Forest Talk

The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) released its State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) this month in response to the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS) that set out plans for 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), released by Transport Minister Simeon Brown in March.

“We have a roading infrastructure deficit, so getting on with the design and build with urgency is important,” says NRC CEO Justin Tighe-Umbers. “As well as setting ou..... more

When Cyclone Gabrielle hit the North Island in February 2023, its destructive force destroyed roads and bridges, including the one linking Tairāwhiti’s Tolaga and Tokomaru Bays.

The road closure isolated families and communities, and was particularly bad news because the closest hospital to Tolaga Bay is at Te Puia Springs near Tokomaru Bay, meaning people couldn’t get medical help quickly.

The scale of the devastation meant Waka Kotahi couldn’..... more

It is no surprise that the economy entered a recession in the December quarter given the difficult economic environment facing many businesses says the Employers and Manufacturer’s Association (EMA).

EMA Head of Advocacy, Alan McDonald, says the economy is struggling because inflationary pressures, high interest rates and low consumer confidence are combining to hit many businesses hard.

"Not only are sales falling but business costs and bad de..... more

About 40 minutes South East of Dunedin our Iron Test team turns onto a logging road to see a wide open, high volume, Sumitomo-heavy skid (there’s seven) spread out before them at Ollerenshaw Logging’s site with a couple of trucks on site and another one on its way in.

Iron Test writer, Tim Benseman, goes on: “Kelvin Ollerenshaw has come a long way since he was manually logging pulp wood in Scotland. Manually as in chainsawing and then hand b..... more

Kobelco New Zealand has announced the appointment of new service provider partners across the Waikato, Lower North Island, and Canterbury regions, replacing MIMICO as Kobelco’s service provider for these regions from 1st of April 2024.

The Kobelco Authorised Service Partner network represents a significant step forward in Kobelco’s strategy of delivering direct-to-market solutions and seamless service experiences for its customers throughout New Zeal..... more

With the increasing use of tethered machines to replace fallers on slopes, on occasion well beyond the original limits of ‘traction assist’, there is high wear and failure at the connection of the shackle/s, wire rope/s or chain/s within the first ten metres from the machine.

While some failures can be identified as ‘mechanical damage’ due to the ropes and chains being picked up by the machine grapple or being worn by dragging over rock faces or even..... more