Friday Offcuts – 19 April 2013
Click to Subscribe - It's FREE! Details on this region’s two Wood Processing Summits have been released this week. As part of the WoodEXPO 2013 series running in September, one-day conferences have been set up in both Australia and New Zealand. They'll be exploring strategies for future growth and take a close look at global technologies that have the potential to provide a step-change on how we’re processing our wood resource. Both programmes can be downloaded in the story below.This week the two-yearly update for Australasian forest products companies on wood residues was wrapped up. In Melbourne this week and in Auckland last week, a succession of highly-rated international and local speakers demystified the developments which are at pilot, pre-commercial and development stages in the wood energy and wastes-to-renewed-energy industries. Delegates heard how the clean technology business developments around the globe are now footing it alone - without government subsidies. At the Melbourne conference this week the Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA) called on State and Federal governments to better promote the opportunities for woody waste to produce more renewable energy (see story below). In another story this week, a report on traffic safety and road accidents produced by Volvo Trucks has found that nine out of ten accidents involving trucks in Europe are a result of the “human factor”. Drinking and driving doesn’t appear to be a major cause of road accidents involving truck drivers. In fact, the majority of accidents resulting in truck driver injuries have been found to be single-vehicle incidents in which the truck drives off the road. Local research from the Australian Trucking Association also shows more than 80 per cent of major crashes caused by fatigue occur on the driver’s outbound journey within 500 kilometres of the point of departure. In other words, the vast majority of these accidents are occurring because drivers are fatigued when they start work. In a related story this week, recent research from interviewing over one thousand long distance truck drivers over three years in New South Wales and Western Australia showed that truck drivers using caffeine to stay awake are 63 per cent less likely to have a crash than drivers who don’t. Although the proportion of serious truck accidents caused by fatigue has halved in Australia, insurance industry figures show that fatigue is still causing 10 per cent of serious truck crashes. To assist in reducing the number of fatigue related truck crashes in Australia, the Government recently announced that it will provide AU$14.5 million for a new Co-operative Research Centre for Alertness, Safety and Productivity. This will be further supported by an additional AU$60 million in funding and in-kind contributions from consortium partners to develop the next generation of tools for trucking companies to reduce fatigue and improve workplace efficiency. We’ll keep you up to date as the research programme continues.
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Wood Processing Summit programmes just released
As covered in previous issues, international expertise in new wood processing and manufacturing technologies are going to be converging on Australasia in September. Why? The draw card is this region’s first “business to business” Wood EXPO, WoodEXPO 2013.As part of the three day event in each country, a one-day Wood Processing Summit is being run. They’ve been designed to encourage senior managers for one day to “think outside the square”. The programmes for the Wood Processing Summit have just been released – and have been added to the event website this week on www.woodexpo2013.com. Please find attached programmes for the Wood Processing for; Australia, Tuesday 3 September 2013, and New Zealand, Wednesday 11 September. What’s being covered? It’s no secret - the wood products industry is exposed to commodity products and pricing. One of the industry’s key challenges is to transform its value chains and improve its market position and returns through quality, diversification and the application of innovation. Clearly, we need to transform our current thinking. True innovation though is doing more than just R&D. It’s about exploring innovative approaches to new product development, to how technology is being commercialised and transferred to industry and how we’re producing and marketing our wood. The Wood Processing Summit's will be exploring strategies for future growth but will concentrate on global technologies that have the potential to provide a “step change” to our industry. Rather than small incremental steps in improving processing efficiencies, the Summit will explore what are the game-breakers on the horizon that could make a significant difference to what we’re producing and how we’re processing our wood resource. The Wood Processing Summit's will provide a special gathering for a very special three day event, WoodEXPO 2013. Registrations on-line will be on-line shortly and hard copies of the WoodEXPO 2013 programmes for the three full days sent out across the industry in the next few weeks. Keen debate generated from Residues ConferenceThis week, in Melbourne, FIEA ran its popular biennial "Residues to Revenues/CleanTECH" conference following the running of the New Zealand event last week. Keynote presentations at both events came from international bio-energy experts: Dr Brooks Mendell from Forisk Consulting in USA, Don Roberts from CIBC World Markets in Canada and Keith Richards of Thames Valley Bio-energy from the UK.Conference keynote speaker Brooks Mendell provided delegates with a clear insight into the key measures for evaluating international wood bio-energy technologies and projects. Don Roberts delivered sharp and succinct facts on where wood energy sits in the global CleanTech space. Many delegates were surprised to find how Cleantech projects had evolved over the recession around the world. Mr Roberts also had some startling information about China's CleanTech plans. Keith Richards was the lead speaker in the series and showed what passion and commitment are required to launch and run long-term local wood energy projects. His keynote presentation led a whole session of industry practitioners who recounted their learnings from over a decade of building and developing wood for heat schemes in regional areas. A range of science-based and industry-focused new technologies also featured strongly at this bioenergy conference, which drew audiences from forestry local and regional government as well as from the electricity major heat users and materials recycling companies. In both conferences two new technology presentations stood out on the industry development front. Nick Gerrittsen from CarbonScape recounted the many challenges of developing and gaining international acceptance for their newly commercialised Green Coke products from his base in Marlborough. Michael Quintern and Max Morley of MyNoke stunned the conference delegates with their simple yet revolutionary new business model for dealing with wastes from pulp and paper and municipal waste streams. With issues relating to available market volumes of wood wastes in the future being hotly debated throughout both conferences there was plenty of discussion and networking among the diverse audience. Delegates commented on the great opportunities that were available for networking at both two-day events. There was a strong representation of decision makers - from both inside and outside the forest and wood products sector that this FIEA CleanTECH conferences series now draws. Nelson Forests loading largest ever log shipNelson Forests Ltd (NFL) has marked a significant milestone by beginning to load its largest log consignment ever onto the 51,000-tonne capacity vessel, the Ultra Tradition at Port Nelson in New Zealand.The majority of the load (30,000 tonne of logs) will be stowed at Port Nelson with the remainder loaded at the Port of Marlborough (Picton). “While only 30 per cent of our annual cut of just over one million tonne of logs is exported, Nelson Forests is pleased to be able to provide an outlet service for small forest owners in the Nelson and Marlborough regions so that we can purchase their logs and combine them with our output,” said Nelson Forests’ Managing Director, Lees Seymour. “This means that we can move stock out of both regions regularly enough to meet the requirements of our key offshore markets. This economy of scale also allows us to take advantage of a visit from a vessel such as the Ultra Tradition. “Supporting the ports in both Nelson and Marlborough also provides good economic returns to the community through marine charges, stevedoring services and dividends from the community-owned port companies.” Local stevedoring company Tasman Bay Stevedores has the contract for loading the Ultra Tradition and has developed some innovative tools to enhance its vessel loading services for its customers, said Seymour. “We’ve been impressed by the way that they strive to improve ship loading efficiency – they’ve developed some really clever tools, such as TBS’ new tracking software.” Source: Scoop NZ lumber market update
US MarketUS lumber prices continue to rise rapidly, with the Crow’s Construction Material Index up by 5% month-on-month. This now adds up to an increase of 54% year-on-year. The increase in construction materials is spurred by the US housing recovery which is gaining momentum and looks set to increase to over 1 million starts per annum in the next few months. New Zealand exports are not increasing at the same rate however, with Radiata pine #2 shop, a key grade for NZ exports, only having a 1% month-on-month and 10% year-on-year increase. US imports of NZ mouldings are down by 7% year-on-year for rolling quarter averages to February and the value of lumber exports to the US has started the year below 2012 levels. Recent reports from the US suggest in-market prices have now stepped up for NZ lumber, though this may reduce demand as prices are likely to have been pushed up by increased input prices and a higher exchange rate. Asian Markets New Zealand recorded a record February for lumber exports to China of 48,645m³.Although imports within China were very low due to the Chinese New Year, there will likely be a large recorded import figure for the month of March. The rolling quarter totals for December to February show a 35% increase in exports to China year-on-year. Exports to South East Asia have suffered