Friday Offcuts – 22 March 2013
Click to Subscribe - It's FREE! You’ve all heard and now read about WoodEXPO 2013 running in this part of the world in September. It’s the first event of its type and it’s planned to be run every three years. It runs in both countries, Australia first on 3-5 September and again in New Zealand on 11-13 September.As reported in previous issues, interest is already very strong from major international and local technology providers. While exhibition space is still available, stand sales have already exceeded expectations. Key equipment and product suppliers from Sweden, Germany, Austria, Italy, Indonesia, Canada, the USA, New Zealand and Australia have signed up to participate in WoodEXPO 2013. A comprehensive workshop programme, such an integral part of FIEA’s technology events, was completed this week with technology suppliers throughout the globe involved. Local wood products companies are going to be spoilt for choice. Details are attached for the Australian Technology Workshops and the NZ Technology Workshops. Check the two programmes out. Details on the Wood Processing Summit being planned on the first day of each EXPO will be available in the next week or so. Full details, information and registrations will start very shortly so keep an eye out. The other event at the moment generating a lot of interest on both sides of the Tasman is the two-yearly technology update on wood residues starting in just three weeks’ time. Interest for this programme is coming from forestry and wood products companies but also, increasingly from recycling businesses and infrastructure operators including local councils and district health boards. Full programme details for Residues to Revenues 2013 can be seen by clicking here. Other news in this week’s issue includes an announcement on the restructuring of Forestry Tasmania, a monthly update on log exports and a final note in the lead up to the closing date (in one week's time) for voting on the New Zealand proposal to introduce a compulsory commodity levy on logs at the time of harvest.
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Forestry Tasmania keeps production forests in restructureThe Deputy Premier Bryan Green on Monday announced Forestry Tasmania will remain a standalone corporate entity responsible for commercial wood harvesting and land management of production State forest as part of a major restructure of the business.Mr Green said Forestry Tasmania’s commercial and non-commercial functions would be separated. “This will allow Forestry Tasmania to focus on its commercial functions and its core business of managing production forests. Mr Green confirmed Forestry Tasmania would retain independence to manage State forests for commercial wood production following recommendations from the Forestry Tasmania Transition Oversight Committee (FTTOC). The Government has also decided to establish a new statutory parks and reserves authority within the Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment (under the National Parks and Reserves Management Act), bringing together responsibility for management of national parks, reserves, crown land and carbon in reserves. This will include responsibility for agreed areas of non-production forests that are currently managed by Forestry Tasmania. Nth American log and lumber exports to China fall 17%China’s hunger for wood was less acute in 2012 than the previous year. In particular importation of softwood logs fell substantially from the record levels of 2011, as reported by the Wood Resource Quarterly. Importation of lumber was also lower in 2012, but the decline was much less than that of logs. The biggest changes in wood imports between 2011 and 2012 were the sharp decline of Russian logs crossing the Chinese border and the reduced lumber volumes from the US lumber entering Chinese ports.North America is a major supplier of softwood products to China, with the market share for logs and lumber in January 2013, accounting for 26% and 53%, respectively. In 2012, Canada and the US exported logs and lumber valued at 2.1 billion dollars, which was down 17 percent from 2011. Despite the decline in shipments last year, it was still the second highest level on record and more than four times the level just three years earlier. Sawmills in British Columbia have become the largest suppliers of lumber to China in recent years, surpassing Russia in 2010. The value of Canadian shipments was about 1.1 billion dollars in both 2011 and 2012, and the value is likely to be higher in 2013. Just five years ago, less than hundred million dollars worth of lumber was shipped to China! This new market has become increasingly important for many sawmills in Western Canada, which historically have been shipped most of their production to the US market. Five years ago, about ten percent of the export volumes from the province were destined for China. This share had gone up to 32 percent in 2012. The still unanswered question is how sawmills in this region will choose to allocate their production in the coming years when lumber demand is expected to increase in the US. Log exports from Western US to China have jumped ten-fold the past five years, which has had a major impact on the Coastal log market in the states of Washington and Oregon. Despite relatively low production levels in the industry the past five years, sawlog prices in the 4Q/12 were about 60 percent higher than in 2009, according to the North American Wood Fiber Review. This development coincides with the period when log exports to China expanded rapidly. Although lumber price increases are good news for sawmills in the