Seeding – It is all hands-on deck at the West Manjimup Nursery in Western Australia. Forest Products Commission (FPC) staff and a team of casuals have started dispatching seedlings for the 2020 planting season.

The first load of pine seedlings left the nursery in mid June and was taken to Baudin Plantation.

Nursery and Seed Centre Manager Jeffrey Cook said approximately 3.3 million pine seedlings and one million karri seedlings would be dispatched and planted in the South West during June and July.

“The nursery has been required to increase the workforce significantly to meet the demands of the planting schedule,” Mr Cook said.

“We have employed approximately 45 casual employees which has been a big boost in employment for the Manjimup community.”

Nursery processes have had to evolve to deliver and meet new social distancing requirements.

“We have installed polycarbonate sheeting on the packing line to provide a barrier of protection between each individual packer, to meet social distancing requirements and create a safe working environment during dispatch,” Mr. Cook said.

The nursery has also staggered lunch and other breaks to assist in managing social distancing.

“The casual employees are very happy to be back working as employment opportunities have been scarce in the last few months and the FPC plays a vital part in regional employment,” Mr Cook said.

Combilift is a winner at this year’s IFOY Awards 2020– one of the most prestigious and hotly contested international awards in the materials handling industry which honours the best products and solutions of the year. The company won the Warehouse Truck Lowlifter Category with its innovative Combi-CS pedestrian counterbalance stacker.

The Combi-CS is the only pedestrian counterbalance stacker that will operate in a conventional reach truck aisle for space saving and productive storage and handling. It features Combilift’s unique, internationally patented and award winning multi-position tiller arm which can be turned to the left or right of the unit to position the rear drive wheel, allowing the operator to remain in the safest position- at the side of the machine rather than at the rear as is the case with other pedestrian stackers. This ensures optimum visibility of the load and surroundings as well as guaranteeing maximum safety in areas where other personnel or members of the public may be present.

Due to the current circumstances, the hundreds of people that normally attend the IFOY ceremony could not get together personally, so the organisers rolled out the virtual red carpet for the winners on the Internet on July 13^th 2020 at www.ifoy.org. IFOY founder and Executive Chairperson of the IFOY Jury Anita Würmser said: “Special times require special solutions and this year’s IFOY Awards were dedicated to the best innovations in intralogistics and moreover to the people who make intralogistics happen.”

Finalists’ products underwent stringent IFOY audit and innovation checks by industry experts and journalists from leading logistics media from 19 countries also tested and evaluated the equipment for qualities such as technology, design, ergonomics, safety, marketability, customer benefit and sustainability. Some of the jury’s comments on the Combi-CS were as follows: “The Combi-CS is a really compact smart pedestrian operated truck and a nice hands-on solution. It offers significant added value in terms of narrow aisle operation and safety in confined environments. It is a customer-focussed solution with a very high level of market relevance.”

Combilift CEO and Co-founder Martin McVicar said: “On behalf of the whole Combilift team I am delighted to receive the IFOY 2020 Award and proud that this innovative product has been recognised as valuable solution for the intralogistics sector. We extend our thanks to the IFOY jury for selecting us for this important award.”

Main photo: Combi-CS IFOY Award 2020 in the Warehouse Truck Lowlifter Category

photo left: Martin McVicar, CEO and co-founder, Combilift pictured with the IFOY Award 2020 for the Combi-

www.combilift.com

https://combilift.com/en/combi-cs-pedestrian-stacker-wins-prestigious-ifoy-award/

Video of award acceptance: https://youtu.be/3RDXQ6mZDTY

Product video: https://youtu.be/6iPfEWThgJE

Combilift
Annahagh
Monaghan
Co. Monaghan
H18 VP65
Ireland
Tel: + 353 47 80500
Fax: + 353 47 80501
press@combilift.com
Web: www.combilift.com

• It’s estimated more than 50,000 hectares of pine plantation in southern NSW was lost in the Black Summer bushfires
• Tumbarumba’s Hyne Timber mill has lost 40 per cent of its future plantation wood supply
• The timber industry is seeking federal freight subsidies to haul logs from other regions to sustain local mills

When bushfires razed the outskirts of Tumbarumba in southern New South Wales on New Year’s Eve, residents on the forest fringes lost everything: their houses, stock, infrastructure and livelihoods.

