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Latest News & Technologies
Caterpillar selling purpose-built forestry business
In August 2018 Caterpillar Inc. announced plans to sell its forestry business to Weiler Forestry Inc. Caterpillar and Weiler have now entered into a definitive agreement to sell Cat’s purpose-built forestry business. The deal...
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Meeting the workforce needs of American loggers
American Loggers Council welcomes launch of Future Logging Careers Act, saying allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to work in mechanized logging operations under parental supervision will help meet future workforce needs while suppor...
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Results from latest Forest Contractors Business Review
The Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology has recently completed another update of their New Zealand Forestry Contractors Business Review. The results are summarised below and a copy of their latest full report is attached. This r...
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Minimising stem breakage on steeper slopes
There’s nothing more frustrating than watching an impressive 35-m tall Radiata pine topple to the ground and then shatter into two or more pieces. That stem has now not only lost a chunk of its value, it has also become harde...
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Competenz calls for forestry industry feedback
The New Zealand government’s proposal to reform vocational education could undermine the success of training and apprenticeships at a time of critical skills shortages in forestry, says industry training organisation (ITO) Co...
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CNI company establishes all-female forestry crew
A group of New Zealand women have found employment together in an unlikely industry as new figures show job advertisements in the Bay of Plenty are soaring. CNI Logging has been working with 18 women as part of a process to cho...
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Support key to success forestry training programme
Nearly a year after its official launch, New Zealand’s Eastland Wood Council-driven Generation Programme is proving its worth in multiple ways. Launched in April last year the programme had its first intake of 14 trainees in ...
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Tigercat unveils largest machine in forestry line-up
Tigercat continues to set the bar high with the introduction of the new 890 logger – the largest machine in the Tigercat forestry equipment line-up – a heavy duty, purpose-built forestry carrier that can be configured for l...
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Distractions slow your reactions campaign underway
Forestry Corporation of NSW kicked off 2019 with a series of safety campaigns and workshops to put safety first after the holiday break. The Safe Start campaign was targeted at forestry drivers, operators and staff to help ever...
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Komatsu buys forestry machine manufacturer
Komatsu America Corp. a leading global heavy equipment manufacturer, today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire TimberPro, Inc. The acquisition is expected to close on April 1st 2019, subject to compl...
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Report out on new excavator-based yarder
Smaller scale forest owners in New Zealand (those owning less than 1000 hectares) made up 30% of the national plantation forest estate in 2017 (MPI, 2017). Recent forecasts indicate that the potential harvest volumes available ...
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Health and fitness pay off for forestry truckers
A healthy and safe crew is a happy crew. Warwick Wilshier knows that all too well through the extra measures he has put in place to benefit drivers at his logging truck companies Williams and Wilshier and Pacific Haulage. Start...
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John Deere appoints AFGRI in Western Australia
As outlined in an earlier release a couple of weeks ago, John Deere Construction & Forestry and Hitachi Construction Machinery (Australia) Pty Ltd had announced they were ending a successful 29-year distribution arrangement of ...
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Scania and Rio Tinto trial autonomous truck
Commercial vehicle manufacturer, Scania, is testing a new generation autonomous transport system at Rio Tinto’s Dampier Salt operations in Western Australia. The first phase of the trial started August 2018, involving a Scani...
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Dyneema rope testing for load restraint
A recent project undertook load restraint testing to ascertain the engineering qualities of Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE e.g. Dyneema®) rope as an effective mean of load restraint for industry and to contin...
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Why LEAN? Lessons from a NZ logging contractor
If you have a business that is experiencing the following ‘symptoms’ read on…… – Are your costs rising? – Are mistakes on the increase? – Are your efficiency levels unsatisfactory? – Are your profits evaporating? – Coul...
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Early NZ logging – an added bonus for HarvestTECH 2019
In addition to the very latest in harvesting technology, new innovations and new operating practices that are making such a huge difference to New Zealand, Australian and North American harvesting contractors, an extra bonus fo...
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New Cat app delivers streamlined equipment data
Caterpillar launches the industry’s first mobile app designed to allow customers who spend their time in a truck, at the job site and on-the-go to take advantage of equipment telematics data. The new Cat® App delivers simpli...
