Timber from Russia has in recent years been sent through China for processing but since the Ukraine invasion by Russia, and the declaration of Russian timber as conflict timber, the volumes have grown substantially. Australian builders, architects, and specifiers who for nearly nine months have agonised over an ever-widening supply gap in high-strength engineered wood products have found an unforeseen …

Early expressions of interest to present at next year’s Residues2Revenues 2023 event are now been called for. This year saw record numbers of forestry, wood harvesting, timber products companies and wood residues extraction and handling specialists turn up in Rotorua, New Zealand. The venue, with conference, pre and post conference workshops and exhibitions sold out. With developments in biomass utilisation so rapidly unfolding …

With more than 500,000 new units put in place last year – topping the half-million mark for the first time – the IFR reported that annual robot installations have more than doubled worldwide in the past five years. A global market summary by the International Federation of Robotics reports that 517,000 industrial robots were put in place worldwide during 2021, …

WoodChat Episode 26 places spotlight on National Centre for Timber Durability and Design Life A hugely positive mid-term review of the FWPA-supported National Centre for Timber Durability and Design Life has resulted in the extension of the Centre’s important research activities for a further five years, with the potential for three more. The latest episode of FWPA’s WoodChat podcast series …

As much as 70 percent of European heating comes from natural gas and electricity, and with Russian deliveries drastically reduced, wood — already used by some 40 million people for heating — has become a sought-after commodity. Prices for wood pellets nearly doubled to 600 euros a ton in France, and there are signs of panic buying. Hungary has banned …

Opinion piece: Inflation is front and centre of everyone’s minds at present and is more than likely causing Grant Robertson many sleepless nights. One of his biggest worries (and he’s got plenty) will be whether Adrian Orr brings out the big guns in the next OCR round and gives us all a 75-basis point punch in the face. Then there’s …

Van de Vin predicts it will save tens of thousands of euros, having replaced its paper-based manual tracking system with the automated capture of digital data. When builders and homeowners require custom-made windows and frames, they typically have little room for delays. With that in mind, Van de Vin recently deployed an RFID-based solution to track its custom wooden window …

The top reasons for staying with a company include pay, training and schedules. Pouring over data, analysing trends and evaluating the efficacy of policies are often how companies study their retention efforts. While those methods offer insights, the best resource for finding out why employees stay at their jobs is to ask them. IW did that and spoke with three …

Pretentious as it may sound, we can say with certainty that bamboo is one of the most promising materials for the future of the construction industry. Neil Thomas, principal engineer at atelier one, says that if we were to design an ideal building material, it would look a lot like bamboo. This is because it grows very fast, is present …

OneFortyOne is pleased to announce Nigel Boyd in the role of General Manager of Jubilee Sawmill. Nigel started his career in the timber industry in 1992 as an apprentice Saw Doctor. He has worked across optimisation and leadership functions in progressively more senior roles. He has been Jubilee’s Production Manager since 2018. Acting CEO Peter Brydon said “Nigel brings a …

OneFortyOne is pleased to announce the appointment of Mike Bloomfield to the newly created Executive General Manager Wood Products Australia role. Mike has held the position of General Manager Sales and Marketing at OneFortyOne since 2017. In this time, he has had a significant impact on the growth of OneFortyOne’s Wood Products business in domestic and international markets. Mike’s strong …

NZ builders say the supply crisis has eased for many critical products – but now they face a plummeting demand crisis that threatens to drive more of them to the wall. Suppliers ITM and Mitre 10 say they’re being squeezed by the timber company Carter Holt Harvey allocating structural timber to its own retail outlets by preference. It’s a last, …

Koskisen is a Finnish wood industry company producing sawn timber and panel products, such as birch plywood, furniture, and construction boards made of chip board. Koskisen uses Stora Enso’s bio-based binder, NeoLigno® by Stora Enso, to replace fossil-based resins used in furniture boards. Both the furniture board raw material and the binder are made of wood and sourced from the …

A new partnership between the NZ Government and Oji Fibre Solutions could boost the development of sustainable wood products, hydrogen and bio-fuels at the Kinleith Mill near Tokoroa, creating jobs and reducing emissions across the economy Forestry Minister Stuart Nash announced on Thursday. “This partnership is one of the first tangible actions from the draft Forestry and Wood Processing Industry …

A Mannus Correctional Centre works release program is providing inmates with employment opportunities, while helping meet an unprecedented demand for timber by filling a labour shortage in the state’s largest sawmill. Hyne Timber Tumbarumba Sawmill, which has a long-standing relationship with Corrective Services NSW, expanded its employment of minimum-security inmates after bushfire and housing shortages left the mill unable to …

With more than 500,000 new units put in place last year – topping the half-million mark for the first time – the IFR reported that annual robot installations have more than doubled worldwide in the past five years. A global market summary by the International Federation of Robotics reports that 517,000 industrial robots were put in place worldwide during 2021, …

With more than ten years of research and practical experience in wood science and timber engineering, Younes Shirmohammadli is motivated and prepared to contribute to the timber engineering industry. Younes is one of two PhD students at the University of Auckland Faculty of Engineering to have received a grant from the WIDE Trust to pursue his research studies this year. …

The new state-of-the-art pine sawmill in Rauma in Finland, owned by Metsä Fibre, part of Metsä Group, has moved from production test run to continuous sawn timber production. The sawmill is operating continuously in three shifts. Construction of the Rauma sawmill started in the spring of 2020, and the value of the investment is approximately EUR 260 million. This is …

A joint venture in New Zealand has been set up with the timber modification expertise and experience of Denmark’s IWT-Moldrup have combined with the timber processing acumen of New Zealand-based Tunnicliffe Timber. The process sees New Zealand radiata pine being thermally modified, using IWT-Moldrup’s equipment and then further modified by the introduction of a new, proprietary resin treatment of IWT-Moldrup´s …

USNR has announced they have sold the DynaStar™ Maintenance Management Software to DrekiTek™ Software Solutions Ltd. USNR looks forward to a long-term relationship with DrekiTek™ Software Solutions Ltd as it continues the development and support of the DynaStar™ system. DynaStar™ customers will continue to receive the excellent support they expect along with ongoing development of the product. Existing Software Support …

Last month we covered the story of the Timber Framing Collective in Australia and how they are introducing a suite of easy-to use creative resources to help share the remarkable green story of Timber Framing. Timber framing is the ultimate building material. It’s natural, strong and the only framing resource that tackles climate change. Research shows that 78% of consumers …

As a follow up to the local electric log truck story that we ran in the 9 September issue, we’ve built in more information this week on Fennell Forestry who’re taking the crucial first step towards decarbonising Australia’s heavy vehicle transport industry. The Mount Gambier based harvest and haulage company has commissioned the world’s second ever electric log truck, in …

Softwood timber products – Quarterly Prices for untreated MGP structural timber products stabilised in the June quarter 2022, with price movements ranging between no change and 0.6% higher. Prices for treated outdoor products showed stronger increases, ranging between 1.7% and 2.8% higher. Prices for most panel products showed moderate increases of up to 1.4%, while price movements for particleboard products …