Forest Products Industry

Did you get your heart broken this Valentine’s Day? Now researchers have invented a new hydrogel that can be used to heal damaged heart tissue and improve cancer treatments.  Source: Timberbiz University of Waterloo chemical engineering researcher Dr Elisabeth Prince teamed up with researchers from the University of Toronto and Duke University to design the synthetic material made using cellulose nanocrystals, which are derived from wood pulp. The material is engineered to replicate the fibrous nanostructures and properties of human tissues, thereby recreating its unique biomechanical properties. “Cancer is a diverse disease and two patients with the same type of cancer will often respond to the same treatment in very different ways,” Dr Prince said. “Tumour organoids are essentially a miniaturized version of an individual patient’s tumour that can be used for drug testing, which could allow researchers to develop personalized therapies for a specific patient.” As director of the Prince Polymer Materials Lab, Dr Prince designs synthetic biomimetic hydrogels for biomedical applications. The hydrogels have a nanofibrous architecture with large pores for nutrient and waste transport, which affect mechanical properties and cell interaction. Dr Prince, a professor in Waterloo’s Department of Chemical Engineering, utilized these human-tissue mimetic hydrogels to promote the growth of small-scale tumour replicas derived from donated tumour tissue. She aims to test the effectiveness of cancer treatments on the mini-tumour organoids before administering the treatment to patients, potentially allowing for personalized cancer therapies. This research was conducted alongside Professor David Cescon at the Princess Margaret Cancer Center. Dr Prince’s research group at Waterloo is developing similar biomimetic hydrogels to be injectable for drug delivery and regenerative medical applications as Waterloo researchers continue to lead health innovation in Canada. Her research aims to use injected filamentous hydrogel material to regrow heart tissue damaged after a heart attack. She used nanofibers as a scaffolding for the regrowth and healing of damaged heart tissue. “We are building on the work that I started during my PhD to design human-tissue mimetic hydrogels that can be injected into the human body to deliver therapeutics and repair the damage caused to the heart when a patient suffers a heart attack,” Dr Prince said. Prince’s research is unique as most gels currently used in tissue engineering or 3D cell culture don’t possess this nanofibrous architecture. Dr Prince’s group uses nanoparticles and polymers as building blocks for materials and develops chemistry for nanostructures that accurately mimic human tissues. The next step in the research is to use conductive nanoparticles to make electrically conductive nanofibrous gels that can be used to heal heart and skeletal muscle tissue.

Vimek has launched a brand-new harvester model, the Vimek 470. This new harvester is stronger, bigger, and more efficient than ever. Source: Timberbiz The Vimek 470 is built on the same NextGen platform as the Vimek 870 Forwarder and therefore has many common technical features. Vimek believes in higher quality first thinning with in-stand operating methods. The company believes that in-stand thinning provides the best results for the driver and the best quality thinning. In-stand operating thinning requires an agile and light harvester with good all-around visibility and high capacity, all these features are found in the Vimek 470. Used in conjunction with the Vimek 870 forwarder, you get the benefit of minimum strip road area and a machine that allows operators the best opportunity to make active decisions about which trees should be harvested and which should be retained and to grow further to enhance the timber quality and increase future yield. “This provides the conditions for high growth of profitable assortments and reduces the risk of damage to the stand,” Johannes Nilsson, CEO of Vimek said. Vimek’s Next Generation machines the Vimek 470 and Vimek 870 are bigger and stronger than their predecessors but still gentle on the environment. The machines are designed specifically to work with thinning trees and causing minimal damage to the ground and remaining trees. The engines are Stage V certified, can run on HVO fuel and have very low diesel consumption and thus low CO2 emissions. The weight of the machine is low and is distributed well on all wheels. The driver sits low for good visibility in the young forest and the cabin offers a good driver environment.

Enviva, the largest US wood pellet exporter, is on the brink of filing for bankruptcy following substantial losses resulting from an ill-fated speculation on future commodity prices.  Source: Benzinga The company is facing nine-figure losses and initiated a 30-day grace period after missing a US$24 million interest payment to bondholders. Enviva, anticipating a bankruptcy filing by the end of the week, might delay if bondholders agree to extend the grace period. A faction of Enviva’s bondholders is proposing financing for the Chapter 11 process, offering a potential lifeline, the Wall Street Journal noted. Enviva’s shares, once resilient during the pandemic and the European energy crisis, have plummeted by 99% over the past 12 months. Establishing its manufacturing and export network in 2010 with financial support from energy-focused private-equity firm Riverstone, Enviva has grown to be the nation’s leading wood pellet seller. Riverstone holds over 40% of the company’s stake. In a stark reversal of fortune, last year, Enviva’s strategy to purchase pellets for resale backfired, leaving the company obligated to pay US$296.3 million for 800,000 metric tons of wood pellets worth only US$156.9 million on the open market, according to a November securities filing. Anticipating an additional US$140 million in losses over the next two years, the company expressed doubts about its ability to persist as a going concern due to the adverse impact on profitability and liquidity. Enviva, which markets its wood pellets as a low-carbon alternative to fossil fuels, operates ten plants across the South and six marine terminals. Although metric tons sold increased in the latest quarter, which ended September 30, revenue dwindled, and net losses expanded due to lower prices. In January, Enviva received notification that the company no longer complies with NYSE’s continued listing criteria.

