
Standardising advice for NZ timber construction
The Wood Processors and Manufacturers’ Association (WPMA) has long recognised the need for standardised, good quality information in New Zealand to help the wider construction sector confidently design with and approve timber structures using the many new engineered timber solutions available today.
Engineered wood turns softer timbers into beams, columns, trusses, portal frames and more that can deliver superior strength, resilience and fire resistance to other materials in the market. The 2011 Canterbury earthquake series and the 2016 Kaikoura events showed that such modern timber construction techniques will allow the built environment to withstand major events including earthquakes and fires comparatively unscathed.
Such events have also helped raise awareness within the design community of just how creative it’s possible to be with such a “traditional” construction material; something supported by the regular NZ Wood-Resene Timber Design Awards.
“New Zealand is a leader in timber construction,” explains Andy Van Houtte, CPeng, Manager for the series of 16 Timber Design Guides. The first of the series was published in 2018, and the final ones will be released later this year.
“New Zealand has a lot of intellectual property around designing in timber,” he explains, “and the WPMA is keen to provide a one stop shop for developers, architects, engineers and the wider construction industry, with freely available peer reviewed information. That way, we believe we can provide a clear framework for everyone to understand the relative advantages of different aspects of timber construction, and how to maximise a project’s structural integrity and cost effectiveness while still complying with NZ Standards and the NZ Building Code. To be most useful, we need this to be a trans-industry project that provides a clear path to consenting and construction.”
Industry surveys and market research had confirmed which aspects of timber design that professionals were most interested in learning more about. Each Timber Design Guide was then written by a recognised expert in the field and peer reviewed through a highly qualified working group.
The nine topics covered to date include designing for fire safety, designing for prefabrication, the consenting process for timber buildings, how to cost them, standard connection details, how to work safely with prefabricated frames and trusses, explaining the varied properties of timber species, why timber benefits the environment, and timber’s social and health benefits in construction. Under way are explanations of flooring and cassette systems, acoustics, reinforcing timber beams, post and beam timber buildings, construction guidance, and seismic performance of timber buildings.
As they have been completed, the Guides are uploaded to a dedicated website which allows public access through a log-in function. Ultimately, Van Houtte is hoping for 20,000 registrations; about 90 percent of all New Zealand specifiers. The Guides can be supplied in a printed format but he’s finding that most are using the web function as required, and downloading information themselves.
In 2007 the third edition of a single, comprehensive technical manual was announced entitled The Timber Design Guide, published by the New Zealand Timber Industry Federation Inc. and authored by Andy Buchanan, previously Professor of Timber Engineering at the University of Canterbury. That and its updates (last published in 2015) covered the use of timber and wood products in large buildings through 29 chapters.
Andy Buchanan has authored two of the current NZ Wood Design Guides, and continues to be an inspiration to the development of timber buildings, says Van Houtte.
Source: Scoop (via Press Release)
...
Robotic fabrication using plywood building blocks
A team of post-graduate students from London's Bartlett School of Architecture’s Design Computation Lab has created a modular home office to promote its automated architecture (AUAR) project, which involves the use of robotic fabrication. Dubbed ALIS (automated living system), the project features the construction of prefabricated plywood building blocks that join together to create indoor spaces, such as a children's play room, home office or a co-working space.
The project was originally inspired to address a range of architectural issues, including access to affordable housing, limitations of material resources and the growing demand for home-offices and flexible working spaces. “ALIS is not to be interpreted as a final solution to the housing crisis, but as a tool to question assumed 'truths' about how we live – the home, ownership and social habits,” says the team of students.
ALIS is powered by an online app that allows users to customize or create different spaces depending on their needs, such as an art studio, bedroom, office or even a pop-up cafe. The concept is based on a single, repeating building block, which is prefabricated using CNC technology and assembly by two industrial robots.
The robots configure the blocks into the individual elements required to construct the walls and furnishings of the pre-designed space. The ALIS building blocks incorporate every element of the interior space, including meeting tables, load-bearing walls, flooring, storage, shelving and corner sofa bench.
The individual blocks are lightweight and can be easily installed without the need for special tools or building experience. Furthermore, the blocks themselves can be used as supports during the assembly process. The modular blocks can later be reconfigured and re-assembled for alternative uses over time.
In the future AUAR hopes to contribute to new construction models for automated housing. The team's goal includes the involvement of local construction, community interaction and adaptation. AUAR also has plans to build an installation using the ALIS blocks on a site in Hackney Wick, London. The installation will double as a co-working office-space and community accelerator.
Source: AUAR via The Building Centre
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CHH restructuring of LVL operation
About 160 jobs are at risk after Carter Holt Harvey proposed a restructure of its Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL) business in Marsden Point in New Zealand. This comes after the company decided to close its Whangārei mill in February, culling more than 110 jobs after consultation in January.
Carter Holt Harvey (CHH) chief executive Prafull Kesha said the proposed restructure intended to end LVL's export business and refocus it to a domestic operation. "The proposal reflects our serious concern that the export part of the LVL business, which accounts for approximately 70 per cent of our production and sales volume, is unprofitable and the business as it operates today can’t continue," Kesha said.
He said while total closure was being considered and remained an option, cutting out LVL's export business could be more viable for its long-term survival. LVL had 325 workers, and it is understood about half were expected to be impacted by redundancies.
A company spokesman said the restructure was not a direct result of Covid-19, however the pandemic had impacted the business. Kesha said Carter Holt Harvey had started its consultation process with staff and was working closely with the union and affected staff.
Source: Stuff
...
Timber industry’s race against the clock

