12 months I got through that, and Summiitt grew from that point, always adding the best equipment I could afford at the time.”

Summiitt provides a range of services, with Tim explaining that the company maintains a small crew which undertakes civil works, including road maintenance, fire trail construction, and bulk and detailed excavation, in Canberra, while its main focus is on forestry and fire management and rural earthworks.

Over the past five years, Summiitt has transitioned into services, including: mechanical mulching, fire trail construction and maintenance, rural subdivisions, forestry mulching and remote area weed spraying.

Compared to its competitors, Tim says Summiitt is prepared to tackle “jobs that

• Summiit Earthworks chief Tim Gardner. most companies won’t take on”.

“The more remote, the more difficult, the better for Summiitt,” he said. “We have set up 4x4 water trucks, 6x6 plant chaser utes for the fire season, as well as an 8WD tipper that tows our forestry mulchers and D6 dozer further into the national parks, which is a big advantage, particularly during direct attack fire fighting operations.”

Tim said he prefers multipurpose equipment, suitable for carrying out day-to-day earthworks duties, and then with minimal adjustments capable of being deployed across heavy forestry mulching or rehabilitation work.

“We are probably different to a lot of companies in that machine control is a disadvantage to us,” he said.

“We run GPS mapping systems for our bush work, but anything that can get tangled up in the scrub is a big issue, so much so that we operate our machines without fall protection, as it wouldn’t hold up any longer than a week in the bush. That’s where the Volvos are great, all of our daily checks can be carried out in the cab or on the ground.”

Tim said that the bottom line is he “wouldn’t buy Volvos if they didn’t perform”, and pointed to the impor-

tance of the after-sales parts and service back-up provided by privately owned Australian construction equipment and trucks distributor CJD Equipment.

Ross Forsyth, CJD Regional Sales Manager, ACT South West Slopes, Riverina, has been working with Summiitt over the past seven years, initially as a mechanic before moving into sales, with his relationship with Tim stretching back to before he started working with CJD. “Tim has worked with my old man over the years, as they are both in the earthmoving game, but I got to know Tim more through

CJD when I started as a mechanic,” he said. “I would go to site to carry out the first services on Tim’s new diggers, and this eventually led to selling my first digger to Tim.” Over the years, Summiitt has purchased equipment including Volvo ECR88, ECR58, EC140C, ECR145C and EC240C excavators, with Ross noting the company’s most recent purchase was a Volvo ECR235C excavator.

Tim said that machine reliability and after-sales service are especially critical for Summiitt, with it often operating in isolated conditions.

“If something breaks, it’s a major issue, it’s a very different environment to what other local contractors face, but to Summiitt it’s just part of the job,” he said.

“To date, a starter motor that failed at 6000 hours in a remote area is the only major issue I’ve had, in around 15-18,000 combined hours, that’s physically stopped the machine.”

Tim additionally noted that CJD Equipment was prepared to back the equipment it sells, pointing to his recent purchase of the ECR235C excavator.

“I put the purchase out to another brand and questioned cooling capacity, particularly in relation to hydraulic cooling in summer with an FAE mulching head – I was told that it ‘should be right’, but no guarantees,” he said.

“The same question posed to CJD Equipment was a straight-up yes – ‘we guarantee operation at full mulching capacity up to 52 degrees ambient temp. If you have issues, it’s our problem’. That was what I wanted to hear, a company that will back what it sells and stick by its customers.”

• Tim Gardner at work in the forest.

Australian Forests & Timber News February 2020

23

Feller bunchers

• The 845E and 855E (below) feller bunchers in action.

Tigercat offering range for both track and drive-to-tree feller bunchers T IGERCAT offers the broadest range of both track and driveto-tree feller bunchers in the industry.

Along with innovative features like the ER technology and WideRange, Tigercat’s feller bunchers offer long service life, high machine availability rates, excellent service access and the clear operator sightlines.

