SHAWS WIRE ROPES IRON TEST
Production thinning continues to ramp up in the Kaingaroa Forest, placing big demands on men and machines. Jensen Logging already has eight compact harvesters removing the trees and has just added a fourth forwarder to transport stems out from the canopy. This one is the first Komatsu 875 to go to work in Australasia and the NZ Logger Iron Test team returned to the pumice lands to see how it is performing.
THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN SAWMILLING TECHNOLOGY WILL go under the microscope when the WoodTECH 2017 runs in Rotorua and Melbourne during September.
Many local sawmills are in a much healthier position than when WoodTECH last ran in New Zealand and Australia in 2015, as housing booms have boosted demand for timber on both sides of the Tasman.
But it’s still a very competitive industry, with wafer-thin margins and a relentless focus on product quality.
So, the organiser of WoodTECH 2017, the Forest Industry Engineering Association (FIEA), is assembling many of the leading lights in sawmilling technology to help give attendees an insight into the very latest updates in wood scanning, sawmilling, and mill optimisation technologies from around the globe.
The two-day independent programme is going to provide New Zealand and Australian sawmills a unique opportunity to hear presentations from USNR of US/Canada, Autolog of Canada, HewSaw of Finland, MiCROTEC of Italy, ScanWare of Sweden and JoeScan from the USA, as well as local tech suppliers, says FIEA Director, Brent Apthorp
“It’s a who’s-who of international saws and sawmilling technology that will be travelling into Australasia,” says Mr. Apthorp. “We already have over 20 North American technology providers and a significant number of European suppliers that will be involved in WoodTECH 2017.
“What makes 2017 special is the series of workshops that this time have been set up for local mills.
“For the first time in New Zealand and Australia, a series of practical troubleshooting workshops have been designed for a much wider cross section of sawmill production and operational staff. They’ll provide a unique insight into how sawmills can extract the best performance out of their saws, their machine centres and sawing operations.”
Workshops of between 60-120 minutes are being given on:
• quality & lumber size control
• troubleshooting and improving band-mill,
• gang and board edger performance,
• selecting, operating and maintaining log carriage and optimiser (softwood and hardwood) operations and
• saw-guide selection, installation, operation and maintenance. “Based on discussions with local mills, we’ve rejigged the two-yearly update in both countries,” says Mr Apthorp.
“The change in focus is to encourage sawmill teams – management, mill production, saw-doctors and maintenance staff – to take advantage of the line-up of world class international specialists being brought into the region to work alongside local mills.
“This will ensure that teams can collectively put the practical learnings into practice once back on site”.
Among the workshop presenters are Nick Barrett, President of SiCam Systems from Canada, Joe Shields, Machinery Support Technician for USNR of the US, Marv Bernhagen, Vice President of Lewis Controls of the US, Chuck Boaz, President of Corley Manufacturing of the US, Ralph Wijesinghe, author of the Bandmill Book from Canada, Josh Bergen, owner of Precision Manufacturing of Canada and Udo Jahn, General Manager of Modern Engineering, Canada.
WoodTECH 2017 runs in Melbourne from September 20-21 and in Rotorua from September 26-27. Full details are the www.woodtech. events website.
NZL