Operation deployment of robotics in Australasian mills
An exciting new format for dry-mill and wood manufacturing operations has been set up by the local industry. This has been to ensure that the two-yearly WoodTECH series, originally scheduled to be run in New Zealand and Australia in August, can be run this year. A series of short 60-90-minute interactive webinars have been set up and will be run between 13-24 July 2020. Information and details on the series of WoodTECH 2020 webinars can be seen on the event website.
As well as highlighting a raft of disruptive technologies that are being developed and used to boost the operational performance of manufacturing operations, insights for the first time are going to be given to local wood manufacturers on the first large scale operational deployment of robotics into mills in New Zealand and Australia. Marcus Fenske, Tumbarumba Site Manager for Hyne Timber, Australia and Shaun Bosson, Chief Executive Officer of Wood Engineering Technology, New Zealand will together discuss lessons learned from installing and operating this new equipment.
The Hyne Tumbarumba sawmill robotics project is “a world first" for graded timber stacking. The team created a fully-automated timber sorting and packing production unit for the mill. The sorting and stacking of graded timber is made possible through the use of optic recognition of on-the-fly grading markings on the individual pieces of timber. Human operator’s safety is protected by world-class safety cells and sensors utilising light curtains.
Energy efficiency was also imperative in the design with advanced energy-efficient technologies employed. For examples the system automatically shuts down when timber is not coming through the production line. Lighting and motors are also energy efficient. The objective of this ground-breaking project was not simply to be a world first, its prime objective is to eliminate the injuries attained on the old manual sorting and stacking lines.
In New Zealand, Wood Engineering Technology’s (WET) plant in Gisborne incorporates Industry 4.0 principles including automation, data-driven decision-making and real-time analytics fed by well over 2000 sensor inputs and outputs.
Auckland and Gisborne-based Wood Engineering Technology (WET) which, after 15 years of R&D, has mastered how to do it using a data-driven end-to-end automation process. WET has a patented method of creating glue-laminated timber, or ‘glulam’, which consists of pieces of wood stuck together with a moisture-resistant adhesive.
The approach and technology underpinning WET’s innovation fit under the broad umbrella of “Industry 4.0”, which uses interconnected sensors, artificial intelligence and robotics to digitise manufacturing for greater productivity and better products. It is the optimisation of the disassembly and reassembly process that gives WET its innovation edge.
The result? Intelligent systems that might be more typically associated with automobile or electronics factories than with wood manufacturing operations. The plant is equipped with laser sensors, cameras and mechanical stress-testing devices to analyse the quality of the wood and monitor it as it passes through the different phases of production. The factory has been described as an outstanding example of an Industry 4.0 installation in New Zealand, proving the economic and technical advantages of this new approach.
The 60-minute webinar aimed at local wood products and manufacturing companies is planned for Wednesday 15 July. If wanting to hear more about these Australasian firsts, integrating robotics and automation into local manufacturing operations, you can register on line here.
Photo: Hyne Timber
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Increasing your mill productivity with a culture shift
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AKD stops production due to building downturn
Australia’s Federal Government is being urged to introduce a housing construction stimulus to prevent dire predictions for the timber industry being realised.
Last week, Australia's largest sawmilling company AKD Softwoods temporarily stopped production at four of its mills due to the predicted decrease in demand for building products. More than 800 workers have been forced to take leave in a bid to prevent an oversupply of timber products as the effects of the coronavirus pandemic hits the housing construction market.
The company's chief executive Shane Vicary said demand for new housing had fallen off the edge of a cliff. "We're facing a calamitous reduction in demand and we're calling on the state and Federal governments to put in place a housing construction stimulus," he said.
AKD Softwoods produces 20 per cent of the timber for housing construction in Australia, and its predicted orders will dry up from the middle of May. "Basically, with COVID-19, it's very difficult to go and look at display homes, … immigration has basically stopped, and you've also got significant unemployment," Mr Vicary said.
"These factors are weighing heavily on new house construction. The company said it was looking at scenarios where it would operate at half of its production rate for the coming six months. Mr Vicary said it would be the regional communities where the mills are based that would feel the consequences.
"We have to look at what's going to enable us to get through a really difficult six to twelve months … scaling the business relative to what the market is," he said. "An organisation like us, we'll look at reduced hours, reduced overtime, forcing people to take leave, potentially asking people to work four days a week — all of that has a flow back through regional communities. [We] really need stimulus to see housing construction re-started."
Source: ABC News Australia


