The countdown is on and exhibitors are getting ready.  We are adjusting to COVID normal and the AUSTimber team is busy planning to ensure maximum participation of exhibitors and attendees.

Everyone is looking forward to the opportunity of coming together as communities and as an industry.

Our supporters, partners and exhibitors are committed to another great show with a packed program featuring all the best of the forest industry.

PROGRAM DATES

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Connect with
Dionne Olsen 
austimber2020@afca.asn.au
+61  429 202 929

Koskien

We are looking for partners for roadside chipping of logging residues and heavy logs and directly related transports in Southern Finland. In addition, we are looking for a partner (s) for energy backbone chipping at terminals. The areas and their chip counts are described in more detail in the tender documents.

We are known in our region as a reliable wood buyer and supplier of bioenergy. Every year, we procure about two million cubic meters of wood, e.g. For the needs of the Koskisen sawmill and plywood industry. The most significant types of timber in wood procurement are and softwood and birch logs. Pruned manure and logging residue are our most important raw materials for processing into bioenergy.

Further information and tender documents can be
obtained from Antti Leikas 0400-533185 or antti.leikas@koskisen.com .
The deadline for submission of tenders is 17.6.2021

Serra Maschinenbau GmbH in Rimsting on Lake Chiemsee supplies mobile and stationary sawmills around the world. The successful company is growing steadily and is gaining further production space with a new hall, in order to efficiently realize all future orders.

An old warehouse on the company site had to make way for this. The ground-breaking ceremony for the 560 m² production hall took place on June 1, 2021, with Serra anticipating investments in interior fittings and machinery of around 430,000 euros. “The new building will allow us to increase our production capacity by roughly 50 % and achieve sales in the 2-digit million range. The welding, machining, electrical assembly, and logistics teams will all be housed in the new hall,” explains Managing Director Andreas Doubrava. This plant expansion has secured the essential framework conditions needed for the growth plan of the coming years. The new building has been designed in such a way that it can be extended in a further construction phase.

For over 30 years, the innovative company has been known for its high-quality, “Made in Bavaria” sawmill machines, which are already in successful use in over 80 countries around the world. From small mobile sawmills to complete sawmill lines, Serra offers tailor-made solutions for every requirement in a wide range of climate zones. The product range includes mobile and stationary band sawmills, saw blades, and service equipment for sharpening, resaws and trimmers, forestry machines, and equipment such as the CutCoach clamping simulator. Serra has been part of the Austrian WINTERSTEIGER AG since the beginning of 2019 and complements the product portfolio of the Division Woodtech.

Photo: Breaking ground at Serra. From left to right: Franz Hofmann (Head of Production), Christian Mayer (Sales Director), Andreas Doubrava (Finance & Technology Director) and Johann Fritz (building owner and former company proprietor)

The Brandt Group of Companies has announced plans to make a major investment in staffing and will hire more than 1,000 new employees by the end of 2021. The new positions will span the Regina-based company’s 100+ location international network, focusing on roles in Canada and the USA. “There’s no question that our people are the foundation of our success. In spite of some challenging times for the global economy, an incredible team effort has enabled us to sustain our business and weather the storm successfully,” says Shaun Semple, Brandt Group of Companies CEO. “Looking ahead, the growth trend for Brandt is strong, so the timing is ideal to make a major investment in our team.”

In the past ten years, Brandt has expanded their employee base by 140% to more than 3,400, with the pace of growth continuing to accelerate steadily. The newly announced hiring initiative will see the company’s workforce grow by 30% overall with the largest individual gains occurring in the company’s Regina, SK, Saskatoon, SK and Hudson, IL locations. Half of these hires will occur in the company’s Saskatchewan locations with 40% more spread out across Canada and the balance in the USA.

