All posts by Jo English

canada

Forestry firefighters assisting Canada

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Three of Forestry Corporation’s most experienced firefighters and incident management specialists are part of the Australian firefighting contingent being deployed to Canada to assist with the wildfire emergency.

The overseas deployment comprises a 222-strong contingent from Australian and New Zealand fire agencies, coordinated by the Australasian Fire Authorities Council’s National Resource Sharing Centre.

“AFAC as the National Council for fire and emergency services in Australia and New Zealand, is proud to support the deployment of these specialists through our National Resource Sharing Centre,” AFAC CEO Rob Webb said. “Australia, New Zealand and Canada have a long history of supporting each other, and we are pleased to be able to help Canada as they experience significant wildfire activity,” he said.

Canada is experiencing significant fire activity early in the season and is at national preparedness level five, the highest level. There are currently 225 active fires across the country, burning over 2.1 million hectares.

Forestry Corporation is one of NSW’s four firefighting authorities, with staff skilled and experienced in firefighting locally. Forestry Corporation’s firefighters deployed to Canada include Senior Field Ecologist Mark Drury from Wauchope, Harvest Manager Tom Halliday and Protection Coordinator Peter Simon, who are both based in Coffs Harbour.

Mark, Tom and Peter draw on decades of experience in forestry firefighting. Mark Drury has served with Forestry Corporation for 24 years and is actively involved in firefighting duties as an Operations Officer having undertaken previous deployments in Tumut in 2006, Victoria in 2009 and 2013 and Tasmania in 2016.

“I participated in a Rotary vocational exchange to Alberta, Canada back in 2011 where I learnt about forestry and firefighting in Alberta’s forests,” Mr Drury said. “I am excited to get back over there and see some of their techniques and equipment in action and I might even cross paths with some of the people I connected with during my exchange.”

Tom Halliday has served in a firefighting capacity throughout his 20-years of employment with Forestry Corporation. “In terms of the fire-fronts in Canada I will expecting a vastly different firefighting operation to what we have here in Australia in terms of terrain, topography and techniques,” Mr Halliday said.

Peter Simon also draws on a wealth of experience in his 30 years as a forestry firefighter having confronted pine forest wildfires during the 2003 Canberra bushfires and, of course, the Black Saturday bushfire emergency.

“I’ve got to say the Canadians were awesome during our big firefighting season a few years ago so any opportunity to go over there and lend them a hand and return the favour is a great thing and I put my hand up for this straight away,” Mr Simon said. “I am expecting something completely different to Australia, a different style of firefighting, different structures of fires and obviously terrain so I’m certainly expecting to learn a lot in Canada.”

The firefighters are expected to complete a 30-day deployment, which may change depending on the severity of the wildfire situation in Canada.

Source: Forestry Corp of NSW

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Chief Forester

OneFortyOne appoints Chief Forester

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Commencing July 2023 Branislav Zoric (photo) will join OneFortyOne as its Chief Forester, working in both Australia and New Zealand.

Branislav will provide technical and professional advice on forestry matters including the integration of environmental, social, and economic values for sustainable forest management. He has over thirty years’ experience in forest management, most recently Business Excellence Manager for APP Jakarta. This followed his role as Forest Planning Business Unit Head for APRIL Group, a leading manufacturer in the pulp and paper industry.

In making the announcement Peter Brydon, Interim Chief Executive Officer said “The role of Chief Forester is to provide trusted technical expertise. We welcome Branislav’s international experience as well as his vast knowledge gained from working in Australian and New Zealand forestry.”

“One of our greatest challenges is the impact and risk a changing climate brings and Branislav is well placed to ensure we adapt to changes, embrace innovation and enhance value” Peter said. “Branislav is a committed forester with a passion for balancing the values forests offer including important timber resources, biodiversity, and recreation. I welcome Branislav to OneFortyOne.”