WoodTECH 2019 Summary
Once again, WoodTECH 2019 has provided a stand out update for sawmilling companies and equipment and technology providers. Close to 350 delegates from the local industry attended the series that ran in both New Zealand and Australia. The turnout and feedback from local mills have been outstanding. Suppliers of saws and sawmilling technologies presenting and exhibiting (leading companies from Sweden, Germany, the USA, Canada, Singapore, Australia and NZ) and the series of practical troubleshooting workshops being run as part of this year’s series, really struck a chord with New Zealand and Australian sawmills.
The WoodTECH series was reintroduced to Australasian sawmilling and wood manufacturing companies in 2017. After a decade of national training programmes falling over, saw-doctors groupings folding, mill closures and consolidation within the industry, local wood producers were keen on getting their teams together again at one central location. An independent forum to learn about new technology, new processes and systems, to exchange ideas and to network was being called for.
That’s where the Forest Industry Engineering Association (FIEA) stepped in. The WoodTECH series was set up with the local industry and key national and global technology providers. Sawmilling and wood manufacturing events are now being run for the local industry as well as more regular monthly communications through woodtech.news.
WoodTECH 2019 presented an independent platform for local companies to evaluate new innovations, technologies, processes and systems in sawmilling, scanning, saw maintenance and mill optimisation. Practical troubleshooting, maintenance, QC, saw alignment, training and recruitment sessions were also built into the two-day programme with short presentations, workshops, trade exhibitions and tech talks given as part of the event.
The two-day programme was specifically designed with industry to ensure sawmill production and operational staff would gain maximum benefit from attending the series. Local sawmills learnt how they could extract the best performance out of their own saws, machine centres and sawing operations.
The way the programme was set up also meant that sawmill teams - management, mill production, saw-doctors and maintenance staff – were able to take advantage of the line-up of international specialists that were brought into the region. Many of the larger mills picked up the opportunity of sending through 10-15 employees to the event. In addition to mixing with tech specialists from around the globe and counterparts from mills around the country, teams were able to put the learnings from the event into practice once back on their own worksite.
Where to from here?
For next year, planning is already well underway for the WoodTECH 2020 series which will run in both New Zealand and Australia in August 2020. Like 2018, the focus will be again on new technologies, new processing systems and case studies to showcase “smart operating practices” in dry-mill and timber manufacturing operations. Early details on the event can be found on www.woodtech.events/wt20.
At this stage, if interested in presenting or exhibiting at WoodTECH 2020(in either New Zealand or Australia), please get in touch with us. If planning to exhibit, best to get in early as spaces will go very quickly. Further details will follow shortly.
Event Gallery
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AutoBox with SICK navigation and safety sensors
While this article is not so wood related, it is a great example of how warehouses and distribution centres in other sectors are automating their systems.
The BMW Dynamics Center in Dingolfing is welcoming the launch of a pilot project that will allow incoming spare parts to be transported safely from the incoming goods station to the picking warehouse with the help of the autonomous AutoBox. This will allow 20 pallet cages with a total weight of up to 20 tons to be transported on a loading surface measuring barely 20 m2. The aim of the pilot project is to automate processes across long distances and link up parts of a building that are further away.
Employees are responsible for loading up the AutoBox with incoming spare parts outside the incoming goods station. The transport platform then moves independently through a set of roller shutters toward the picking warehouse, where the parts are stored temporarily before being shipped out to customers. Four SICK microScan3 safety laser scanners not only ensure the vehicle remains secure, but also provide navigation data that allows the AutoBox to make its way around the room independently. The advantage of this is that there is no need to interfere with the existing building structure, which was previously the case with other automated guided vehicle systems.
Safety laser scanners ensure accident-free travel
There are also eight Safety-related TIM-S 2D LiDAR sensors, accident-free travel among the various means of transport found within the Dynamics Center. At the same time, these sensors are used as vertical surface scanners to prevent unauthorized access to the air freight safety area. The omni-directional drive allows the platform to maneuver even around tight bends and small loading bays.

