Friday Offcuts – 30 March 2012
Click to Subscribe - It's FREE! This week we’re bringing Offcuts to you from Australia’s largest forestry Show, AUSTimber 2012 being held in Mt Gambier, SA. In line with new developments and the bigger, brighter and better equipment that will be on display over the next couple of days at the AUSTimber in-forest Expo, the focus for this week’s issue is on new and significant investments being made in wood from around the globe.From North America we have a story on the construction of the US's first large-scale, US$232-million wood-to-ethanol plant, in Spain we profile the largest glued wood structure on earth, in China Stora Enso have stated they’re planning to build a EUR 1.6 billion integrated board and pulp mill in the South of the country using wood fibre drawn from local eucalyptus plantations and the Chinese Government has said that as well as a booming economy over the past six years, that they’ve invested a staggering US$73.19 billion in forestry over this period. The Structural Timber Innovation Company also announced this week that they have signed up two more buildings in Christchurch - to add to the seven already constructed - using their revolutionary post-tensioned laminated veneer lumber (LVL) building system. We're very pleased this week to also announce the production and release of the sixth edition of the NZ Forest Products Industry Map. The 2012 edition has just rolled off the presses. Updated and printed every two years the 2012 map is still the only mapping resource containing updated forest information, wood processing and manufacturing plant locations produced for the New Zealand forestry products industry. Over 50 changes have been recorded since the last map was produced. Details on the map and where to get one are contained in a story below. Finally, for those wanting to assess new opportunities, innovative technologies and international trends in wood treatment, remember that the early-bird for registrations to the Wood Preservation 2012 finish in just two weeks' time.
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This week we have for you:
Independent assessment of Tasmanian forests releasedThe Australian and Tasmanian governments last Friday welcomed the release of the Independent Verification Group assessment of the forestry industry’s timber supply requirements and the conservation values of nominated areas of Tasmania’s native forests.Professor Jonathan West led an independent process with forestry and conservation groups to verify the high conservation value of native forests nominated under the IGA, and the timber supplies needed to meet industry needs. The independent verification process was agreed by groups involved in the IGA. Under the Intergovernmental Agreement, the Tasmanian Government has committed to introducing legislation by 30 June 2012 to implement an agreed solution. An expert team is helping signatories work through this over the coming weeks while the governments also work together to review Professor West’s report. Professor West’s independent 2000 page verification report can be viewed here. Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke says the independent process was not intended to define a single solution. He says the report aims to give all parties information so they can reach the best possible results for forestry stakeholders as the industry restructures. The response to the report’s release is that the agreement will be difficult to achieve. Conservationists say the report shows they have a strong claim to have 572,000 hectares of native forest protected but the report also says that current wood supply contracts cannot be met, even if no new reserves are established. If agreement is to be reached by mid-year, there’s going to have to be a significant compromise. For further details on the agreement process and background, a new website has been created by the Department of Infrastructure Energy and Resource. Click here to check it out. Forestry Tasmania also welcomed the release of Professor Jonathon West's report( see media release). Pine log prices in Brazil close to all-time highsEucalyptus log prices in Brazil reached a peak in the 3Q last year, but fell back almost eight percent in the 4Q/11 in US dollar terms because of the strengthening dollar. Current price levels are still among the highest since the Wood Resource Quarterly (www.woodprices.com) started tracking Brazilian wood prices in 1990. Prices for Eucalyptus pulpwood traded in the open market are high not only from a historical perspective, but also as compared to many other regions around the world. Only pulp mills in Europe and Australia had higher hardwood fibre costs than Brazil in late 2011, while North America, Chile, Russia and Indonesia all had lower hardwood log prices than the world’s largest market pulp exporter.Wood fibre cost is by far the most important cost component for Brazilian pulpmills, more so than for most other pulp mills in the world. In the 4Q/11, wood costs accounted for as much as 72 percent of the total cash costs in Brazil, according to Fisher International. This is substantially higher than the global average of 61 percent. For