timber and forestry e news issue326
DESCRIPTION
Weekly news for the timber and forestry industries in Australia and New ZealandTRANSCRIPT
1ISSUE 326 | PAGE
By JIM BOWDENCAMPING overnight in swags in 5-below temperatures, gusty cold winds, and a radiator punctured by two broken fan blades didn’t faze the team driving the timber industry’s Variety Club Bush Bash entry in a ‘virgin run’ of the big event last week.
Lead driver Tim Evans, 69, a member of Brisbane Hoo-Hoo Club 218, which bought the 1977 Holden Kingswood three years ago to raise funds for children’s charities, and team mate Dorothy Ferris, 75, from Coolum, were
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Cont P 8
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Revving it up for industry .. Tim Evans prepares for the Variety Club Bush Bash run to Sydney.
Kings-WOOD on theroad for needy kidsHoo-Hoo car promotes timber industry on 10-day,3000 km Variety Club Bush Bash trek for charity
PAGE | ISSUE 3262
INDUSTRY NEWS
www.forestworks.com.au
Rebecca Gilling to MCtimber design awards
High standard entries for Sydney eventTELEVISION personality and human resources adviser for Planet Ark Rebecca Gilling will anchor the Australian Timber Design Awards presentation night at the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney on September 17.
The awards presentations and dinner will be staged at the museum’s Harbour Room at 2 Murray Street, on the western shore of Darling Harbour, a lively heritage precinct.
“It’s incredible, but the quality of entries continues to climb,” TDA CEO Andrew Dunn said.
“We can promise some real eye-openers in timber design this year,” he said.
This year entries will be judged in seven application awards and 11 recognition awards. Additional entries are open for sustainability, rising star, small budget projects and the popular people’s choice award.
The coveted EWPAA Sanderson Trophy for best use of engineered wood will also be presented again this year.
The sustainability award this year will be sponsored
by Planet Ark’s Make It Wood Campaign. This distinction award will recognise the best use of sustainable design principles, with criteria that consider all aspects of building sustainability. The award will demonstrate how timber has contributed to sustainable outcomes.
Established in 1992, Planet Ark is one of Australia’s leading environmental behaviour
change organisations.Rebecca Gilling has been
involved in many events promoting wood’s sustainability and directed a successful television commercial under the Planet Ark Environmental Edge brand that highlighted wood’s positive contribution to the environment and ability to store carbon.
The commercial, presented by award-winning architect and host of Grand Designs Australia Peter Maddison, was produced by Image Control for Planet Ark and Forest and Wood Products Australia.
Inquiries and information about registration for the Australian Timber Design Awards presentation night should be directed to Jane Letteri, Timber Development Association. Tel: (02) 8424 3702 or (02) 8424 3700. Email: [email protected]
Visit www.tdansw.asn.au
Australian National Maritime Museum .. venue for the 2014 Australian timber design awards.
Rebecca Gilling .. to emcee timber design awards in Sydney.
Award promotes sustainability in timber design
3ISSUE 326 | PAGE
THE peak representative body for the $33 billion furniture, cabinet and joinery sectors will hold its second industry leaders forum in Brisbane next month, during the AWISA 2014 exhibition.
The Furniture Cabinets Joinery Alliance Ltd was established in 2011 to provide a more cohesive and coordinated voice for the overall industry sector.
Founding members of the FCJA include the Furniture Industry Association of Australia, the Cabinet Manufacturers and Designers Association, the Australian Window Association, the Australian Shop and Office Fitting Industry Association, and the Australian Woodworking Industry Suppliers Association (AWISA).
The sector employs more than 130,000 and constitutes the third largest industry sector in the country
The leaders forum in the Hospitality Room at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, on August 6 will be co-hosted by the FCJA and the federal government’s Department of Industry.
Through the FCJA’s strategic industry plan and the Department of Industry’s furniture industry supply chain analysis, considerable work has been completed on the state of the furniture, cabinet and joinery sector as part of a wider strategy to secure a strong and sustainable future for the industry.
“Through this work, industry challenges, strengths and opportunities for growth have been identified and explored in detail,” FCJA policy adviser Peter Kreitals said.
“This is one of a series of industry leaders forums designed to enable the sectors to come together to build on this work and develop strategies that will allow the industry to capitalise on its future and seize opportunities for future growth.”
Featured speakers at the Brisbane forum will include:
• Jim Snelson, CEO, Borg Manufacturing (Polytec/Parbury), who will elaborate on the key elements underpinning the growth of the Borg manufacturing business over the last 25 years as well as the future opportunities and challenges for the industry as a whole.
• Dr Sasha Alexander of the University of Western Sydney, who will draw on his experiences in exploring a value-chain approach for the Australian wood furniture industry and from various commercial product design collaborations, including office furniture systems in Denmark and Sweden.
• Peter King from the Digital Productivity and Services Flagship CSIRO and the Australian Design Integration Network, who will expand his findings in the recently released report, Design for Manufacturing Competitiveness, highlighting both how design adds real value
to a company’s activities and how to capture the value being created
• Agata Evans from the ACCC, who will outline the prevailing compliance regime and
consequent company rights and obligations.
FCJA and government speakers will round out the panel, providing current policy framework confronting FCJ businesses, the implications of this for the industry and the opportunities presented by the government’s new single business service initiative.
