At their annual foresters conference in Rotorua last week, NZIF president James Treadwell announced their coveted 2017 NZIF Forester of the Yearaward. 

The deserving winner was long-time passionate forestry industry champion Garth Cumberland. Their conference was well attended by young and old members alike, with a focus on the future of forestry.

NZTE probes wood fibre supply concerns for proposed $180M Chinese plant in Kawerau - New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, which has encouraged a Chinese company to invest in a $180 million wood processing plant in the Central North Island to boost regional development, is now looking into whether there is enough wood fibre available to supply the plant following concerns from local industry.

China’s Guangxi Fenglin Wood Industry Group announced plans earlier this year to establish a plant in Kawerau by 2020 to produce 600,000 cubic metres of panel boards a year and generate 100 new jobs, at an expected cost of $180 million.

However, the Wood Processors & Manufacturers Association of New Zealand has raised concerns that timber mills in the region don’t produce enough wood fibre to supply the proposed plant as well as existing big pulp mills of Kinleith in Tokoroa and Tasman in Kawerau, which are owned by Japan’s Oji Fibre Solutions. Fenglin’s proposed plant is expected to initially produce particle board and later expand to medium-density fibre board (MDF).

Source: Wood Week

The collaborative attitude of the wood working industry

Our clients understand the importance of cost-saving, innovative production methods to respond to Europe's highly competitive markets.

• better quality
• higher yield
• enhanced product safety
• optimized production processes
• minimized operating costs

The way the digitalized Industry 4.0 works:

• Development
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• Design
• Manufacture
• Electric control systems
• Programming
• Service

World Wide Wood Production

In 1998, the worldwide production of "round-wood", was about 1,500,000,000 cubic metres, amounting to around 45% of the wood cultivated in the world.

Cut logs and branches destined to become elements for building construction accounted for approximately 55% of the world's industrial wood production.

25% became wood pulp (including wood powder and truccioli) mainly destined for the production of paper and paperboard, and approximately 20% became panels in plywood and valuable wood for furniture's and objects of common use (FAO 1998).

The World's largest producer and consumer of officially accounted wood is the United States, although the country that possesses the greatest area of forest is Russia.

In the 1970's, the countries with the largest forest area were:

1. Soviet Union (approximately 8,800,000 km²), 
2. Brazil (5,150,000 km²), 
3. Canada (4,400,000 km²), 
4. United States (3,000,000 km²), 
5. Indonesia (1,200,000 km²) and 
6. Democratic Republic of Congo (1,000,000 km²). 

Other countries with important production and consumption of wood usually have a low density of population in relation to their territorial extension, here we can include countries as Argentina, Chile, Finland, Poland, Sweden, Ukraine.

Source: Wikipedia

Biofuel made from Wood

Another good alternative to produce Biofuel is to use wood as the raw material. There are three basic approaches that are the most promising for making liquid fuels from wood. These are producing: methanol, ethanol, and diesel fuel (of course other liquid fuels from wood are possible to produce).

Currently Shell and Choren Industries finished building a manufacturing plant for BTL (biomass-to-liquid). In this plant forest residues, waste wood, fast-growing timber and agricultural residues can be used as biomass for production purposes (Choren).

There are four significant reasons why wood fuel has been proven to be beneficial (LC Energy):

• It is inexpensive (cheaper than domestic gas, oil, LPG and electricity).

• It will not run out if it comes from sustainable woodlands.

• It is carbon neutral (90% less than when burning fossils).

• It reduces the dependence on fuel imports and price uncertainty

Is it good for the environment? lJOkdnhkelifhjkndskhsidndslifdfhd Image by http://www.mass.gov/
As said before, wood burning doesn’t release more CO2 than when it biodegrades; therefore it doesn’t add more pollution to the environment.

A problem that might rise, if biofuel from wood is mass-produced, is that the companies have to be aware that they should cut trees sustainably. Because if all the forest where felled, it will lead to deforestation and habitat destruction. As a result of that possibility there has to be a conservation plan in all companies that allows chopping some trees to produce biofuels, but then re-foresting the area and taking care of the animal and plant species that live there.