Forest Talk

The wood sector needs to “seize efficiency opportunities to reduce energy costs and fuel use” says Wood Processors and Manufacturers Association (WPMA) Chief Executive, Mark Ross.
 
 “A lot of our sector’s emissions come from energy, as well as a large proportion of ongoing operational costs. We’re increasingly seeing businesses taking steps to use less energy because it’s a win-win - lower bills and lower emissions,” says Mr Ross.
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While there are many winch-assist units out in our industry supporting felling and bunching on steep terrain, winch-assist skidding is a lot less common, says the University of Canterbury’s Prof Rien Visser. 

He continues: “Under the right conditions winch-assist skidding allows us to operate on what was traditionally cable logging terrain, however, our understanding of its full potential is still somewhat in its infancy. Within the scope of the..... more

Local businesses came together in Timaru to ‘save Christmas’, with the wider community helping too.

A community-led proposal was instituted to install a felled pine tree, to replace the fire damaged Christmas tree, at the top of the Bay Hill.

Local business leader, Gordon Handy, was relaxing before Christmas after hearing about the Christmas tree being damaged early the same morning and thought “the community has to have a Christmas tree”.

Memories of the early days in New Zealand’s logging of exotic plantations came easily to Jim Spiers when he was interviewed by Alison Brown back in 2012. 

In 1941 Jim took up one of the first technical trainee positions with the NZ Forest Service and at the onset of his training was sent to Conical Hill Forest, nine miles east of Tapanui in West Otago. The Tapanui area had five distinct plantations, known as the Pomahaka District.

“By the ..... more

A New Zealand-first native tree study has shown the importance of aligning the choice of container grade size to the needs of individual species and planting purpose. The study, to improve propagation and increase the production of indigenous species in nurseries, was the focus of a journal article published in 2025. This work investigated the impact of container grade size on the survival and field performance of 12 key native species – to better understa..... more

Leading forestry businesses, PF Olsen and Forest360, are merging to create the largest independent forest management company in Australasia. As part of the transaction, they will bring on private investor, Adamantem Capital, as an investment partner, alongside existing PF Olsen cornerstone shareholder Quayside Holdings to support the group’s next stage of growth.
 
Together, the group will manage approximately 480,000 hectares of forest and supp..... more