Mr Kreitals said these presentations would inform the subsequent roundtable discussions which should build on the outcomes of the first industry leaders forum in Sydney on April 9.
Another three forums are planned after Brisbane, with the next scheduled for Melbourne on October 22. Forums will continue
INDUSTRY NEWS
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Conferring at the ForestWorks industry conference in Canberra earlier this year are Richard Brooks, CEO, Cabinet Makers and Designer Association, Peter Kreitels, policy adviser, Furniture, Cabinets and Joinery Alliance, and Ron Scott, joint-chairman, FCJA Alliance.
Furniture, cabinet, joinery allianceindustry forum part of AWISA 2014FCJA develops strategies to capitalise on $33bn sector
Industry supply chain analysis
PAGE | ISSUE 3264
LEADERS in the forestry industry were recognised at the New Zealand Institute of Forestry’s annual awards dinner held in Napier last week.
Forester of the Year was awarded to Paul Nicholls, managing director of Rayonier NZ, for outstanding service to the forestry industry.
The award is one of the highest accolades in the industry, recognising contribution, leadership, excellence and integrity.
After obtaining a forestry degree from the University of
Canberra, Mr Nicholls began as a graduate forester in Tasmania. During his more than 30 years in forestry across Australia and New Zealand, he
has generously given his time and expertise to the benefi t of the industry.
These organisations and projects include governance roles with NZ Wood, Wood Council of NZ, The Levy Trust Board, and Independent Safety Review Panel.
He is currently president of the Forest Owners Association
For the past 21 years, Mr Nicholls has been with Rayonier NZ, which manages Rayonier Matariki Forests and is the country’s third largest forest owner.
In announcing the award, NZIF president James Treadwell said: “Paul is one of New
Zealand’s most experienced foresters and has contributed greatly to the ongoing growth and success of the industry. His knowledge and passion is highly respected and he is a very committed member of the institute.”
The Thomas Kirk Award which is made every second year was awarded to Dr Andrew McEwen for eminence and recognises outstanding contributions in the fi eld of forestry.
Dr McEwen started as a forest trainee in 1962. From 1971 to 1982, he worked at the Forest Research Institute in Rotorua, during which time he undertook his Ph.D. In 1982 he moved to Wellington, and from 1987 to 1999 he worked for Crown Forestry Management Ltd.
INDUSTRY NEWS
NZIF names Rayonier’s Paul Nicholls Forester of the Year
Contributed greatlyto ongoing growthof forest industry
Professional foresters award theirachievers at Napier presentations
Outstanding forester .. NZIF president James Treadwell (right) presents the institute’s Forester of the Year award to Paul Nicholls of Rayonier NZ.
Andrew McEwen’sservice honouredwith Kirk Award
Andrew McEwen .. Thomas Kirk Award recognises outstanding contributions to forestry.
ANZ Forester of the Year Award .. a carving by Lyonel Grant which portrays Papa Tuanuku (the Earth Mother) and the children of Tane Mahuta (the forests both native and exotic). The work captures the respective uses of the forest species. The large domineering form in the lower part of the carving represents the unchanging land which although used diff erently through the passage of time, remains relatively unchanged.
5ISSUE 326 | PAGE
JULY28-30: Australian Timber Trainers Association annual workshop in Tumut. Contact David McElvenny PO Box 1954 Strawberry Hills, NSW, 2012. Mob: 0403 570 673. Email: [email protected] Web: www.atta.org.auAUGUST 20145-6: MobileTECH 2014: Primary Industries Future. Brisbane. 12-13: Auckland, NZ (www.mobiletech2014.com).These events will profile the latest mobile tools, technologies and innovations driving the future of primary industries (farming, horticulture, forestry, dairy, meat, wool, fisheries and mining). MobileTECH 2014 will showcase a wide range of mobile technologies and innovations, including smartphones, tablets, mobile apps, satellite mapping and communications, robotics, aerial drones, remote sensors, electronic tagging, intelligent data, M2M, real-time analytics and cloud-based platforms. 6: Furniture Cabinets Joinery Alliance Forum (held during AWISA 2014), Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, Southbank, Brisbane (2pm to 6pm). This is one of a series of industry leaders forums designed to enable the sectors to come together to build on this work and develop strategies that will allow the industry to capitalise on its future and seize opportunities for future growth. Contact Pieter Kreitals on 0412 101 590 or email: [email protected] Visit www.awisa.com 6-9: AWISA 2014 exhibition. Brisbane Convention and exhibition Centre. Displays of panel processing, solid wood and timber machinery, tooling, manufacturing software, plus ancillary products such as dust extraction and materials handling equipment. Opportunity forn the cabinet, kitchen, furniture, joinery, timber, fit-out and panel industries to inspect new equipment. Inquiries about booking space: email [email protected] or call Geoff Holland. Tel: (02) 9918 3661. Fax: (02) 9918 7764. Mob: 0412 361 580. Email: [email protected]