For plantation eucalyptus applications, Tigercat offers the 855E carrier equipped with the 2000 series bunching shear. This combination is a low cost per tonne solution for harvesting eucalyptus pulpwood on account of the fast shear cycles and extremely efficient carrier hydraulics. The 2000 shear accumulates large parallel bunches, improving skidder productivity. In addition, the shear is a lower cost, lower maintenance alternative to a disc saw felling head. In rocky or abrasive soil types, the maintenance and wear benefits are even more pronounced. The shearequipped feller buncher also burns less fuel compared with a disc saw. The 855E can also be mated to the Tigercat 5185 directional felling saw for an extremely fuel efficient machine to fell and shovel large, high value timber. A full range of Tigercat felling heads are available, including a bunching saw or shear for smaller diameter

24

timber or the single post 5702 felling saw for larger trees and mixed diameter stands.

The L855E features Tigercat’s patented forest-duty leveling undercarriage, providing exceptional stability on steep slopes. It uses two massive hydraulic cylinders and heavy steel sections for a solution that is simple, robust and reliable.

An important advantage common to Tigercat track feller bunchers is ER boom technology. ER technology provides increased production compared with conventional boom systems –especially in high cycle applications.

The patented ER boom system allows the machine operator to extend and retract the boom on a horizontal plane smoothly and quickly using a single joystick. The introduction of the new 3-mode ER boom control allows the operator to choose between ER, semi-ER and conventional.

The new semi-ER function allows the operator to extend the boom on a horizontal plane using a single joystick, but retracts the boom with the increased power of both cylinders, doubling the pull force. The stick boom or ‘reach’ joystick controls both the main and stick booms simultaneously, resulting in the attachment moving either away from or toward the operator. The main boom and tilt functions operate in

the traditional manner to adjust the height and angle of the attachment.

Key to this technology is reduced energy consumption.

The ER system transfers energy back and forth between the main and the stick boom functions, reducing the total energy needed to move the boom system. This translates to reduced demands for pow-

larger main hydraulic pump and more ¬– all to increase productivity and improve operator comfort.

The 845E and L845E share the same cab as the 855E which is designed to optimize ergonomics and improve sound reduction. Redesigned hinge geometry allows the front door to be closed with less effort. The new IQAN

MD4 electronic control system interface includes an easy to use large colour touch screen for machine monitoring and function adjustment.

The new skyVIEW and rear845E and L845E feller buncher VIEW camera systems elimiThe 845E and L845E track nate the need for a skylight feller buncher takes the while improving operator popular 845 platform and visibility.

The Tigercat 845E offers adds all of the latest features found on Tigercat track car- more boom options includrier models. This new model ing a longer reach boom and incorporates the updated a tight tuck boom to better cab, more boom options, a match your machine to your er, pump flow and system cooling. Competing solutions do not offer the simplicity and fuel savings of Tigercat’s design.

Australian Forests & Timber News February 2020

attachment and application requirements.

The 845E model can be equipped with a range of Tigercat felling heads including a bunching saw or shear for smaller diameter timber, or the single post 5702 felling saw for larger trees and mixed diameter stands. In addition, the 845E can be equipped with the 5185 fixed felling saw for felling, bucking and shovel logging high value and oversize timber.

A larger hydraulic pump on the E-series model provides more power and faster function to the clamp and accumulator arms to maximize productivity.

With a fuel-efficient engine and Tigercat’s unique ER boom technology, the 845E feller buncher achieves maximum tree felling productivity with minimal fuel burn.

Tigercat builds three models of drive-to-tree feller buncher models for the full range of thinning and final felling duties. The 720G and 724G are designed for thinning and clear fell applications and the large capacity 726G fells large diameter timber in tough terrain.

The G-series machines cabs are designed for productivity and operator comfort.

Visibility is enhanced with a larger front window and larger rear quarter windows. The view over the back tires is the best in the industry – an asset in thinning applications. www.timberbiz.com.au

Feller bunchers

• The Weiler B458 on the job.

Two new models hit the market W EILER Forestry has launched two new reduced tail swing track feller buncher models, the B457 and B458.

