Forest Products Industry

A new survey shows the forestry sector maintains New Zealand’s largest private landowner investment in wildfire preparedness and firefighting capability, with forest owners spending an average of NZ$8.1 million on fire protection annually. Source: Timberbiz The investment extends beyond emergency response, covering training, specialist equipment, vehicles, prevention activities and insurance. The 2025 Wildfire Statistics and Forest Fire Management Capabilities Study found forest owners maintain trained fire crews, heavy machinery, specialist firefighting equipment, water supplies and fire management plans across 77% of New Zealand’s plantation forest estate. New Zealand Forest Owners Association (NZFOA) and New Zealand Farm Forestry Association (NZFFA) Fire Committee Chair Sean McBride says the study demonstrates the significant investment forest owners make in capability and equipment to ensure wildfires can be detected and contained quickly year-on-year. “Forestry is the only private landowner group in New Zealand maintaining substantial in-house wildfire suppression capability,” Mr McBride said. “Forest owners maintain trained crews, water supplies, pumps, tankers and heavy machinery so they can move quickly when a fire breaks out. “This capability also supports Fire and Emergency New Zealand, neighbouring landowners and rural communities during wildfire events.” The survey found that the most damaging fires recorded by forest owners start outside forest boundaries, often spreading from grass or scrub into plantations. “Most rural fires ignite in grassland outside forests but can quickly cross from one property to another,” Mr McBride said. “While forests are generally more resistant to ignition than surrounding grass and scrub, those grassland fuels dry quickly, ignite easily and can spread fire rapidly into neighbouring properties including forests. “This is why forest owners invest heavily in people, equipment and local capability. Our crews know the forest roads, water points and terrain, enabling them to respond quickly when every minute counts.” The study found the number of slip-on firefighting units, where a water tank or pump is mounted on a ute or truck, are an increasingly important tool for forest owners’ rapid wildfire response. The number of units have more than doubled in recent years, from 12 in 2022 to 28 in 2025. “These units are critical for enabling crews to get water directly to a developing fire promptly,” Mr McBride said. With El Niño forecast to bring drier, windier conditions and elevated fire danger across many parts of New Zealand this summer, maintaining a strong level of readiness will be particularly important. Mr McBride says preventing fires from starting remains the most effective way to reduce wildfire risk. “People cause around 98% of New Zealand’s wildfires, so everyone has a role to play in mitigating the risk. Before carrying out work, check the conditions and current fire danger, follow any restrictions and postpone activities when the risk is high to prevent fires from starting. “While the forestry sector invests heavily in prevention and suppression capability, the safest and most effective method is a fire that never starts.”

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Each year, Forest Week spotlights the importance of sustainable forestry worldwide. Held annually, FSC Forest Week is a worldwide campaign to help drive consumer awareness about the importance of responsible forestry. Source: Timberbiz The aim is to inspire customers to act by choosing FSC-certified products. This year Forest Week will be held on 21-27 September. Spotlighting the importance of sustainable forest management, the global FSC Forest Week campaign is held on the last week of September. Each year, brands, NGOs, and organisations join forces to raise awareness about the importance of responsible forest management and its role in fighting climate change and biodiversity loss. Since its launch, FSC Forest Week has evolved into a powerful, global campaign. With initiatives such as community engagement, internal company activities, forest walks and factory tours, we are discovering new, exciting ways to expand our influence every year. This year’s theme is ‘Do one thing for forests’. You can be part of this journey by doing your one thing for the forests and inspiring consumers to find the one thing they can do that will positively impact the world’s forests, ultimately promoting FSC’s work together. FSC certificate holders and promotional licence holders can register to take part in the campaign via the FSC Brand Hub https://brandhub.fsc.org/auth/login After registering, you will have access to the campaign toolkit, which includes assets such as social media posts (visuals and copy) covering various topics to keep your audiences engaged. The campaign’s key visual (logo), an email signature banner, a digital background, and a printable banner are also included, so you can support FSC Forest Week in any way you wish. You can choose which assets to use, or you can use the campaign’s key visual to create your own. FSC Forest Week 2025 Social Media Wall Explore the media wall to experience how individuals and organisations around the world demonstrated their commitment to sustainable forestry online. From creative campaigns and product spotlights to powerful storytelling, the global FSC community made a strong impact. View the Social Media Wall to see the reach, creativity and momentum behind FSC Forest Week 2025.

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A Volvo L120 Electric wheel loader is helping PermaPine test what sustainable equipment can really deliver in one of New Zealand’s most demanding timber processing environments. Source: Timberbiz Set on a 100-acre site outside Taupō, PermaPine is New Zealand’s largest manufacturer of timber posts and poles. The site runs 24/7, peeling up to 11,000 meters of timber per day and steaming and treating up to 11,000 cubic meters per month. Moving material efficiently across such a large site is critical to keeping production running smoothly. At the same time, the business is on an ongoing journey to reduce its environmental footprint. Having already invested in renewable energy through a biomass boiler, which uses timber residues to produce the steam required to dry and fixate products, PermaPine saw the L120 Electric as the next step. The trial set out to determine whether electric equipment could meet both sustainability goals and the realities of industrial-scale operations. “New Zealand is known for its outdoor environment, and we’ve got a great country. We need to ensure we’re protecting it,” Ian Potter, Operations Manager, PermaPine, said. “As a business, we’re always striving to improve, and sustainability is something we’re really working on. It’s part of a journey, not something you do once, but something you think about on an ongoing basis.” The L120 Electric trial marked a significant milestone, becoming the first fully electric wheel loader in New Zealand fitted with log forks and operating in a true 24/7 environment. Rather than limiting the machine to light duties, PermaPine deliberately deployed the L120 Electric across multiple areas of the site to fully test its capability. “I’ve been pleasantly surprised. The L120 Electric got passed around – it went over to our log yard, the treatment plant and did some work in the yard as well. The general feeling from everyone was positive,” Mr Potter said. “Moving around the site is effortless, no matter the ground conditions, it’s responsive, has good lifting capabilities, great visibility from the cab and is comfortable. It’s working well in our application, and we’re enjoying using it.” With support from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA), New Zealand’s government agency dedicated to promoting energy efficiency, conservation and the use of renewable energy, PermaPine installed the charging infrastructure required to support the L120 Electric. The investment also positions the site to expand its electric fleet in the future. Further support has been provided by local Volvo CE dealer, TDX Limited, through whom the L120 Electric has been leased. “As it was a new piece of equipment, the capital cost was high. Leasing supported where we wanted to be in terms of our cash flow, and it also means the risk is shared. We’re really happy with the support from TDX and their help getting the L120 Electric onto our site,” Mr Potter said. PermaPine is a long-standing Volvo CE customer, operating a fleet of 20 Volvo wheel loaders and three Volvo excavators. Volvo machines are well regarded by operators for their comfort and suspension, an important factor on a large site when long distances are travelled every day. You can view the machine at work at: http://youtube.com/watch?v=BXoMuGVn7BM