After arriving in the picking warehouse, the electrically driven AutoBox parks up independently and automatically launches the battery charging process. This maximizes productivity by ensuring that separate charging breaks are not required. The AutoBox pilot project is part of a complete series of autonomous transport systems that are currently in use across various BMW Group facilities.
At the BMW Group plant in Leipzig, for example, the AutoTrailer is being piloted alongside the SICK outdoorScan3 to transport truck trailers independently from their parking spaces to the loading and unloading stations.
Source: SICK
...
Hyne open up operations to wider community
The website says “turn your headphones up to “chainsaw” and sit back while our expert team take you through the amazing timber production process. Step inside the kiln, spin around the log yard, and scroll down the production line with video interviews, 360° aerials and hundreds of photos so crisp you can almost smell the pine oil. Enjoy!”
Take the tour.
Hyne
...

From toxic to award winning workplace
However, a commitment to creating a positive workplace environment has proven successful for Brisbane-based Kennedy’s Timbers in turning the business around and culminating in being named Queensland’s Small Employer of the Year at the Queensland Training Awards held on Saturday, 14 September.
Kennedy’s whose projects include Howard Smith Wharves has found that with a positive workplace culture, both staff and productivity can thrive, which has been the case for the timber business. Owner Mr Michael Kennedy attributes the success of the business to creating an engaging culture which he said was an important formula within the business structure.
“You can spend time on other areas of your business, like continuous improvement, lean manufacturing, but nothing works without getting your culture right,” Mr Kennedy said. “I can make money by slashing costs, being pushy and demanding, but that is a miserable way of doing business. Invest in your culture on an ongoing basis, it needs to be in your veins, you have to live it,” he added.
Investing in the company’s culture has not only retained staff numbers, it has also increased productivity levels and turnover. Twice as profitable as other similar companies within the industry, Kennedy’s Timbers now has 600% lower staff turnover, three times lower staff absenteeism, fewer lost time injury days and one of the lowest Work Cover premiums in the Queensland manufacturing sector. The average length of service of staff has substantially increased from 1 to 6.7 years. Kennedy has also been able to expand and purchase competitors in Victoria and New South Wales and also establish distributors in Western Australia and New Zealand.
While Kennedy’s has always been profitable, there had been staff-retention issues, absenteeism, product complaints and until culture was addressed nothing worked over a sustained period. “The entire staff turned over every year, staff absenteeism was through the roof, workplace accidents all too common and profitability well below industry average. We knew we had good people, but we were struggling to manage them well, get the most out of them and retain them,” Mr Kennedy said.
Dubbed the ‘Aussiest’ of timber guys, Mr Kennedy had heard of the importance of workplace culture, but wrote it off as ‘fluffy’ and intangible. However, with everything else failing, he engaged workplace culture specialist Dr Tony Watt after hearing him speak at a business event. Staff are encouraged to lead the workplace culture program, something Mr Kennedy said was a little scary and alarming to begin with.
“You lose control to a certain degree. It is confronting as you think you are a decent boss, but perception is reality,” he said. The Culture Doctor’s program identified the values and beliefs of the staff and aligned them with those of Kennedy’s company policy. With a new focus on safety; a continuous improvement to customer service; family; respected, work ready teams, Kennedy’s instilled micro-strategies to implement this new commitment to workplace culture.
The program assisted Mr Kennedy to identify the changes he needed to make as a manager and as a result, the culture has been transformed taking the business from strength to strength both doubling in size while improving productivity with just half the staff. It has future proofed the business against market downturns and external shocks. “You can’t see values and beliefs, but you can see the behaviours of people and the behaviours of companies. So what matters is not what you say, but how you behave,’’ said Dr Watt.
“It is my strong belief that looking after the culture of your business is as important as doing your tax and must be a foundation stone to have a successful business in today’s ultra-competitive and ever evolving market,” said Mr Kennedy. After winning the 2019 Brisbane and Queensland Training Awards for Small Employer of the Year, Kennedy’s Timbers will compete for the national Australia Training Award on 21 November.
...