7-8: The Australian Forest and Forest Products Sector: Situation in 2014 and Trends Going Forward. DANA conference – Bayview Eden Hotel, Melbourne. Presentations on the tree plantation industry and its trading environment, log production and exports, softwood and hardwood woodchip export trends to major markets and the future outlook; the sawn timber industry – production and direction (including import competition), the potential for wood panel expansion, the domestic pulp and paper sectors and global pulp demand outlook, wood pellet potential; and more. This includes 13 speaker from Australia and 10 high-profile specialists in their fields from overseas – two from China, two from Canada, two from the US and one each from Chile, Finland and New Zealand. Shanghai-based RISI forestry specialist Gavin Hao will provide an extended presentation on North Asian and Indian softwood and woodchip markets, where Australia fits into these markets in 2013 and 2014, and predictions about future demand. Other speakers include Oliver Lansdell, global pulp specialist; Rodrigo Monreal, solid wood products chief of Arauco, Chile; Matthew Wood, CEO Stora Enso Australia; Russ Taylor, president of WOODMarkets; Peter Barynin, lead economist with Boston USA-based RISI; Peter Zed (Australian sawmilling sector); Simon Dories, general manager, Engineered Wood Products Association of Australasia; Ross Hampton, CEO, Forest and Wood Products Australia; Steve Whitley, CEO, Forestry Tasmania. Full registration details, plus the program, speakers, sponsorship and the online registration can be viewed at prcc.com.au / danamelbourne2014 or contact Pamela Richards at email [email protected] 11-12: DANA conference, Rotorua, NZ. The New Zealand forestry and forest products sector: its situation in 2014 and trends going forward. Novotel Rotorua Hotel, Rotorua. Web: www.prcc.com.au/danamelbourne2014. Conference consultant: Pam Richards 61 3 5781 0069. Email: [email protected]
SEPTEMBER 17-18: Wood Innovations 2014: Timber Preservation – Wood Modification – Composite Products – Rotorua, NZ. 23-24: Melbourne. (www.woodinnovations2014.com). Changes in new wood treatment formulations, processes and systems, standards, legislation with the focus also on wood plastic composites and modified wood products.19-20: ForestTECH 2014. Rotorua, NZ. 25-26: Melbourne. (www.foresttech2014.com). Remote sensing, field Inventory, forest estate planning.NOVEMBER13-14: Engineered Wood Products – From Here to the Future. Australian timber industry seminar. Surfers Paradise Marriott Resort, Gold Coast. Co-hosted by the Engineered Wood Products Association of Australasia and Forest and Wood Products Australia. Australian and international speakers. Contact Eileen Newbury, marketing manager, Forest and Wood Products Australia.Tel +61 (3) 9927 3212. Mob: +61 (0) 41931 3163. Email: [email protected] or visit www.fwpa.com.au for registration and accommodation details.
2015MARCH25: ForestWorks annual industry conference and dinner in Canberra. Flagship event for the forest, wood, paper and timber products industries. Joining with the Australian Forest Products Association to co-host the popular networking industry dinner at Parliament House. Conference will look beyond the innovative technologies in industry and focus on the people, exploring how they can help to bring about innovation. Further details will be announced in the coming months, including the conference theme, speakers and venue. Contact [email protected]
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PAGE | ISSUE 3266
AS Australia and Japan sign off on a historic free trade agreement, global media has stoked the fire on disturbing data that again links Japanese wood traders with structural timber processed illegally in China from logs harvested from vulnerable forests in Siberia.
Australia’s timber importers and domestic log processors are on notice that federal laws on illegal logging are now in force and carry hefty penalties for transgression that include a five-year jail term and up to $425,000 in fines.
The Illegal Logging Prohibition Act will be expanded at the end of November, when companies will have to prove ‘due diligence’ was undertaken in ensuring imported wood products came from legitimate sources.
Authorities still claim – and have done so for about 10 years – that $400 million worth of illegal timber products are sold in the country each year and represent anywhere between 5-10% of imports. They admit this is mostly sold as outdoor furniture and wood for decks, but no official documentation has been presented to industry that gives credence to these figures, nor has any illegal timber been found
that tracks to Australian import merchants.
And nobody is going to suggest the huge timber product volumes sourced from certified forest plantations in New Zealand and those of Stora Enso in Europe and or Arauco in South America are illegal.
On the basis that nearly 90% of wood products entering Australia are clean – and many respected importers trading in certified products suggest this is
more likely to be 98% – it seems heavy handed of government to impose sanctions on its own industry to try and force foreign governments into line.
In view of the global trade in illegal wood, which makes Australia’s more believable 3% of suspicious imports pale into insignificance, perhaps it might have been better for the government instead to put continual diplomatic and other pressures, such as trade sanctions, on foreign governments to encourage them to define and control the ownership and harvest regulations and certification of their own forest resources, rather
than put the entire onus on wood importers.
In Japan’s case, this seems very unlikely. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe arrived in Australia last week in what is the first visit by a Japanese leader in 12 years. The signing of a free trade agreement with Prime Minister Tony Abbott has been seven years in the making and is designed to provide Australia with “valuable preferential access” to Japan’s $4.9 trillion economy.
The country of 127 million is already Australia’s second biggest trading partner, responsible for $70 billion, or 11%, worth of total trade. Japan is the world’s largest importer of wood, pulp, and paper products traded on the world market. About one-third of all logs exported from Malaysia and Russia, plywood from Indonesia and sawn wood from Chile are destined for Japan and almost all of the woodchip exported from Australia, the US and Chile is also headed to Japan
Former Austrade chief economist Tim Harcourt says consumers wanting cheap cars, plus those in the tourism, education and health care
OPINION
At least 90% of Australia’s wood imports are clean
It’s agreed .. Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during the signing of the Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement in Canberra.