They also lost an estimated 25,000 hectares of native bush and 50,000 hectares of pine plantations that encircle towns like Tumbarumba and Tumut.

The loss of forest, especially pine plantations, means a cloud of economic uncertainty hangs over the region. At Tumbarumba, Hyne Timber directly employs 230 people and just as many indirectly. It’s one of the largest sawmills in the southern hemisphere. The loss of plantation pine has immense implications.

“That’s about 40 per cent of our available logs going forward, so it’s a substantial impact to us in the future,” mill manager Marcus Fenske said. “We’re really fighting to survive, and we want to survive.”

Faced with a shortage of local logs, the timber industry wants the Federal Government to provide freight subsidies to make it viable to haul sawlogs hundreds of kilometres from other regions to the district’s timber mills. So far, it has been unsuccessful; it doesn’t qualify for any of the AU$600 million in federal bushfire recovery funding.

Hyne Timber estimates it will have to spend an additional AU$10 million a year, at a time when margins are slim. The company is racing to salvage as much of the fire-killed blackened timber while they can.

Source: ABC, ABC Landline: Tim Lee

Smurfit Kappa’s industry-leading new recovery boiler is now operating at its Nettingsdorf Kraftliner mill in Austria.

The unveiling of the state-of-the-art boiler marks an important milestone in Smurfit Kappa’s Future Energy Plant project, which was a €134 million investment to increase the sustainability and efficiency of the leading kraftliner mill.

The innovative new boiler will enable the plant to further boost energy optimisation at the mill. By recovering energy from the biomass contained in black liquor from pulp production, the new boiler is set to cut CO2 emissions by 40,000 tonnes, which equates to about two-thirds of the current emissions at the site, and 2.4% of those from Smurfit Kappa Europe.

The Future Energy Plant also involved developing an advanced new steam turbine, as well as several other projects including an upgraded water treatment plant and installation of additional drying cylinders to the paper machine.

Speaking about the mill’s latest milestone, Günter Hochrathner, CEO of Smurfit Kappa Nettingsdorf, said: “I am very proud to get to this day in such a huge and ambitious project and it’s a great moment for all our employees here. By starting to operate this new recovery boiler, we have taken a very important step forward in sustainability and are practising true circularity.”

Laurent Sellier, COO Smurfit Kappa Paper & Board, Europe, added: “The Future Energy Plant project was part of an ongoing investment programme by the Smurfit Kappa Group to implement a series of transformative sustainable innovations. Efficient energy plants play a major role in the production of paper.

“This investment in Nettingsdorf will enable us to ensure a long-term supply of high-quality and sustainable containerboard – something our customers have come to expect from us.”

Founded in 1851 and with over 360 employees, Nettingsdorf is one of Smurfit Kappa’s most efficient paper mills and one of the leading producers of kraftliner in Europe. The mill produces approximately 450,000 tonnes of paper annually and has seen a 34% increase in productivity since becoming part of Smurfit Kappa in 1995.

Smurfit Kappa has unveiled a new, state-of-the-art solar panel system in its Colombian Forestry operation.

The Solar One photovoltaic system, which was developed with renewable energy provider Celsia, will generate 50% of the energy needs of the nursery and the entomology and plant pathology laboratories.

The 168 panels that comprise the system will generate an estimated 78,000 kWh/year reducing CO2 emissions by 29.7 tonnes annually.

The new system has been installed in an optimum location in the forestry nursery to maximise exposure to the hours of sunshine available.The nursery has the capacity to produce up to 8 million pine and eucalyptus seedlings per year which are then planted in Smurfit Kappa’s forestry plantations throughout the Colombian Andean region and also used in reforestation projects.

The entomology and plant pathology laboratories that will also benefit from the new solar scheme work alongside the nursery on preventative programmes to identify and study potential forestry pests and diseases. Any programmes that are used to eliminate pests work in harmony with nature and are completely organic.