First Muhlbock continuous kiln in North America

The impact of downtime in a planer mill

Centralising saw-doctoring for mills

Britton Timbers to acquire Burnie veneer business
Britton Timbers General Manager Shawn Britton says the acquisition aligns perfectly with the company’s ongoing strategies to produce quality decorative timber and timber products for the furniture and joinery industries, including meeting the increasing demand for natural timber products in commercial applications.
Britton Timbers is a family owned company that for 112 years has operated a Tasmanian Oak and Blackwood timber processing business at Smithton in North West Tasmania, and timber distribution centres in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. Acquiring Specialty Veneers means the company now employs over 180 people in permanent positions of which 105 are in regional Tasmania, as well as a significant number of local contractors to support its businesses operations.
“When the opportunity to purchase the veneer processing facility presented itself, we jumped at it. The veneer and panel business is a very important asset to the entire Tasmanian forestry industry and the purchase signifies a strong and prosperous future for Tasmanian veneers” Mr Britton said.
“The Somerset facility produces decorative veneers and veneered panels, primarily in Tasmanian Oak and Tasmanian Blackwood as well as small volumes of myrtle, huon pine, celery top pine and sassafras. The mill is operated by a highly skilled team of over 20 employees and we are thrilled to secure their employment and welcome them to the Britton Timbers team. Specialty Veneers has a loyal customer base that we will continue to supply with the same high-quality product they are used to and the mill’s current processing capacity will also be maintained.” said Mr Britton.
Mr Britton said that the co-operation of public forestry manager Sustainable Timbers Tasmania had been highly significant, particularly the transfer of existing supply contracts, as the ongoing availability of resource from Tasmania’s sustainably managed native forests will be pivotal to the success of the businesses going forward. The business will continue to be a proud processor and supporter of certified timber products in association with the Responsible Wood and Tasmanian Timber brands.
Source: Britton Timbers

...

Rethinking sawmill safety culture

Robotic collaboration in new timber construction

A daily checklist for chipper and grinder maintenance

New camera cuts sawmill maintenance by almost 60%

Automation & robotics in the wood industry

Standardising advice for NZ timber construction
The Wood Processors and Manufacturers’ Association (WPMA) has long recognised the need for standardised, good quality information in New Zealand to help the wider construction sector confidently design with and approve timber structures using the many new engineered timber solutions available today.
Engineered wood turns softer timbers into beams, columns, trusses, portal frames and more that can deliver superior strength, resilience and fire resistance to other materials in the market. The 2011 Canterbury earthquake series and the 2016 Kaikoura events showed that such modern timber construction techniques will allow the built environment to withstand major events including earthquakes and fires comparatively unscathed.
Such events have also helped raise awareness within the design community of just how creative it’s possible to be with such a “traditional” construction material; something supported by the regular NZ Wood-Resene Timber Design Awards.
“New Zealand is a leader in timber construction,” explains Andy Van Houtte, CPeng, Manager for the series of 16 Timber Design Guides. The first of the series was published in 2018, and the final ones will be released later this year.
“New Zealand has a lot of intellectual property around designing in timber,” he ...
Read More