Japan’s blind eye on illegal woodIs China-Russia link taking free trade too far
for Australia’s second largest trading partner?
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7ISSUE 326 | PAGE
sectors, will be the major beneficiaries over the long-term as the Australia-Japan free trade agreement strips away prohibitive barriers that can make trade difficult and expensive.
“For the consumer the idea is you get cheaper Japanese products into Australia whether it’s cars, or computers or sushi or sake,” Mr Harcourt says.
Mitsubishi chief Yorihiko Kojima has declared Australia a “veritable lifeline” for Japan’s resource-dependent economy and hints at a string of looming investments here. His comments come as the Japanese giant, which has ploughed tens of billions of dollars into Australia’s resources sector, eyes new acquisitions and projects in agribusiness, resources and retail in Australia, including a new energy distribution operation.
Meanwhile, more than 97% of Australian exporters are set to get preferential treatment or be duty-free under the agreement.
But global publicity about Japan’s dealing with Chinese wood processors throws a harsh light on the growth of the illegal log trade.
Last year, Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund said that with the help of Interpol and Australia’s forthcoming anti-logging law, the world was slowly
becoming a smaller place for timber criminals.
The reverse is the case.Accurate estimates are hard
to come by since governments tend to underestimate volumes harvested in effort to save face, but a report issued by the World Bank pegs the losses in assets and revenue due to illegal logging at $10 billion annually.
In response, Australia and many countries such as the US and members of the EU have banned the import of timber whose legal harvest cannot be verified.
While the efficacy of this is somewhat contentious – for instance, the species and source of lumber made of ground-up wood such as particleboard is very difficult to identify requiring expensive and time-consuming
lab analysis – it has reduced demand somewhat.
However, Japan has made no strides to reduce its import of illegal timber. Instead, it is knowingly importing mass quantities of wood sourced from vulnerable forests in Siberia, according to a recent report by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA).
The report found that wood harvested from Russia’s far east is sent to China where it is made into edge-glued lumber, 90% of which is then exported to Japan for construction purposes.
“The no-questions-asked market for wood products in Japan is fueling rampant illegal logging in eastern Russia,” says Kate Horner, director of forest campaigns at EIA.
Illegal logging is having huge
impacts on Siberian forests, where low temperatures make growback a very slow process. According to data from Global Forest Watch, Siberia lost more than 32 million ha of forest between 2011 and 2013. Of this, between 50 and 90% is estimated to have been harvested illegally, amounting to between 16 million and 28.8 million ha.
Illegal logging of Siberian forests is done largely through criminal networks, and has dramatic impacts not just on wildlife, but economies as well.
Although Japan, the world’s fourth-largest buyer of timber products, is considering introducing stricter oversight to stamp out imports of illegally logged wood, the country’s laws do not require private buyers of foreign timber to ensure it is legally logged nor do they provide for penalties for failing to do so.
With timber increasingly being collected by Chinese firms for processing before sale to Japan and other export markets, origins of the wood become obscured.
Russian supply makes up about 20% of Chinese timber imports, or about 18 million cub m last year. Japan, where Russian timber is used for house-frames, was the second-largest buyer of wood products
OPINION
From P 6
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A no-questions-asked market for wood productsin Japan fueling rampant illegal logging in Russia
On track .. the Russia-China border town of Suifenhe is a port of entry for almost all of the hardwood coming from eastern Russia.
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PAGE | ISSUE 3268
THE COMMUNITY
[email protected] | www.forestry.org.au
Russian supply nowmakes up 20% of
China wood importsfrom China, importing $1.2 billion worth of furniture and $1.5 billion of other wood products last year.
As Russian timber is mixed in with wood from other nations during manufacture it is impossible to determine the percentage of material from illegal sources that China exports.
While on the face of it, one might applaud the Australian government for leading the world with its ‘illegal’ wood import legislation, if we stand back and think about it, the inevitable ‘law
of unintended consequences’ might make such legislation more debatable.
Note: The industry working group on the Illegal Logging Prohibition Bill will meet in Sydney on July 18 to further examine the ‘nuts and bolts’ of the regulation. Group members include the Australian Forest Products Association, Australian Timber Importers Federation and the Timber Development Association. The Industry Working Group on Quarantine will also be represented, along with offi cers of the federal Department of Agriculture.
From P 7
joined on the test run to Killarney on the Darling Downs by family and friends.
The timber industry club is taking its third run in the event and has so far raised more than $35,000 for needy children.
This year in its 25th anniversary run, the Variety Queensland Bush Bash will see a convoy of more than 400 participants head off on August 8 from Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane for a 10-day, 3000 km trek to Sydney.
The Bashers will travel southwest through towns such as Millmerran, St George, Wandilla Station, Bourke, Cobar, Narromine, Dubbo and Bathurst, supporting local economies along the way, with community groups supplying food and the drivers fi nding accommodation where possible.
This year marks a National Bash where close to 2000
participants will participate in 700 cars in six consecutive state bashes, culminating in a National Bash celebration in Sydney on Sunday, August 17.
This year also marks 30 years since the fi rst Variety Bush Bash was introduced by entrepreneur Dick Smith, during which time the event has raised more than $200 million for children in need.