The new hires will bolster Brandt’s existing operations in industries from construction, forestry, and agriculture to rail, mining, and steel. The positions will include skilled trades, sales, finance, marketing, customer support, IT, and more as the company expands its support team to meet the needs of a rapidly growing customer base. “As life begins to return to normal and we look ahead to economic recovery, this is very exciting news for workers and their families,” says Scott Moe, Saskatchewan Premier. “Saskatchewan has what the world needs and Brandt’s success is a testament to the resiliency of our province’s industries in some of the most challenging global economic times.”

Interested applicants can view a current listing of the company’s career opportunities and apply online at www.brandtjobs.com. For more information, contact Pam Lougheed at (306) 791-5931 or plougheed@brandt.ca

“LSAB is a long-term partner of Metsä Fibre’s sawmills, and the agreement with the Rauma sawmill continues this partnership. LSAB Suomi will deliver the sawmill built in Rauma the blades it needs and will take care of necessary services. The company is committed to our common safety targets, and we’ve been able to develop our operations together. We’ve cooperated with LSAB Suomi for a long time. It delivers blades to all our sawmills and takes care of their maintenance,” says Liisa-Maija Perävainio, Mill Manager of Rauma sawmill, Metsä Fibre.

“We’re proud of the trust placed in us. Our long-term partnership is continuing and deepening at Metsä Fibre’s Rauma sawmill. It’s inspiring and challenging to be involved in building this new sawmill, which is unique in the world, with the best experts. We bring all our knowledge to this project. The cooperation also strengthens our own professional skills,” says managing director Mika Rahko.

The value of Metsä Fibre’s Rauma sawmill investment amounts to approximately EUR 200 million, and the new unit will produce around 750,000 cubic metres of pine sawn timber annually. The new sawmill will be a worldwide forerunner in technology and efficiency. For example, the use of machine vision and artificial intelligence in different stages of the sawing process is a significant new development. Similar technology is not yet in use anywhere in the sawmill industry. The construction of the sawmill is progressing as planned, and production will begin in the third quarter of 2022.

Waratah Forestry Equipment announced the new H425, H425HD and H425X – a trio of rugged harvester heads built for tough jobs. With a powerful control valve and four roller feed arm geometry, each high-performance head is productive on wheeled or tracked carriers.

“These models are built for durability and performance,” said Brent Fisher, product marketing manager for Waratah. “Among other updates, new hose protection and servicing enhancements make these great heads even better.”

The standard H425 (1360 kg or 2,998 lb.), H425HD (1390 kg or 3,064 lb.) and hefty H425X (1426 kg or 3,143 lb.) each offer increased reliability with new feed motor hosing routings and new covers. For quick and easy servicing, each head features a new hinged valve cover and improved access to greasing points.

H425

Optimizing performance, productivity and delimbing, the H425 excels in large diameter regeneration harvesting. A powerful control valve and feed-roller arm geometry ensure a solid grip and agile harvester head control for all diameter classes.

For increased uptime and lower daily operating costs, the H425 offers improved hose routing from boom to harvester head and from the valve to feed motors, keeping hoses well protected from limbs and understory interference.

The H425 offers optional saw motor sizes, standard (narrow stem) or buttress (wide stem) saw frames for challenging applications, and processing knives for picking stems from the ground or bunch piles.

H425HD

Built to work on the toughest jobs, the H425HD features a heavy-duty tilt frame, feed motors and guarding to provide even more durability. With a powerful control valve and a top saw option, the high-performance head offers great productivity, especially for wheeled carrier applications.

For ease of maintenance, the H425HD now has easy filling of saw chain oil. Likewise, daily maintenance can be performed without changing the position of the harvester head. The valve block and grease points are also easily accessible.

The H425HD offers optional saw motor sizes, standard (narrow stem) or buttress (wide stem) saw frames for challenging applications, and processing knives for picking stems from the ground or bunch piles.

H425X

The H425X features an extreme duty main saw box with heavier steel plating, extra feed motor component guarding, heavy-duty tilt frame, hose protection and increased drive arm durability for demanding applications in mixed stand harvesting. Its four roller feed arm geometry ensures rollers grip solidly in all diameters, improving responsiveness with unprecedented tree-processing performance – especially in large timber.