Australia has a significant under supply of housing which is universally recognised. And to address this the Federal, State and Territory Governments have committed to a ‘Housing Accord’ to build 1.2 million much needed homes over the next five years. Source: Timberbiz HIA Managing Director Jocelyn Martin said the HIA had welcomed this announcement, and its members stood ready, willing and able to build these homes. “However, the current commentary and ‘threats’ on further changes to tax settings is acting as a significant deterrent to productivity and increasing housing supply,” Ms Martin said. “This is coupled with the uncertainty from interest rate rises, new complex industrial relations reforms on businesses, the introduction of widespread changes to the building code and layers of approvals and regulatory change. “This is all coming together to substantially affect market confidence and is reflected in building activity data which is indicating decade low numbers for future new home construction.” Ms Martin said that building businesses were feeling swamped and heavily weighed down by this constant attack on changing rules and increasing complexity, and at a time when more skilled workers were needed as more people left the industry than entered it. “It is time all parts of Government came together, to work in a coordinated way, to commit to providing stable and reliable policies and measures to support and grow the building industry – with the ultimate goal of building these much-needed homes,” Ms Martin said. “New housing is already one of the most highly taxed and regulated sectors in the economy, and any further increases to tax settings or increased regulatory complexity would only make that situation worse and ultimately result in less homes being built. “Increasing the supply of housing is the key to addressing affordability. This will involve adequate release of land for new dwellings, increasing the density of housing in metropolitan areas, unlocking further land and infrastructure investment in regional areas and supporting investment in new housing. “The focus needs to be on how we get more slabs poured that will result in the keys getting in the front doors of buyers’ and indeed renters’ pockets quicker,” she said.

Scion has become a member of The Australian Research Council (ARC) Advance Timber Hub. This five-year, $16.5 million research initiative was recently launched at The University of Queensland, Australia in the presence of industry leaders, academic partners, and government officials including Senator Anthony Chisholm, Assistant Minister for Education and Assistant Minister for Regional Development. Source: Timberbiz The primary objective of the ARC Advance Timber Hub is to drive innovation in the Australian mid-rise building market, which represents a significant portion of the country’s construction industry valued at approximately $80 billion annually. This initiative has the potential to revolutionize both timber processing and construction sectors. By leveraging international expertise in advanced timber manufacturing, the Hub also presents substantial opportunities for optimizing forestry resources, including those in Aotearoa New Zealand. At Scion, Henri Bailleres and his team, comprising Tripti Singh, Romain Meot, and Diego Elustondo, are eager to collaborate with the Advance Timber Hub to explore avenues that can benefit both the industry and forests of Aotearoa New Zealand. Their goal is to foster strong partnerships with the Australian timber building sector, fostering synergy between our nations in a shared market. Administered by The University of Queensland’s School of Civil Engineering, the ARC Advance Timber Hub brings together a diverse range of stakeholders including innovators, developers, technology providers, designers, fire engineers, forestry experts, and government representatives. With participation from 12 Australian universities and five international universities and research institutes, the Hub is poised to drive significant advancements in timber processing and construction technologies. Scion sees immense value in joining the Hub, as it provides a platform to contribute our innovative expertise and secure opportunities for our resources and timber products. Together, we look forward to shaping the future of timber innovation and sustainable construction practices in Australia and beyond. To learn more please visit www.advance-timber-hub.org

FSC is organising a webinar Navigating Compliance with Australia’s Illegal Logging Prohibition Laws in partnership with the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) and SCS Global Services. Source: Timberbiz This session is tailored for importers and processors sourcing FSC-certified materials, offering crucial insights to ensure compliance. The webinar is relevant to FSC certificate holders. It is also relevant to non-certified organisations that import and/or process material sourced from FSC-certified suppliers and need to verify that the certification applies to the particular product. This webinar is designed to provide importers and processors of FSC-certified material with crucial information to ensure compliance with Australia’s illegal logging laws. Participants will gain insights into various aspects of the intersection between Australia’s illegal logging laws and FSC certification such as: Obligations of importers and processors under Australia’s illegal logging laws when sourcing material from FSC-certified suppliers. Understanding FSC chain of custody certification, including requirements for compliance with timber legality legislation Clarifying how importers and processors can utilise FSC claims to support compliance Identifying parts of the laws where FSC certificate holders can rely on their current procedures for compliance Determining areas where importers and processors are required to undertake further due diligence for compliance Verifying suppliers of FSC-certified material Receiving and handling FSC-certified material, including receiving FSC claims on sales materials and transferring material between sites. The webinar will be held on 21 March at 2pm EST Australia. You can register here.  