Western states during 2012 and early 2013, the bad news is that the log prices are increasingly as well. Source: Wood Resources International LLC, www.woodprices.com Forest commodity levy vote closes shortlyA proposal to introduce a compulsory commodity levy on logs and other forest products at the time of harvest is presently being voted on by New Zealand forest growers. The voting concludes at 5.00pm 29 March 2013. The New Zealand Farm Forestry Association has been working alongside the NZ Forest Owners Association to spearhead a promotional campaign prior to the referendum, so that all growers are well-informed about the implications of the levy.If the levy gets the go-ahead following the referendum, a seven-member Forest Growers Levy Trust Board will be established. This board will be made up of an independent chairman, two representatives of small scale forest growers, and four others voted by all forest growers. The Board will represent a coherent industry voice for organising priorities and lobbying government. It will administer the levy fund and be responsible for its allocation. To govern the research spend, a research committee, with a terms of reference, will be set up under the board. Between 60-70% of the levy funds will be used for overall science funding. The remainder would be spent on wood promotion through NZ wood, programmes run by NZFFA and FOA, and about 10% for levy administration and collection. More >>. Planes to be powered by straw and timber
Australia could be fuelling aeroplanes with waste from crops and plantation timber within three to five years according to a key research institute reports ABC News.The Future Farm Industries Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) is part of an international researcher’s team aiming to make five per cent of the world’s aviation fuel out of biomass by 2020. Executive director of the CRC, John McGrath, says this will require a new level of biomass production in Australia. "The growth potential is quite large," he said. "If we think back to the aviation targets, we’re talking five per cent requiring four to five million tonnes of dry biomass and that will require new resources. The CRC is working with Virgin Australia, Airbus and General Electric as well as biofuel industry processors around the world on the biomass-to-jet-fuel project. While the project was initially focussed on mallee trees grown in Western Australia, Mr McGrath says the project hopes to broaden its scope to include straw and plantation timber from across Australia. Log export update
New ZealandLog exports of around 900,000 m³ were good for January, as a result of the continued strong demand from China. There was 571,583 m³ exported to China in January, 85% higher than the 5 year average for January. Prices have continued to move slowly upwards. There was less movement from February to March as there has been a break for the Chinese New Year but at-wharf-gate prices for A-grade logs are up by around 1%. The New Zealand weighted average is now NZ$101/tonne, though prices out of Tauranga, where most of New Zealand’s logs are exported from, have reached $118/tonne. In the last month New Zealand prices have been helped by shipping costs staying low and the dollar dropping by around 2 cents more than in-market prices. There are also reports of the dry weather aiding logging, though in some areas logging has been restricted due to fire risk. The weather may also have an effect on tonnes to volume conversion rates. China China’s demand for New Zealand wood continues to be strong and appears set to continue this year. The market fundamentals point towards more New Zealand wood being exported to China, competitors Russia, Canada and the US are supplying less, port stocks are low and overall consumption is remaining level within China. So rather than an increase of demand in China, it is a structural change that will see New Zealand get more of the market share, if the US housing recovery proves to be as predicted. After a slight slowdown in China’s economic growth in 2012 the International Monetary Fund is predicting GDP growth of 8.2% during 2013. This should continue to support use of timber as the Chinese leadership looks to invest in infrastructure domestically to stimulate some of this growth. A-grade logs have been in high demand and are fetching up to $110/JAS at-wharf-gate in the North Island. The increase in demand last year for pruned export logs has continued and export pruned prices are currently still at very high prices at around $145/tonne, higher than was seen during 2012. Pacific North West US log exports to China were larger than normal for January, though the total for 2012 was well down on 2011. This is likely a result of the strengthening of the domestic market for US logs as housing recovers. US exports to China were down 26% and total exports were down by 15%. This means that the proportion of US exports that go to China has dropped by 13% from 2011 to 2012, as a result of strengthening markets elsewhere. Canadian exports to China have, however, remained largely the same from 2011 to 2012. The US housing recovery only started to increase towards the end of 2012 so it is possible that this effect is yet to have a large effect on exports and will be seen in the first half of 2013. In British Columbia political pressures are likely to see export taxes raised on logs in an effort to rebalance the export log trade with domestic processing to create more jobs in Canada. Source: www.nzxagri.co.nz/agrifax  Mobile technology - a game changer for primary industries
