Australian timber industry news

The Bandit team has launched the HM6420 hammermill grinder to market. This highly productive 40” capacity grinder is designed and manufactured to be an alternative solution for those grinding applications that may contain contaminants. Source: Timberbiz A Caterpillar C32, 1,200 horsepower engine provides ample torque and horsepower for optimal machine performance and productivity. The heart of the HM6420 is a 50” diameter x 66” wide hammermill. The heavy-duty mill features a 1.75” drum skin custom formed from rolled plate. The mill is supported by a 7” main shaft constructed of alloy steel that has been ultrasonic tested. Each pocket within the mill is manufactured from high strength A-514 steel. These combinations create a structural sound mill for added durability and integrity. The mill is equipped with 20 carbide infused hammer inserts built to withstand the toughest material fed into the machine. Each holder is securely attached to the mill via a patent-pending quick change pocket system. Each holder recesses into the mill pocket, increasing durability. A top plate covers the pocket and holds in place by six hex bolts. The hammer insert is attached to each holder utilizing two bolts. With this set-up, the mill hardware is easier and quicker to replace. A heavy-duty slat-style infeed conveyor is directly driven generating over 18,000 pounds of pulling power. The large diameter feed wheel is also directly driven and provides an additional 17,000 pounds of pulling power and 8,650 to 17,300 pounds of down force when hydraulic pressure is applied. These combinations allow the HM6420 to grind massive quantities of material efficiently and effectively at one time. A proportional feed system is standard and regulates the feed system from 82 – 132 feet per minute. The HM6420 has one of the fastest feed rates on the market allowing it to quickly process material. The proportional feed system allows operators to adjust the feed based on material being processed ensuring maximum output and grinder efficiency, all while achieving a higher quality end-product. Three screens are located on the top side of the HM6420 mill. A variety of screen sizes are available up to 7” to produce various end-product sizes. The top feed wheel moves upward, and a removable screen cradle allows for quick screen set-up changes. All work for screen changing is performed outside of the machine. An impact detection system is standard and designed to limit damage if a contaminant is struck inside the grinding chamber. Once an impact event is detected, the grinder will idle down, open the gate, disengage the clutch, and reverse the feed. A 56” wide height adjustable discharge with a stacking height of 16’ 8” is standard. The height of the discharge can easily be adjusted accommodating various grinding scenarios and situations. The standard wireless remote controls all grinding and tracking functions and features an LCD screen that will display engine coolant temperature, engine oil pressure, engine load percentage, engine RPM, and battery voltage.

John Deere has announced it has entered into an agreement with SpaceX to provide cutting-edge satellite communications (SATCOM) service to farmers. Utilizing the industry-leading Starlink network, this solution will allow farmers facing rural connectivity challenges to fully leverage precision agriculture technologies. Source: Timberbiz This partnership, an industry first, will enable John Deere customers to be more productive, profitable, and sustainable in their operations as they continue to provide food, fuel, and fibre for their communities and a growing global population. “The value of connectivity to farmers is broader than any single task or action. Connectivity unlocks vast opportunities that were previously limited or unavailable,” said Aaron Wetzel, Vice President of Production and Precision Ag Production Systems at John Deere. “For example, throughout the year, farmers must complete tasks within extremely short windows of time. This requires executing incredibly precise production steps while coordinating between machines and managing machine performance. Each of these areas are enhanced through connectivity, making the entire operation more efficient, effective, and profitable.” The SATCOM solution will connect both new and existing machines through satellite internet service and ruggedized satellite terminals. This will fully enable technologies such as autonomy, real-time data sharing, remote diagnostics, enhanced self-repair solutions, and machine-to-machine communication, all of which help farmers work more efficiently while minimizing downtime. “John Deere has led the agriculture equipment industry for more than two decades with satellite-based precision guidance technology,” said Jahmy Hindman, Senior Vice President & Chief Technology Officer at John Deere. “Now, we are bringing satellite communications service to the farm at scale so farmers with cellular coverage challenges can maximize the value of connectivity to their operations. The SATCOM solution unlocks the John Deere tech stack so every farmer can fully utilize their current precision agriculture technology in addition to the new innovative solutions they will deploy in the future. We initiated this process with a fierce focus on delivering value to our customers, and this partnership ensures we have a solution that meets their needs today and in the future.” John Deere’s SATCOM solution will leverage SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet constellation. To activate this solution, John Deere dealers will install a ruggedized Starlink terminal on compatible machines, along with a 4G LTE JDLink modem to connect the machine to the John Deere Operations Center. The SATCOM solution will initially be available through a limited release in the United States and Brazil starting in the second half of 2024.  