Ricardo Sierra Fernandez, CEO of Celsia, said: “We are happy to be allies with Smurfit Kappa Colombia, a company that is a leader in environmental conservation issues. Being able to connect the generation of solar energy to feed their needs in that incredible nursery they have in Restrepo, is another example of that leadership. Thanks for trusting Celsia.”

Alvaro Henao, CEO of Smurfit Kappa Colombia, added: “The use of clean and renewable energy is part of our strategic goal of reducing CO₂ emissions which we have made significant progress in through our use of biofuels for self-generation energy in our Yumbo plant, the use of natural gas in most of our operations, and the ongoing capture of CO₂ from the atmosphere in our forestry plantations.

“This new milestone excites and motivates us to continue contributing to the construction of a sustainable future.”

Smurfit Kappa’s Colombian forestry division is held up as a centre of excellence both nationally and internationally due to its strong track record in sustainability and protecting and nurturing biodiversity.

Focused on Unlocking Customer Value, Deere Announces New Operating Model

• Resources will be aligned to deliver a differentiated customer experience through production systems, an intuitive technology stack and lifecycle solutions.

• The new model is designed to unlock new value for customers and respond more quickly to changing market conditions.
• Deere will adopt a more disciplined approach to capital allocation by devoting research and investment dollars to the most promising and profitable opportunities.

Deere & Company (DE) announced June 17th a new vision and operating model in order to accelerate its success in the integration of smart technology innovation with Deere’s legacy of manufacturing excellence.

The Deere Smart Industrial strategy is designed to unlock new value for customers and to help them become more profitable and sustainable, while simultaneously revolutionizing the agriculture and construction industries through the rapid introduction of new technologies.

To ensure success, actions will be concentrated on the following three focus areas:

Production Systems: A strategic alignment of products and solutions around Production Systems roadmaps – which capitalizes on Deere’s industry-leading knowledge of its customers and how they work. The new production systems structure enables the company to drive an integrated product roadmap and related investments that span all aspects of a customer’s jobs and to more fully meet customer needs.

Technology Stack: Investments in technology as well as research and development that deliver intelligent solutions to Deere customers through an intuitive technology stack made up of hardware, embedded software, connectivity, data platforms, and applications. The Deere family of “smart” machines, systems, and solutions unlocks customer economic value through enhanced precision, automation, speed, and efficiency not possible previously.

Lifecycle Solutions: The enterprise integration of Deere’s aftermarket and support capabilities to more effectively manage customer equipment, service, and technology needs across the full lifetime of a John Deere product, and with a specific lifecycle solution focus on the ownership experience.

“As Deere businesses and those of its customers become more competitive and dynamic, Deere’s track record of technological innovation puts it in a position to anticipate, respond, and outpace those dynamics by offering cutting-edge solutions to enhance customers’ productivity, profitability, and sustainability,” said John May, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “The new operating model represents a leap forward in performance for the company from an already strong starting point.”

Organization and Personnel Assignments
Effective June 16, 2020, the following individuals will lead redesigned or newly created business units under the Smart Industrial Operating Model:

Cory J. Reed has been appointed to the new role of President, Worldwide Agriculture & Turf Division for Production & Precision Agriculture Equipment and for the Sales & Marketing Regions of the Americas and Australia. In this new role, Reed will be responsible for leading a team to define, develop, and deliver equipment solutions to unlock customer value for production-scale growers in large grains, small grains, and cotton/sugar.

Markwart von Pentz has been appointed to the new role of President, Worldwide Agriculture & Turf Division for Small Ag & Turf and for the Sales & Marketing Regions of Europe, CIS, Asia and Africa. Von Pentz and his team will be responsible for defining, developing, and delivering fit-for-purpose products and solutions to support mid-size and small growers globally, as well as for turf customers. The unit is principally organized around production systems for dairy and livestock as well as high-value crops.

Recently appointed as Senior Vice President, Intelligent Solutions Group, Jahmy J. Hindman has been named to a new position as the Chief Technology Officer, reporting to the CEO. Hindman will oversee the Intelligent Solutions Group, responsible for Deere’s end-to-end technology stack, shared enterprise engineering, and John Deere Electronic Solutions product delivery.

