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Timber Processing & Energy Expo 2026

September 23 @ 8:00 am – September 26 @ 5:00 pm

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https://lmi3d.com/event/timber-processing-energy-expo-2026/

Maximize Your Yield with LMI Technologies at TP&EE 2026

Booth: 807 | September 23–25, 2026 | Portland Expo Center, Portland, OR

Rugged 3D Vision for the Modern Sawmill

In an industry where every cut counts, LMI Technologies delivers the precision needed to turn logs into maximum profit. Visit us at Booth 807 at Timber Processing & Energy Expo 2026 to see our FactorySmart® solutions in action – specifically designed to withstand the harsh environments of sawmills and planer mills.

Visit us and discover the latest in wood processing innovation

WHEN: September 23-25, 2026
WHERE: Portland Exposition Center, Portland, OR, USA
EXHIBITOR: LMI Technologies
BOOTH: 807
EVENT WEBSITE: Timber Processing and Energy Expo 2026

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The post Maximize Your Yield with LMI Technologies at TP&EE 2026 appeared first on International Forest Industries.

The Ontario government is investing more than CAN$3m in initiatives to expand markets for forest biomass and strengthen supply chains across the province’s forest sector. Source: Panels & Furniture Asia The funding will support five projects, including new biomass energy facilities, technology that converts wood residues into coatings and inks, and a programme to connect privately owned forests with businesses seeking biomass. More than CAN$2.1m has been allocated to four projects through the Forest Sector Investment and Innovation Programme and the Forest Biomass Programme. The largest share, more than CAN$1.9m, will go to Ben Hokum and Son to install two biomass-assisted steam kilns. The investment is expected to triple the company’s lumber-drying capacity, improve efficiency and increase export sales by more than 30%. Ben Hokum and Son will receive a further CAN$100,000 to plan a biomass-powered facility that would generate electricity and thermal energy. The proposed facility would incorporate carbon capture and storage technology, with the goal of achieving net-negative emissions. Ontario is also providing CAN$87,500 to TorchLight Bioresources for a feasibility study into a combined heat and power plant in Petawawa. The proposed project would replace natural gas with energy generated from forest biomass. Carboform will receive CAN$62,500 to further develop technology that converts forest biomass residues into low-carbon coatings and inks. Together, the three biomass projects have the long-term potential to use more than 350,000 tonnes of forest biomass a year, according to the provincial government. A separate investment of CAN$865,000 will support the Ontario Woodlot Association in improving the management of privately owned forests and developing new supply chains for underused wood and mill by-products. Of this, CAN$790,000 from the Forest Biomass Program will support the association’s Wood Stewardship Program, including the creation of three jobs and the purchase of equipment. The programme will establish three regional networks linking landowners, forestry service providers and forest-sector businesses. It is expected to use up to 100,000 cubic m of forest biomass over five years. The biomass could be used in value-added products including biochar, compost and mulch. Additional revenue from underused wood could also help landowners offset the costs of forest management. The remaining CAN$75,000 will support workshops, conferences, publications and collaboration to promote sustainable forest management on private land. The funding will also help develop an inventory of private forests using remote-sensing technology. The investments form part of Ontario’s 10-year Roadmap to Protecting Ontario’s Forest Sector, which aims to strengthen the industry’s competitiveness, support innovation and develop new markets for Ontario-made forest products. “Our government is helping forest sector businesses build international reach and bring competitive products to market,” said Kevin Holland, Associate Minister of Forestry and Forest Products. “Under our forest sector roadmap, we’re driving the industry’s continued growth and showcasing Ontario’s capacity as a G7 leader in innovative manufacturing.” Ontario’s forest sector generates close to CAN$21bn in business revenue and supports nearly 155,000 jobs, according to the provincial government.

The post Ontario government invests to expand forest biomass markets appeared first on Timberbiz.