Source: OneFortyOne

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wildfires

TED Vancouver: Fighting wildfires from space

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TED Vancouver: Aerospace executive talks new tools to help fight wildfires from space

With “mega fires” of more than 40,000 hectares becoming more prevalent, George Whitesides says better satellites are among the innovative tools firefighters need to cope with them. Author of the article: Derrick Penner in the Vancouver Sun

Former aerospace executive George Whitesides has ideas for bringing new tools to combat the risk of mega fires — wildfire conflagrations greater than 40,000 hectares that are happening with increasing frequency.

Those tools include better satellites and more terrestrial remote sensing technologies for firefighters to use in decision making, which Whitesides touched on during a presentation at the TED Talks conference Wednesday in Vancouver

Mega fires can threaten aquifers, incinerate biodiversity “and even cause forest conversion,” where flames scorch the landscape so deeply that trees don’t grow back, Whitesides said. Then they also have a huge impact on carbon emissions.

“I think there’s a lot more we could be doing to support frontline firefighters with technology,” Whitesides, the former Virgin Galactic CEO said of his reinvention as “firetech” entrepreneur.

He added that firefighting agencies typically don’t have a lot of money for research, so he’s using his venture-capital startup Convective Capital to direct private financing into remote drone-based systems and satellite technology.

“We’ve been talking with different companies and entities who are thinking about ways to improve that radically … by a factor of 100, or more,” Whitesides said.

B.C.-based wildfire expert Mike Flannigan agreed that satellite imagery has become an important decision-making tool for firefighting agencies recently and they are all looking for better information as climate change ramps up fire risks across Western Canada.

“Unwanted fires are put out by boots on the ground,” said Flannigan, the B.C. research chair in fire science at Thompson Rivers University. “Technology helps make the decision where to put those boots, but it’s the boots that do the work.”

“But decision making is critical,” Flannigan said.

To that point, Whitesides’ TED presentation was less about technology and more about a holistic approach to wildfire management, which includes “building resilient landscapes.”

That means letting some fires burn, at appropriate times, to clear the forest of the accumulations of dry brush and scrub that act as tinder for mega fires.

And Whitesides said higher-resolution satellites, coupled with remote sensors on drones, can help managers decide which fires pose a danger and need to be fought and which are beneficial enough to let burn.

In B.C., Flannigan said managers refer to that as a “modified response,” and Canadian authorities are leading their own technological effort to improve the information used in making decisions on when to do it.

Federal authorities, last December, green lit the construction and launch of WildFireSat, an initiative of the Canadian Space Agency, Natural Resources Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada, which is scheduled for 2029.

And Flannigan added that drones, which can make aerial observations at much higher resolution, are being used more often to generate information that complements satellite images. Managers frequently fly drones at night to measure fire temperatures and map perimeters more accurately.

“It’s a blend of art and science,” Flannigan said “We still have a long way to go and this is where decision making tools, early warning systems — predictive services, as they call it — that’s where we’re moving.”

Whitesides centred most of his presentation on California where he lives, but said in an interview that the U.S. and Canada have a shared interest in improving wildfire response.

He pointed to Canada’s huge expanse of Northern boreal forest, which is a globally important carbon sink.

“But if we’re heading toward the future, where they’re going to be more mega fires, those forests have the potential to really release huge amounts of carbon,” Whitesides said.

Flannigan said climate change is delivering Western Canada fire seasons that start earlier, last longer and weather that consistently generates more lightning that sparks more fires.

He added that managers are nervously watching to see how this season will unfold with drought conditions holding over from last year in much of the province and anticipated El Nino weather conditions that could deliver warmer, drier weather this summer.

“So, rolling the dice, throwing darts, crystal ball gazing — (if we have) hot, dry windy weather in the summer, we will have a challenge,” Flannigan said.