Marc A. Howze, currently serving as Chief Administrative Officer, will continue in that role while also assuming enhanced responsibilities in a new role as Group President, Lifecycle Solutions – responsible for leading a team focused on the enterprise-level integration of aftermarket and support capabilities, and a focus on the full ownership experience over the lifetime of Deere’s products.

Meanwhile, the following members of the leadership team will continue in their current roles and will continue reporting to the CEO:

•  Rajesh Kalathur, President, John Deere Financial and Chief Information Officer
• Ryan D. Campbell, Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer
• Mary K.W. Jones, Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Worldwide Public Affairs

As previously announced, John H. Stone will assume his new role as President, Worldwide Construction & Forestry and Power Systems on July 1. Deere’s Construction and Forestry division, which was recently organized along production systems for earthmoving, roadbuilding and forestry, will now more fully leverage the technology stack and lifecycle solutions in the future.

“After 183 years of innovation, Deere continues to transform how it operates to build a more customer-driven and streamlined, nimble organization for the future,” said May. “I couldn’t ask for a more talented, dedicated and focused team to lead us there.”

In order to realize the Smart Industrial vision, Deere will adopt a more disciplined approach to capital allocation by devoting research and investment dollars to the most promising and profitable opportunities. Deere plans to dramatically accelerate the speed with which the company brings priority technology to market to drive value creation and capture it more quickly.

“The new operating model will help us respond to changing market conditions with greater speed and efficiency,” May said.

Photo: John May, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

It goes without saying the Covid-19 pandemic has been and still is a major challenge to most businesses and employees. Those that stayed in the game did what was necessary to get through the most difficult market since the last recession. Now, many businesses are preparing to transition back their valued employees and implement the changes that will carry them through to full recovery.

But are the employees ready?  Numerous new polices, compliance requirements and new ways of engagement are stressful and confusing for many.  Combine this with the uncertainty most employees have been living with for months now, and we have a work force that is feeling tense and insecure.

Many employees lost some of their co-workers, teammates, and friends… solid people with skills who were good at what they did.  Some may be feeling survivor guilt or anger towards their company for doing what it needed to do and wondering if they are next.  Some have lost their career or business mentor, the person who was helping them at work and advance to the next level.

Spending so much time at home has its own challenges and may have caused some to realize how lonely and unfulfilled they are.. or how unhappy they are in their marriage… or how difficult it is to care for children and ageing parents.  Or, they may have finally had the time to consider something they would really like to change about themselves or their relationships.

Now more than ever companies need a workforce that is energized, focused and productive.   Employees need as much clear, concise and honest communication as possible.

The past months have brought about a quantum leap in the acceptance and ease of connecting online.  Families from grandparents to toddlers have gathered and shared stories, businesses have completed transactions and doctors are dispensing medical advice all from the convenience of and privacy of just about anywhere.

Online therapy offers relief from loneliness, anxiety, and depression, but for the most part, not much else.  Coaching, by contrast, provides for meaningful discussion and guidance on everything else that makes up a whole person and is specifically designed for people who want to genuinely improve their lives.

For those unfamiliar with the concept of coaching, the simplest comparison is to that of an athletic coach. Just like how all great athletes have coaches, the same concept can be applied to other aspects of life as well, included relationships, stress management, work life balance, and more. The International Coaching Federation (ICF) defines coaching as “partnering with clients in a thought provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.”

In fact, by 2022, coaching in the United States alone will represent a $1.34 billion-dollar industry (1). There is a reason top level executives, Olympic athletes, star performers, and some of the most accomplished people in the world all attribute so much of their success to coaching; because it works.

An example of a business working to make the power of coaching more accessible is Hundred Life Design, a digital coaching platform that offers access to top tier, unconventional coaches, all of whom excelled or continue to excel and innovate in their field of expertise.  Users can select from a broad range of topics including personal and work relationships, health & wellbeing, business, leadership, career planning, interpersonal skills and more.