“This will be an all-industry event this year,” said Tim Evans who praised the sponsorship and support from timber companies, organisations and individuals.
Peak bodies including Forest and Wood Products Australia, the Australian Forest Products Association and the Engineered Wood Products Association of Australasia have provided cash and wood promotion material for the Brisbane Hoo-Hoo Club initiative.
“Sponsorship this year is already well past $12,500,” Tim
said.“We’ll be visiting towns and
properties along the way handing out bags of goodies for the kids and educational material on the timber industry for school teachers.”
Tim Evans and Dorothy Ferris are two mates whose friendship was bonded in Papua New Guinea 25 years ago where they shared a love for scuba diving.
Dorothy became an Evans family friend during Tim’s time working in the timber industry in the Solomon Islands. Both logged more than 300 scuba dives on the fringes of Iron bottom Sound and around the Solomon’s over a three-year period.
“Dorothy is super fi t and well up to the adventure that really makes the Variety Bash such a great experience,” Tim said.
“She has a 3rd Dan Karate Black Belt and swims 10 km a day, so she’s ready for anything!”
Handing out goodies and industry information tokids and teachers as Hoo-Hoo crew goes bush
From P 1
On the launch pad at Beenleigh after a hot meal at Macca’s, Tim Evans and Dorothy Ferris prepare for the Bush Bash test run to the Darling Downs joined by two enthusiastic passengers – Tim’s wife Patsy (left), and close friend Carol Quaid of Brisbane (right).
Sponsorshipalready wellpast $12,500
9ISSUE 326 | PAGE
THE changing shape of Australia’s wood processing sector shows the industry has undergone signifi cant change and consolidation as a result of successive years of policy neglect, Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture Senator Richard Colbeck said.
Senator Colbeck made the comments following the release of the National Wood Processing Survey 2012-13 by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences.
He said the ABARES survey identifi ed signifi cant falls in the number of both hardwood and softwood mills and decreases in the volume of hardwood and softwood logs harvested since the 2006-07 survey.
“The forestry industry was neglected under the previous Labor/Green government and we are getting on with the job of fi xing their mess,” he said.
“The Coalition recognises the importance of the forestry and wood processing industry and is supporting the industry through sensible policies for a sustainable long term future.
“We are honouring our commitment to encourage investment and innovation in our agriculture, fi sheries and forestry sectors by providing $100 million in new funding for
rural research and development, specifi cally to support continued innovation.
“Forest and Wood Products Australia also receives $2.68 million in funding for research and development to support the forest industry.”
Senator Colbeck said it was encouraging the ABARES found a majority of wood processing facilities remain Australian owned and operated but we must not discount the benefi ts from overseas investors interested in helping to reinvigorate the forestry industry.
“We must recognise that the value of this industry is not limited to its contribution to Australia’s gross value of production, but extends to the people, families and communities who rely on the forest industry for their livelihoods,” he said.
“I am confi dent that our vision for a strong and sustainable future will be delivered with help from the industry.”
The National Wood Processing Survey 2012-13 is produced by ABARES and jointly funded with Forest and Wood Products Australia.
The full report is available on the ABARES website at daff .gov.au/abares/publications.
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INDUSTRY NEWS
Richard Cobeck .. majority of wood processing facilities remain Australian owned.
Support for woodprocessing after‘years of neglect’
FWPA receives$2.68m fundingfor research
ADVERTISING INQUIRIES
TEL: +61 429 508 050
PAGE | ISSUE 3261 0
TIMBER Community Australia’s new constitution will be formalised at a special meeting in Canberra on July 31.
TCA interim chairman Tim Woods and national coordinator Helen Murray said packages were now being sent out Australia-wide to all those who were on the member database and fi nancial for the prior (2012-13) year.
“These packages explain to members how the new structure works and invite them to renew their membership,” Ms Murray said.
“In a nutshell, there are now three categories of membership – general, which will be the largest category of individuals, families and local companies; affi liate, which will be for groups and entities which support the goals of TCA and wish to be involved in its national network; and sponsor
members.”Ms Murray said all membership
types would have board representation.
“We are looking forward to a new energy coming through to TCA’s direction,” she said.
TCA branches are receiving a separate package with further detail on the ins and outs of running the branches under new TCA guidelines. Some existing branches may also prefer a more autonomous structure and can switch to affi liate membership if that suits their local community need better.
“It is important that we do not miss anyone and in that time people may have new contact details,” Ms Murray said. “So please if you do not receive a package – call or email and let us know so we can ensure you do not miss out.”
TCA is particularly keen to hear from any branch committee members who may not have received a package – as some contact details may be out of date.
In Western Australia, TCWA communications manager Letisha Rakich has been
contacting industry direct and would welcome membership inquiries on 0428-949-924.
Helen Murray said it was essential that the people living in and working in timber oriented communities linked into processes of the two internationally recognised systems that certify sustainable forestry management in Australia.
TCA provides that link and supports the two recognised forest accreditation systems.
TCA last week participated in a two-day workshop of the social chamber of the Forest Stewardship Council min Melbourne, which reviewed the draft national standards which are now in the fi rst round of public consultation. Ms Murray also recently met with Richard Stanton, national secretary of the Australian Forestry Standard.