These productive new machine platforms feature excellent multi-function capability with dedicated pumps, a new cab that maximizes operator experience, field proven components, and excellent serviceability. The Weiler B457 and B458 track feller buncher models have the latest Cat® C9.3 engine that produces 298 hp (222 kw) and meets U.S. EPA Tier 4 Final emission standards.

A Tier 3 engine option is also available.

The B457 is a non-leveling

model best suited for plantation thinning, biomass harvesting, and mediumproduction select or clear-cut applications; the B458 is a leveling machine for steeper terrain and excels in select or clear-cut logging.

The B457 and B458 provide a leading combination of lift capacity, swing torque, and drawbar.

Multi-function performance is achieved through dedicated pumps

and optimized circuit configurations. The B458 has an extended track roller frame option that includes two additional bottom rollers for a total of eleven, enhancing overall machine stability in steep terrain. In addition, a standard or heavy counterweight option is available for a diversity of harvesting conditions. Unobstructed ground clearance enables unimpeded travel over stumps, rocks, and other debris.

The spacious cab maximizes operator visibility by providing an open field of view to the work area and upwards through a large skylight. An optional 14 LED light package is available for improved

productivity in night shift operations and an optional heated and cooled seat keeps operators comfortable all day long. The cab also features a front window emergency escape, a 7” (178 mm) intuitive color touchscreen monitor, multiple storage compartments, and numerous charging ports. Innovative machine functionality helps to reduce the frequency of foot pedal motions in certain applications, reducing operator fatigue at the The Weiler B457 and B458 are designed and built for the severest of harvesting applications. The forestry-duty cooling package is designed to provide reliable operation

by keeping components cool in even the toughest environments. High torque rated final drives and Caterpillar field-proven engine, undercarriage, and swing drive components ensure overall machine reliability.

Excellent service access is provided by a gull-wing engine enclosure that provides maximum access to components, while the integrated counterweight walkway allows operators machine level access from the cab. Upper frame access ports allow for efficient debris clean out and component access.

For more information, please visit www.weilerforestry.com

Trimble Forestry - Delivering the Connected Forest Logistics systems and services for timber haulage operations Trimble Forestry is one of the world’s largest providers of forestry logistics solutions in the world with demonstrable solutions for increasing productivity and maximising supply efficiency from timber harvesting.

Trimble Forestry Logistics has been delivering over 50 million tonne annually to facilities all over the world, including in Australasia. Trimble Forestry’s Wood Supply Execution system (WSX) manages the planning and execution of the woodflow process for log harvest and haulage operations.

In Australasia - Trimble Forestry Logistics is providing central dispatch services to a number of large forestry companies and haulage companies. This includes consortiums of haulage contractors that operate under a range of logistics models including Harvest and Haul, as well as comprehensive central dispatch services.

Central Dispatch Management Systems allow contractors to plan, control, and manage operations in the following ways: Controlling uplift and delivery options, Providing a comprehensive web reporting platform with real time visibility of operating metrics, Mobile application for truck driver or loader operator on in-cab device, Paperless E-ticket solution that provides traceability for all users, integrates with their enterprise solutions and has a comprehensive reporting suite, Integrated In-cab Technology System (ICTS) and Chain of Responsibility support

www.timberbiz.com.au

Trimble Forestry offers land, forest, fibre and mill management solutions that improve productivity and enhance operations for internationally recognized integrated forest product companies, forest land owners, timberland investment, conservation and government departments.

The Connected Forest portfolio manages the full raw materials lifecycle of planning, planting, growing, thinning, harvesting, transporting and manufacturing. WSX is a key component of the Connected Forest portfolio.

For further information: E: forestrysales@trimble.com PH: + 64 7 348 0308

Australian Forests & Timber News February 2020

25

Steep slope logging

• A TL765D fitted with Live Heel and Satco 630E Directional Felling Head.

Komatsu keeping up with felling and steep logging market O VER the past couple of years both Australia and New Zealand have experienced big changes in felling, especially with steep logging and Komatsu Forest has been quick to meet these developments.