the sawmilling industry in Brazil, 2011 was a better year than the previous year, with higher demand both from their domestic market and from abroad. Lumber exports in 2011 were up six percent to their highest levels in three years, with shipments to China, Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Morocco increasing the most. As a result of the higher lumber production, sawlog prices have trended upward for almost three years, reaching an all-time high in the 2Q/11, according to the Wood Resource Quarterly. During the second half of 2011, log prices fell in US dollar terms, while there were only small price adjustments in the Brazilian Real terms. Domestic demand for lumber is expected to continue to improve in 2012 with the construction sector gearing up for the World Cup in soccer (2014) and the Olympic Games (2016). If the US dollar continues to strengthen against the Brazilian Real, exports may also contribute to a better year for the Brazilian lumber industry than that of the past two years. This development is likely to put upward pressure on sawlog prices in the coming year. Source: Wood Resources International LLC, www.woodprices.com Stora Enso to build €1.6B paperboard and pulp mill in ChinaStora Enso plans to build plantation-based integrated board and pulp mills at Beihai city in Guangxi, southern China. The mill site will initially include a 450 000 tonnes per year state-of-the-art paperboard machine and pulp capacity of 900 000 tonnes per year, including necessary energy plant and auxiliary facilities.In a unique set-up, the board and pulp mills will be self-sufficiently integrated with wood supply from 120 000 hectares of self-managed eucalyptus plantations. The ultimate target is to expand the paperboard capacity to 900 000 tonnes at a later stage. The operations will be managed by an equity joint-venture company established by Stora Enso (85%) and the Guangxi Forestry Group (15%), a state-owned company under the Guangxi provincial government. The joint venture will serve the fast-growing market for liquid packaging board and other premium consumer board grades. The project investment will be approximately EUR 1.6 billion. Construction at the industrial site will commence when specific preconditions have been fulfilled, which is expected to be in the second half of 2012. Production is scheduled to start in the fourth quarter of 2014. 2012 NZ Forest Products industry map released
The eagerly awaited sixth edition of the NZ Forest Products Industry Map has just rolled off the presses. A complimentary map has been included in this month’s issue of NZ Logger and partners to the map have been distributing this new industry resource amongst their key customers.Updated and printed every two years by the Forest Industry Engineering Association (FIEA), the 2012 map is still the only mapping resource containing updated forest information, wood processing and manufacturing plant locations produced for the New Zealand forestry products industry. Since the release of the last edition, there have been over 50 changes to wood processing and manufacturing operations - changes in ownership, closures, new operations and changing production levels. The names and location of 119 wood processing plants including; all fibreboard, LVL, plywood, veneer, wood pulp, paper and paperboard mills, wood manufacturing operations producing > 5000m3 of finished products and all sawmills – by production level – cutting > 2,500m3 of sawn timber have been incorporated into the new map. The maps are generally sold out each year. They're widely used as an essential reference tool, displayed prominently in offices and used for general promotion of the industry - both in New Zealand and internationally. If wanting to order your own - either folded or laminated - fill out the attached order form. Wood treatment trends and issues highlighted in May
It’s been three years since the last independent technology update for wood treatment operations ran in Australasia. Technical committees in Australia have met on standards issues. A number of the major suppliers of wood preservatives have run infrequent gatherings since 2009 for their customers.In 2009, over 200 delegates participated in the FIEA Wood Preservation technology series. This year, the programme has been designed with input from most leading wood producers, on both sides of the Tasman, technology providers from throughout the world, R&D staff and key industry associations. “It’s important that we get each of the key industry associations involved in a technology update like this and we’re delighted that we have the backing for this latest series from the Australian Forest Products Association, the Timber Preservers Association of Australia, Forest & Wood Products Association and from New Zealand, the Wood Processors Association of NZ and the Pine Manufacturers Association” says Mr Apthorp. The principal focus for the two-day event though is on international developments in wood treatment, innovations and some of the latest trends coming out of Europe, North America and Australasia that will potentially have a major impact on the future operation of local wood treatment operations. Both