TCA members who wish to pass on any views or potential affi liate groups wishing to join the network or sponsors, should contact Helen Murray on (02) 6282 2455 or 0419-991-424. Email: [email protected]
INDUSTRY NEWS
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FCJA forum aligned with big AWISA 2014 exhibition in Brisbanein Perth around March-April next year followed by the fi nal forum in Canberra in June-July 2015.
“Attendance will vary at each
meeting to ensure that a wide group of stakeholders across the FCJ industry are engaged and has the opportunity to contribute,” Mr Kreitals said.
“We have deliberately aligned the Brisbane forum session with the AWISA 2014 exhibition, Many in the industry will be attending the exhibition and
forum attendees will fi rst have to register as AWISA 2014 visitors.”
AWISA 2014 registration details are available at www.awisa.com.
From P 10
1 1ISSUE 326 | PAGE
A STRATEGIC engineered wood seminar on the Gold Coast in November this year will hear industry leaders and technology and marketing experts debate the trends that will impact on the national forest and forest products sector.
The seminar at the Surfers Paradise Marriott Resort on November 13 and 14 will be hosted by the Engineered Wood Products Association of Australasia and Forest and Wood Products Australia.
The event has been structured to deliver key information and networking opportunities through presentations, discussion panel and leading trade exhibitors.
“The world of engineered wood
products is rapidly changing. Innovation in new products and new market applications, as well as shifts in global supply dynamics, will have a dramatic impact on the Australasian market,” the co-organisers said.
“This will aff ect current EWP suppliers and distributors, as well as traditional sawn producers and forest growers.”
The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructuire Warren Truss has been invited to speak at the industry dinner following
presentations by Australian and international speakers on Thursday, November 13. A full day of presentations will continue on the second day, Friday, November 14, following the FWPA annual general meeting in the morning
Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture Senator Richard Colbeck will give a welcoming address.
World-leading experts confi rmed for the seminar include:
• Art Schmon (Forest Economic Advisors) on the current supply and demand situation in North America and whether the industry could be facing a looming supply shortage.
• Professor Chip Frazier (Virginia Tech) on industry-university cooperative research in North America.
• Professor Fred Kamke (Oregon State University) who will speak on modifi ed wood for new product opportunities.
Key local speakers include Andrew Nieland (Lend Lease); Peter Torreele (META); George Goroyias (Poyry); and Owen Griffi ths (Timberlab Solutions).
Contact Eileen Newbury, marketing manager, Forest and Wood Products Australia.Tel +61 (3) 9927 3212. Mob: +61 (0) 41931 3163. Email: [email protected] or visit www.fwpa.com.au for registration and accommodation details.
ENGINEERED WOOD
Engineered Wood Products Association of AustralasiaUnit 3, 106 Fison Ave West, Eagle Farm 4009 QldTel: 61 7 3250 3700 Fax: 61 7 3252 4769Email: [email protected]: www.ewp.asn.au
Contacts:CHH Woodproducts New Zealand Email: [email protected] | Web: www.chhwoodproducts.co.nz IPL (West Coast) Ltd Email: [email protected] New Zealand Ltd Email: [email protected] | Web: www.nzwoodproducts.co.nz
New Zealand engineered wood products – laminated veneer lumber and plywood – manufactured by
member mills of the Engineered Wood Products Association of Australasia
They tick all the boxes
Made in New Zealand - keeping jobs at home
Reliable supply
NZ Building Code compliant - 50 year
durability for structural plywood with an
A-bond
All products specify Super EO emissions
certi� ed under JAS-ANZ
All products must pass rigorous testing
Free technical advice from quali� ed engineers
Shifts inglobal supplydynamics
Fred KamkeArt Schmon Chip Frazier
EWPAA, FWPA co-host critical seminaron future for engineered wood products
PAGE | ISSUE 3261 2
TIMBER PRESERVATION
Being a TABMA member gives you:• Group buying discounts• Assistance with the placement of
trainees & apprentices• CoC certifi cation advice• Industry specifi c staff recruitment at
competitive rates • National networking opportunities• An exclusive trade credit insurance plan• Technical advice and assistance• Industrial relations advice• WH&S audits• Annual Timber Industry Dinner
Call 1800 822 621 for membership enquiries
Wood Innovations raises curtainon new timber treatment methods
Edward PrattEd Suttie Juan Bravo Duncan Mayes Tony Kelly
THERMAL and chemically modified wood along with wood plastic composites are a commercial reality. They’re now produced in commercial quantities in both Australia and New Zealand.
These products are competing with traditional preservative treated wood products and are growing their place in the local
market.Along with changes in
traditional chemical wood treatments, the Wood Innovations 2014 series in Rotorua and Melbourne next month will be providing local companies with an essential insight into global trends, issues and opportunities for growth in timber treatment and the growing markets for
wood modification and wood composites.
“For this region, it’s the best line-up yet seen of international expertise to advise on new processes being used, opportunities for integrating new manufacturing to existing timber treatment operations and markets for some of these new wood treatment processes” says FIEA director Brent Apthorp.
“The good news though is that these new treatment processes offer traditional wood producers the ability to diversify their manufacturing operations,” Mr Apthorp said.
A number of companies in Asia as well as Australasia have already picked up on and taken advantage of the shift in consumer demand as well as processing and market opportunities.
In addition to leading Australian and New Zealand presenters, key international presenters at Wood Innovations 2014 in Melbourne include:
• Gary Converse, senior vice-president, Osmose Inc, USA.
