HarvestTECH 2020 | 16-17 Sept 2020, Australia | 22-23 Sept 2020, New Zealand
HarvestTECH Events provides annual world class technology events and exhibitions to wood harvesting contractors, harvest planners, forest managers and wood transport operators.
HarvestTECH 2020
HarvestTECH News provides the latest updates on breaking news, research results, reports, articles, videos and useful web links for wood harvesting and transport operations throughout Australasia.
Latest News & Technologies

HarvestTECH News | Issue 42
Welcome to the latest issues of HarvestTECH.News. A car park full of large rigs and new technologies. Wood Transport & Logistics 2023 attracted over 250 people from forestry, wood harvesting and log transport companies from across the region. In addition to the large number of Australian companies making the trip to Rotorua, New Zealand, a large contingent from North and ...
Read More / Comment
Read More / Comment

Event Summary – Wood Transport & Logistics 2023
Wood Transport & Logistics 2023 returned to a packed audience, a car park full of large rigs and a range of next-gen technologies on display. Over 250 forestry and log ...
Read More / Comment
Read More / Comment

Robots – the wave of a digitized forest industry future
Virtual machine operators can utilize 5G connections to remotely harvest forests The robots are coming to the B.C. forest sector. It’s the undeniable wave of the future for forestry companies ...
Read More / Comment
Read More / Comment

PONSSE EV1 technology receives 2023 Automation Prize
Ponsse’s and Epec’s technology concept PONSSE EV1 has been rewarded with the Finnish Society of Automation’s Automation prize. The prize is given every two years by society to reward significant ...
Read More / Comment
Read More / Comment
News & Technologies Cont.

Dive in log prices making harvesting uneconomic
NZ log prices dropped 14 percent between March and April as China's usual seasonal increase in consumption failed to materialise. Logging exporters are being blamed for the current dive in ...
Read More / Comment
Read More / Comment

Celebrating training & business success
It was a well-timed event for the Southern North Island Wood Council to hold their Forestry Awards on the night of 12 May 2023 in Palmerston North. 410 members of ...
Read More / Comment
Read More / Comment

23 year old forest contracting business pulls the pin
In NZ, a Gisborne-based forest contracting business owner is “devastated” by having to pull the pin on his 23-year-old company. Robert Stubbs (photo) owns Stubbs Contracting and forestry has been ...
Read More / Comment
Read More / Comment

NZ forestry contractors at breaking point
New Zealand’s forestry contractors are at breaking point, with compounding pressures from the last three years mounting. Some are already in liquidation and many more are at risk of losing ...
Read More / Comment
Read More / Comment

PF Olsen NZ Log Market – May 2023
Market Summary At Wharf Gate (AWG) prices for export logs further decreased an average of $22 per JASm3 in May. The AWG prices have now dropped to their lowest prices ...
Read More / Comment
Read More / Comment

Russian timber exports see steep decline
According to recent data from Roslesinforg, the Russian forest regulator, foreign sales of Russian timber experienced a further decline in the first quarter of this year, dropping by over 20 ...
Read More / Comment
Read More / Comment

Waratah appoints new NZ Area Manager Retail
Waratah is pleased to announce the appointment of Barry Gates as Area Manager Retail for Waratah Forestry Services of New Zealand. Barry will take up the leadership of the New ...
Read More / Comment
Read More / Comment

HarvestTECH News | Issue 41
Welcome to the latest issues of HarvestTECH.News. In log transport this month, conversions of heavy transport fleets from diesel to electric, hydrogen and hybrid fuelling options continue at pace. Last ...
Read More / Comment
Read More / Comment

Log Haulage Skills resources being created
ForestWorks has commenced work on a project to update the forest industry's Log Haulage Manual and produce instructional videos to support some important knowledge and skills required to transport harvested ...
Read More / Comment
Read More / Comment

Dual fuel truck powered by diesel and hydrogen gas
New Zealand’s largest privately owned transport company has launched what is believed to be Australasia’s first dual fuel truck which is powered by hydrogen gas and diesel. The HW Richardson ...
Read More / Comment
Read More / Comment

