Forestry & British Timber articles from April 2006

Forestry & British Timber archives from April 2006

The deadwood stage keeps rolling on.(consolidation of the entire forestry industry into central umbrella organisation)
April 6, 2006... `Oh, oh, over and over, I'll be a fool for you', runs the old song, because, it goes on, `you've got personality'. A couple of years ago, the MacDonald report concluded that the forest industry had, perhaps, too many personalities and was in...

LOGBOOK: Strategic Scotland.(Scottish Forestry Strategy)
April 6, 2006... `This is a major opportunity for the Scottish public to have their say on a range of important issues such as climate change, using woods to provide recreation for health and well being, increasing business opportunities and enhancing habitats...

LOGBOOK: Young forester award.
April 6, 2006... May 31 is the application deadline for the Commonwealth Forestry Association's (CFA) `Young forester award' (YFA) for 2006*. Designed to support professional development of foresters of under 35 years, it provides a short-term work...

LOGBOOK: Something `special' for Hafod.(archaeology or preservation of the historic environment )
April 6, 2006... Under the stewardship of Richard Crompton, `Hafod has become the most meticulously recorded piece of forest in Wales, with a sites and monument record comprising over 400 individual features'. This tribute to his work on this Forestry...

LOGBOOK: SRF study urges more research.(short-rotation forestry)
April 6, 2006... While, overall, short-rotation forestry (SRF) appeared to have a promising future as a renewable energy source, there were still areas of concern, according to the authors of a new study undertaken for the Forestry Commission and Defra. It...

LOGBOOK: BSW helps illegal logging fight.
April 6, 2006... BSW Timber, the UK's largest sawmilling group, is playing a vital role in the global fight against illegal logging. The company, has just completed a three-day exercise in mid-Wales helping the British Army's 1st Battalion, the Green Howards,...

LOGBOOK: Green light shines at Moston Vale.(forestry services)
April 6, 2006... `By joining forces with the local community, Newlands will become a prime example of the very best of grass roots regeneration...', said Forestry Commission chairman Lord Clark at the unveiling of North Manchester's Moston Vale community...

LOGBOOK: Ulster under microscope.(Woodland surveyors)(Brief article)
April 6, 2006... Between now (April) and June, some 5000 hectares of Northern Ireland's woodland will be surveyed by the Woodland Trust (WT) in a bid to compile the first inventory of the country's ancient woods (`which have been around for at least 400...

LOGBOOK: Heading up the W-M team in Europe.(appointments)(Brief article)
April 6, 2006... Richard Vivers, 53, has been appointed director, European operations, of Wood-Mizer Products, Inc., the worldwide leader in narrow band thin- kerf sawmills. The appoint-ment follows Dan Laskowski's decision to step down to concentrate on...

LOGBOOK: Adding force to Landforce.(Landforce Ltd)(Brief article)
April 6, 2006... `We have been looking for the right person to head up our Scotland operation for some time', commented Richard Morrs, MD of Landforce Ltd* on the appointment of Des McCulloch as the company's new sales manager north of the border. The Grantham,...

LOGBOOK: Highlands contractors' training top-up.(industry forecasts)
April 6, 2006... The forestry contracting industry `faces significant recruitment and retention problems which are widely recognised as barriers to growth', says Rural Development Initiatives Ltd* (RDI) unveiling a project for creating new jobs in the sector...

LOGBOOK: Wind of change at Wentwood.(acquisitions)(Brief article)
April 6, 2006... `As an enthusiast for the Welsh countryside, I was keen to support the Woodland Trust's (WT) campaign to save Wentwood Forest, the largest ancient woodland in Wales', said weather forecaster Sian Lloyd at the end of February. She was on site...

LOGBOOK: Godinton goes for biomass.
April 6, 2006... `One tonne of chipped wood provides the same heat as 400 litres of oil. The bigger the scale, the more efficient the heating systems are', said Nicholas Sandford, resident agent at the Godinton estate, near Ashford, Kent. He was commenting on...