from a slow start to the year and the rolling quarter totals have fallen by 24%. As such combined exports to these markets are relatively flat, up 3% on last year. Australia and Japan Australian imports of New Zealand lumber are down by 4% year-on-year to February, though the higher value mouldings imports are up by 10%, which has contributed to a slight increase of 2% year-on-year. The Australian market saw a massive influx of mouldings from the EU last year, and this now seems to be coming off. The rolling quarter totals to February are down by 69% year-on-year. The panels market to Japan has been losing value steadily since October. From October to February the monthly export value has lost 36%.At the same time the currency as appreciated against the yen by 21% which is highly correlated to the value loss. The yen dropping rapidly now will likely see more value lost in this market. Source: www.nzxagri.co.nz/agrifax Australia lags in forest residues use
The Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA) this week called on State and Federal governments to promote the opportunities for woody waste to produce more renewable energy, provided these resources are sourced from sustainably managed forests.Speaking at FIEA’s Residues to Revenues conference in Melbourne, AFPA Strategic Policy Manager Mick Stephens said; "Australia is lagging behind much of the world in the use of woody waste from forestry and wood processing activities, resulting in potentially higher costs for emission reduction strategies and missed opportunities for value adding across the industry." "This woody waste includes the large volumes of sawdust, shavings and bark left over from sawmill operations of which a small amount is used for low value products such as garden mulch or burned on site. A major disincentive is the exclusion of wood waste from natural forests as an eligible source of renewable energy under the Renewable Energy Target (RET) scheme. This was simply a political outcome between the Government and Greens Party that was not based on the scientific evidence." "Overseas experience from North America and Europe has demonstrated the important contribution woody biomass can make to renewable energy. The use of forestry biomass is carbon-neutral, because the carbon contained in wood originates from the atmosphere as a tree grows and is released when converted to energy." "Furthermore, the link between excess fuel loads in the forest that can contribute to large scale wildfires and renewable energy is becoming increasingly apparent at an international level. The Californian 2012 Bioenergy Action Plan, for example, has multiple goals including a reduction in the cost to the community from large scale wildfires through fuel reduction by unlocking a potential 25 million (dry) tonnes of forestry biomass per year for bioenergy production." "Some environmental activists claim that using wood waste to produce bioenergy will increase logging activity in our natural forests. This is simply not true, as the regulatory environment for using such material is strictly regulated and the wood waste is a by-product from normal harvesting activities for sawn timber and pulp and paper production." Fatigue and inattentiveness behind most truck accidentsNine out of ten accidents involving trucks are a result of the human factor. This was revealed in a fresh report on traffic safety and road accidents in Europe produced by Volvo Trucks. The report was produced by the Accident Research Team at Volvo Trucks and is based on its own investigations of accidents as well as data obtained from various national and European authorities. It describes why accidents with trucks occur, their sequence and what can be done to reduce the risk of accidents and their consequences."90 percent of all truck accidents stem entirely or partly from the human factor, for instance when one or more of the drivers of the involved vehicles are distracted or misjudge their speed," says Carl Johan Almqvist, traffic and product safety director at Volvo Trucks. The report also reveals that drinking and driving is not one of the major causes of road accidents involving truck drivers. Only 0.5 percent of truck drivers involved in serious accidents were under the influence of alcohol. The corresponding figure for accidents involving passenger cars varies between 15 and 20 percent. Heavy trucks are involved in 17 percent of all fatal accidents and seven percent of accidents resulting in personal injuries. The majority of accidents resulting in truck driver injuries are single-vehicle incidents in which the truck drives off the road. More than half of all serious accidents with trucks consist of collisions between cars and trucks. For more information on this story, check out this month's R&D Works Newsletter