Ponsse has launched the Ponsse Wisent Thin Line and Ponsse Scorpion Thin Line forest machine models, which are optimized specifically for harvesting in thinning forests. Sales of the Thin Line versions will begin immediately and production at the Vieremä factory will begin later this year. Source: Timberbiz Ponsse Wisent Thin Line is a 10-ton forwarder designed for harvesting in thinning forests. The load space solution optimized for thinning makes working easier and makes the machine an agile choice for first thinning and other thinning sites. The lighter overall weight and lower ground pressures improve its suitability for harvesting in soft soils. The forwarder’s lighting has also been developed based on operator feedback. “Thinning operations emphasize the machine’s agility, visibility and ability to work efficiently in areas with limited space. We decided to optimize two of our popular forest machine models precisely for these needs. The new versions of Scorpion and Wisent offer our customers a ready-made solution for thinning work,” said Ponsse’s Sales, Service and Marketing Director Marko Mattila. Facts about Thin Line Wisent: Smaller and user-friendly load space optimized for thinning Excellent agility in thinning areas Low ground pressure for harvesting in soft ground due to lower overall weight Good balance and terrain characteristics on slopes and rocky construction sites Strong engine and good traction for demanding conditions High-quality audio system Improved, user-friendly lighting Renewed appearance.   The Scorpion Thin Line is based on the Scorpion harvester, whose strengths include excellent visibility of the working area, stable operation, and good crane reach and manoeuvrability. In the Thin Line version, the machine’s adjustments have been optimized especially for thinning operations to ensure the best possible fuel economy. The Ponsse H5 and new H6 harvester heads are available for the Scorpion Thin Line harvester. “Thinning is a key part of silviculture and the daily work of many of our customers. In thinning felling, the work trace is of great importance – it is influenced in particular by the driver’s professionalism, but the right choice of machine also plays a role. With the new Scorpion and Wisent versions, harvesting professionals have more diverse options than ever before,” said Mr Mattila. Facts about the Thin Line Scorpion: The best visibility and lighting for the work area on the market — the driver is truly at the centre Unique and patented leveling and stabilization system Powerful crane with precise control and long reach Optional Active Crane enables more productive and efficient crane control Cab that supports driver comfort and ergonomics Lower fuel consumption due to optimized settings for thinning Low surface pressures for harvesting soft ground High-quality audio system and sound reproduction Renewed appearance.

The post Ponsse is on the thin line appeared first on Timberbiz.

Foster + Partners is part of a UK-EU consortium that has won a €4 million, three-year research grant from the European Innovation Council’s Pathfinder funding program. The winning proposal – the SWIFT-BUILD (Swarm-based Inverted Fabrication for Timber Buildings) system – uses swarms of robotic assemblers and lifting units to efficiently build modular timber structures that can be adapted over time and disassembled on demand. Source: Timberbiz By focusing on timber as a structural material, SWIFT-BUILD combines innovation in automated construction with sustainability, flexibility, and cost-efficiency. “Combining state-of-the-art robotics and integrated AI tools, SWIFT-BUILD’s inverted construction method can adapt to various scales and uses, with the potential for wide-reaching applications. The focus on timber modular construction highlights the project’s sustainable agenda, with circularity and flexibility at its core,” Irene Gallou, Senior Partner, Foster + Partners, said. SWIFT-BUILD develops an inverted robotic construction system that builds timber structures from the top down – assembling each floor at ground level, then lifting it upward to make room for the next. A team of coordinated robots handles the work: ground-based machines assemble and lift the structure layer by layer, while drones fly overhead to monitor progress and flag any issues in real time. The robots share information continuously, allowing them to adapt and operate safely without constant human intervention. The project will culminate in a full-scale demonstration: an autonomous robotic swarm will construct a timber pavilion. The structure will be mechanically reversible by design, enabling selective disassembly and material recovery to demonstrate circularity and sustainability. Foster + Partners is acting as the consortium’s industry partner, participating alongside academic partners: the University of Bristol, the University of Southern Denmark, the Technical University of Munich, the University of Pisa, the Delft University of Technology, the University of Birmingham, and the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.

The post Robots swarm onsite to build in timber appeared first on Timberbiz.