New funding for contractors for biomass innovation
EECA has a new fund which could be of assistance to those looking to make a start in the biomass business in New Zealand or increasing production of an existing ...
Read More / Comment
Read More / Comment

Saw logs moved more than 900km by rail to supply bushfire-impacted Riverina mills
Logs are being transported more than 900 kilometres by rail from northern New South Wales to prop up supply to sawmills on the south-west slopes as part of bushfire recovery ...
Read More / Comment
Read More / Comment

SpaceX to provide 100% mobile coverage of NZ
Vodafone has reached an agreement with Elon Musk’s SpaceX satellite business to provide mobile coverage of the whole country for its customers via Starlink. The telco announced the landmark deal ...
Read More / Comment
Read More / Comment

Kenworth celebrates century of truck making
From logging truck beginnings to battery-electric trucks and fuel cell pilots Kenworth, which began as a maker of logging trucks in 1923, is celebrating its 100th anniversary. Kenworth Truck Co ...
Read More / Comment
Read More / Comment

Forest company cleared of RMA breaches
The owner of a NZ forest company who has been cleared of breaching the Resource Management Act says the charges were without merit. Forestry company John Turkington Ltd was found ...
Read More / Comment
Read More / Comment

Forest contractors want input to slash solutions
New Zealand’s forestry contractors are asking to be included when investigating solutions for slash / woody debris. Forest Industry Contractors Association (FICA) CEO Prue Younger says FICA is keen to ...
Read More / Comment
Read More / Comment

HarvestTECH News | Issue 40
Welcome to the latest issues of HarvestTECH.News. Next month we’ll be hosting this region’s largest wood transport and logistics industry event, Wood Transport and Logistics 2023. This is timely and ...
Read More / Comment
Read More / Comment

The slash traps debate – solution or even more damage?
In New Zealand, could slash traps help curb the flow of woody debris that has battered and cloaked the east coast of the North Island during recent storm events? Forest ...
Read More / Comment
Read More / Comment

The future of electric semi trucks
Canadian Company takes the transportation industry by storm. Edison Motors is a revolutionary company that specializes in the design, development, and production of electric semi-trucks. Founded by Chace Barber and ...
Read More / Comment
Read More / Comment

Issues around phasing out native logging in Victoria
Three years ago, the Labor Government of Victoria announced that it would be phasing out all native forest logging by 2030. Now both environmentalists and industry are worried that this ...
Read More / Comment
Read More / Comment

Deere & Co donates US$50,000 to NZ Red Cross
In an effort to help provide relief and recovery to Waratah Forestry Equipment’s home country following the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle, Deere & Company recently announced a US$50,000 donation to ...
Read More / Comment
Read More / Comment

New aerial imagery – before and after Cyclone Gabrielle
Cyclone Gabrielle left a trail of destruction in its wake as it swept through the Hawkes Bay area, and now with the power and accessibility of satellite imagery we have ...
Read More / Comment
Read More / Comment

Rising costs driving fleet management evolution
A Teletrac Navman survey of more than 1,800 global fleet operators has revealed that rising fuel costs (39%), disruption due to the impact of COVID-19 (32%), and supply chain pressure ...
Read More / Comment
Read More / Comment

PF Olsen NZ Log Market – March 2023
Market Summary At Wharf Gate (AWG) prices for export logs increased $18 per JASm3 (14%) in March. This price increase was due to a shortage of logs to fill ordered ...
Read More / Comment
Read More / Comment

International study tour grants opened
Funding to explore industry innovations and best practice: Who’s doing what and doing it wellThe WIDE Trust is pleased to launch the opportunity for persons actively pursuing a career in ...
Read More / Comment
Read More / Comment

HarvestTECH News | Issue 39
Welcome to the latest issues of HarvestTECH.News. In New Zealand, the news over the last month has been dominated by Cyclone Gabrielle and its aftermath. The cyclone cut off communities ...
Read More / Comment
Read More / Comment

Mobile log scaling innovation at Tauranga
ISO Limited is readying another significant technology investment, at the Port of Tauranga. The Mobile Log Scaler is a semi-autonomous robot which will image and scale logs, on rail wagons ...
Read More / Comment
Read More / Comment