All Tasmanian political parties are being urged to throw their support behind the state’s sustainable forestry industry, ahead of the 23 March State election. Source: Timberbiz Speaking at the launch of the Tasmanian Forest Products Association Election Wishlist, TFPA Chief Executive Officer Nick Steel said the forest industry is vital for the state’s economic, social and environmental success. “Over 5,500 Tasmanians are employed directly and indirectly by the Tasmanian forestry industry,” Mr Steel said. “The Tasmanian forestry industry is vital to secure our rural communities, for our economic prosperity and to help meet the state’s ambitious climate change targets. “In the coming weeks, the TFPA will be reviewing the promises made by all parties and candidates, and assessing them against the Election Wishlist. “Our wishlist prioritises the key election policies needed to ensure that our sustainable industry can continue to thrive in years to come,” Mr Steel said. The TFPA Election Wishlist focuses on four key priorities. They are: timber trees and productivity supporting Tasmanian businesses reducing red tape climate change and the fire threat. “Closer to the election the TFPA will release an Election Scorecard which will rate all parties’ policies against their support of the Tasmanian forestry industry,” Mr Steel said. “That score card will allow Tasmanians who care about our sustainable industry to determine where their vote can go, to truly support our industry. “I urge all political parties to work with the TFPA to ensure that their policies can ensure the Tasmanian forestry industry can continue being successful and sustainable for many years to come.” The TFPA election wishlist is available here: https://bit.ly/4bPyfDF

The Australian Forest Products Association has appointed experienced government relations professional Diana Hallam as its new Chief Executive Officer. Source: Timberbiz Ms Hallam has a long and distinguished career working at senior levels of the Australian public service, as Chief of Staff to a former Deputy Prime Minister and in other senior political advisory and corporate roles with a focus on infrastructure, transport and agriculture. “Diana’s breadth of experience across senior levels of government, politics and the corporate sector will stand her in excellent stead to manage the challenges and opportunities facing our sector,” AFPA Chair Stephen Dadd said. “On behalf of the board, staff and membership, I congratulate Diana and welcome her to the team.” Ms Hallam will leave her current role as a First Assistant Secretary in the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry to commence as AFPA CEO on 12 March 2024. Ms Hallam served as Chief of Staff to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Agriculture Barnaby Joyce from 2014 to 2017 and prior to that occupied senior roles at both Toll Group and Singapore Airlines. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) and a Master of Science and Technology (Aviation) from the University of NSW, a Master of International Law from the Australian National University, a Graduate Diploma of Professional Communications from the University of Southern Queensland and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Ms Hallam said she was thrilled to be offered the opportunity to become AFPA’s CEO. “I look forward to meeting AFPA’s membership and working with everyone across the forest products supply chain,” she said. “The industry is at the forefront of key policy challenges from climate change to economic development and sovereign capability. I look forward to getting out on the ground and talking to stakeholders about the industry’s issues and opportunities.”