a North American and Norwegian specialist will be presenting at this years’ Wood Preservation 2012 series. For emerging preservative formulations and wood treatment R&D, a summary of key findings from the International Research Group that met on the 6-10 May in Malaysia will be given in addition to look into new and emerging global wood treatment technologies from Rich Ziobro, Osmose’s USA based R&D Manager. Within the emerging industry issues session of the programme, practical case studies of wood products companies that have adopted new manufacturing processes for wood plastic composites and wood modification will be given. One of Australasia’s largest recyclers of plastic into plastic wood and a New Zealand company that’s been using a heat treatment process developed in Finland - to modify NZ Radiata pine at temperatures of up to 230 degrees Celsius will present in both Australia and New Zealand. Other emerging issues for Australasia being addressed as part of the Wood Preservation 2012 series is the disposal of treated wood, the recycling and disposal of H2F treated timber offcuts from frame and truss manufacturing operations and recent changes and amendments to building and wood treatment standards and what they mean operationally to local wood treatment companies. A couple of late additions to the programme in Australia are a presentation on the recent review of timber durability in codes and standards by AFPA and implications for AS1604 and results from recent research involving Osmose, Arch/Lonza, CHH and Hyne that has evaluated the use of near infrared spectroscopy to determine the retention of permethrin and/or bifenthrin in H2F treated pine. Wood Preservation 2012 will run in New Zealand on 16-17 May and again for those involved in wood treatment in Australia in Melbourne on 23-24 May. Full details of the Wood Preservation 2012 programme can be found on the event webpage, www.woodpreservationevents.com SA forests sale conditions revealedSouth Australian Treasurer Jack Snelling says an agreement has been reached on conditions for a south-east forestry sale. The SA Government will sell up to three forward harvest rotations. Expressions of interest closed earlier in the year. Mr Snelling has announced the details in Mount Gambier and says the Government has worked with the South-East Forestry Industry Roundtable to ensure the regional economy and jobs will be protected. “By proceeding with the sale of the forward harvest, there's not going to be an adverse effect on the south-east economy” said Mr Snelling.
Timber paves way for quake-safe countryTwo buildings soon to be constructed in Christchurch could lead the way for a seismically safer New Zealand. The Garden City will soon be home to two commercial buildings built of EXPAN, a revolutionary post-tensioned laminated veneer lumber (LVL) building system that makes lightweight, seismically safe multi- story timber buildings commercially viable.Developed at The Universities of Canterbury, Auckland and Technology Sydney, as part of The Structural Timber Innovation Company (STIC), EXPAN buildings can be constructed quickly, at an equivalent cost to steel or concrete - and with all the reassurance of lightweight construction. EXPAN’s unique post-tensioned technology combined with the flexibility of timber also enables unique superior seismic capabilities. There are already seven EXPAN buildings in New Zealand, including Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology (NMIT)’s new Arts and Media Building, and The TUMU ITM Building in Napier. That number looks set to grow substantially, with more than 260 companies across Australasia signing up for the EXPAN design and installation, and fabricators licences, and more coming on board each week. More >>. The news was also covered in another media release this week. US's first large-scale, wood-to-ethanol plantConstruction of the US's first large-scale, wood-to-ethanol plant is set to begin this year in Upper Peninsula, Michigan. The US$232-million bio-refinery is to be built on 40 acres in Kinross Charter Township, with completion expected in late 2013.A company called Mascoma developed the wood-to-ethanol process which combines wood chips with microorganisms, but the project initially struggled financially. However, with an US$80 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy and the backing of Valero Energy, the project is back on track. An investment of US$132 million by Valero, the US's largest independent oil refiner and a leading ethanol producer, confirms it as majority owner. The company will then receive all facility-produced ethanol, planning to sell the majority and blend the rest into its own petrol. In addition to environmental concerns, there is also scepticism about how much ethanol the plant would actually be able to produce. David Pimentel, a professor of ecology and agricultural sciences at Cornell University suggests the project is destined to fail, as too much wood is required to produce a gallon of ethanol.  NZ urged to build $1b pulp mill