Back in 1990 few people had personal computers, the internet was an unknown and the age of the mobile phones was just around the corner. In a very short space of time these three technologies have fundamentally changed the face of business around the world.Many of today's leading global companies, Google, Apple and Microsoft, built their business around these three technologies. The services they provided their customers had a dramatic effect on workers’ productivity and levelled the playing field for many small businesses. The recent release of smartphones has also been a game changer for many. Businesses now take it for granted that emails can be checked, news read, documents signed or video streamed, all while on the morning commute to work. It’s not just changed the office environment though. Mobile technologies have also had a major impact on how businesses are run within our primary sector. For local farmers, forest managers and horticulturists, the level of innovation from mobile technologies has been, and will continue to be, a game changer. Whether it’s satellite imagery of plantation forests, GPS tracking and real-time scheduling of transport and logistics, or soil management through wireless sensor monitoring and automated systems, our primary sector businesses have a lot to benefit from improved mobile communications. The newly launched and Government-backed initiative, the Primary Innovation project, makes it clear that a key lever to enhancing the future returns of New Zealand’s Primary Sector Industries is to adapt and grow with new technologies and innovations. Connecting knowledge, R&D, science and new technology to real-world applications is critical to the food and fibre sector’s future growth. Wellington will be hosting this year’s inaugural MobileTECH Summit 2013 in August. This new event is designed to showcase current and upcoming mobile innovations best suited to New Zealand’s principal food and fibre sectors. The focus is on technologies that can be adopted now, whether it’s on the farm, in the greenhouse or out in the forest. The underlying principal is that these new technologies can now be applied across a range of industries and that those working on the land can learn significantly from each other. "This is an exciting time for the industry, as mobile applications are opening up a new wave of innovations and productivity gains for businesses within the primary sector", said CONNEX Programme Director, Ken Wilson. "This event brings together industry leaders to share and discuss how these new technologies can drive our business competitiveness, both nationally and around the world." Further information on the MobileTECH Summit is on the event website, www.mobiletechevents.com. Further details will follow. Forests as rainmakers - a controversial hypothesis
A new study boosts support for the physics behind a controversial theory that forests play a significant role in determining rainfall, creating atmospheric winds that pump moisture across continents. The model could revolutionise the way we understand local climates, and their vulnerability, with many major implications.It suggests, for instance, that by strategically replanting forests we could attract rainfall into desert and arid regions like the African Sahel, where drought has for year’s ravaged crops and induced famine. Likewise, significant forest loss could transform lush tropical regions into arid landscapes. “Traditionally people have said areas like the Congo and the Amazon have high rainfall because they are located in parts of the world that experience high precipitation,” he said. “But we are proposing the opposite: that the forests cause the rainfall and if they weren’t there the interior of these continental areas would be deserts.” Scientists Anastassia Makarieva and Victor Gorshkov first published a paper in 2006 outlining the model that forests, by creating low atmospheric pressure, move moist air inland and help generate rainfall. Sheil and his co-author Daniel Murdiyarso reviewed the importance of the concept in a 2009 article [2] for the Bioscience journal. The new paper, in which Makarieva, Gorshkov, Sheil and others collaborate to outline the detailed physics behind the so-called ‘biotic pump’ hypothesis goes further by emphasising the physics behind how evaporation and condensation generate atmospheric pressure differences. For more information, check out this month's R&D Works Newsletter
Energy optimization software reduces power consumption Eco-friendly refrigerators, dishwashers, and laundry machines don't just save you money – they're also better for the environment. Factory automation could reap the same rewards, but optimizing production lines isn't easy. That's where the energy efficiency analysis software, developed by the EU-funded Energy Software Tools for Sustainable Machine Design (ESTOMAD) project, enters the picture.The ESTOMAD software program was created to "model, simulate and analyse energy flows and losses throughout the whole machine." It could be used to help engineers get the most of out of existing machines and will likely become an integral component in the design of new ones, because it can simulate them before they're built. The researchers believe that their optimization software could, on average, reduce energy consumption by up to 30 percent over the life of a machine. A trial was conducted by PICANOL, a company that produces industrial weaving machines. Its production line scored 10-15 percent lower power consumption with just a few modifications – a significant reduction that will benefit the company's bottom line. Sustainability doesn't seem too high on the list of priorities for most industries, but if they can save money