Due to the continued weak and uncertain market environment, Stora Enso plans to initiate a new profit improvement program which could lead to a potential reduction of approximately 1000 employees. Source: Timberbiz The profit improvement program is designed to improve Stora Enso’s long-term competitiveness by focusing on core business activities that can drive the Group’s strategy supported by a decentralised operating model. The profit improvement program would be implemented without any new production site closures. The majority of the savings would materialise during 2025, and the larger part of the employee reductions are planned to take place during the first half of 2024. The employee reductions, efficiency improvements and synergy opportunities would impact all divisions and Group functions and reflect the size of their respective organisations. “Although difficult, this plan is necessary to ensure our long-term success and competitiveness. Last year, we completed a restructuring program which led to the identification of synergy opportunities, which we plan to address with our new profit improvement initiative. “We are facing persistent weakness in the macroeconomic and geopolitical environment and need to focus on core business activities which align with our strategy. Through this programme we would strengthen our focus on profitability making us more competitive and resilient to market uncertainties,” Hans Sohlström, Stora Enso’s President and CEO said. No decisions regarding the planned employee reductions will be taken until the change negotiations have been concluded according to local regulations. At the end of last year Stora Enso completed a restructuring program which was initiated in June 2023 and resulted in 1150 employee reductions.  

Radial Timber is a Victorian based company that grows, mills and distributes a range of unique and standard products from durable and sustainable Victorian Hardwoods. Their latest innovative radial saw technology is unique and proudly developed in Gippsland Victoria. Source: Timberbiz The radial saw works by taking very small diameter hardwood sawlogs and cuts them up into wedges like a pizza. Once the saw has cut the log into wedges, it then cuts those wedges into boards whilst maximising the recovery of sawn timber from smaller logs. As such, radial sawing has a range of both environmental and technical benefits. Where conventional sawing methods require large diameter logs, the radial saw helps make small hardwood logs more viable by maximising the yield of high value timber products. Twenty years ago Radial Timber started with a prototype plant which was very manual labour intensive, and very low in productivity. Over the years the team at Radial kept refining and developing ideas and concepts. They realised if they were ever going move forward, they had to scale up to a fully commercial plant. As the demand for their radial sawn commercial timber increased, the team made plans to improve production as well as their processing methods. The team at Radial Timber started early discussions with engineering company AE Gibson & Sons, to discuss their concepts and ideas. They wanted to get a reputable engineering business in Australia to produce the sawmill equipment and help them to develop and improve on the sawmill machinery they already had on site. Once Radial Timber had the IP in place for the unique process, they knew they were onto a winner. The engineering team at AE Gibson & Sons took it in their stride to engineer a fully customised unique machine. The Gibson team understood the brief and came back with an implementation plan to engineer a suitable solution. Prior to the Gibson machine design, the initial radial saw was difficult to load and position the log accurately. It was also time consuming to extract the wedges from the cut zone. With the newly designed radial saw the log is positioned and dogged automatically, and the saw cut pattern is PLC controlled. As each saw cut is completed, the log rotates 45 degrees resulting in eight cuts per log. This greatly increases the machine production outputted and it’s all controlled by an operator located safely in a control cabin. The timber wedges move from the log saw to a transfer deck and then the resaw, where each wedge is cut into multiple boards. With eight timber wedges and up to five or six boards out of each wedge, this results in 35 or more long timber boards coming out of every small log. “It helps to predict exactly what you’re recovering from each log, if it’s a six metre timber log most of the boards are six metres long,” Radial Timber owner and managing director Chris McEvoy said. This was so important, since the company could see the log size coming from forests were getting smaller, and the increased need to recover more from the small logs. This helped them make the decision to invest in improving their overall process with Gibson machinery and technology. Radial Timber has also invested in plantation forests, with 1000 hectares of plantations that have been planted over the last 20 years with 1000 hectares more to go. The important thing about the latest radial technology is that it’s ideally suited to plantation timber. With plantation timber you can grow a tree to a certain size and a certain height. This enables Radial to plan and predict exactly what they are going to get out of every piece of timber. The more uniform the timber product, the higher the recovery with less wastage and the more profitability there will be.

The Sydney Timber Architecture and Construction Forum will be held on 22 February 2024 and organised by WoodSolutions. This in-person event will take place at the NSW Teachers Federation Conference Centre, located in the heart of Sydney. Source: Timberbiz At the forum, you’ll have the opportunity to connect with industry experts, architects, builders, and suppliers, all passionate about timber. Discover the latest trends, innovative techniques, and sustainable practices that are shaping the future of timber construction. Immerse yourself in a morning filled with presentations on the latest in active moisture management from international guests, the latest in Passive House construction, and the new face of industrial buildings in wood. Learn from speakers who will share their expertise, success stories, and valuable insights. Gain practical knowledge that to apply to projects, while exchanging ideas with like-minded professionals. The seminar will feature internationally renowned expert Jason Teetaert of Structure Monitoring Technology, a leader in real-time building physics tracking. He has travelled from Canada to showcase permanent roof leak detection, which is able to pinpoint moisture breaches early before major damage. This proactive safeguard system uses sensor networks installed directly into roof assemblies. This is an event targeted at architects, engineers and builders. For more information and to book click here.