Purpose-built for tracked harvesters, the H425X offers options for many applications with multi-tree handling, an integrated top saw and processing knives for picking from piles or hardwood applications, and many feed wheel options to suit numerous applications.

“The H425, H425HD and H425X are reliable heads for heavy-duty applications,” Fisher said. “With each new head generation, we’re providing our customers the solutions they need to maximize productivity and uptime.”

The Waratah H425, H425HD and H425X are currently available to customers in Europe, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, Africa, Asia, Brazil and Latin America.

For more information about Waratah, please visit Waratah.com or contact Sarah Larson at slarson@mindfirecomm.com.

Each of the projects will serve to generate additional value from Resolute’s wood products segment across market cycles.

Resolute Forest Products Inc. has announced additional capital investments of $50 million in its wood products operations to support its continued growth, and it confirmed the repayment of all amounts outstanding under its revolving and term credit facilities, reducing debt by $180 million in the 2Q.

“The cash generated with our lumber platform in these strong lumber markets provides the opportunity to share benefits directly with shareholders,” said Remi G. Lalonde, president and CEO. “We’re also enhancing long-term value by improving our company fundamentals with investments in high-return and quick payback lumber projects in three key regions for Resolute: the Abitibi in Quebec, Northwestern Ontario and the Southeast U.S. What’s more, we’ve removed a material amount of debt from the balance sheet with the further $180 million repayment in 2Q, leaving as our only remaining debt the $300 million of unsecured 4.875% senior notes due 2026, and our liquidity stands at around $850 million.

The additional $50 million in wood products investments include:

• $22 million to modernize equipment at the Senneterre (Quebec) sawmill, which will enhance overall efficiency and productivity of the Abitibi regional operations;
• $13 million at the Thunder Bay / Fort William First Nation (Ontario) sawmill to increase capacity by up to 40 million board feet with new equipment and modifications to the fiber flow; and
• $15 million at the Glenwood (Arkansas) and Cross City (Florida) sawmills to support fiber optimization and overall efficiency. The Cross City investment will also increase capacity by up to 20 million board feet.

Each of these projects will serve to generate additional value from Resolute’s wood products segment across market cycles. The improvements at the U.S. sawmills build on the previously announced investments associated with the restart of the El Dorado (Arkansas) sawmill. The company anticipates completing all the projects by the end of the 3Q 2022. Accordingly, it is raising its 2021 capital investments guidance from $100 million to $125 million.

Resolute Forest Products is a global leader in the forest products industry with a diverse range of products.

JCB has developed a hydrogen-fueled engine and also set up a specialist development team as the company believes the technology offers the quickest way to reach carbon dioxide emissions targetsreports Ian Cameron CONEXPO-CON/AGG 365.

The company reported it believes hydrogen engines could be used in a variety of its machines although production of the engines would not begin until the end of 2022 at the earliest.

A re-engineered JCB 4.8 L engine is currently running on hydrogen at the company’s engine factory in the UK.

Meanwhile, another JCB 4.8 L hydrogen engine, producing 70 kW, has been fitted into a JCB backhoe-loader and is currently undergoing testing.

JCB Chairman Lord Anthony Bamford told Diesel Progress: “We accept that the days of fossil fuels are numbered. However, we don’t believe that the only way to achieve zero carbon emissions is by the use of fuel-cells or batteries which are more costly and complex.

“We can use our existing, proven engine technology and existing supply base to ensure that internal combustion engines, powered by hydrogen, remain a key part of the drive to achieving zero carbon emissions.

“Hydrogen is a clean, renewable and transportable fuel capable of powering larger, heavier equipment.”

The company said there are several other advantages associated with hydrogen engines, including the fact that a hydrogen engine is approximately the same price as a diesel engine and that it can be implemented into traditional powertrains.

Also, there is no requirement for charging stations and, unlike electric and battery options, hydrogen engines do not require expensive electric motors, JCB added.