Robotic fabrication using plywood building blocks
A team of post-graduate students from London's Bartlett School of Architecture’s Design Computation Lab has created a modular home office to promote its automated architecture (AUAR) project, which involves the use of robotic fabrication. Dubbed ALIS (automated living system), the project features the construction of prefabricated plywood building blocks that join together to create indoor spaces, such as a children's play room, home office or a co-working space.
The project was originally inspired to address a range of architectural issues, including access to affordable housing, limitations of material resources and the growing demand for home-offices and flexible working spaces. “ALIS is not to be interpreted as a final solution to the housing crisis, but as a tool to question assumed 'truths' about how we live – the home, ownership and social habits,” says the team of students.
ALIS is powered by an online app that allows users to customize or create different spaces depending on their needs, such as an art studio, bedroom, office or even a pop-up cafe. The concept is based on a single, repeating building block, which is prefabricated using CNC technology and assembly by two industrial robots.
The robots ...
Read More

CHH restructuring of LVL operation
About 160 jobs are at risk after Carter Holt Harvey proposed a restructure of its Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL) business in Marsden Point in New Zealand. This comes after the company decided to close its Whangārei mill in February, culling more than 110 jobs after consultation in January.
Carter Holt Harvey (CHH) chief executive Prafull Kesha said the proposed restructure intended to end LVL's export business and refocus it to a domestic operation. "The proposal reflects our serious concern that the export part of the LVL business, which accounts for approximately 70 per cent of our production and sales volume, is unprofitable and the business as it operates today can’t continue," Kesha said.
He said while total closure was being considered and remained an option, cutting out LVL's export business could be more viable for its long-term survival. LVL had 325 workers, and it is understood about half were expected to be impacted by redundancies.
A company spokesman said the restructure was not a direct result of Covid-19, however the pandemic had impacted the business. Kesha said Carter Holt Harvey had started its consultation process with staff and was working closely with the ...
Read More

Timber industry’s race against the clock
Read More

Operation deployment of robotics in Australasian mills
An exciting new format for dry-mill and wood manufacturing operations has been set up by the local industry. This has been to ensure that the two-yearly WoodTECH series, originally scheduled to be run in New Zealand and Australia in August, can be run this year. A series of short 60-90-minute interactive webinars have been set up and will be run between 13-24 July 2020. Information and details on the series of WoodTECH 2020 webinars can be seen on the event website.
As well as highlighting a raft of disruptive technologies that are being developed and used to boost the operational performance of manufacturing operations, insights for the first time are going to be given to local wood manufacturers on the first large scale operational deployment of robotics into mills in New Zealand and Australia. Marcus Fenske, Tumbarumba Site Manager for Hyne Timber, Australia and Shaun Bosson, Chief Executive Officer of Wood Engineering Technology, New Zealand will together discuss lessons learned from installing and operating this new equipment.
The Hyne Tumbarumba sawmill robotics project is “a world first" for graded timber stacking. The team created a fully-automated timber sorting and packing production unit for the ...
Read More

Increasing your mill productivity with a culture shift
Read More

AKD stops production due to building downturn
Australia’s Federal Government is being urged to introduce a housing construction stimulus to prevent dire predictions for the timber industry being realised.
Last week, Australia's largest sawmilling company AKD Softwoods temporarily stopped production at four of its mills due to the predicted decrease in demand for building products. More than 800 workers have been forced to take leave in a bid to prevent an oversupply of timber products as the effects of the coronavirus pandemic hits the housing construction market.
The company's chief executive Shane Vicary said demand for new housing had fallen off the edge of a cliff. "We're facing a calamitous reduction in demand and we're calling on the state and Federal governments to put in place a housing construction stimulus," he said.
AKD Softwoods produces 20 per cent of the timber for housing construction in Australia, and its predicted orders will dry up from the middle of May. "Basically, with COVID-19, it's very difficult to go and look at display homes, … immigration has basically stopped, and you've also got significant unemployment," Mr Vicary said.
"These factors are weighing heavily on new house construction. The company said it ...
Read More