Recent research suggesting that hazard-reduction burning increases bushfire risk has come under fire from the NSW Rural Fire Service. Source: Timberbiz RFS community risk director Simon Heemstra has echoed comments from Forestry Australia that there is no panacea for reducing the impacts of catastrophic bushfires. The research – “Identifying and managing disturbance-stimulated flammability in woody ecosystems” – published in scientific journal Biological Reviews, draws on studies of the severe bushfires in 2009 and 2019-2020 to identify factors that may increase the intensity of a burn. It found that that the risk of extreme blazes decreased as trees grew taller. However, Dr Heemstra told the ABC that while the report offered some insights regarding fuel accumulation it did not outline anything the organisation could put into practice. “To wholesale adopt the recommendations of this report would make the landscape much more dangerous and threaten life and property,” he said. Dr Heemstra said prescribed burns reduced the fuel load, helped certain vegetation reproduce, made putting out small fires easier, and provided training for RFS staff. “There is always a reduction in risk when you reduce part of the fuel,” he told the ABC. “Fires are going to be not as intense, not run as fast, and be more easily controlled. “Our losses of property and risk to human life are significantly reduced once we reduce fuel load. “The more we implement prescribed burning and have strategies to try to reduce ignitions and suppress fires, the more we’re reducing these big fires with a very significant impact.” Dr Heemstra said the report was overly simplistic in its suggestions about lightning strike modelling and drones dropping retardants on ignitions to prevent sparks becoming bushfire blazes. “There are options we need to look at in the future, but it’s not a silver bullet and it needs to go in the mix with everything else we are doing as far as bushfire risk management,” he said. Dr Heemstra told the ABC the RFS aimed to burn bushland every five to 10 years to minimise risk. He said that was an ancient practice. “The Australian landscape was shaped after tens of thousands of years of management through Aboriginal Australians and their cultural burning practices,” he said. “There is a lot to be learned and understood from the use of fire in the landscape.” Forestry Australia Science Policy Adviser Dr Tony Bartlett said that while there was no panacea for reducing the impacts of catastrophic bushfires, prescribed burning was a scientifically proven part of the solution. “Simply, reduced fuel levels in forests will reduce the severity of bushfires on all bar the most catastrophic fire weather conditions,” he said. “Any criticism that prescribed burning can make Australian forests more flammable is misguided. Criticising prescribed burning is like dismissing the value of seat belts in cars because people still die in car accidents. Both seat belts and prescribed burns are highly beneficial most of the time. “Forestry Australia’s view is that using cool burning to reduce fuel hazards is critical to good forest fire management and very consistent with the way Aboriginal people managed these forests for thousands of years.”

University of Queensland researchers have found improving timber production efficiencies by just 5% could unlock supply for an extra 8000 homes to be built in Australia each year. Source: Timberbiz The industry supported modelling was carried out at the $16.5 million Australian Research Council to Advance Timber for Australia’s Future Built Environment (ARC Advance Timber Hub) at UQ. Associate Professor Joe Gattas, who co-leads two research areas at the Hub, said supply chain efficiencies could result in more affordable and sustainable housing options for Australians. “Early consultation with our industry partners has shown us where efficiencies can be made across all stages of the forest to building supply chain,” Dr Gattas said. “Our research will investigate how to deliver these improvements using new technologies such as computer vision and artificial intelligence to get more usable material out of each tree and augmented reality and robotics to enhance productivity for time-consuming and repetitive tasks. “Every gain in the supply chain allows more houses to be built and we hope this will increase the use of Australian-grown timber as a more sustainable choice for construction.” Hub Director, Professor Keith Crews, said the research would encourage growth in the timber industry and identify new ways the material could be used in construction. “We all benefit from more timber in construction – by delivering a boost for industry and supporting sustainability targets because timber removes carbon from the environment and stores it,” Professor Crews said. “Timber has a key role in helping Australia transition to a circular and net-zero economy. “While timber is commonly used in smaller dwellings such as housing, we are working with the State Government and industry to look at ways it can be incorporated into larger projects such as athlete accommodation for the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games. “Making more timber available will also help support the Australian Government’s National Housing Accord to deliver 10,000 affordable homes over the next five years.” Federal Assistant Minister for Education, Senator Anthony Chisholm, said the Advance Timber Hub funded through the ARC’s Industrial Transformation Research Program, demonstrated the benefits of investing in publicly funded research in Australia. “Australians want our country to be a nation that makes things through sustainable practices, but this can only be done when we back initiatives like the ARC’s Linkage Program, which promotes innovative national and international research collaboration and partnerships with global suppliers,” Senator Chisholm said. “The Advance Timber Hub will enable an advanced manufacturing transformation of Australia’s timber and construction industries, supporting resource diversification and creating new opportunities for regional development and employment.” Acting ARC CEO, Dr Richard Johnson said the linkage program is all about bringing together researchers and industry partners to drive innovation and translation. “The ARC is pleased to support this Research Hub, which involves strong collaboration among national and international universities and industry partners, to stimulate rapid growth in innovation in the timber industry,” Dr Johnson said. Partners include researchers from 12 Australian and five international universities and research institutes working in collaboration with 28 industry partners.  

