M A C H I N E R Y
MACHINERY
MANUFACTURERS AND MORE
BOOST FOREST HARVESTING PRODUCTIVITY, SAFETY, SKILLS
Boosting forest
productivity, technology,
safety and skills and
reducing environmental
impacts are at the heart of a new
programme.
Te Mahi Ngahere I te Ao Hurihuri
– Forestry Work in the Modern
Age is a new $29.3 million, 7-year
collaboration between Forest
Growers Research Ltd (FGR), a
consortium of forest owners and
forestry machinery manufacturers
and the Ministry for Primary
Industries (MPI).
It has its sights on developing a new
in-forest harvesting and log sorting
system specific to New Zealand’s
forests, using automation and
robotics – a first for New Zealand.
“Technology is increasingly
important in improving safety, skills
and productivity, and protecting
the environment,” says FGR chief
executive Russell Dale.
“Our industry relies on people, but
labour shortages and rising costs in
harvesting forests and transporting
logs are holding the industry back
and reducing our ability to grow.
“Our new programme with MPI aims
to automate the tasks after felling
that have traditionally required
substantial labour. These include
log branding, log sorting and scaling.
“We also want boost the efficiency
of forestry operations, take people
away from hazardous harvesting
roles, and give them the skills they
need for the future.”
MPI’s director investment
programmes Steve Penno says at
the heart of the new programme
is creating sustainable benefits
for New Zealand, by delivering
economic, environmental and social
outcomes.
“This new programme brings key
industry players together to tackle
common challenges facing our
forestry industry, and will deliver
solutions that keep people safe, and
boost their skills and capability,”
says Mr Penno.
“It’ll also help to bridge the gap
between demand for our logs and
the shortfall in labour. All of these
are essential for a thriving forestry
industry.
“The social, environmental, and
economic outcomes expected
under the programme are at the
core of the Sustainable Food & Fibre
Futures programme we launched
last year.”
FGR’s harvesting programme
manager Keith Raymond says
as harvesting shifts to forests
planted in the 90s and onto steeper
land in smaller, more isolated
holdings, the industry faces the
challenge of reducing costs and
improving efficiency to maintain our
international competitiveness.
“Current technology and processes
mean logs are handled between
eight and twelve times before
they’re loaded for export. This adds
time and cost.
“Unless we make a fundamental
shift in our forest harvesting
operations, New Zealand may have
difficulty meeting demand and
remaining competitive. We believe
our programme can deliver this shift.
“It will also help to maintain good
momentum in forestry innovations
and keep New Zealand at the
forefront.”
MPI and the industry partners
are finalising the contract for the
programme, which is expected to
deliver operational cost savings
across industry of $27.5 million per
annum by 2025, increasing to $76.8
million per annum by 2031.
46 April 2019