TED: Aerospace executive talks new tools to fight wildfires from space | Vancouver Sun

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Residues2Revenues 2023

Global in-field chipping and grinding technologies at Residues2Revenue

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As part of the Residues2Revenues 2023 event being run in Rotorua, New Zealand on 25-26 July for local forest owners, harvesting and wood chipping contractors and bio-fuel aggregators, an international showcase of new wood chipping and grinding technologies is being showcased for event delegates.

It’s designed to be practical with advice from global chipper and grinder suppliers on how to select the right machine for your woody biomass harvesting needs.

Key questions on selection of the equipment include “what’s your customer buying? what’s the end product that you’re making and what are they looking for? If the customer is looking to purchase an engineered chip with very particular specifications, a drum chipper is likely to be the more appropriate choice. If it’s a logging or land clearing operation that wants to process whole trees at a fast rate, and produce a quality dimensional chip, then a whole tree chipper is normally the preferred option.

For producing residential wood pellets, the feedstock needs to be relatively clean, and a chipper is likely to be the better option for processing the wood due to its ability process clean feedstock quickly. If you’re going into industrial pellets that can be a little dirtier, so you can get into some grinder type applications.

To answer these questions and to provide the very latest updates on wood chipping and grinding technologies, major equipment suppliers into Australasia will be presenting as part of a two hour in-field chipping workshop sponsored by EECA running just before the Residues2Revenues 2023 event on the morning of Tuesday 25 July. Presenters and companies involved in the workshop include;

– Astec Industries, Inc., USA
– Hydralada representing Bandit Industries and Arjes
– Bruks Siwertell, Sweden
– Vermeer Asia Pacific, Singapore
– Morbark, USA

In addition, EECA will be providing guidance on a new fund that’s been set up (the Biomass Supply Chain Investment Fund) to deal with the supply side of biomass. It’s been designed specifically to cater for the huge interest being shown in harvesting and processing woody biomass and for companies or organisations who can contribute to increasing the supply of biomass (chip, hog fuel, pellets).

Details on Residues2Revenues 2023 can be found on the event website, www.woodresidues.events

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manager Jules Larsen

Waratah NZ appoints new manager

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Waratah recently announced the appointment of Barry Gates as Area Manager Retail for Waratah Forestry Services of New Zealand. Gates will take up the leadership of the New Zealand Retail business from Nelson Iliev whom has recently elected to retire after a remarkable 23 years of Waratah Retail Customer Service.

In this WFS Area Manager role, Gates will lead their New Zealand Retail team to support the Waratah customer base, lead the National Customer Sales Role and reinforce the Waratah commitment to the New Zealand Forest industry. He brings his passion for people, the Waratah product and a quality Customer support culture which will, without doubt, inspire and strengthen the business.

Gates brings a wealth of previous experiences within the Waratah business including that of: Retail Customer Service Engineer, Retail Service Manager, Engineering and PV&V, Waratah Distribution Centre Customer Support, Global Product Support & Warranty Manager and most recently leading the Waratah New Zealand Factory team as the Factory Production Manager.

Source: Jules Larsen, GM Distribution and Operations, Waratah Australia, New Zealand, Asia Pacific and Africa

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coal

Half a century of coal-fired power generation ends

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spaceDrax has announced that almost 50 years of power generation from coal at its North Yorkshire power station has come to an end.

• Drax has announced that almost 50 years of power generation from coal at its North Yorkshire power station has come to an end.
• Drax Power Station was once Western Europe’s largest coal-fired power station but has been transformed into the UK’s single-largest generator of renewable electricity.
• Drax Power Station’s four biomass units generated 12.7TWh of electricity in 2022.

Global renewable energy company Drax has announced the official end of coal-fired generation at Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire, marking a historic milestone in both the company and the UK’s transformation to a zero-carbon energy future.

Following the discovery of the Selby coalfield, construction of the coal-fired Drax Power Station began nearby in 1967. The power station started generating power out of its first unit in 1974 and in 1975, following the completion of two additional generators, the site officially opened. At the time, this provided enough power for around two million homes and in 1986, power generation capacity was doubled to just under 4GW.