Taxpayers have forked out almost half a million dollars on overseas copy paper for federal agencies, as the Coalition pushes for a return of paper manufacturing in Australia. Source: Herald Sun Australia’s last white paper mill at Maryvale in Victoria stopped making the product last year, resulting in up to 200 job losses. The average price of imported paper has soared by up to $100 a tonne to around $2000, up about 5% last year. Opposition forestry spokesman Jonno Duniam said the end of copy paper production had also cost Australia thousands of indirect jobs, as well as economic activity. Senator Duniam pointed the finger at both the Victorian and federal governments, saying the shutdown of Australian manufacturing “could and should have been prevented”. “A re-elected Coalition government would seek to work closely with industry to return paper manufacturing to Australia,” he said. New figures reveal federal government departments and agencies spent at least $450,000 last year on overseas paper after Australian-made supply ended. The Defence Department made up the bulk of the costs, spending almost $200,000 so far in 2023-24. This was followed by the Home Affairs department, which spent more than $62,000, the Australian Taxation Office at almost $55,000, and the Agriculture department at about $20,000. “In December 2022, the only paper manufacturer in Australia ceased operation, and Australian made paper can no longer be sourced,” an agriculture department spokesman said. Some government agencies reinforced their commitment to going paperless. But major government departments including health are yet to respond to the questions from estimates, which are now overdue. Senator Duniam accused Forestry Minister Murray Watt of being “asleep at the wheel” while his Victorian Labor colleagues terminated the native forestry industry”. “The Victorian Labor government’s blinkered, ideological opposition to forestry always leads to worse outcomes, including for the environment,” the Tasmanian Liberal said, adding other countries had lower standards. “It was a culmination of failures by Dan Andrews and Jacinta Allen who sold out Gippsland workers and formally banned Victorian native timber harvesting from the start of 2024.” Manufacturer Opal Australia shut its paper manufacturing facilities after struggling to secure timber supply. The decision was announced after the Supreme Court put regulations on VicForests, affecting its ability to meet contracts, because it did not do enough to protect endangered gliders. Opal Australia will in mid-February have a major shutdown at its Latrobe Valley site to upgrade it so it can focus on brown packaging.

Forest and Wood Communities Australia unfortunately finds it necessary to address the recent peculiar actions of environmental activists targeting Victorian plantation timber harvesting. While respecting differing opinions, it is crucial to underscore the irony and misinformed nature of these activists protesting in plantations which were expressly established for timber utilization. Plantation timber stands as a testament to commitment to sustainability and is meticulously designed to provide a renewable source of timber. Unfortunately, recent protests indicate a surreal misunderstanding of these practices, as activists inexplicably move into plantations with the rather baffling intention of opposing timber harvesting contrary to the very purpose for which these plantations exist. Forest and Wood Communities Australia fully supports environmental awareness and responsible resource management. However, the actions of these so-called eco-activists border on the absurd, as they protest the utilization of timber in the very spaces created for that very purpose. It is perplexing to witness these activists targeting Blue-gum plantation timber in Victoria, via the states Koala population. The truth couldn’t be further from the activist portrayals as Victoria has a thriving koala population of approximately 459,865 animals, with an estimated 412,948 in native forest and woodland and a further 46,917 in eucalypt plantations. In several areas, the population density is so high it is unsustainable, with the Victorian government spending millions of dollars on sterilization and relocation programs. Aside from these obvious facts brought to you by scientists from the Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research (ARI), Victorian Chief conservation regulator Kate Gavens said plantation operators must adhere to harvesting conditions such as obtaining a permit from the regulator to harvest where there are koalas present, alongside consulting with an ecologist to decide how to ‘manage’ the koalas. “It includes having trained koala spotters on-site, retaining vegetation where you do spot koalas, and taking action if you do spot a koala,” Ms Gavens said. It seems the unhinged anti-everything inner-city activists cannot grasp that plantation forestry serves as an efficient way to meet the growing demand for timber while minimizing the impact elsewhere. The activists’ misguided approach undermines the pragmatic and ecologically sound reasons behind the establishment of these plantations. Forest and Wood Communities Australia condemns in the strongest possible terms the recent call for a moratorium on timber harvesting by environmentalists. Such an extreme proposition, lacking a factual basis, not only disregards the scientific foundation of sustainable forestry but also threatens the livelihoods of communities dependent on the forest and wood industries. The irony in the activists’ actions is undeniable. Forest and Wood Communities Australia extends an invitation to these activists to engage in a rational dialogue, understanding the comprehensive efforts undertaken to promote responsible forestry. The organization encourages activists to redirect their passion toward constructive efforts that support sustainability, rather than engaging in actions that unwittingly challenge the very practices they purportedly champion. Mick Harrington. Executive Officer of Forest and Wood Communities Australia

