WoodTECH Update – Issue 13

WoodTECH Issue 13 – Latest news, research and resources

Welcome to this latest issue of www.woodtech.news. In this issue we cover a good mix of wood processing stories including news of the closure of a NZ sawmill that had been operating since 1932, the acquisition of RCR Energy by Windsor Engineering Group and we’ve included results from the latest Australian timber market survey showing price movements for softwood timber, panel and engineered wood products.

In the new technology space, a new wearable hard hat compatible device has just been developed that’s going to enable workers in safety-controlled environments such as a sawmill or wood manufacturing plant to access holographic information on the worksite. Think here maintenance on a particular machine centre. You’ll be able to overlay drawings and instructions on repair or details on fine-tuning the machine’s operation whilst looking at it and working on it in real time.

Finally, the programme for the two-yearly sawmilling event, WoodTECH 2019 is now close to completion. In next month’s issue, we’ll be able to provide a link to the programmes for both New Zealand (11-12 September 2019) and Australia (17-18 September 2019). At this stage, you can mark the dates into your diaries.

We’re delighted with the calibre of the presentations this year with presenters drawn from New Zealand, Australia, USA, Canada, Denmark, Sweden, Singapore and Switzerland. As we did in 2017, a series of practical workshops are being set up for production staff around sawmill alignment, maintenance, troubleshooting saw guides, automation in the mill and in the saw-shop as well as tools to ensure that your teams in the mill are productive and motivated – each and every day. Details will follow shortly.

That’s it for this month. Enjoy this latest issue.