WoodTECH News | Issue 53

Welcome to the latest issue of WoodTECH.News.

Last month we highlighted one of the world’s most advanced sawmills, a Finland-based mill that runs everything out of a single control room. Manufacturers around the globe are investing heavily in automation, with new numbers showing the use of robotics has more than doubled in the past five years. There are now 3.5 million industrial robots currently in operation.

While we know that increasing automation is the key to making our industry more competitive, it also takes significant investment. The rise in collaborative robots, which are much more flexible and can be placed anywhere along the production line, may be a solution for some. Collaborative robots in operation rose by 50% over the last year.

In new innovations, Finland-based Koskisen and Stora Enso have developed a new bio-based particle board that reduces CO2 emissions in production. Following the launch of the furniture board, the technology will be extended to plywood production in the future.

Closer to home, a new feasibility study has been announced between the NZ Government and Oji Fibre Solutions to explore the commercial use of biofuels and bio-products at Kinleith. This is the first of hopefully many partnerships through the Forestry and Wood Processing Industry Transformation Plan launched in August.

And finally, congrats to the new appointments of Nigel Boyd as General Manager of Jubilee Sawmill and Mike Bloomfield as Executive General Manager of Wood Products Australia for OneFortyOne.

Check out these stories and much more below. Enjoy this month’s issue.