Pressure is piling up for the Federal Government to cut the nearly $10m funding of the Environmental Defenders Office. The Federal Opposition has been joined by Australian Energy Producers and the Australian Forest Products Association in calling for action against the EDO. The Northern Territory Chief Minister Eva Lawler has already said her government would be reviewing its $100,000-a-year funding arrangement. The call for defunding follow the EDO losing an action brought by the North East Forest Alliance  against the Commonwealth of Australia and the State of NSW with its lawyers arguing that the RFA should not have been renewed without assessment and approval under federal environment laws, and a landmark case against Santos’s $5.3bn Barossa LNG project, with claims the company’s proposed 262km pipeline would cause irreparable damage to First Nations people and their sites. In the second case, a Federal Court judge described a “cultural mapping” exercise and other key components of the Environmental Defenders Office case against the Santos Barossa gas project as “so lacking in integrity that no weight can be placed on them” and tainted by “confection” and “construction” of evidence. Opposition spokeswoman for Indigenous Australians Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price in The Australian today wrote that “the absurdity of the Albanese government funding an organisation hellbent on undermining government processes beggars’ belief and points to a government that is both out of touch and out of its depth”. “That Anthony Albanese and Environment and Water Minister Tanya Plibersek would continue to allow taxpayer money to be wasted like this is simply astonishing. It begs the question: is this all just a thinly veiled attempt to, as Queensland senator Susan McDonald puts it, ‘secure votes in inner-city seats under threat from the Greens’?” Very well put. All it seems Tanya Plibersek can say to the EDO is ‘I hope they take notice’. That might not be enough.

In 2023, the Norwegian Forestry Agency paid out almost SEK 309 million (around $44M) in compensation to landowners who were denied felling in areas close to mountains due to high natural values. This is an increase of 25% compared with the previous year. At the same time, the area for which formal protection was established was the lowest since 1998. Source: Timberbiz Since 2020, the Norwegian Forestry Agency has paid trespass compensation to landowners who have been denied permission to fell in areas close to mountains, this after a trial in court gave the landowners the right to do so. In 2020, only individual trespass compensations were paid out as a result of denied permission to fell, but in the following years the amount of payments increased sharply due to the increase in felling applications that were then sent to the Forestry Agency. In 2021, 72 million kroner (around $10M) was paid out in trespass compensation, in 2022 it was 248 million kroner (around $54M), and most recently in 2023, 309 million kroner was paid to the landowners who were denied felling. The number of compensation cases has increased from 110 in 2022 to 188 cases in 2023. In total, trespass compensation has been paid out as a result of denied permission to harvest 16,700 hectares of forest land in the region near the mountains in the years 2020 to 2023. The biggest increase was between 2021 and 2022 when the area that was trespassed increased by almost 300%. The largest part of the area that received trespass compensation in the mountains until 2023 is in Västerbotten (62%) and Jämtland counties (36%). The remaining 2% is distributed between the counties of Dalarna and Norrbotten. In 2023, 810 hectares of biotope protection and 210 hectares of nature conservation agreements were added. Overall, this was the lowest level of new formation of the Norwegian Forestry Agency’s formal protection since 1998. It is also the fifth year in a row where less than 1,500 hectares have been formally protected. The years with the greatest new formation were during 2002 to 2005 when approximately 6,000 hectares per year became formally protected. “Those who have been refused permission to harvest have the right to compensation and we work there as quickly as we can to handle the cases. If more funds are needed to compensate forest owners for denied felling near the mountains, we will request more money for that in good time,” says Johan Åberg, specialist in area protection at the Norwegian Forestry Agency.