And it works, both on an individual level and within organizations.  A recent corporate client of Hundred Life Design, Roseburg Forest Products, based in Springfield, Oregon. With close to 4,000 employees in numerous locations across North America, Roseburg engaged Hundred Life Design to put a confidential, individually focused coaching program in place that would provide selected individuals in the company with access to their choice of a coach or coaches for a period of 6 months.  The results were positive.

Scott Folk, Roseburg’s Senior Vice President of Resources commented, “the program was well received by the company and our participating teammates because of the highly confidential nature of the coaching, this gave our employees the comfort that whatever was discussed with the coach would not be shared with the company or anyone at anytime ever”.  Folk believes this is absolutely necessary in order to make yourself vulnerable and have the brutally honest conversations you need to have to make real change in life.

Following the 6-month coaching program, Hundred followed up with each participant and asked them to complete a confidential survey.  The survey results were then consolidated and shared with the company without disclosing names or any detail.  The results were impressive.  Those who received coaching on average showed a 90% improvement in their attitude towards their personal life and a 70% improvement in attitude towards work life.  Equally interesting was the cost effectiveness of the program. Roseburg spent on average $886 per employee over the 6 month period.

When asked if Roseburg will be continuing on with the program, Folk replied, “coaching is not for everyone, but when used on a selected basis, particularly for teammates who are key contributors, new in a role, going through transitions or developing into leaders, coaching from someone outside of the company can be highly beneficial.  It’s also proven to be very cost-effective for the company and one that does not require time off or travel.  For all of these reasons, Roseburg will continue to partner with Hundred Life Design”.

Time will tell whether or not the future of coaching will be online and adopted by more businesses. Yet considering the increasing initiatives companies are making to invest in employee wellbeing, new businesses like Hundred Life Design may be on to something. 

Sources:

1. https://blog.marketresearch.com/us-personal-coaching-industry-tops-1-billion-and-growing

Photo by Tim Goedhart on Unsplash

The Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs has announced further steps to open up the economy: as of September 1, trade fairs can also be held again in Bavaria. This is the starting signal for the GrindTec 2020.

Augsburg – „The course has been set for the GrindTec 2020,” said Henning and Thilo Könicke, the Managing Directors of the GrindTec organiser AFAG Messen und Ausstellungen. “We will make intensive use of the approximately six months until the trade fair in order to be able to present the world’s leading trade fair for grinding technology in accordance with the safety and hygiene standards that will then be in force”.

The Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs gave organizers, exhibitors and visitors of Bavarian trade fairs planning security and clarity on Tuesday, May 26. From September trade fairs can take place again, the final confirmation for the GrindTec 2020, which will now take place as planned from 10th to 13th November at the Augsburg Trade Fair Centre. AFAG considers itself well prepared. Together with the Bavarian trade fair locations, the managing directors have already been working for weeks on the development of a coordinated hygiene concept. By the autumn, the safety and hygiene concept is to be tested for its practical suitability and adapted to current conditions.

There has been a pleasing development with regard to exhibitor participation at the GrindTec 2020: Since the postponement of the trade fair there have been some cancellations by exhibitors due to scheduling, but these have already been compensated for by new registrations. At present there are approx. 670 exhibitor registrations.

The organiser AFAG will present the GrindTec 2020 and the underlying safety and hygiene concept in a press conference on 2 July at the Augsburg Trade Fair Centre.

Stora Enso’s drone research used a drone and a multispectral camera to detect insect damages in Finnish forests. The image interpretation application was able to identify trees where spruce bark beetles nestled. The new forest health data can be used for example to plan forest management, timely silvicultural work and harvesting.

The spruce bark beetle, which damages spruces in particular, is estimated to become more common in the northern forests as the climate warms. Stora Enso Forest division’s drone was able to detect spruce bark beetle exposure much faster and more efficiently than the human eye. Research flights were conducted in in South Karelia, Finland in the vicinity of Lappeenranta in the summer of 2019, and the research results were recently finalised.

The spruce bark beetle prevents the normal flow of water from tree’s root system to the top of the spruce, which causes the tree to die upright before long. A multispectral camera connected to the drone identified the trees whose fluid circulation was disturbed. In the image, the exposed trees appeared in different colors than the healthy trees. This enables the observation of spruce bark beetle damage even in a large forest area, says forest specialist Saana Pulkkinen, from Stora Enso Forest division, who did her thesis as part of the research.