A United States forestry expert is recommending New Zealand build a $1 billion "mega-mill" to meet China's hunger for wood pulp. Richard Phillips, of North Carolina State University, and a former executive with International Paper, told the ForestWood 2012 conference in Wellington last week that China's demand for logs and wood pulp would continue to soar. "Logs will always have a home in China, your lumber and plywood probably won't. Your paper and paperboard probably won't. Because those are the kinds of things that China would like to produce themselves." Phillips said there was room for a country to build a huge modern softwood mill to meet China's projected needs and New Zealand was one of the two best-positioned wood-exporting countries to do it. But it would be a $1b investment, a cost that would be offset by producing its own energy and high-value chemicals. Phillips said if New Zealand was serious, it could probably do the feasibility study in a year but it had to move fast. Phillips' "mega-mill" model – which would take about 5 million of the current 25m cubic metre harvest – surprised many in the industry, which is largely geared up for solid wood production. Source: Stuff 300-million-year-old forest discovered
Pompeii-like, a 300-million-year-old tropical forest was preserved in ash when a volcano erupted in what is today northern China. A new study by University of Pennsylvania paleobotanist Hermann Pfefferkorn and colleagues presents a reconstruction of this fossilized forest, lending insight into the ecology and climate of its time.Pfefferkorn, a professor in Penn's Department of Earth and Environmental Science, collaborated on the work with three Chinese colleagues: Jun Wang of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yi Zhang of Shenyang Normal University and Zhuo Feng of Yunnan University. The study site, located near Wuda, China, is unique as it gives a snapshot of a moment in time. Because volcanic ash covered a large expanse of forest in the course of only a few days, the plants were preserved as they fell, in many cases in the exact locations where they grew. "It's marvelously preserved," Pfefferkorn said. "We can stand there and find a branch with the leaves attached, and then we find the next branch and the next branch and the next branch. And then we find the stump from the same tree. That's really exciting." The researchers also found some smaller trees with leaves, branches, trunk and cones intact, preserved in their entirety. Due to nearby coal-mining activities unearthing large tracts of rock, the size of the researchers' study plots is also unusual. They were able to examine a total of 1,000 m2 of the ash layer in three different sites located near one another, an area considered large enough to meaningfully characterize the local paleoecology. The fact that the coal beds exist is a legacy of the ancient forests, which were peat-depositing tropical forests. The peat beds, pressurized over time, transformed into the coal deposits. The scientists were able to date the ash layer to approximately 298 million years ago. That falls at the beginning of a geologic period called the Permian, during which Earth's continental plates were still moving toward each other to form the supercontinent Pangea. North America and Europe were fused together, and China existed as two smaller continents. All overlapped the equator and thus had tropical climates. Source: Science Daily  China makes hefty forestry investment
The Chinese central government has invested 461.1 billion yuan (US$73.19 billion) in forestry over the past six years, the State Forestry Administration has reported. The investment averages out at 76.85 billion yuan per annum, up from 41.53 billion yuan in 2005.A large part of the investment was spent on key shelterbelt construction in northern China and along the Yangtze River, conversion of farmland to forests, natural forest conservation and planting to control sandstorms in Beijing and adjacent port city Tianjin, according to the administration. The increased investment came amid the country's efforts to increase its "forest carbon sink capacity," the use of its forested areas to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, thereby helping to address global climate change. The country's forest coverage reached 20.36 percent in 2010, up from 18.2 percent in 2005, and is expected to further increase to 21.66 percent by 2015. Source: China Daily Response to overcutting claim in Tasmania’s forestsForestry Tasmania has hit back at accusations by the Greens that Tasmania's state forests have been over-cut and over-allocated, leaving the industry in crisis. Tasmanian Greens Leader Nick McKim made the comments at the party's 40th anniversary celebrations.Forestry Tasmania's Ken Jeffreys was reported in the media this week as saying the fact that reservation targets and supply targets did not line up was not because of any over-cutting on the company's part. He said the West report on the conservation value of the state's forests showed wood supply could not be maintained from native forests alone. "We've known that since 1997," Mr Jeffreys said. "It has been in all of our reports since then. We've been very open as we move into the future there'll need to be a combination of both native forest resource and plantations. "And nothing has changed. In fact the report very much picks up on the data that Forestry Tasmania's provided." This same point was picked up by a reader in comments last week and in an earlier media statement by Forestry Tasmania. The biggest glued wood structure on earth