Once the largest coal-fired power station in Western Europe, the plant is now the single largest generator of renewable power in the UK. Over the last decade four of the power station’s six generating units have been converted to use sustainable biomass, providing the UK with clean, green, and secure renewable electricity.

Following the end of the winter contingency agreement, Drax will now embark on a decommissioning process to remove coal-related infrastructure from the site which will start with the flue gas desulphurisation plant that was built in the 1990s to remove 90% of the sulphur from the plant’s air emissions.

Will Gardiner, Drax Group CEO, said “By converting the plant to use sustainable biomass we have not only continued generating the secure power millions of homes and businesses rely on, but we have also played a significant role in enabling the UK’s power system to decarbonise faster than any other in the world.

“We’re now planning to go further by using bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) to permanently remove millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year, and we are engaged in discussions with the UK Government to move this £2bn project forward.

“The global momentum for converting coal-fired power stations to biomass is growing as more countries work to reduce their emissions by moving away from fossil fuels to renewables while maintaining their energy security. In recent months, new projects have been announced in countries from Japan to Hungary. If BECCS were eventually added to each of these sites they would be able to remove carbon from the atmosphere while generating power.”

The UK Government aims to deploy 5Mt of engineered CO2 removals per annum from BECCS and other engineered GGR technologies by 2030, rising to 23Mt in 2035 and up to 81Mt in 2050 to keep the UK on a pathway to meet its legislated climate targets.

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training

NZ – Forest training & success celebrated in the South

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Training – On Friday 19 May saw yet again another outstanding turnout by local forestry companies and contractors from throughout the lower South Island of New Zealand. The function was the 2023 Southern Wood Council Forestry Awards run in conjunction with the country’s industry training organisation, Competenz/Te Pūkenga run at the Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin.

In addition to profiling the contribution forestry and those working within the industry make to the economic and social well-being of the region, the night was really designed to celebrate the success of those that had achieved formal training qualifications over the year. Through a series of this year, ten major awards, the event also recognised the forest industry’s top performers from across the lower South Island.

Around 350 forest managers, forestry contractors, wood processing and transport operators and product and service suppliers to the industry attended the awards evening at Dunedin’s Forsyth Barr Stadium. As well as nine well established annual awards that have been celebrated for nine years, this year marked the first time that a Outstanding Forest Industry Contribution Award was set up to celebrate an individual who has made a significant lifetime contribution to the forest or wood products sector within the Otago, Southland or South Canterbury regions.

Over 200 National Training Certificates had been achieved in Forestry & Wood Processing across the region in the last 12 months were awarded to top local contractors and forestry and wood processing employees on the night. Fifteen harvesting apprentices that have been involved in the Mike Hurring Logging Training School were also recognised at the awards ceremony.

2023 Major Award Winners:

Training Excellence Award – Apprentice of the Year (Sponsored by Southwood Export) Award Winner; Emma Diack, D and K Contracting

Training Excellence Award – Forestry Trainee of the Year (harvesting) (Sponsored by Log Marketing) Award Winner; Phil Jones, Roxburgh Contracting

Training Excellence Award – Forestry Trainee of the Year (silviculture) (Sponsored by Port Blakely): Award Winner; Jaycob Baker, NJ Sim Forestry Services

Skilled Professionals Awards – Forestry Excellence Award (establishment, silviculture, fire, harvesting) (Sponsored by Rayonier Matariki Forests): Award Winner; Matthew Waller, Mike Hurring Logging

Skilled Professionals Awards – Wood Processing Excellence Award (Sponsored by UDC): Award Winner; Adrian Mennell, Pankhurst Sawmilling

Skilled Professionals Awards – Women in Forestry Excellence Award (Sponsored by Venture Forestry): Award Winner; Brittney Kircher, Cable Logging Geraldine