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A new flagship JCB dealership opened its doors in Victoria, marking a major milestone for the company and strengthening support for customers in Australia. Source: Timberbiz The purpose-built Adaptalift JCB facility in Truganina, Victoria welcomed its first customers, industry leaders and partners, showcasing a new dedicated destination to experience the latest JCB construction equipment, connect with product specialists and access industry-leading service and support. Adaptalift has created a model dealership to showcase the growing JCB product range and the industry-leading customer support that Adaptalift JCB has to offer across Australia’s major metropolitan territories, including Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide. JCB’s Deputy Chairman George Bamford, son of JCB Chairman Anthony Bamford, hailed the opening as a crucial next step to realising JCB’s growth ambitions in the important Australian market. “I’m really excited about where we are going in Australia, both in construction and agriculture. For me, Australia is one of our most important markets. JCB is a family business, and we really want to give our customers the best and finest support, and we have that with Adaptalift, which is also a family business. This next chapter is going to be really exciting for JCB, Adaptalift JCB and our regional dealership network. I’m really pleased about where we’re going in Australia.” said George Bamford JCB’s Deputy Chairman. JCB CEO Graeme Macdonald said that with the opening of Adaptalift JCB, the company was now moving at pace to grow its presence in Australia and unlock many new opportunities. “This celebration is more than just the opening of a new facility, it’s the beginning of an exciting new chapter for our customers,” Adaptalift Group CEO Lindsay Whiffen said. “JCB is a world class brand and we’re proud to represent it across key metro and regional markets. From day one, our focus is simple, selling a great product range, providing fast service and world-class parts availability and keeping machines working safely and reliably.” JCB also hosted its regional dealer conference in Sydney recently, bringing together regional JCB dealers from across Australia to launch its strategy that focuses on getting the brand closer to customers. In Australia, this has meant shortening the chain from factory to customer by taking direct control of importation, alongside strong investment in building and supporting the dealer network. JCB’s product range is now bigger than at any point in its 80-year history, offering huge growth opportunities in Australia. As a producer of backhoe loaders and telescopic handlers, JCB is well positioned to grow its share of these important sectors in Australia. There are also huge growth opportunities for JCB’s range of excavators which span the one tonne micro to 52-tonne tracked excavators. JCB is also a leading producer of wheeled loaders, skid steer loaders, compaction equipment and access equipment.

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Nippon Paper Resources Australia, a wholly owned subsidiary of Nippon Paper Industries has launched a softwood tree plantation project and a carbon credit generation project in the Green Triangle region of Western Victoria, Australia. Source: Timberbiz Since 1996, NPR has been operating a hardwood tree plantation business in Australia with the aim of securing raw materials of pulp for NPI. As its existing hardwood plantations are now reaching maturity in stages, the company has decided to switch to softwood species for reforestation. Nippon says that this policy aims not only to secure softwood raw materials for NPI but also to supply timber for residential construction, for which demand is expected to grow in Australia. Furthermore, the switch to softwood will enable the generation of new carbon credits. Starting in 2026, Nippon says it will gradually convert existing hardwood tree plantations into softwood. By 2028, as part of Phase 1 of the project, we will establish approximately 1,500 hectares of softwood plantations and generate carbon credits from these areas. Furthermore, leveraging the knowledge and expertise gained during Phase 1, the company will explore expanding to a total of 10,000 hectares as part of Phase 2 of the project. Australia’s carbon credit system, established under the Carbon Credits Act 2011 (Carbon Farming Initiative), is administered by the federal government’s Clean Energy Regulator (CER) and is regarded globally for its transparency and reliability. Under this system, a framework for the generation and trading of carbon credits, known as ACCUs (Australian Carbon Credit Units), within Australia has been established. NPR has already obtained approval from the CER in 2026 for the registration of its carbon credit generation project, and the generation and acquisition of carbon credits will begin in 2027 and beyond. Furthermore, as demand for paper used in packaging and packaging materials continues to grow, and global demand for softwood woodchips, the primary raw material for these paper products, is also expected to increase, the company acquired a New Zealand-based softwood woodchip production and export company in February 2026. In addition, by launching a softwood plantation business in Australia, NPR aims to secure a stable supply of resources and maximize the Nippon Paper Group’s revenue from timber-related businesses. Through this softwood plantation project in Australia, the company aims to expand the Nippon Paper Group’s forestry and timber-related businesses and contribute to solving societal challenges.

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