The Aratu Forests thinning crew was established as a trial in November 2021 from staff within one of Aratu’s existing contract crews when the Principal decided to hang his saw up. After a six-month trial the crew had surpassed all expectations, allayed senior management and the Board’s concerns, and was made permanent with approval to increase it from four to eight people.
When William Grogan, Aratu Forests’ Manager - Tree Crop, first pitched the idea of an in-house thinning crew to senior management, the initial response was one of skepticism and fear. CEO, Neil Woods, and the Board had a few questions:
- Why do no other corporates do this?
- How will we manage health and safety?
- How will we maintain production tension?
- Without more staff how will we fit all the admin in that the contractor currently does?
It was generally thought that rolling the clock back 40 years to the Forest Service days was a risky strategy. In essence this is exactly what Aratu has done; by bringing the crew in-house, providing them with a salary, and a vehicle and equipment, they have turned back the clock and taken the ‘old-school’ approach to operations in the forestry industry; but with modern day systems, management approach and technology.
To read more, get your copy of the November 2022 edition of NZ Logger magazine, on sale from 30 October. Check the link on this page to subscribe to either a printed or digital copy (or both).