• Hans Ward, vice-president, KopCoat, USA.
• Dr Ed Suttie, director, BRE Sustainable Materials (coordinator Project PerformWOOD), UK.
• Dr Tony Kelly, business director Europe, Africa and Middle East, Arch Timber Protection, UK.
• Edward Pratt, director of business development (founder) Accsys Technologies, UK.
• Duncan Mayes, vice-president R&D and technology, StoraEnso Oyj, Finland.
• Juan Bravo, international technical manager, plastics, Struktol, USA.
Designed specifically for local companies, Wood Innovations 2014 will run in Melbourne on September 23 and 24 and in Rotorua, NZ, on September 17 and 18. Further details can now be viewed on the event website www.woodinnovations2014.com
Wood plastic .. integrating new manufacturing to existing timber treatment operations.
1 3ISSUE 326 | PAGE
WOOD SUPPLY
conferenceMelbourne, Australia | 7 & 8 August 2014 Bayview Eden Melbourne Hotel
The Australian Forestry & Forest Products Sector
DANA Conference to debate the Australian domestic forest
industry sector, and its wider role in the Pacific Rim as an import market
and an export supplier.
Fourteen Australian and eight international speakers complete the line up.
Topics Include:• Timberland investment• Logs• Woodchips• Sawn timber• Wood panels
A premiere event covering an industry which generates $22 billion annual turnover and employs 120,000 people.
• Pulp• Paper• Wood pellets• Carbon• And much more
For more info go to: http://www.prcc.com.au/danamelbourne2014/
International ForestIndustry Advisors
PAGE | ISSUE 3261 4
By JIM BOWDENPROJECTS using engineered wood from New Zealand producers are popping up all over the rebuild blueprint for earthquake-damaged Christchurch city.
The much-anticipated plan includes key sites for major facilities, including a new 2000-capacity, three-storey convention centre by the Avon River, a huge aquatic and indoor sports facility, a revitalised city square with a new central library, office blocks, shops and restaurants.
“The Christchurch rebuild seems to be one of the few bright spots in a slow-
growth market for building timbers,” says Brendan Smith, president of the Engineered Wood Products Association of Australasia.
“The market in New Zealand is increasingly competitive under pressure from imports, but higher volumes of particleboard and strandboard panel products are kicking in now as the pipeline to Christchurch for building materials widens,” said Mr Smith who is site manager for Juken New Zealand’s plywood and sawmill operations at Gisborne.
Juken, which has provided innovative seismic earthquake proofing systems using LVL to a new community centre in Carterton, is also winning business with products from its Triboard mill at Kaitaia in the North Island. These include a three-layered panel with a
wood strand core sandwiched between an MDF outer ‘skin’, which gives a clean-lined panel of high resilience, strong impact resistance and greater stiffness than other similar products.
Mr Smith said although the company’s volumes were increasing and they were maintaining market share, “there seems to be someone new in the game every month”.
“But EWPAA members are in the market with a big advantage over many fly-by-night overseas suppliers – consistency of supply, service back-up and the all-important product guarantees, something that is seriously lacking in a lot of the imported products,” Mr Smith said.
EWPAA members and the association’s education and marketing program are pushing these attributes hard and this has turned up the volume for the ears of Worksafe NZ, the country’s tough workplace health and safety regulator.
Brendan Smith .. keeping up the standard in New Zealand.
INDUSTRY NEWS
Engineered wood – keeping ontop of the game in New Zealand
Cont P 15
Christchurch bright spot for building
1 5ISSUE 326 | PAGE
An offshoot of the old Department of Labour, Worksafe NZ has about 350 staff located in 20 offices across New Zealand.
“New and revised Australian-NZ standards have been noted by Worksafe NZ inspectors and they are asking some very pertinent questions about certification and fit for purpose materials on building sites,” Mr Smith said.
“They are pushing for the highest safety and checking to see if planks are certified and used in a safe way.
“Some products, believed
to be of Asian origin, have failed on compliance and in fact have been removed from building sites, so Worksafe NZ is showing some teeth in this regard.”
Mr Smith said there would always be a preference by professional builders to work within the best guidelines.
“But we must make sure these guidelines all align with new standards in a way that’s not over-technical and that they are provided in simple, plain English.”
EWPAA general manager Simon Dorries has been making regular visits to New Zealand to update and explain new
Australian-NZ standards to government building authorities such as the NZ Commerce Commission and the NZ Department of Building and Housing.
“We’re talking to the right people,” Brendan Smith said.
He said imported product was here to stay and South America was ramping up supply; it was a challenge to go up against it.
“But in turn, the challenge for them is to show product and
supply guarantees and their supply chains can’t provide this. There’s a lot of duck-shoving on the problem about who is responsible.
“That’s were EWPAA members shine – product responsibility, back-up, guarantees and the all-important certification and fit-for-purpose brand.
“About 70% of New Zealand’s structural plywood is still CCA treated, so if you start putting non-compliant plywood into vacuum solutions under pressure something is going to go seriously wrong with the bonding and pretty quickly and, well, there’s your first problem.”
INTERNATIONAL FOCUS
A RUN of rising US sawlog prices stretching back more than three years has come to an end, undermined by a slowdown in China’s construction sector and a softer domestic market.