Firstly, with the introduction of the Timberpro tailswing TL765D followed directly by the TL775D and more recently the TL755D zero tail-swing track fellerbuncher. Komatsu Ltd could see this strong trend and decided to acquire Timberpro Inc. in April 2019. The plan is to continue operating under the Timberpro brand but with the view to broaden the Timberpro product range.

“Timbepro like Timbco in the old days were always the fastest company to react and provide the forestry industry with something new and always a little special,” Brett Jones MD Komatsu Forest P/L said.

The move to large track machines has been coupled with a move from conventional feller-buncher heads to directional bar saws mainly due to the timber size and the need to shovel logs. The commonly heads used are the SouthStar FD750, Woodsman FH1350, Satco 630E and the Komatsu KF800, with the later quickly dominating the Timberpro market. This has mainly been due to its ability to not only shovel, carry logs, create larger bunches but reduce breakage by being a controlled fall head rather than directional.

26

“In this fixed felling head application the KF800 has proven to be the most successful to date with it clearly dominating sales in both Australia and New Zealand,” Brett said.

The KF800 up until recently was being produced by Paul Rosin in collaboration with Komatsu Forest for components.

Due to the very strong demand for the KF800, it was decided to investigate a larger production facility. After exploring different options Paul decided to enter into a sales agreement with SouthStar NZ in December 2019.

In the future SouthStar NZ will produce and develop this product to meet market demands and the head will be known as a Quadco QB4400.

Both SouthStar and Quadco are Komatsu owned companies operating independently in providing various attachments to the logging market and the trend is for new felling heads to be Quadco products while SouthStar will control the harvesting and processing heads.

The operational diversity of the large Timberpro track machines with the various felling attachments has surprised KF as previously they were mainly large harvester attachment carriers. Note some of the following more diverse operations; Mountain Logging Pty Ltd operates the first TL755C in Australia and is fitted with a Timberpro Bar Saw working

in steep terrain Pine Plantation areas of East Gippsland.

In this operation Andrew Mahnken’s unit is required to keep up with felling for two processing teams in steep terrain.

Recently Andrew ordered a Komatsu PC 300LC Tractionline (tethering machine) as well, this is to assist with his different operations in the steeper terrain.

“We move a lot of volume with one machine - around 250,000 tonne per year, so it has to be a hot rod as well as being very reliable, it’s pretty much a primary producer for us. And the technical team at KF after sales are the best in the industry without doubt,” Andrew said.

Mechanised Cable Logging (NZ) introduced the first Timberpro TL765D to tethering, fitted with the KF800 Controlled Fall Head operating in the Nelson region, South Island NZ. Partners Hamish Matthews and Nathan Taylor were faced with solving the high stem breakage as much as 75%, commonly experienced in NZ clear fall operations with directional fall heads.

“First tree it cut we could see it working the way we envisaged. We could see the benefits there in front of us, grabbing and then placing the tree into a precise bunch and not breaking it,” Hamish said.

Boss Logging Pty Ltd introduced the first TL765C fitted with a Woodsman FH1350 op-

• A tethered TL765D fitted with KF800 Controlled Fall Head.

A TL775D fitted with KF800 Controlled Fall Head working in • Native Hardwood. erating in the alpine regions of Victoria and later introduced the first TL775D into selective cutting the NSW South Eastern native forests were the control falling of the KF800 was paramount.

Matt Van Dam recognized the advantages of the TL775D

Australian Forests & Timber News February 2020

longer track frame for stability in bigger timber.

Mangan Logging utilizes a number of TL765’s working in their operation, mainly as harvesters but with the standout being a unit fitted with shovel boom set, live heel and a Satco 630E for www.timberbiz.com.au

Steep slope logging

• A TL755D fitted with Rosin FH885 Thinning Large Pine Trees.

A TN765C fitted with KF800 in Selective Cut Hardwood in • Northern NSW.

www.timberbiz.com.au

their steep logging operation in the Oberon NSW region.

According to Trevor Myhill the operator, “ the TL765D is probably one of the best machines I’ve operated, visibility is outstanding, hydraulic speed and power are great, with the levelling system a standout. The 630E is great for shoveling, good jaw capacity and power with awesome saw speed”.

