Forklift manufacturer and material handling solutions provider Combilift has officially opened its new global headquarters and manufacturing facility in Monaghan, Ireland. Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, the company also announced that it will be significantly expanding its workforce with the creation of 200 new jobs in the next three years.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, the Irish Prime Minister An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar TD said: “Combilift is an incredible home-grown Monaghan success story. When the company was founded 20 years ago, it had three employees, a brilliant concept, and the ambition to make it a reality. Combilift is playing a significant role in Monaghan’s success, and I would like to congratulate Robert Moffett and Martin McVicar and everyone at Combilift on their achievements to date and wish them every success for the future.”

Built at a cost of €50 million, the investment in the new 46,500 sq. m. (500,000 sq. ft) facility will allow Combilift to realise its ambitious growth plans. Martin McVicar, Managing Director said: “We have employed an additional 230 people since we announced our plans for this factory in 2015 and the combination of this state of the art production plant and the growing skilled workforce will allow us to double production within the next 5 years.”

Combilift currently exports 98% of its products to 85 countries through its 250-strong international dealer network. The current workforce stands at 550 people and the new employment opportunities will be for skilled technicians, design engineers, logistics and supply chain specialists and those with mechanical and electrical mechatronics skills.

Mass Customisation
Martin McVicar attributes the company’s impressive growth and its status as an acknowledged world leader in the material handling sector to mass customisation. “Combilift has set the benchmark for the mass production of customised innovative products. Mass customisation is the new frontier for both the customer and the manufacturer as customers are increasingly expecting products to be tailored to their requirements. We listen to and take feedback on board from our customers and dealers to identify solutions that best match their individual specific needs.”

Combilift invests 7% of its annual turnover in Research and Development to enhance its customisation capability and to maximise ROI for its customers. “The flexibility in our new facility means that we can continue to accommodate any request for a customised material handling solution. We also see ourselves as much more than a forklift manufacturer and are transforming the transport and logistics sector with our innovative, space-spacing products and our services.”

Combilift offers a free logistic and warehouse design service which enables customers to see the benefit that its products will bring to their business. “Our engineers proactively design, plan and produce material flow analysis and 3D animations – 150 to 200 per day for our worldwide customers – which clearly illustrate the capacity potential as well as the optimum flow of materials on their site.” said McVicar.

Growth of Combilift
Established by Martin McVicar, Managing Director and Robert in Moffett, Technical Director, in 1998, Combilift is a privately held and fully capitalised company. It developed the world’s first multidirectional all-wheel drive IC engine powered forklift in 1998. In the first year of operation it produced 18 units,17 of which were exported. The company has more than doubled in the last 5 years and now has 40,000 units in operation in over 85 countries.

Combilift’s product portfolio has expanded way beyond its first multidirectional model according to McVicar: “Combilift has always focused on a number of niche market segments and has a proven track record of launching one or two new products annually. In the first 10 years we focussed on the long load material handling sector with the multidirectional range which revolutionised the handling of long materials, allowing customers to handle long products in less space more safely.”

Between 2008 and 2018 Combilift diversified its product ranged by developing a number of innovative space saving warehouse and heavy load handling products; the Aisle Master articulated truck and the Straddle Carrier (Combi-SC) respectively.

Pedestrian products were introduced into the range in the last five years, enabling Combilift to gain a foothold in this growing market. The Combi-WR, Combi-WR4 and the Combi-CS all incorporate Combilift’s unique patented multi-positional tiller arm technology. “There is a growing demand for pedestrian trucks, driven by safety concerns where customers and/or employees are in the vicinity of operating forklifts,” said McVicar. “It is our intention to significantly expand this range, as can be seen with the launch of the new high lift capacity Combilift Powered Pallet Truck (Combi-PPT).”

New Factory
The new 46,500 sq. m purpose–built factory is set on a 100-acre site with room for future expansion when required. With 11 acres of roof space, it is one of the largest manufacturing operations under one single roof in the Republic of Ireland.

Incorporating the latest manufacturing processes with a focus on sustainability, the new factory will enable Combilift to double its output in a single shift across all production lines. Four 90 metre moving assembly lines produce a finished truck every 15 minutes. There are 60 welding bays, two plasma cutting machines, three paint lines which use sustainable water-based paints and three automatic shot blasters to cater for different sized products. 12,000 pallet locations ensure ample storage space for parts and components. The facility also includes a 50-seat cinema training room, 5,000 m² of office space and a dedicated R&D Development and Testing Centre.

23% of roof space is covered in skylights, enabling staff to work in natural daylight without the assistance of artificial lighting. Other lighting is provided through 1100 LED light with individual PIR sensors. Solar panels supply 185 kW of energy with a 1 MW Biomass plant fuelled by recycled wood (pallets etc.) to heat the spraying booths and assembly area. 110,000 litres of rain water are harvested for jet washing and bathroom facilities.

More than 50 truckloads of finished products are dispatched from the factory each week, and spare parts are shipped across the world to the dealer network.

Certified to international quality and safety management standards, the new headquarters and manufacturing facility has been awarded ISO 9001 international quality management system, ISO 14001 Environment Management and OHSAS 18001 Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series.

For further information please contact: 
Ireland: Catherine Fox. + 353 87 4194880
catherine.fox@combilift.com or official.opening@combilift.com
UK and Germany: Liz Townsend + 44 7714 277 425 avenuepr@aol.com
Link to media launch information: http://combilift.com/combilift-launch-media/

Pope Resources reported net income of $5.7 million, or $1.31 per ownership unit, on consolidated revenue of $25 million, and look-through revenue of $17.6 million, for 1Q 2018. This compares to net income of $3.4 million, or $0.77 per ownership unit, on consolidated revenue of $17.3 million, and look-through revenue of $11.4 million, for 1Q 2017.