WoodTECH 2019 Summary
Once again, WoodTECH 2019 has provided a stand out update for sawmilling companies and equipment and technology providers. Close to 350 delegates from the local industry attended the series that ran in both New Zealand and Australia. The turnout and feedback from local mills have been outstanding. Suppliers of saws and sawmilling technologies presenting and exhibiting (leading companies from Sweden, Germany, the USA, Canada, Singapore, Australia and NZ) and the series of practical troubleshooting workshops being run as part of this year’s series, really struck a chord with New Zealand and Australian sawmills.
The WoodTECH series was reintroduced to Australasian sawmilling and wood manufacturing companies in 2017. After a decade of national training programmes falling over, saw-doctors groupings folding, mill closures and consolidation within the industry, local wood producers were keen on getting their teams together again at one central location. An independent forum to learn about new technology, new processes and systems, to exchange ideas and to network was being called for.
That’s where the Forest Industry Engineering Association (FIEA) stepped in. The WoodTECH series was set up with the local industry and key national and global technology providers. Sawmilling and wood manufacturing events ...
Read More

AutoBox with SICK navigation and safety sensors
While this article is not so wood related, it is a great example of how warehouses and distribution centres in other sectors are automating their systems.
The BMW Dynamics Center in Dingolfing is welcoming the launch of a pilot project that will allow incoming spare parts to be transported safely from the incoming goods station to the picking warehouse with the help of the autonomous AutoBox. This will allow 20 pallet cages with a total weight of up to 20 tons to be transported on a loading surface measuring barely 20 m2. The aim of the pilot project is to automate processes across long distances and link up parts of a building that are further away.
Employees are responsible for loading up the AutoBox with incoming spare parts outside the incoming goods station. The transport platform then moves independently through a set of roller shutters toward the picking warehouse, where the parts are stored temporarily before being shipped out to customers. Four SICK microScan3 safety laser scanners not only ensure the vehicle remains secure, but also provide navigation data that allows the AutoBox to make its way around the room independently. The advantage of this is ...
Read More

Hyne open up operations to wider community
The website says “turn your headphones up to “chainsaw” and sit back while our expert team take you through the amazing timber production process. Step inside the kiln, spin around the log yard, and scroll down the production line with video interviews, 360° aerials and hundreds of photos so crisp you can almost smell the pine oil. Enjoy!”
Take the tour.
Hyne
...
Read More

From toxic to award winning workplace
However, a commitment to creating a positive workplace environment has proven successful for Brisbane-based Kennedy’s Timbers in turning the business around and culminating in being named Queensland’s Small Employer of the Year at the Queensland Training Awards held on Saturday, 14 September.
Kennedy’s whose projects include Howard Smith Wharves has found that with a positive workplace culture, both staff and productivity can thrive, which has been the case for the timber business. Owner Mr Michael Kennedy attributes the success of the business to creating an engaging culture which he said was an important formula within the business structure.
“You can spend time on other areas of your business, like continuous improvement, lean manufacturing, but nothing works without getting your culture right,” Mr Kennedy said. “I can make money by slashing costs, being pushy and demanding, but that is a miserable way of doing business. Invest in your culture on an ongoing basis, it needs to be in your veins, you have to live it,” he added.
Investing ...
Read More

First Muhlbock continuous kiln in North America
Read More

The impact of downtime in a planer mill
Read More

Centralising saw-doctoring for mills
Read More

Britton Timbers to acquire Burnie veneer business
Britton Timbers General Manager Shawn Britton says the acquisition aligns perfectly with the company’s ongoing strategies to produce quality decorative timber and timber products for the furniture and joinery industries, including meeting the increasing demand for natural timber products in commercial applications.
Britton Timbers is a family owned company that for 112 years has operated a Tasmanian Oak and Blackwood timber processing business at Smithton in North West Tasmania, and timber distribution centres in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. Acquiring Specialty Veneers means the company now employs over 180 people in permanent positions of which 105 are in regional Tasmania, as well as a significant number of local contractors to support its businesses operations.
“When the opportunity to purchase the veneer processing facility presented itself, we jumped at it. The veneer and panel business is a very important asset to the entire Tasmanian forestry industry and the purchase signifies a strong and prosperous future for Tasmanian veneers” Mr Britton said.
“The Somerset facility produces decorative veneers and veneered panels, primarily ...
Read More

Rethinking sawmill safety culture
Read More

Robotic collaboration in new timber construction
Read More

A daily checklist for chipper and grinder maintenance
Read More

New camera cuts sawmill maintenance by almost 60%
Read More

Automation & robotics in the wood industry
Read More