Industry Excellence Awards – Forestry Environmental Management Excellence Award (Sponsored by Ernslaw One); Andrew Haulage – Forestry Roading Crew

Industry Excellence Awards – Training Company/Contractor of the Year (Sponsored by City Forests): Award Winner; Mike Hurring Logging Training School

Industry Excellence Awards – Forest Products Health & Safety Award (Sponsored by Wenita Forest Products): Award Winner; Summit Logging

Industry Excellence Awards – Outstanding Forest Industry Contribution Award (Sponsored by Competenz/Te Pūkenga): Award Winner; Phil de la Mare, Ernslaw One

In addition to Phil de la Mare, Ernslaw One’s South Island Regional Manager, being recognised for his outstanding contribution of close on 50 years (33 of these being based in Tapanui) to the forest industry in the lower South Island, the awards evening was also to celebrate in style, the upcoming retirement of Phil Williams, Competenz’s Otago-based Forestry Account Manager.

As detailed by forest owners and contractors on the night, Phil has for close on 24 years, been instrumental in mapping the skills needed as part of the national qualifications framework and working alongside local forestry contractors and companies across the lower South Island helping them develop their own training plans to grow their employee skill levels and raise their business productivity.

Photos from the awards evening have been uploaded and can be viewed on the Southern Wood Council website.

Photo : NFA team picking up a range of National Certificates on the night

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bejac

Astec announces a distribution agreement with Bejac Corporation for the Peterson equipment line.

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Astec has announced that heavy equipment dealer, Bejac Corporation, will represent the Peterson line of forestry and environmental recycling equipment in California and Arizona. Bejac was founded in 1953 and operated as an underground pipeline contracting business until 1985 when the company pivoted to the heavy, specialty equipment sector. In 2008, Bejac rapidly expanded its product line offering and now focuses on a diversified customer base that complements Astec growth strategy.

Brian Gray, Group VP, Sales, at Astec says, “Our priority has always been our customers. From the initial equipment inquiry to aftermarket sales and service, Peterson Pacific and now Astec, have played an integral part in our customers’ success. In an effort to continue providing world-class support, we are excited to announce our partnership with Bejac in California and Arizona. They have a rich history of providing solutions to niche markets and we are confident that they are the right partner for us.”

Ron Barlet, President at Bejac, adds, “We are excited to take on the California and Arizona territory for Astec and look forward to getting to know all of the customers that they have served and supported over the years. Bejac is a customer service-focused company, and we will work hard to provide the highest value possible to the Astec customers.”
Bejac Corporation has locations throughout California (Eureka, Redding/Anderson, Sacramento, San Francisco/Oakland, Castroville, Visalia, Santa Maria, Los Angeles/Placentia, San Diego) and in Phoenix, Arizona.

Since 1972, ASTEC has been connecting communities by providing innovative rock to road solutions for our customers. United by our purpose – Built to Connect – ASTEC is a leading global manufacturer of specialized equipment for asphalt road building, aggregate processing and concrete production. Operations are divided into two primary business segments. Infrastructure Solutions includes road building, asphalt and concrete plants, thermal and storage solutions. Materials Solutions includes aggregate and other material processing solutions. For more information, visit astecindustries.com and follow us on social media.

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piveteau bois

Piveteau Bois: The virtual lumber yard

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MiCROTEC’s sophisticated scanning system significantly increases log yields

Even though Piveteau Bois still has logs stacked at their log yard, the staff of the large-scale sawmill actually view the woodpiles as a virtual lumber yard already. This approach has changed the entire production process for the French company: Before cutting even starts, they already know exactly which boards they will get out of the logs. This is made possible by means of the CT Log and the one-of-a-kind fingerprint system provided by MiCROTEC.