by going green, they will. Just as home appliances do, industrial machines and robots will highlight energy efficiency to gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Tasmanian forestry peace deal bill passes hurdleThe Government has revealed how it plans to appease Legislative Councillors' concerns about the forestry peace deal legislation reports ABC . The Legislative Council has voted to keep the Tasmanian forestry peace deal alive, eight to six. MLCs are now debating whether changes should be made.The Government is proposing a raft of amendments. The Leader of Government Business in the Upper House, Craig Farrell, says the bill could be changed so that no native forest will be protected from logging without the approval of both houses of Parliament, which will receive a report on the durability of the peace deal. He has also proposed the Government be given the power to allow the harvesting of specialty timber from newly-created reserves to ensure there is no shortfall of supply. Mr Farrell says the changes have the approval from the forest industry and environmentalists who struck the peace deal. The Premier, Lara Giddings, says the Government will accept amendments agreed to by the industry and environmental groups who struck the peace deal. It is unclear when a final vote on the bill will be taken. The Premier has rejected the Opposition's call to hold an early election if Parliament rejects the forest peace deal legislation. Source: ABC News Funding for treated timber waste minimisation projectA project to look at the potential of a large scale collection, recycling or recovery of hazardous treated timber waste will benefit from NZ$145,000 of NZ Government funding.<The treated timber waste minimisation project is led by Environment Canterbury in partnership with the Canterbury Waste Joint Committee, Christchurch City Council, BRANZ and Scion. "This is a very positive project for Canterbury and New Zealand," says Chris Keeling, Environment Canterbury Senior Hazardous Substances and Waste Officer. “It will allow us to address one of the more problematic areas of waste by giving us a chance to look for some better disposal options than what is out there already. "Because of the Canterbury earthquakes there are huge quantities of waste timber that need to be managed in an environmentally and economically sustainable way. This project provides an opportunity to investigate alternative disposal methods for treated timber with the aim of reusing, recycling or recovering as much as possible while also setting us up for the future." Mr Keeling explains that currently there are not many disposal options available, certainly none that utilise the material as a resource and they hope this project will lead to more options being offered. "The project will run over a year and will mainly focus on environmental and economic feasibility so that any disposal methods will be sustainable once up and running." Re-directing timber waste streams into revenue-generating products is the focus of the upcoming FIEA RESIDUES TO REVENUES & CLEANTECH Conference running at the Novotel Auckland Airport Hotel and Bayview Eden Hotel in Melbourne in April. Click here to register or check out the detailed programme. On-line wood innovation centre created
FPInnovations, Canada’s forest research centre, has created a collaborative, online innovation platform called the FPIntell LAB. The goal of this site is to bring technology, creativity and experience together to solve issues related to wood product innovation. We believe by working together, we can create a stronger value added sector for the good of our country and our environment. A variety of collaborative projects related to innovation in wood will be hosted on the LAB. These projects may range from design contests, to co-creation events, to customer-focused research. Creative individuals with a collaborative spirit and an interest in wood are invited to join in. More >> Timber course on-line from University of Tasmaniawww.forestvoice.org.nz .  The University of Tasmania’s Centre for Sustainable Architecture with Wood (CSAW) continues to expand the educational opportunities it is offering to those who design or build with timber, and those who make and distribute timber and wood products.Applications are currently open for entry into the Graduate Certificate in Timber (Processing and Building) course. This flexibly-structured, online course provides specialist study for those involved or interested in the design, construction, maintenance and management of timber-rich buildings and structures or the production and distribution of timber and wood products. “Because it is an online course it is accessible for students all over Australia and New Zealand,” said CSAW Director, Associate Professor Gregory Nolan. “Students in the course are from very different backgrounds: such as architects, timber producers and sales staff, foresters, engineers, teachers, but all have a keen interest in using wood.” said Associate Professor Nolan. For a comprehensive outline of the course by Professor Nolan please see his podcast here. For more information visit the CSAW website Jobs
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...and one to end the week on...biker humour
And on that very PC note, have a great weekend. Cheers. Brand PartnersOur Partners & Sponsors Friday Offcuts is made possible through the generous support of the following companies.
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On January 9th, a group of Magnolia, Arkansas bikers were riding west on I-74 when they saw a girl about to jump off the Murray Baker Bridge, so they stopped.