February has kicked off with a hiss and a roar with log exporters pulling out the pencil sharpeners and publishing prices in the mid to highNZ$130’s for A grade (except for Bluff and Lyttleton where you poor folks are between NZ$10 and NZ$20/m3 less). This price level has given forest owners a grin that rivals Chloe Swarbricks’ after James Shaws’ resignation and gives numbers that are at least NZ$10/m3 over both the three- and five-year averages. This lift is courtesy of an increased CFR price, lower foreign exchange, and steady shipping rates. It’s not all beer and skittles though and anyone that reads the news will be well aware of the continued issues with the Chinese economy and the embattled construction sector. The Chinese Evergrande debacle continues to unfold with an order from a Hong Kong court to liquidate the company which currently holds the crown of the worlds most indebted developer with over 300 billion yuan in total liabilities. An attempt by Fengtao Property Company, one of Evergrande’s offshoots, to auction off some of its assets was met with zero bids, which indicates the level of demand in the property sector. There are some glimmers of light through the dark CCP clouds as Reuters reported that the average Chinese city house price rose 0.15% in January, not really a ‘wow moment’ but it is the fastest gain since mid-2021 with growth occurring in half of the surveyed cities. It was also noted that government land sale revenue also gained 1.8% from the previous year which is the first-time sales have risen in two years. How this is happening when there’s 10 years’ housing supply still in the system is anyone’s guess, but sentiment is a huge driver of the Chinese economy which doesn’t really conform to economics 101. The China market is even more important to NZ now as a number of sawmills in South Korea have closed their doors. While South Korea isn’t a massive player in terms of volume, it is especially significant in that South Korea accepts non-fumigated cargo from NZ. Most of the NZ log cargo is shipped on vessels that have approximately a third of the cargo ‘on deck’ and therefore this cargo must be fumigated on port prior to loading if going to China. The ‘under deck’ cargo in the holds is fumigated enroute which is reasonably straight forward but following the NZ EPA’s effective banning of Methyl Bromide as a fumigant (by requiring large buffer zones), on deck cargos that cannot be fumigated are now mostly de-barked if destined for China. Delivering top deck cargos to South Korea is a good option for those exporters from ports that don’t have de-barkers or the ability to fumigate, and therefore any reduction in Korean demand also reduces the optionality for NZ exporters. Chinese log inventories have crept up around 50Km3 in the past month and now sit at around 2.6Mm3 which is approximately 40 days’ supply. Chinese New Year celebrations kick off next week and many sawmills have shut early which explains the inventory build and it’s likely that we will see total inventory at the mid 3Mm3 level by the time everyone returns to work. Total log imports into China for 2024 will likely be similar to 2023 at a shade under 40Mm3 which is around 60% of the 2021 levels. NZ has increased its share and currently accounts for around 45% of this total, which is an increase in terms of market share but a decrease in total volume. Supply from Europe and the US has reduced significantly with the Red Sea scuffle potentially keeping the lid on this for the mean time. Australia has recommenced log exports to China however, only in smaller volumes (once bitten twice shy) with the majority of their export volume destined for India. Carbon prices have rallied somewhat with current spot prices at NZ$73.35. This equates to around NZ$2,200/ha/yr and will likely have many sheep farmers looking at trees as a form of succession planning, despite the negative press from the noisy few. The next Govt NZU auction is scheduled for March, and it will be interesting to see if any bids clear the floor price following the failures of 2023. Nicola Willis will be watching very carefully as the auction revenue will probably be factored into the 2024 books to help fill the Roberston fiscal hole. So, all in all 2024 is shaping up pretty well with solid export prices, strong domestic demand, (especially pruned logs) and a reasonable general outlook. All eyes will be on China demand once everyone returns from new year celebrations and hopefully a few weeks R&R will have them return to work with renewed fizziness about building things with wood. NZ supply will be interesting over the next few months as weather and prices increase woodlot activity, and the Taupo windthrow salvage starts to wind down. Whether we can hold the price gains through into Q2 is yet to be seen but like any good commodity trader, we’ll take what we can get. Marcus Musson is a Forest360 Director. He holds a Bachelor of Forest Science with Honours from Canterbury University, New Zealand, and specialises in steep slope cable harvesting, marketing and value recovery initiatives.

The timber industry in Australia plays a significant role in the nation’s economy, providing employment opportunities and contributing to various sectors such as construction, manufacturing, and forestry. Within this industry, apprenticeships hold particular importance, serving as a cornerstone for skill development, knowledge transfer, and sustainability. This week’s National Apprenticeship Week (12-18 February) has been promoting the value of apprenticeships to employers, job seekers, industry, and government, and advances the role apprenticeships play in building workforce skills, knowledge, and a robust Australian economy. There are of course many good reasons to consider employing an apprentice. Australia’s timber industry, like many others, faces skills shortages due to factors such as an aging workforce and evolving technological advancements. Apprenticeships help address these shortages by actively recruiting and training new talent, ensuring a steady supply of skilled workers to meet industry demands. Apprenticeships play a crucial role in preserving traditional craftsmanship within the timber industry. By passing down skills from experienced artisans to the next generation of apprentices, valuable techniques and craftsmanship are retained, contributing to the cultural heritage of woodworking and timber-related trades. But apprenticeships also provide a platform for innovation and adaptation within the timber industry. As apprentices learn from experienced mentors, they also bring fresh perspectives and ideas, driving innovation in processes, techniques, and product development to keep pace with changing market demands and technological advancements. Apprenticeships offer clear career pathways and opportunities for advancement within the timber industry. Upon completing their training, apprentices often transition into full-time employment with the same company or pursue further education and specialization, contributing to a skilled and versatile workforce. Apprenticeships are integral to the sustainability, growth, and competitiveness of Australia’s timber industry. By nurturing talent, preserving traditional craftsmanship, fostering innovation, and providing career pathways, apprenticeships ensure the industry’s continued success and relevance in the modern economy. Australia’s timber industry can’t live without them.