Shiling Pei is from the Republic of China, where he likely suffered from wood deprivation. Concrete is the material of choice. Except for ancient buildings, there are few, if any, wood frames, he says. Source: ENR Pei is not only a wannabe woodworker. He has been researching timber building systems for years. “I consider myself an experimentalist,” says Pei, also a licensed civil engineer in California. His latest wood research in resilient performance-based seismic design is historic. As principal investigator for the National Science Foundation’s Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure TallWood Project, Pei is leading a team that tested a resilient 10-story “rocking-wall” frame, composed of vertically post-tensioned cross-laminated-timber, on an outdoor shake table at the University of California San Diego. The 112-ft-tall specimen was the tallest full-scale structure ever tested on a shake table, says NHERI. The shaking simulated the 1994 Northridge quake, a magnitude-6.7 temblor in Los Angeles. Then it ran Taiwan’s 1999 Chichi quake, a magnitude-7.7 temblor. The specimen sustained no damage, except to steel clips that can be replaced, says Pei, and it performed exactly as expected, returning to its plumb position after rocking. “We found a cost-effective and practical way to build a tall wood building that is almost earthquake proof,” he says. The unbuilt 12-story Framework, designed by LEVER Architecture and KPFF, is the model for the specimen. “Ling had the most difficult position of all,” says Reid Zimmerman, a structural engineer on the NHERI team and technical director at the Portland, Oregon, office of KPFF. “He led a large, diverse team,” including six universities, “to design, supply, fabricate and construct the tallest shake-table test in the world,” he adds. And Pei leveraged multiple funding sources and numerous supplier donations while building consensus. Thomas Robinson, LEVER’s founding principal and a NHERI participant, says the rocking wall is “probably the most innovative structure put on a shake table in our lifetime.” Pei’s research focuses on multi-hazard mitigation through performance-based engineering, numerical modelling of structural dynamic behaviour and large-scale dynamic testing. “There’s something very addicting to testing large structures,” says Pei, who has a Ph.D. in civil engineering from Colorado State University. Pei first studied bridge engineering as an undergraduate at Southwest Jiaotong University, in China. He arrived in the US in 2003 to study structural engineering. It was a time when academia was interested in the seismic performance of wood structures, in the aftermath of the Northridge quake. There were few fatalities but the number of wood structures with severe damage was high, Pei says. “We thought wood could do better,” he adds. The “sweet spot” for the resilient rocking system is three to six stories, says Zimmerman. LEVER, with structural engineer Holmes, is currently designing a three-story office building with a timber rocking wall. If built, it would be the first wood rocking wall, other than the specimen. Timber rocking walls are not in the code, making it more difficult for engineers to use the system. Pei and Zimmerman hope to change that. They are co-leading an effort to write a proposal for the 2028 update of ASCE/SEI 7, Minimum Design Loads and Associated Criteria for Buildings and Other Structures. Toward that, Pei has to have the NHERI report finalized by the summer of 2025.

Wood leftover from Okanagan forestry operations that would once have been burned is now being put to productive use, according to the Forest Enhancement Society of British Columbia, Canada. Source: Penticton Herald Sixty-six innovative projects undertaken around the province in the past year at a cost of almost Can$50 million have generated an environmental benefit equal to one million fewer tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, the society said. And debris wood that would have filled more than 68,000 logging trucks has been used instead for the making of wood pellets and other products. “With the help of 66 projects funded in 2023, BC is taking necessary steps in battling climate change and becoming more resilient in the face of worsening wildfire seasons,” Minister of Forests Bruce Ralston said. Along with finding new ways to use waste woods, the projects involved thinning forests and other fuel reduction efforts near towns and cities to avoid a repeat of last year’s devastating wildfire season, the worst on record in BC. “Healthy forests are essential to thriving and diverse ecosystems that support healthy people and secure communities, along with a sustainable BC economy,” Minister of Climate Change George Hayman said. The government provided the funding to the Forest Enhancement Society early last year. Forestry companies, Indigenous groups, and municipalities were invited to submit applications for grants that focused on wildfire risk reduction and better use of waste wood. A total of 17 projects were supported with Can$9.3 million of funding in the Thompson-Okanagan region. Fuel mitigation work was done on 84 hectares of land, with carbon dioxide emission reductions estimated at 193,000 tonnes. Recovery efforts have included gathering debris wood for conversion to high-efficiency wood pellets for heating, said to be a renewable energy source, and directing more material to pulp mills than would otherwise have been the case. In the South Okanagan, the Osoyoos Indian Band received funding for the enhanced use of “low value fibre”, material that’s left over from forestry operations. Debris that would have otherwise filled more than 3,200 logging trucks before being burned off was instead put to productive use. “There doesn’t need to be a trade-off between the environment and the economy – it can be, and should be, a win for both,” said Steve Kozuki, the FESBC’s executive director.

The Heyfield Timber Festival is not just an event, it’s a celebration of community, tradition, and the rich history of timber. This year the event will be held from 17-19 February with a street parade on 18 February. Source: Timberbiz The event promotes timber and forestry with its wood chop events but also celebrates local activities such as a dog high jump competition, car and truck displays, and live entertainment. Highlights will include the truck show with a display of log trucks from various eras, as well as the wood chop event which is a cornerstone of any timber festival, and the iconic parade through the main streets of Heyfield. There will also be a timber workers memorial vigil to pay respects the workers of the industry at the timber workers memorial.