The study showed that the observation of spruce bark beetle exposure made by drones and the image interpretation application was reliable. It also turned out that the larger the tree in question, the easier it was to detect the exposure. In addition, the image interpretation application was programmed to identify spruces from the other tree species: identification was 97% correct. The findings of the application were further confirmed by a field trip. From the point of view of image interpretation, a cloudy weather was the best for the flights.

This was still research work and testing, but we can already now rely on our image interpretation application when it identifies an unhealthy or damaged tree. At some points, the application was still cautious in its interpretations, but the situation will improve as we get more data on the forests that have been photographed. Based on the research results, the health classification of trees was 86% correct, Pulkkinen states.

Drone research is part of a bigger development stream that we call precision forestry. Precision forestry will offer new opportunities to monitoring forest, management decisions optimization and increasing the value for forest owners and the industry, says Mikko Juhola SVP, Innovation & Development, Stora Enso Forest division.

In addition to Finland, forest research flights and image interpretation have been performed in Sweden and the Czech Republic. Health information on thousands of conifers has been accumulated on flights. Stora Enso’s drone pilots have already scanned hundreds of hectares of forest, and more and more forest data is being accumulated. Descriptions are always made with the permission of the forest owner.

Cooperation between our various forest units will ultimately benefit forest owners not only in Finland, but also in other countries where we operate. As a first step, we intend to utilize image interpretation data to locate spruce bark beetle damage. Going forward, data accumulated from the forest can also be used in forest plans and inventories. We will continue development work so that in the future we can provide drone scanning as a service to forest owners. Already now, some of our forest experts use the drone in their own work, for example in seedling monitoring, Mikko Juhola states.

The new Forest division, which started operations in the beginning of 2020, includes Stora Enso’s Swedish forest assets and the 41% share of Tornator with the majority of its forest assets located in Finland. The division also includes wood supply operations in Finland, Sweden, Russia and the Baltic countries. We create value to our customers and private forest owners with competitive wood supply, sustainable forest management and innovation. As a major player in the bioeconomy, access to wood is critical for Stora Enso. Today, Stora Enso is one of the biggest private forest owners and wood supply organizations in the world.

Stora Enso’s forest expert Saana Pulkkinen

PONSSE Manager 1.7  released! PONSSE Manager 1.7 presents forwarder production reporting, a function highly requested by customers, alongside the system’s other top features. As a new feature, PONSSE Manager displays the progress of work areas in a separate graph, showing harvester production and forwarder production relative to the total estimated volume of the work area in question.

Printable load certificate
The PONSSE Manager load certificate displays work area identification data and local transportation per storage location, both as sum totals and operator-specific values. The printable load certificate also includes the volume of each load, the assortments delivered, and the distance travelled.

“Forwarder production volumes will be updated in PONSSE Manager reports if the forwarder is equipped with a compatible PONSSE Load Optimizer loader scale or the Opti 4G operator load details feature, which allows operators to enter their roadside deliveries in the Opti 4G system. These features raise machine chain reporting to a whole new level and offer a better overview of total harvesting production”, says Juho Leskinen, Product Group Manager, information systems and digitalisation.

PONSSE Parts Online, a system for ordering spare parts, can be accessed from the PONSSE Manager main menu in countries where Parts Online service is available.

PONSSE Manager is a continuously developed data management system
To support their operations, forest machine entrepreneurs need a reliable partner to develop services that truly improve customers’ business. PONSSE Manager is a modern forest machine monitoring and data transfer system that forest machine entrepreneurs can use to see their machines’ location, productivity figures and fuel consumption, among others.

With PONSSE Manager, entrepreneurs can improve the efficiency of their business and enhance productivity, thanks to real-time field operations monitoring. With Manager, entrepreneurs can monitor the progress of stands, plan and manage machine transportation, keep track of machine outputs according to assortment and print out measuring certificates. In addition, Manager informs entrepreneurs of machine maintenance needs and displays any maintenance-related notes made by the operator.

Read more: www.ponsse.com/en/web/guest/services/online-services#/