Queensland chain of custody support scheme set upThe Queensland Government and Timber Queensland have announced a Chain of Custody Support Scheme which will reimburse costs directly incurred in obtaining chain of custody certification under Australian Forestry Standard AS 4707 or the Forest Stewardship Council 40-004 (V2-1) EN.Rod McInnes, CEO Timber Queensland said eligible businesses can claim 100% of the eligible costs to a cap of $5000 (ex GST). “Eligible businesses are Queensland operated primary processors, secondary processors and wholesalers of timber products sourced from certified timber grown and sourced in Queensland,” said Rod McInnes. Examples of types of costs that can be claimed are the initial audit, chain of custody systems development, application fees to a recognised standard, registration and logo use charges. “Certification will help local businesses protect and enhance their brand and reputation as well as service customers such as state and federal governments who specify certified products,” said Rod McInnes. Businesses interested in participating in the Chain of Custody Support Scheme can access more information and register for the scheme at www.timberqueensland.com.au or request an information pack from coc@timberqueensland.com.au. Bleak outlook projected for Australia’s native forestryA report on Tasmania's forest industry says the struggling sector is a warning to state and federal governments against "throwing good money after bad" via industry assistance packages reports the Australian.The paper, by the Australian National University's Andrew Macintosh, suggests Tasmania's native timber industry will struggle to survive, even under the latest $300 million-plus federal rescue plan. Commissioned by the left-leaning think tank, the Australia Institute, the report concludes that environmental restrictions have "little if anything" to do with the industry's woes. Instead, Associate Professor Macintosh, associate director of the ANU Centre for Climate Law and Policy, argues the sector is declining in competitiveness and struggling against rising costs and falling demand. "The problems that have beset the native forest sector look likely to continue into the foreseeable future," he said. "Given the precarious state of the sector, the critical policy question is whether the provision of further assistance is an appropriate use of government resources. There is a significant risk that any new government assistance package, including that proposed through the intergovernmental agreement on forests, will encounter the same problems." The report can be downloaded by clicking here. New Zealand on track to meet Kyoto commitmentsClimate Change Minister Tim Groser has welcomed New Zealand’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Net Position which shows the country is on track to meet its Kyoto commitments.The Greenhouse Gas Inventory provides a historical snapshot of New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions, while the Net Position forecasts by how much New Zealand’s emissions will be above or below our Kyoto Protocol target. “It is encouraging to see that current projections show that New Zealand will have a surplus of 29.6 million emission units for the Kyoto Commitment Period of 2008-2012. The Inventory shows a small increase in total emissions from 71.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2010 to 72.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2011. While there was a small increase in emissions from agriculture and industrial processes, emissions from waste and energy decreased. The following reports were released last week: The Greenhouse Gas Inventory The Net Position Deforestation Intentions Survey 2012 Source: Scoop Eucalypt giants still being found
Forestry Tasmania has discovered another 17 hardwood eucalyptus trees in the state's southern forests, with some of the giants believed to be up to 500 years old reports the ABC News.The manager of Forestry Tasmania's Giant Tree Program, Daniel Hodge, says the trees, which are more than 85 metres tall, were discovered using LiDAR technology. "The trees we're finding at the moment, many of them are up over 90 metres tall." There are now 142 giants on Forestry Tasmania's big tree register. The tallest is the Centurion, located near Geeveston in southern Tasmania. It is 99.6 metres high and is the tallest hardwood tree in the world. Mr Hodge says he is yet to find a tree to top the Centurion, but is confident of finding more giants in the coming months. Once the giant trees are discovered they are put into reserves with a 100-metre radius. Plastic film creates temporary 'greenhouse' for tree seedA novel degradable plastic could dramatically improve the efficiency of native tree revegetation from seed in marginal low rainfall areas, which typically give low germination and establishment.The process is being developed by Greening Australia and Australian manufacturer Integrated Packaging through the CRC for Polymers. The improved process involves using degrading ultra-thin plastic propagation film. The film is applied mechanically at the time that the seed is planted, and the film is buried at the edges to form a temporary ‘greenhouse’ to enhance plant growth. The films can be tailored to remain intact for 3-6 months prior to degradation using technology developed by the CRC. Native trees species thrive under the higher temperatures created by the film and show increased germination rates, therefore allowing a reduction in seeding rates and better use of indigenous seed banks. The film provides additional benefits that include: capture and storage of soil moisture present at planting, the potential to expand the planting window, and early seedling growth