Perth’s Hyde Park could lose up to 20% of its trees due to an infestation of an exotic South East Asian beetle known as ployphgous shot-hole borer which tunnels into a tree and plants a fungus that blocks nutrients and water. Source: Timberbiz A single female borer can fly up to 400 metres and start new colonies quickly. It is believed that the borer came into Perth via untreated wood from Asia. “It’s not clear how this destructive borer made its way into WA, but it is clear that we need everyone to follow the strict biosecurity rules at our airports and borders, to keep unwanted pests out,” Western Australia’s Agriculture and Food Minister Jackie Jarvis said. “An unprecedented biosecurity response has been underway for more than two years to stem the spread of this pest. “DPIRD is working around the clock to eradicate it and is consulting with scientists from California and South Africa to learn from their experience in managing the borer. “However, it is imperative that we work together as a community to deal with this invasive pest.” Around 180 trees in Hyde Park are targeted for removal including old Moreton Bay Figs and London Plane Trees. The Cook Government is urging the Western Australian community to help stop the spread of the tiny beetle, which was first detected in Fremantle in mid-2021. With no known treatments currently available, tree removal is the only way to prevent this invasive pest from rapidly reproducing. This means a number of infested trees across Perth will require pruning or removal by arborists including at Hyde Park, Lake Claremont, Kings Park, and Perth Zoo. Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) is doing everything it can to stop the spread of the borer, as part of a national biosecurity response, and has launched the biggest surveillance program in the Department’s history. DPIRD response staff have already inspected more than 1.5 million trees on more than 50,000 properties, as well deployed 3,000 traps to help track the borer. There is also a quarantine area in place, covering most of the Perth metropolitan area. It is vital that residents are aware of the restrictions on the movement of wood and plant material from their properties, as it could spread the borer. To date there’s been excellent support from the public and local governments, however ongoing community vigilance is vital to assist the State’s efforts to stop this invasive pest. The public can help by keeping an eye out for signs of the borer, and reporting it to the My Pest Guide Reporter app or website mypestguide.agric.wa.gov.au Symptoms can include tiny holes in a tree trunk, discolouration, staining or sawdust.

A forestry innovation organisation focusing on breeding, researching and developing durable eucalypts is seeking investors to help further research. Source: Farmers Weekly New Zealand Dryland Forests IP Ltd was set up in July 2022 by New Zealand Dryland Forests Innovation (NZDFI) to separate commercial activities from the broader focus of NZDFI’s research and development program. The board of NZDFIP Ltd is now seeking expressions of interest from the forest industry for a limited offer sale of shares in the company and support for its ongoing research and development program. “After 15 years of research and breeding progress, we are ready to invite industry partners to come on board,” said Shaf van Ballekom, chair of NZDFI and general manager of Proseed NZ, Australasia’s largest tree seed producer. “Advances in tree breeding take many decades, as does the research and education that goes with delivering what is a new opportunity for the forest industry. We are on the cusp of commercialising the results of our intensive efforts to date.” Up to 49% of the NZDFIP Ltd shareholding is on offer to forest growers that have the land, capability, and a strategy to diversify by investing in large-scale planting of the elite durable eucalypts now available. A confidential expression of interest document has been circulated to a number of forestry companies that have shown interest in diversifying with durable eucalypts. “Our plan is to deliver tree-breeding, research and extension services to new shareholders in a similar way to that which the Radiata Pine Breeding Company undertakes for industry. We have exciting plans for more research, and want to focus our communication and education into building the capability needed for a New Zealand durable hardwood industry,” Van Ballekom said. Expressions of interest close 28 March.

Forestry Australia is doing a nation-wide call out for passionate scientists and forestry professionals to take part in its highly sought after Mentoring Program. Source: Timberbiz Forestry Australia CEO Jacquie Martin said the program was a great opportunity to super-charge forestry careers. “The relationship between a mentor and mentee is a powerful thing,” Ms Martin said. “It has the ability to change, shape and motivate both individuals and entire sectors, and that’s exactly what Forestry Australia’s Mentor Program is all about. “The program is carefully designed to pair experienced forestry professionals with those who are seeking to evolve their career in our exciting sector. Over nine months, mentees will expand their forestry and professional skill sets, grow their networks and enhance their careers. “The program has been developed around a framework and tool kit of resources which support participants to set career and development goals; teach time management for life, values and business ethics, forestry skills gap analysis and career planning. “It’s also an excellent opportunity for experienced professionals to give back to the sector by investing their time and sharing their experience with the next generation of forest scientists and forest managers. “I encourage anyone who is passionate about Australia’s forestry sector and sustainable forest management to join the program.” Applications for the Mentor Program are open now, and close on February 4. It is free for Forestry Australia members, and if you’re not a member it’s easy to join here

Forest & Wood Products Australia (FWPA) has announced the first tranche of successful forestry research proposals from the July 2023 open call for proposals. Source: Timberbiz The open call for forestry research proposals attracted 29 responses which were reviewed by a scientific advisory panel of experts and a committee of grower members and were subjected to a benefit cost analysis by an independent economist. Twelve proposals totalling $10m have been approved by FWPA for an investment of $5.5 million through FWPA. The projects will be funded through industry levies, voluntary cash contributions and matching funding from the Australian government, with significant in-kind contributions by industry and research partners. The successful proposals were submitted by nine research providers and involve growers from all major commercial forest growing regions of Australia. The research will address a range of challenges across forest health and biosecurity, plantation silviculture, detection of threatened fauna, impacts of fire, phytosanitary options for log exports, and alternate species from current tree crops – many by harnessing various remote sensing and molecular technologies. There are several proposals still under evaluation, and it is expected that further announcements will be made in coming weeks, following completion of the approval process. “FWPA is proud to continue our support of world class research that will have real and positive impact on the businesses of Australia’s commercial forest managers – research that our members value,” FWPA Forest Research Manager Jodie Mason said. “We thank the many research leaders and industry partners for their considerable efforts in developing high quality proposals and look forward to working with them to implement the projects, commencing in the coming months. Sharon Occhipinti, General Manager Forest Services, HVP Plantations, and an executive member of FWPA’s Grower Research Advisory Committee said that FWPA’s investment in these projects demonstrated how researchers could work with industry to solve problems identified by forest growers. The FWPA Forest Research Program supports collaborative activities that advance research, development, and extension of benefit to Australia’s commercial forest growing sector. The Forest Research Program is aligned with the Forestry RD&E Investment Plans, which were developed in consultation with Australia’s commercial forest growers to inform collaborative investment and identify priority topics.