The Piveteau Bois sawmill in Sainte-Florence near the French Atlantic coast has several different mainstays. Only a small part of its cutting volume is sold fresh, the rest is dried, planed, glued or otherwise processed. Pine, Douglas fir and spruce wood are used to make wooden floors and facades as well as glulam and CLT elements. In the manufacturing of these products, Piveteau Bois pays particular attention to the optimum utilization of roundwood. “Our sawmill in Sainte-Florence is located in a region with few wood sources. This makes the raw material even more valuable,” R&D Manager Ugo Gerard explains, referring to the unconventional location for a sawmill far from large forest areas

 

Digital reconstruction

Against this background, the company implemented numerous optimization measures in recent years with the aim of increasing the log yield step by step. The collaboration with MiCROTEC has been particularly close and equally fruitful. In the sawmill alone – from log infeed to lumber sorting – the scanner specialists from South Tyrol implemented three systems that optimally complement each other.

Directly after the log infeed, the long and short logs are brought into the CT Log at feed rates of up to 120 m/min. The computed tomography technology integrated in the machine enables the digital reconstruction of the logs’ complete inner life. Specifically, a comprehensive three-dimensional density profile of each log is created which primarily shows the size, position and condition of knots. Furthermore, the system detects whether there are rotten knots, cracks, resin pockets or spiral grain. “This allows us to precisely predict the quality of the boards and their corresponding location even before cutting, and to adjust the sawing schedule accordingly for each log. Essentially, this means we are no longer accessing the individual logs for cutting but our virtual lumber yard within the logs,” Gerard explains and adds that this has changed the approach to the entire production process. “We now know exactly which logs to use for which products, and what volumes of the various assortments we can produce each year. This not only increases the value of the used wood but also facilitates the logistics for the markets.”

Recognize and rotate

Directly before the sawing line, the logs are passed through the Logeye 302, a multi-sensor quality scanner with fingerprint. Equipped with X-ray technology, multi-sensor cameras and other sensors, the Logeye performs a 3D measurement of the log and again determines its density profile. With the density profiles of the logs – each being as unique as a fingerprint – each log is recognized and rotated according to its optimum value yield before cutting. “We are optimizing the sawing schedule for each individual log,” Gerard emphasizes. In addition to the Microtec scanners, this is made possible with the help of a modernized profiling line from Linck, designed to adjust to every single log which would even allow for a completely unsorted cutting process.

Full traceability of the boards

The third MiCROTEC system is the Goldeneye 900 multi-sensor quality scanner in transverse transport. It is responsible for quality grading of the fresh boards as well as the definite identification of each lamella. Thus, Piveteau Bois can recognize and allocate each log and each board by means of this digital fingerprint. This results not only in added value, but also the full traceability from board to log.

“In the past, when we did not know in advance what we would get out of each log, we had to put some boards to a lower-value use than originally planned. Today, the rate of this unwanted downgrading is effectively zero,” Gerard reports, adding that this has increased the value output of each log by 5%.

A great result, but one that doesn’t lead Piveteau Bois to sit back and relax – quite the opposite, in fact: “To keep getting better, we are continuously working on new projects, and Microtec is a reliable and trusted partner that keeps pushing us forward with new ideas and innovations.” MicCROTEC will be presenting the next evolutionary stage of the fingerprint system already at the Ligna 2023 in Hannover.

https://youtu.be/M1z7WskAeQ0

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Binderholz

Binderholz celebrates opening of Enfield facility

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Binderholz Enfield held a grand opening ceremony on April 6 to commemorate the official opening of its lumber production facility near Enfield. According to Cathy Scott, for the Halifax County Economic Commission, company, local community and elected officials participated in the event alongside Binderholz’s corporate leadership from Austria.

The Enfield facility will produce southern yellow pine lumber used in residential and commercial construction. At full production, the plant will have an output capacity of more than 200 million board feet. In January 2021, Binderholz officially acquired the assets of Klausner Lumber, which included production mills in Live Oak, Florida and Enfield. Despite a pandemic and lingering supply chain issues, Binderholz was able to upgrade the Enfield manufacturing plant.

Photo: Halifax County Economic Development Commission

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