LOGBOOK: Lewis moves up.(Lewis MacAskill promoted)(Brief article)
April 6, 2006... Two years after joining the Dollar, Clackmannanshire-based consultancy and contracting firm of Eamonn Wall & Co* (EWC), Lewis MacAskill has been promoted to the position of associate director. Lewis, 38, studied at the Scottish School of...

LOGBOOK: At the cutting edge.(forest machinery)(Brief article)
April 6, 2006... Chris Fouch, owner of 'Cuttingedge', one of the top arb companies in the Winchester area, is pictured taking delivery of his new Bandit Model 150 woodchipper. Chris selected the machine for the 'productivity and cost benefits' provided by this...

MARKET REPORT: Things can only get ... better?
April 6, 2006... For the UK forest products industry 2006 came in with more of a whisper than a bang. Markets were subdued in January, but overall the consensus seems to be that trading in the first two months was 'not bad'. But what of St Regis and ConFor?...

WoodWISE: The view from the sharp end.(Letter to the editor)
April 6, 2006... In which our monthly contracting contributor Nick Hilton of Woodwise Forestry* finds all work and no play makes him and his team very busy boys... I've decided to award myself a promotion; no longer will I just be the boss, I shall give...

Leaf miner knocks shine off horse chestnut.(analysis on Aesculus)
April 6, 2006... Plant introductions can usefully complement a country's flora, but with the accompanying danger of arthropod pests, fungal, bacterial and viral diseases being introduced together with the trees. In the trees' native or established environment...

Take three Dalby's.(Dalby Forest on the North York Moors National Park)
April 6, 2006... There is a strong Viking heritage in the north of Britain and one has only to look at some of the place names to detect it. The suffix `by' - meaning farm or hamlet - is, perhaps, one of the commonest indicators. A short distance inland from...

Meanwhile in Yorkshire.(Dalby Forest)
April 6, 2006... Yorkshire's Dalby Forest lies only a few miles inland from the holiday resort of Scarborough, so it is only to be expected that some of the tourists and holiday-makers will spend some time amongst the Forestry Commission's maturing plantations....

APF 2006 DIARY: Looking forward to Ragley.(site meeting at Ragley Estate)
April 6, 2006... The run-up to APF 2006 continues apace as APF Exhibition Secretary Ian Millward reports in his latest diary... February 16 saw our third site meeting at Ragley Estate and we were delighted by the attendance and the amount of demonstration...

OFF-ROAD: 4x4 market update.
April 6, 2006... Woodland architect Eamonn Wall helps keep us abreast of the expanding range of new and updated four-wheel-drive vehicles now available in the UK. Once again the UK demand for 4x4 vehicles pushed sales up by 4% even though UK car sales...

The ATV for tomorrow is available today.
April 6, 2006... A high performance, low ground pressure petrol, diesel or biodiesel- fuelled off-road vehicle - the Ecorider* is an ATV with a difference. This robust and economical two-wheeled agricultural vehicle is simple 'jump-on and go transport'. ...

Robinson's Chinese takeaway.(W. Robinson and Sons)(Loncin)(Brief article)
April 6, 2006... Essex-based power equipment specialists W. Robinson and Sons* are marketing a range of Chinese quads produced by manufacturing giant Loncin which are designed for professional use. Loncin - one of the main sponsors of the 2008 Olympics - have...

Workhorse Canters to clear finish.(Brief article)
April 6, 2006... Tree surgeon Stephen Evans can reach the places others can't - with a little help from his new-generation 3.5-tonne Mitsubishi* Fuso Canter. Stephen, who runs Heritage Coast Tree Services, in Weymouth, Dorset, reckons his Canter 3C13...

All-terrain or train?
April 6, 2006... This unique Land Rover started life as a 127" model towing Rapier ground-to-air missiles at RAF bases and is now used in railway maintenance. 'Off-road here now means on-rail!' commented architect of the conversion David Conroy (Contracked...

HAULAGE: In for the long haul.
April 6, 2006... Haulage equipment specialist Outreach Ltd* has been busy recently with new systems supplied from their Epsilon, Alumax and Dennison ranges + The company recently supplied two Epsilon loader installations on wagon and drawbar applications....