“There is much discussion about the merits of using battery and fuel cell technology in machinery,” said Tim Burnhope, JCB chief innovation and growth officer, however, “We believe that the use of hydrogen internal combustion engines will provide the quickest way to reach the target of zero carbon dioxide emissions, especially from high-use, high-energy equipment such as larger excavators, backhoes and loadalls.”

Earlier this year JCB said it had developed the construction industry’s first ever hydrogen-powered excavator.

The 20-tonne 220X excavator, powered by a hydrogen fuel cell, has been undergoing testing at JCB’s quarry proving grounds for more than a year.

Photo: A JCB 4.8 L hydrogen engine, producing 70 kW, has been fitted into this JCB backhoe loader and is currently undergoing testing at a nearby proving ground in Staffordshire.

May to November 2021, Segezha Group (part of Sistema PJSFC) will carry out a set of scheduled reforestation measures in all logging regions: Krasnoyarsk Krai – 11.6 thousand hectares, Republic of Karelia – 9.5 thousand hectares, Vologda Oblast – 4.6 thousand hectares, Arkhangelsk Oblast – 4.1 thousand hectares, Kirov Oblast – 3.1 thousand hectares. The total area is 32.9 thousand hectares which is 3.8 thousand hectares greater than last year. For these purposes, 178 million rubles were allocated, an increase of 25 % yoy.

The holding aims to equalise the area of logging and the area of restored forests. The works are carried out in strict compliance with the Russian forest legislation. At each stage of the forest management process, Segezha Group acts taking into account the need to create and maintain forest infrastructure facilities in good condition, in particular, for the purposes of restoring and protecting forest lands; the transformation of animal habitats; the condition of water and soil environments and unique vulnerable landscapes classified as protection forests. Also, Segezha Group fulfils its voluntary liabilities under the international forest certification. It covers 83% of the leased state-owned forest lands that equal a total of 8.1 million hectares as of late 2020.

Natural, artificial and combined reforestation methods are used. Natural reforestation implies the preservation of viable understorey and stimulation of volunteer plants. Artificial reforestation involves sowing seeds or planting seedlings This year, Segezha Group will sow 830 kg of seeds and plant about 9 million seedlings.

Root ball seedlings have the greatest survival index. Every year, the number of root ball seedlings used increases.

“Our concern about forest lands is based on the general principles of forest management. Apart fr om that, when assessing the completeness of reforestation works, we must take into account that forest restoration is a time-consuming process. It takes two years after clearcutting. We also must consider that, in the areas wh ere temporary forest infrastructure facilities were previously placed, reforestation works can only be performed after the facilities are removed,” Natalya Konovalova, Director Forest Management at Segezha Group, noted.

Ponsse wants to lead the development of future forestry business models and that is why digitalization and data are already part of our sustainable forestry roadmap.

Data acquisition and management enable the development of new tools (e.g., remote machine data configuration and scalable data platform) for business development. Also new services (e.g., fleet management, predictive maintenance and sustainability reporting) are developed together with our customers.

We are organizing “Shaping the Future” webinars on June 16, where our experts discuss about future logging and forestry operations enriched by digital services.

The English spoken webinars are live at 10:00 (Swedish and Finnish subtitles) and 16:00 EEST (Spanish and Portuguese subtitles).

Secure your spot now at: http://www.ponsse.com/…/pons…/shaping-the-future-webinar  

The participants of the panel discussion
• Senni Huutera, Director, Business Development & Strategy, Epec Oy
• Juho Leskinen, Product Group Manager, Digitalization & Information systems, Ponsse Plc
• Miika Soininen, Director, Digital Services & IT, Ponsse Plc
• Jaakko Kuivanen, Project Manager, Information Systems, Ponsse Plc

Welcome!

Juho Leskinen
Ponsse Plc, Product Group Manager, Digitalization and Information Systems,
juho.leskinen@ponsse.com, tel. +358 40 5742704