Prices of US sawlogs – the highest-value parts of a trunk, sent to sawmills rather than for pulping – tumbled in May, taking their declines for 2014 to up to 15%, depending on the species of tree and the logging region, Wood Resources International said.
The declines in prices, “after having trended upward for over three years”, was reflected in both of the major US lumber regions, in the northwest and south of the country.
And it reflected weakening demand “from both domestic sawmills and the export market in Asia”, the US-based analysis group said.
Lumber markets in both of Asia’s top two economies shown weakness in 2014, with Japan’s, falling 4% year on year in the January-to-March period, and making their weakest start to a year since 2010.
In China, a “slowdown in the economy has impacted the construction sector, resulting in a decline in lumber imports during the first four months of 2014,” WRI said.
Chinese property sales fell by 16%, month on month, in the first half of June, latest data from China Confidential show.
In fact, Chinese imports of
US, and Russian, lumber overall have held up relatively well, as have Russian shipments, but poor purchases from other countries have sagged, producing knock-on effects on other markets.
With Canadian lumber exports to China down by 22% in the January-March period, and to Japan 32% lower, merchants have sought to place extra volumes nearer home, with shipments to the important US market rising by 6%.
For the overall US lumber market, prices were 5-17%
lower in May than at the start of the year, which had started strong, with Douglas fir log prices hitting their highest since 2006 in the northwest, and those of hemlock, also used in construction, reaching an 18-year high.
“The recent price trend for lumber in North America has been downward after sharp increases last summer and fall,” the WRI said.
However, there is hope for producers, with Chicago lumber futures staging some recovery from an early June low of $293.10 per 1000 board feet, for the September contract, which stood at $333.00 last week.
London-based Capital Economics has forecast a rise in US lumber prices to $400 per 1000 board feet by the end of the year, boosted by demand from the country’s own house builders.
Downward trend .. US lumber prices hit by softer domestic market.
Asia slow-down halts three-yearrun of rising sawlog prices in US
Declines in prices reflected in major US lumber regions
Chicago lumber futures staging some recovery
Updating NZ authorities on new standardsFrom P 14
Worksafe NZ is asking some very pertinent questions
PAGE | ISSUE 3261 6
INDUSTRY NEWS
THE downward trend in Australian woodchip exports was arrested in 2013 thanks to increased chip demand from Chinese pulp mills.
China has surpassed Japan as the major destination in the first quarter of this year, reports the Wood Resource Quarterly. The country imported almost 30% of its hardwood chip import volume from Australia during the first three months of 2014.
Australia, one of the world’s largest wood chip exporters, increased its chip shipments in 2013 after a 10-year low in 2012. It was for many years the world’s leading exporter of woodchips and the major supplier of wood fibre to the pulp industry in Japan, which
was the largest importer of woodchips in the world.
This changed in 2012 when Australian exports fell to their lowest level in over 10 years and Vietnam took over as the largest supplier of woodchips in the world.
There is no lack of wood supply in Australia, rather it is the demand for chips from the export market that has changed. Exports of eucalyptus chips reached a peak of 5 million tonnes in 2008, and fell to about 3.3 million tonnes in 2012, which is the lowest export volume since 2000. It is primarily the demand for chips in Japan that has diminished, and had it not been for China’s increased wood fibre demand, the picture would have been even bleaker for Australian chip exporters.
However, over the past six months, shipments of wood chips from Australia have rebounded and volumes exported in the fourth quarter
2013 and the first quarter this year were the highest quarterly shipments since 2010.
The biggest reason for the increase has been China’s need for wood fibre for the country’s pulp industry. As the matter of fact, the 1Q/14 was the first time Australia exported more wood chips to China than to Japan, says WRQ. Of the total shipments of 1.2 million tonnes in the first quarter this year, about 50% was destined for China, while the remainder was shipped to Japan, Taiwan and, for the first time, to India.
The negotiated hardwood chip export price in Australia has fallen the past two years in both Australian and US dollar terms because of lower demand from Japanese pulp mills, increased availability of chip supply from Vietnam, and unwillingness on the part of Chinese pulp companies to pay elevated prices for higher-quality Eucalyptus wood chips.
Chinese chip buyers are currently paying about $30 less per odmt for eucalyptus chips than what Japanese chip buyers do, according to the WRQ.
Despite the lower price, export volumes to China went up in 2013 and were 85% higher than in 2012. In the 1Q/14, Australia supplied about 27% of China’s total import volume of hardwood chips, up from only 7% during the same quarter in 2012.
Despite the encouraging outlook for increased chip exports to China and India in the coming years, the biggest challenge for Australian chip exporters is to be able to raise the prices for chips to China and to close the wide price gap with Japanese-bound chips.
Bound for China .. woodchips from softwood and hardwood (bluegum) plantations piled on the wharf in Portland Harbour waiting for export.
Demand from Chinese pulp millsarrests drop in woodchip exportsAlmost 30% of hardwood chips supplied by Australian producers
Demand for chips by export markets has changed
The highest quarterly export since 2010
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297x210mm
Vertical 254x93mmHorizontal 125x190mm
Vertical 125x93mm
Horizontal 73x190mm
Horizontal 73x190mm
Vertical 140x44.5mm
110 Vertical 34x44.5mm
297x210mm
Vertical 254x93mmHorizontal 125x190mm
Vertical 125x93mm
Horizontal 51x93mm