Gisborne forestry companies have halted harvesting as complex consent conditions make it difficult to operate or convert land use, industry leaders say. Source: The Gisborne Herald After severe weather events, including Cyclone Gabrielle in February 2023, Gisborne District Council (GDC) introduced stricter consent rules to reduce the risk of woody debris reaching beaches and waterways. The forestry industry raised concerns that the conditions were unworkable, prompting an independent council review and Forestry Minister Todd McClay appointing a facilitator to assist with land use and consent discussions. Forestry Management NZ (FMNZ) general manager harvesting Matt Doyle said they supported the moves. “The industry accepts that environmental risk is real, particularly in Gisborne, and we support proportionate regulation, but our concerns are that the current conditions that are coming through and the draft conditions are quite often conflicting or unachievable in the natural environment.” Industry wanted to work with all parties to find a workable solution because “it’s not us versus them. It’s a Gisborne region thing”, he said. During harvest, crews cleared waterways of debris caused by soil, tree size and harvest activity. Without harvest, “that large amount of material just stays choked in the waterways and ultimately is waiting for the next event”. Doyle said clean-up conditions for slopes varied. “Some conditions allow a sensible and manageable volume of woody debris in high-risk zones, which is workable, while others don’t allow any material or any size, which is not achievable.” The conflicting conditions had caused significant delays in consent grants, he said. One consent was granted after 14 months of negotiation. “Part of the delay is that FMNZ have been negotiating over conditions that simply won’t work. There have been multiple meetings to discuss the conditions that are unachievable, but GDC have not been able to change them. “Much of the delays in consent approvals have been either dealing with unnecessary back-and-forth queries or an inability to gain workable conditions.” Doyle said these consents needed to be in place up to a year and a half before ground-based harvest and engineering crews could begin work. With current delays, FMNZ was sending crews to Wairoa, where Doyle said Hawke’s Bay Regional Council took a more pragmatic, on-site approach to resolving issues. Moving crews elsewhere would buy the industry limited time before skilled workers left the region, taking families and economic activity with them, and trees in problematic sites would continue growing, he said. “There are areas that shouldn’t have been planted, but they are, and the only way to correct those is to harvest them now, so then you can enable conversion.” Eastland Wood Council chair Julian Kohn said the industry supported better environmental outcomes and had spent five years redesigning harvesting practices, skid sites, debris placement and culverts. However, the consenting process was preventing the transition of erosion-prone forest under the council’s transition programme, he said. “The industry has a significant set of skills and resources to help make that happen, but if we’re not able to do that because we can’t function as a business, we can’t continue to operate in this region.” Contractors were leaving Gisborne, while some companies were buying farmland elsewhere to establish forests or shifting plantations to carbon forestry, he said. “They’ll just lock the gate and walk away. That means those stands are not being managed appropriately during an environmental event.” Kohn said harvesting consent costs in Gisborne had roughly doubled since Cyclone Gabrielle, ranging from $19,000 to $30,000, compared with about $7000 in Hawke’s Bay and $1200 to $3000 in Bay of Plenty. Doyle said carbon forestry was being considered by some companies because returns were higher than harvesting. However, he was concerned it did not address erosion and waterway impacts. Kohn said local and central government had a role in implementing the Emissions Trading Scheme carbon forests would trade under, and there was a shared willingness to make it work better across the region. GDC chief executive Nedine Thatcher Swan said eight harvest consents were granted from January 2025 to January 2026. Conditions before Cyclone Gabrielle addressed erosion, skid site placements and debris removal, she said. “The current conditions place greater emphasis on identifying and managing risks before harvesting begins, particularly on highly erosion-prone land and at sites where slash could be mobilised and affect waterways, downstream properties or infrastructure.” Conditions may require staged harvesting, inspections following rain events, higher-quality roads and post-harvest stability plans, she said. The number of companies choosing not to harvest in Gisborne was unavailable, but Thatcher Swan reiterated poorly maintained forests could pose a risk for communities, waterways and infrastructure. The council did not want to prevent harvesting but wanted to work with operators so environmental risks were managed, she said. Speaking for sole shareholder of Eastland Port, Trust Tairāwhiti, chief executive Doug Jones said the trust was aware of challenging market conditions and the impact on local businesses and the economy. The trust and its investment arm, Tairāwhiti Investments Limited, remained informed and focused on the longevity of investments, he said. Eastland Port chief executive Andrew Gaddum said its debarking operation was monitoring harvesting volumes, export markets and wider economic conditions, and would adapt to changing customer demand.

The post Gisborne companies stop harvesting due to unworkable conditions appeared first on Timberbiz.