“The confluence of strong log markets and favorable winter weather in 2018’s first quarter enabled us to push up harvest volumes and realize significant increases in cash flow from operations compared to last year’s first quarter,” said Tom Ringo, President and CEO. “Log prices generally were strongest in early Q1-18.

As the favorable markets and weather encouraged broad log production participation, however, realized prices slipped back 5 to 10% later in the quarter, still coming in at levels higher than recent quarters. Other items of note for this quarter include the previously announced January acquisitions by Fund IV of two timberland properties totaling nearly 37,000 acres.

In Q1-18 we began marketing timber deed sales on these two properties with good early success that augurs well for early cash yield on the Partnership’s $17.1 million co-investment in these properties. Finally, our Real Estate activities in Q1-18 were focused on laying the groundwork for sales that are expected to close later in the year.”

Pope Resources, a publicly traded limited partnership, and its subsidiaries Olympic Resource Management and Olympic Property Group, own or manage 210,000 acres of timberland and development property in Washington, Oregon, and California

Photo: Tom Ringo, President and CEO

In line with expectations, CatchMark Timber Trust, Inc. reported higher revenue, an increase in GAAP net loss, and an increase in Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter ended March 31, 2018 compared to the three-month period ended March 31, 2017. Results were driven by a year-over-year increase in harvest volume, higher pulpwood pricing and the strong financial performance of the Dawsonville Bluffs joint venture.

CatchMark Timber’s revenues increased to $24.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2018 from $23.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2017 primarily due to an increase in timber sales revenue of $2.2 million.

For the three months ended March 31, 2018, Adjusted EBITDA was $14.9 million, a $4.3 million increase from the three months ended March 31, 2017, primarily due to contributions from the Dawsonville Bluffs Joint Venture and an increase in net timber sales.

Jerry Barag, CatchMark’s President and CEO said, “We had another solid operating quarter benefiting from increased harvest volume fueled by last year’s acquisitions and robust returns on our investment in the Dawsonville Bluffs joint venture. We adjusted our harvest mix to take advantage of increased pulpwood pricing and we continued to increase our delivered sales. Overall, we remain very much on track to meet our 2018 operating plan and maintain a healthy dividend.”

CatchMark Timber Trust, Inc. is a self-administered and self-managed, publicly-traded REIT that strives to deliver superior risk-adjusted returns for all stakeholders through disciplined acquisitions, sustainable harvests and well-timed sales.

Canfor Southern Pine, a leading integrated forest products company, will upgrade its existing Camden, South Carolina sawmill in Kershaw County. The company is projected to invest $40 million in the project, as South Carolina Dept. of Commerce reports.

The company’s Camden facility has been in operation since 1983 and manufactures dimension lumber. To accommodate its continued growth, Canfor will be installing a new planer mill, as well as new equipment throughout the sawmilling operation to address critical areas that limit production capacity. The expansion will begin this year and is expected to be completed in the 4Q 2019.

Canfor Southern Pine Vice President of U.S. Operations (East) Keith McGregor said: “The Camden facility has always been one of our top-performing mills. This $40 million capital investment will increase capacity by 50%, making it our highest-producing facility in the Southern U.S. The project will also further enhance our first quartile performance in safety and quality. With this major investment, the Camden plant will continue to be a stable and significant employer in this region, paying good wages and benefits to our valuable employees.”

Canfor Southern Pine, a leading manufacturer of high-quality Southern yellow pine lumber, operates 14 manufacturing locations in the Southern U.S. In addition to its Camden facility, the company has operations in Conway, Darlington and Marion, S.C., with corporate offices in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Canfor currently employs approximately 650 people throughout South Carolina.

Photo: Keith McGregor  Canfor Southern Pine Vice President of U.S. Operations (East)

The new line will be installed next to the current sorting line, at which point the current line will begin serving as a dry sorting line. The capacity of the new line is approximately 150,000 m3 of green lumber a year.

The sorting line will include features such as automated camera-based sorting equipment, equipment to allow for stepless cutting functions, a sorting conveyor of push-chain type will be installed to sort the materials into 20 vertical bins. The stick-stacking line is equipped with an additional hoist and an automated stick distribution system containing 12 stick cassettes, as well as a stick storage system located between the dry sorting line and the stick-stacking line.

HEINOLA’s own products will be complemented in the line by several devices from the product range of its sister company, Hekotek. The electrification and automation of the line, as well the dust removal system and the chip conveyor from chipper to chip silo are just some of the solutions made possible with Hekotek products.

Engineering of the line is already under way, the installations will take place this autumn and early winter. Production on the line will begin in early 2019.

PHOTO: Schematic diagram of the cutting area of a similar line

Pinnacle Renewable Holdings Inc. has entered into a long-term, take-or-pay off-take contract with Ube Industries Ltd., a diversified Japanese conglomerate with annual revenues of approximately $6 billion. Under the terms of the contract, Pinnacle will supply 70,000 metric tons per annum of industrial wood pellets to Ube beginning in late 2019.

“Japan has made a strong commitment to decarbonization, and biomass is poised to become an increasingly important part of the country’s energy mix,” said Robert McCurdy, CEO of Pinnacle. “One third of our $421 million in contracted backlog in 2017 was with customers in Japan, and this new contract with Ube further builds on our strong sales momentum in this growing market.”

Demand for industrial wood pellets in Japan is accelerating, supported by the government’s Feed-in Tariff system. There are more than 10 new biomass projects currently in late-stage development in Japan.

Pinnacle Renewable Holdings Inc. is a rapidly growing industrial wood pellet manufacturer and distributor and the third largest producer in the world.

Pinnacle CEO Rob McCurdy | Photo: Chung Chow