Clearwater Logging & Transport Pty Ltd introduced the first TL765C into Australia and due to its success followed up with a recent purchase of a TL755D, painted in memorial pink and fitted with a Satco 630E for a tethering operation in the Victorian Otways region.

Mick Fenn said he has been dealing with Komatsu Forest for many years and was happy to buy the TL755D untried.

“I’ve dealt with Komatsu Forest for a long time, and I’ve already got a TL765C out working so we do know the machines,’’ he said.

Rosin Logging Pty Ltd purchased the first TL755D in Australia after an initial inspection at the Timberpro factory. Paul Rosin required a special unit for his steep logging contract in the Tumut region, where the ability to fit various head types is

an advantage, the machine is currently fitted with a Rosin FH885 now known as SouthStar FD750.

“We have been running a TL765C harvester for three years and it has performed very well. It seemed a natural progression to go to the TL755D in regards to its capacity. Since we have had the machine it has performed better than what I had expected, especially in terms of stability,” Paul said.

Brian Smith from Timber Transport Pty Ltd purchased the very first produced Timberpro TN765C (TN : Non Levelling version) in Aug 2017 which was fitted with a KF800 working in selective cut native hardwood operations in the North-East of NSW. Within six months Brian purchased a second TN765C and again fitted a KF800 working in the same region.

“Very pleased with the performance of the 765’s especially their speed and strength while the KF800 has no real competitor in our application,’’ Brian said.

“Both units have spent the last three months helping to establish containment lines around the current bushfires and have performed brilliantly.

“I’m especially very happy

Australian Forests & Timber News February 2020

with KF product support as we had a number of early niggling problems, but all were addressed promptly, great result considering our remote location.”

The general feedback on all the Timberpro track machines from the various contractors has been the high praise on track speed and tractive effort supported by a very strong slew force and great operator visibility from the cabin. Noting there has been a few teething problems in the early days, the general consensus has been that KF has been very responsive to address these issues, this has greatly assisted with improving and developing the product.

In addition, those operating the KF800 attachment have been most impressed with its unique attributes and general comments “no other head can match it” for its overall performance and agility, it performs well above its weight.

While the quantity of steep terrain logging is much smaller in Australia than NZ, Australian contractors are quickly adopting the tethering systems where appropriate with the 3rd new PC300LC-8 Tractionline about to be delivered.

27

Mill profile $875K for communities hurt by sawmill closures

• Inside the Goshen Sawmill.

Blackwood amid the green Keith Smiley

I

N the rich heart of north east Tasmania is the town of Goshen, home to Leslie Rattray and his family, millers for thirty years. Goshen takes its name from the exit point of Egypt when the Hebrews fled towards the promised land.

If Goshen Sawmills decides to shift from its leased land to farmland they already own, they’d have to move whole buildings and equipment.

They are content to ponder these options which might embody the creation of a tourist enterprise in this idyllic oasis. Leslie cannot see any reason to travel overseas with such beauty to behold in his beloved Goshen.

“I have been cutting timber for 30 years since my dad bought us brothers the mill, so we could have a job. I like the way of life, creating a resource from round wood,” says Leslie, on a day of cold change from the heat of summer. Tasmania escaped most of the acrid air common to the mainland and Kangaroo Island, with the nearest fire to Goshen at Fingal, 15kms away.

His greatest milestone is improving the business, almost left bankrupt by the previous owner. “We built the business, increased our customer base and importantly, our goodwill.”

He is firm and businesslike, probably has done a 28

• Leslie in front of his plant in Goshen, Tasmania. honest day’s work all his life. Also being ‘old school’ has engendered a pride of achievement, something he could pass on to his now grown up son and daughters.

While he gets on well with most, he does not suffer fools gladly. “I’m an old fashioned country person, old school. A dying breed.

“We have too much work.

Hardly any houses have green wood these days, so we are busy supplying timber for bridges in this area.

Our bread and butter milling is carried by word of mouth.

