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On April 10, 2018, Komatsu Forest (President & CEO: Mitsuru Ueno) acquired Oryx Simulations (CEO: Rami Morssy), a company based in Umeå, Sweden. Komatsu Forest and Oryx Simulation share a long history. During the 1990s a project was started by Komatsu Forest and Umeå University that was the starting point for Oryx Simulations. During the[…]

Ponsse presents the new loader for Elephant and ElephantKing forwarders. The completely new Ponsse K121 loader offers a new level of efficiency and speed for load handling in tough conditions. The new PONSSE K121 loader extends Ponsse’s loader series to a completely new size range. The new loader combines high slewing torque and lifting power,[…]

Caterpillar announces the launch of two new Cat® Forest Machine models, the 548 and the 548 LL. These machine platforms increase profitability for loggers by maximizing efficiency, increasing production, and reducing owning and operating costs. The Cat 548 and 548 LL and other 500 series Forest Machine models meet U.S. EPA Tier 4 Final emission[…]

Katerra, a high-tech construction firm, has secured $865 million in funding from SoftBank Vision Fund. That money will go toward ongoing projects in the US, like the company’s planned cross-laminated timber plant in Washington, as well as research & development activities. Katerra says its upcoming 250,000-square-foot Washington plant will help scale up U.S. production of[…]

Canada – In British Columbia, the provincial government is committing Cdn $7.8 million to promote the use of BC wood overseas, advance wood building systems and products, and expand global markets. BC Government announced the funding at a national forestry convention in Prince George, alongside Doug Donaldson, Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and[…]

Late last week Associated Kiln Driers Softwoods (AKD) officially took ownership of the Yarram Sawmill after finalising the purchase with Carter Holt Harvey Woodproducts earlier this month. Regular operations of the mill will resume from Monday 25th March, with all 60 existing employees offered ongoing employment. The Yarram Sawmill processes approximately 150,000 cubic meters of[…]

Global timber and wood products market update show modest increases in wood fiber costs and a substantial rise in market pulp prices have improved profitability for many market pulp manufacturers worldwide during the second half of 2017, reports the Wood Resource Quarterly Pulp manufacturers in many countries have seen their wood fiber costs go up[…]

Wood pellet production in Finland in 2017,  produced a total of 324,000 tonnes of wood pellets. That is one fifth more than in the previous year and the third highest result in history. The production volume was highest in 2008 at 373,000 tonnes, reports Natural Resource Institute Finland (Luke). A new record was reached in[…]

The Board of Directors of the BC Forest Safety Council (BCFSC) is pleased to announce that Dave Lehane has been appointed chair of the BCFSC, effective March 22, 2018. Dave takes over from Ken Higginbotham, who retired at the end of 2017. Lehane is a retired forest industry executive with more than 35 years of[…]

Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) applauds the Canadian government, and in particular Minister Champagne, on the signing of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) between Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam. This agreement will benefit the Canadian forest products industry by eliminating tariffs, as[…]