Tasmania’s $10 million On Island Processing Program is helping boost value-adding of Tasmanian timber across the State, including at Bakes Sawmill which this week opened its upgraded mill at Gowrie Park south of Devonport. Source: Timberbiz Resources Minister Felix Ellis said that, supported by a $147,688 grant from the State Government, the sawmill had successfully completed installation and commissioning of new wood treatment equipment. “This new equipment will re-direct 420 cubic metres of timber per annum to produce treated timber for a range of products, adding value to what was previously chipped residue wood,” he said. Instead, the wood treatment equipment allows Bakes Sawmill to value-add and treat the timber to produce: Building cladding products Building framing timbers for internal and external use Landscaping and garden products in a range of profiles, and Treated natural logs for cabins. Bakes Sawmill is one of seven Tasmanian timber processing facilities to share in a $6 million investment through the first round of the On-Island Processing Program to help the forestry sector turn existing wood supplies, as well as wood residues, into higher-value products. Mr Ellis said that successful local projects are adding value to the current timber harvest, optimising the use of wood residues and waste, reducing the need for imported wood products and supporting the local construction industry. “The program is also helping to improve timber recovery processes that will see more local wood replacing imported timber, increased output of treated pine products and an expansion of the amount of sawn timber and by-products generated from lower grade logs. “Everyone knows the Rockliff Liberal Government is the strongest supporter of the forestry sector which supports more than 5600 jobs in regional Tasmania,” he said. “Tasmanians also know that they cannot trust Labor when it comes to forestry. Given half a chance they will do a deal with the Greens and shut down this industry which is vital to our building sector and also providing fibre for a plastic-free future.”

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has committed to stripping the Environmental Defenders Office of all Commonwealth funding should he win the next election. The EDO, which again began receiving money from Labor last year after a 10-year funding drought initiated by the Abbott government, recently lost a case brought by the North East Forest Alliance (NEFA) against the Commonwealth of Australia and the State of NSW with its lawyers arguing that the RFA should not have been renewed without assessment and approval under federal environment laws. Source: Timberbiz And it lost a landmark case against Santos’s $5.3bn Barossa LNG project, with claims the company’s proposed 262km pipeline off the Northern Territory would cause irreparable damage to First Nations people and their sites being rejected. In that case Federal Court Judge Natalie Charlesworth offered a stinging critique of the claims put forward by the EDO, saying that she had “drawn conclusions about the lack of integrity in some aspects of the cultural mapping exercise, which undermined my confidence in the whole of it”. Mr Dutton, speaking at a Chamber of Minerals and Energy event in Perth, said the EDO’s conduct in the case discredited the non-government organisation and it should be defunded as a result. He said a Coalition government would not allow activists to hold sway over Australia’s industries and economy. And on Monday, Northern Territory chief minister Eva Lawler confirmed she had tasked her environment minister with taking a closer look at its $100,00-a-year contract with the EDO. Shadow Minister for the Environment, Fisheries and Forestry Jonno Duniam welcomed the Leader of the Opposition Peter Dutton’s announcement. “The Albanese Government should never have given the EDO $8.3 million. The only thing that the EDO has done is frustrated our courts and brought important projects to a standstill,” he said. “It is beyond belief that the Albanese Government has undermined Government environmental approvals processes by funding an organisation that appeals these decisions. “The environmental lawfare the EDO has engaged in needs to be called out. Industry partners need to have confidence that they won’t drown in green and red tape when they invest in Australia. But the Albanese Government has instead sent a clear message to partners that they should look elsewhere,” he said. “Labor has not held the EDO accountable for its inexcusable conduct in the Barossa court case and needs to do so.” Shadow Minister for Resources, Senator Susan McDonald said the EDO’s lack of integrity was exposed when Justice Charlesworth slammed it for its conduct in the Barossa court case, highlighting confected evidence and cases of witness coaching. “The Labor Government should not be funding ideological activist organisations to bring forward vexatious claims and launch actions against the government’s own regulator, just to secure votes in inner-city seats under threat from the Greens political party,” she said. “It is time the EDO comes clean and tells the Australian people whether the funding used to attack our vital energy projects was taxpayer money or whether it comes from unnamed foreign donors.”