Forest Talk

“It is vital there are sufficient stockholdings of diesel held onshore to assure our members that the supply chain can continue to operate,” says National Road Carriers Association (NRC) CEO, Justin Tighe-Umbers of the Government’s Fuel Industry (Improving Fuel Resilience) Amendment Bill.

The Bill aims to improve the resilience of New Zealand’s fuel supply by requiring at least 21 days’ supply of diesel onshore.

“New Zealand is totally reliant ..... more

A multinational company has been fined $180,000 after a worker caught his arm in a bark-stripping machine which did not have the appropriate safeguards for New Zealand use.

CFGC Forest Managers (CFGC) is a forest management and export company. Its parent company, China Forestry Group New Zealand Company Limited, exports logs from New Zealand to China.

The worker was troubleshooting on the debarking machine when its rollers closed and trapped hi..... more

Over 400 members of the forestry community from across the lower North Island came together in Palmerston North to finally find something to celebrate in the form of the SNI Wood Council Forestry Awards, says Council CEO, Erica Kinder. 

“We had a good catch up over a buffet dinner, drinks, and entertainment which was provided as part of this event. Thirteen trophies were awarded from a record pool of 74 nominees across the categories.

“A s..... more

"As a result of COVID and other global geo-political issues, including Russia’s war on Ukraine, we have seen the most disrupted supply chain since the Second World War. This has had impacts internationally on shipping container availability, transport fuel costs, and stocks of key components, and has driven up costs for businesses and their customers. As a result, this has had inflationary impacts and material shortages - all contributing to an increase in..... more

Having spent his working life living and working in the forestry and logging industries in remote locations, forestry pioneer, Ross Lockyer, is back with an excerpt from his second book (of five), Cannibals, Crocodiles and Cassowaries about his time in pre-independence Papua New Guinea (1967-73). This excerpt is set in 1967.

Here’s a taste: 

“The crew would repeat the procedure for each auger hole, back-fill all the holes with clay, and ta..... more

With costs so high and the earning window restricted by the weather, Gisborne-based crews like A & R Logging are looking to new technologies like the Falcon two-speed winch assist to make their operations faster, more resilient and more efficient.

Expanding the capability was also part of the reason A & R’s Arana Kuru replaced his original Hitachi-based Falcon winch assist machine with a new Sany-based Gen 4 Falcon two-speed winch assist in August 20..... more