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Deere and Hitachi end Australian partnership
John Deere Construction & Forestry Company (Deere) and Hitachi Construction Machinery (Hitachi) have had a long and successful global partnership spanning multiple continents and product lines. This partnership has served both ...
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Fatigued log transport drivers and sleep apnoea
In December we were fortunate to get an update on the very popular work being delivered to log transport companies and their drivers up and down New Zealand. This is important initiative being led by the Log Transport Safety Co...
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Generation Z – the key to meeting skills shortages
The last wood harvesting event ran two years ago in New Zealand. It was a sell-out. Same story two years before this in 2015. Over 450 met at both events in Rotorua, New Zealand. Both also saw the largest gathering of logging c...
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The attraction of operating multi-million-dollar machines
Scott Thomas is a young man with an exciting future. Aged just 21, he is currently working for Gamble Forest Harvesting in a fully mechanised 8-man hauler crew in Otago. Scott has found his passion, and that is driving big harv...
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Logging in a living technology laboratory
A few years ago, American logger Eric Krume expressed some frustration that technology had not moved quickly enough to adapt to Pacific Northwest conditions and dynamics. A lot has changed since then. To address this, Eric cons...
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HarvestTECH 2019 details now on line
Following on from the early announcement at the end of last year, full details of the two-yearly wood harvesting event, HarvestTECH 2019 have now been set in place and full details can now be found on the event website, www.har...
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New research collaboration on steep slope harvesting
Networking is an investment in business development and a recently published paper on tensile force monitoring in steep slope harvesting jointly written by Canada’s FPInnovations’ steep slope initiative (SSI) scientists and...
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Harvesting operation’s completion celebrated
Rayonier Matariki Forests and Crew 21, from Maungawaru Logging this month celebrated the completion of an extremely challenging harvesting operation in Oponae Forest, New Zealand. Crew 21 has had to navigate steep terrain and u...
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Gough Cat signs dealer agreement with US company
Gough Cat has announced this week an agreement with United States company Weiler Incorporated to distribute its forestry product line in New Zealand. Founded in 2000, Weiler has a long history of successfully manufacturing equi...
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Forestry truck platooning tested in Canada
FPInnovations and its partners took truck platooning research a giant step further and earned a spot in history by successfully road testing the emerging technology in the deep forests of Quebec in the first trial of its kind i...
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Waratah Forestry Equipment celebrates 45 years
Waratah Forestry Equipment is proudly celebrating 45 years of innovation and serving customers in the forestry industry. Established in Tokoroa, New Zealand in 1973, the company transitioned to meet local loggers’ heavy-duty ...
0Forestry apprentices growing the industry
In last week’s issue we asked for more good news stories to profile the industry, particularly to the younger generation. Attached is one supplied by Rayonier Matariki Forests. The company is stumping up tuition fees for its ...
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MOU for NZ and Canada on steep slope logging
FPInnovations, Canada has announced the renewal of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Forest Growers Research (FGR) of New Zealand to widen the scope of their information exchange in the area of steep slope harvesting, an...
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Volvo’s self-driving Vera concept – with no cabin
Much is said about the emergence of autonomous cars on our streets, but enclosed areas like ports, factories and corporate campuses may well be where they are put to work first. With this in mind, Volvo has just announced a new...
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EOI to Present – HarvestTECH 2019
You know just how popular it was when last run in 2017. HarvestTECH 2017 SOLD OUT well in advance of the event even running. Over 450 harvesting and wood transport contractors, harvest planners, forest managers and equipment an...
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Caterpillar announces plan to sell forestry business
Caterpillar, Inc. announced last Wednesday that it has entered into a preliminary agreement with Weiler, Inc. to sell the Cat purpose-built forestry business. The sale is subject to negotiation of a final agreement, the closing...
0Truck driving rates as most dangerous job
Truck drivers are in one of the unhealthiest and deadliest jobs in the country with a 13 times higher risk of dying at work than other Australians, a landmark study has found. The 12-year Monash University study of more than 12...
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Einride reveals driverless all-electric logging truck
New start-up, Einride, recently participated as an exhibitor at the Goodwood Festival of Speed Future Lab, together with Roborace, Jetpack Aviation and others. The T-log was unveiled by Einride CEO Robert Falck and Charles Gord...
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