needed to survive dry summer periods. Trials continue to be conducted at different times of the year to optimise the time of planting and ideal film life made possible by this polymer technology. Native tree seeds are currently grown to seedlings in a nursery, then planted out by hand. The new technology will enable substantial time and cost savings as kilometres of native trees can be planted in just hours. This efficiency will not only make greater use of current tree planting resources, but also encourage landholders to increase their areas of native trees. An initial trial of the polymer film conducted with the Birchip Cropping Group and Greening Australia showed its use can dramatically improve practices for re-establishing native woodlands, and so improve carbon capture and storage. The Head of Division for AusIndustry, Ms Chris Butler, has formally launched a five year extension of the Cooperative Research Centre for Polymers supported by funding of AU$14.5 million from the CRC program. With further resources provided by its participants, the CRC will conduct over AU$60 million of research to assist Australian manufacturing. Future of Tasmanian forestry deal uncertainTasmania's forest peace deal has survived a rocky passage through the state's upper house, leaving disappointed green groups to decide its fate. An attempt to kill outright a bill enacting the deal failed in the Legislative Council on Wednesday, and a heavily amended version passed 7-5. The council blocked the immediate protection of about 270,000 hectares - around half of the native forest proposed under the deal between industry and environment groups. Tasmania's Parliament will be recalled again now later this month to finalise legislation to enact the forest peace deal.Source: ABC News Shanghai second city to trade carbon
Just days after Shenzhen became the first Chinese city to set a launch date for its city-wide carbon trading scheme, Shanghai has followed suit with confirmation its own carbon market will be in place before the end of June. Officials in Shenzhen have announced that its carbon trading pilot scheme would come online on June 17.Now the Shanghai Municipal Development & Reform Commission has confirmed its carbon market will similarly be up and running before the end of the month, although a precise date has yet to be named. The carbon trading platform will be managed through the Shanghai Environment & Energy Exchange and will cover annual emissions from industrial facilities and power plants totalling 120 million to 130 million tonnes a year. The Government said the cap-and-trade scheme would support efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions per unit of GDP by 3.5 per cent this year. It also confirmed that the scheme will cover about 200 companies, the majority of which emit more than 20,000 tons of carbon emissions a year. Local media suggested that combined, the companies represent about half of the city’s total emissions. The Government’s plans to trial carbon markets in seven industrial cities are advancing fast. The new city-wide markets are widely expected to provide the foundations for a national carbon market that will play a critical role in ensuring the country meets its voluntary target to reduce its carbon intensity 45 per cent by 2020. Source: Carbon News 2013 Norske Skog to expand its Coated Paper productionNorske Skog, the Norwegian papermaker that hasn’t made a profit in eight years, is betting on an expansion in coated paper used for catalogues and inserts to counter a slump in newsprint and magazine demand.The company is converting one of its paper machines at the Boyer mill in Australia to coated paper and is also investing to expand the product range at its Saugbrugs mill in Norway in a move that could see coated paper account for as much as 25 percent of sales in the future, Norske Skog Chief Executive Officer Sven Ombudstvedt said in a phone interview on 22 March. Global newsprint demand is falling by between 2 percent and 3 percent annually while magazine demand slumped 6 percent last year as people increasingly read news on computers and smartphones. That has prompted papermakers to shut mills to try to restore a supply and demand balance as well as shifting their focus to other products. Norske Skog has annual newsprint capacity of 2.3 million tons and 1.3 million tons of magazine paper, a ratio that will change as it expands in coated paper. “Today, it’s relatively small,” Ombudstvedt said, referring to the company’s capacity for producing coated paper used in catalogues and magazine and newspaper inserts. “In a few years’ time, it may be up to a quarter of the top-line.” The company’s newsprint production is seen falling to just below 50 percent of its total output “in a few years,” said Ombudstvedt, adding that Norske Skog has kept the shift largely to itself as the transformation will “take some time.” Jobs
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...and one to end the week on...life explained
On the first day, God created the dog and said: 'Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. For this, I will give you a life span of twenty years.' And on that 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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