If you do the wrong thing, someone will tell others,” Leslie said.

Having stated his unwillingness to expand the business, Leslie Rattray believes

it could be the worst thing to happen: “I don’t want to create worry,” he emphasised.

Meanwhile, his son, Joe, and former Australian champion woodchopper, is engaged in every aspect of the business and carries his father’s passion for wood - very much a chip off the old block. Theirs is the only sawmill left in the Break O’Day district.

As a municipal councillor, with building, forestry and logging experience, Leslie’s vote carried change and contributed much to the growth of this small community.

In earlier days, Leslie’s wife Diane, assisted the team by guiding the tail outs; nowadays, she is content with the paperwork. Diane is a tenacious and determined per-

son, brusque at times, but her heart is in the right place.

The Rattrays believe in conservation but only where commonsense is exercised.

Eighty percent of their timber is managed by Sustainable Timber Tasmania, which oversees 800,000 hectares of forest and selling of forest products to Tasmanian customers. “We source our logs from Sustainable’. We need slow growing trees for construction, for example, for strong timber in our bridges.”

Goshen Sawmills sells some of its blackwood timber to Queensland interests. They make guitars out of the wood for well-known labels such as Maton Guitars and Cole Clark Guitars. The heartwood is golden to dark brown with chocolate growth rings. The timber is generally straight grained but may be wavy or interlocked. The wood is lustrous and possesses a fine to medium texture. The sawmill also ships blackwood to China via Queensland.

The fifty eight year old has a ‘lot left inside’ of him, so he says. “I feel good but no one can know what’s around the corner,” says Leslie, with a cautious note. “We’ve had a lot invested in this and over 30 years building it. You don’t want to walk out and you can’t sell it if it’s worth nothing. No one knows what the future holds.” Goshen is better off for having such a committed soul, ready for a new promise.

Australian Forests & Timber News February 2020

The British Columbia government will provide $875,000 to 11 communities to assist mill workers and their families transition to other jobs.

Interior communities with permanent mill closures are eligible for $100,000; those with indefinite closures are eligible for $75,000, and those with shift reductions are eligible for $50,000.

“The challenges facing Interior forest communities are unprecedented, and that’s why we are getting these resources where they are most urgently needed,” Minister of Forests Doug Donaldson said in a statement. “Funds from these community support grants are going directly to the local governments, as they have first-hand knowledge of what supports are most needed in their communities.”

This isn’t long after the province invested $69 millionto support Interior B.C. forest workers impacted by seemingly never-ending mill closures and curtailments plaguing the province.

“While the forest sector must reduce surplus milling capacity to remain competitive, it cannot do so at the expense of the workers, contractors and communities who built the industry,” B.C. Premier John Horgan said at the time. “Our government will ensure that forest workers impacted by mill closures are supported.”

“We appreciate the province recognizing these supportive measures needed for impacted workers as industry adapts to declining timber supply,” said West Fraser CEO Ray Ferris. West Fraser has really been a victim of market conditions recently shutting down production for the fourth time.

Donaldson says there have been four permanent mill closures in the Interior affecting between 500 to 700 workers. Thirteen indefinite closures are also ongoing - affecting around 1,000 workers. If you add in curtailments, Donaldson says around 3,000 workers have been affected. www.timberbiz.com.au

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31

725D 735D 745D 755D

Zero Tail Swing Komatsu Forest has expanded the TimberPro track range in Australia and New Zealand to include the new 'D' Series zero tail-swing levelling and non-levelling models.

They can be supplied with feller-buncher or harvester boom sets and feature many benefits for logging contractors: • New Larger Cab for operator comfort • Lohmann final drives for high tractive force • Market Leading levelling with 28 degrees forward / 24 degrees side • Cummins QSL 9 350hp Engine (Tier 3)

The Crawford history has led the way in forest track machines.

www.komatsuforest.com.au

Komatsu Forest Pty Ltd. 11/4 Avenue of Americas Newington NSW 2127 Australia T: +61 2 9647 3600 E: info.au@komatsuforest.com