Not too long ago, the local government of Seville –a beautiful 2,000 year-old town in southern Spain- decided to move the usual farmers’ market location across the street, in order to develop a contemporary gathering place in the heart of this historic town.Initial expectations for the new building did not exceed a simple three-story structure; however, as the construction of this new sizzling hot spot began, they were quite astonished to find a hidden treasure. Underneath the weekly meet-and-greets of the organic food, handmade jewelry, and freshly baked bread, the unspoken history of Seville had been laying for hundreds of years. These findings were said to be Seville originals, made up of various metal and wooden artworks from many centuries ago. Since most of the pieces had been able to maintain a strong aesthetic and historical value, the local government decided to launch a competition to design a contemporary building which not only functioned as a new gathering place, but also incorporated the new findings of the old Seville – a museum of some sort. A German architect, Jüergen Mayer H, did just that, but also created one of the most fascinating pieces of art that stands on the ground today. J. Mayer’s creation is made entirely from polyurethane-covered wood held together by a new type of glue, making it the biggest glued wood structure on earth. For the full story and images, click here. Source: thisbigcity  Carbon Calculator by WoodWorks
WoodWorks, a cooperative venture of major North American wood associations, now offers an online tool that estimates the carbon benefits of wood buildings. Released as a complement to an online cost calculator (both were launched in late 2011), the carbon calculator estimates the amount of carbon stored in a building’s wood products (which was absorbed by the trees while growing) and the greenhouse gas emissions avoided by not using steel or concrete.“This new calculator is an excellent tool for architects, engineers, developers, builders and anyone who has an interest in green building and reducing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere,” said Dwight Yochim, national director of WoodWorks. “Using wood materials can help reduce a building’s carbon footprint, and now building professionals have an easy to use calculator that quantifies these benefits.” The new WoodWorks tool allows users to calculate the carbon benefits of wood buildings in one of two ways: • If wood product information is known (such as the volume of lumber, panels, engineered wood products, decking, siding, and roofing), the carbon calculator will provide a detailed estimate related to that specific building. The more detailed the information, the better the results. • If product information is unknown, users can select from a list of common building types and receive an estimate based on typical wood use. “Although a building’s operational energy use is the first thing a lot of people think of in the context of its carbon footprint, it’s really just one element,” said Yochim. “The choice of building materials has a significant impact. Life cycle assessment studies show time and time again that wood has less embodied energy than other materials, which makes it a good choice related to greenhouse gas emissions. The fact that wood also stores carbon makes the benefits that much more pronounced.” Source: TFM NZ wood manufacturer closes its doorsNapier timber products factory Pacific Wood Products (PWP) is to close with the loss of 41 jobs. PWP was manufacturing a range of timber products for appearance grade use in house construction and renovation with the majority of its products being exported to Australia."The business has struggled to maintain financial viability, given the current conditions of low demand for its products," a joint statement from managing director Doug Ducker and chief executive Tony Clifford said. "The demand for these products in Australia has been soft now for 15 months and there is very little sign of a recovery within the next 12 months. "Housing starts and spending on home renovation have been affected by both flooding and general economic weakness. Further to this demand has been the influx into Australia of cheaper products from Chile, which have further eroded prices." Jobs
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...and one to end the week on...intensive care
An oldie but a goodie. In a hospital's Intensive Care Unit, patients always died in the same bed, on Sunday morning, at about 11:00 am, regardless of their medical condition. And on that note, have a great weekend. Some of the key points coming out of the AUSTimber 2012 event over the last few days will be profiled in future issues of Friday Offcuts. Cheers. Brand PartnersOur Partners & Sponsors Friday Offcuts is made possible through the generous support of the following companies.
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