Forestry & British Timber articles from February 2002

Forestry & British Timber archives from February 2002

Adieu, winter of discontent.(Scottish Agricultural Department rural stewardship scheme and the Scottish Executive Rural Affairs Department projects)(Brief Article)
February 5, 2002... Never before have farmers and landowners been so encouraged to turn to tree-planting - wooed into woodlands, as it were. With foot and mouth disease now declared officially over, what better time than spring to consider improving their...

BSW harvesting arm goes to Tilhill.(BSW Timber PLC)(Brief Article)
February 5, 2002... `The strategic relevance of owning a harvesting operation is no longer valid to the group and its sale will enable us to focus on our core business, namely sawmilling operations in the UK and Continental Europe'. Sandy Brownlie, chairman...

Avon aims for 30%.(Forest of Avon and Forest Partnership)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 5, 2002... As it enters its tenth year, the Forest of Avon (FoA) records that last year it planted 36.55 hectares of woodland. At present, the community forest area - some 221 square miles in and around Bristol - has one of England's lowest levels of tree...

Friends of good wood.(Friends of the Earth and 'Fauna and flora International''s 'Good wood guide')(Brief Article)
February 5, 2002... `Each year, 3.5m tonnes of reclaimable timber are scrapped in the UK through the demolition of old buildings; a further 275 000t of waste timber are produced through joinery and furniture manufacture'. The figures were quoted by Friends of the...

Dingle delivery.(woodlands project in Wales)(Brief Article)
February 5, 2002... A #140 000 project to breathe new life into a deprived town on Anglesey, Gwynedd is the first Cydcoed (`Woodlands for all') grant- aided scheme to get the go-ahead. Plans to build a sculpture trail and improve access to Llangefni's 10-hectare...

Rooting for growth.(meeting of timber and forestry companies and bodies in Scotland)(Brief Article)
February 5, 2002... A new timber engineering centre is to be established at Napier University, Scotland. Aimed at promoting the transfer of technical knowledge and providing research services to industry - as well as itself conducting strategic research - it was...

Laminates still booming.(wood and wood-look laminate market)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 5, 2002... Wood-look laminated flooring sales are continuing to roar ahead according to the latest market analysis. The report from AMA Research estimates the total wood and wood-look laminate market in the UK at #225 million a year, #162 million of...

APA contracts to UK.(Hamburg office closes)(Brief Article)
February 5, 2002... The APA, the marketing organisation for the American plywood sector, has closed its Hamburg office, leaving the UK operation as its last branch in Europe. The organisation at one point had four European offices, but closed its Madrid arm in the...

Silvanus spreads roots.(Silvanus Services Ltd.)(Brief Article)
February 5, 2002... With many West Country farmers choosing to plant trees in the wake of the FMD nightmare, woodland management and establishment company Silvanus Services Ltd (SSL) has expanded its operations by opening a new area office in Exeter*....

Faster-track facts.(upcoming publications from Forestry Commission)(Brief Article)(Bibliography)
February 5, 2002... News about how the British-grown timber industry has been faring will `hit the headlines' a little earlier this year. Official source of performance rating, the eagerly-awaited `British timber statistics 1994- 2001' will be published by the...

CCF to enrich Welsh landscape.(Continuous Cover Forestry)(Brief Article)
February 5, 2002... A joint project by the University of Wales, Bangor and the Forestry Commission is to encourage forest owners in Wales to move from traditional management practices to Continuous Cover Forestry (CCF). The project, Tyfiant Coed, which...

Yorkshire looks forward.(future role in England forestry strategy)(Brief Article)
February 5, 2002... Yorkshire's and Humberside's future roles within the England forestry strategy will become clearer after April this year with the completion of a regional fact-finding survey. This Forestry Commission - and `Yorkshire Forward' (YF)* - backed...

New woods come to town.
February 5, 2002... Winging their way to the successful Wolverhampton-based National Urban Forestry Unit are new grants totalling almost #1m. `They are a fantastic contribution', commented CE Nerys Jones, and would lead to `an unprecedented wave of woodland...

RFS/RASE conf.
February 5, 2002... The NDG James Memorial Conference - `Opportunities for diversification in woods and forests' - jointly organised by the RFS and RASE will be held at the National Agricultural Centre, Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire on March 7. Tickets are...

Pride of Galloway.(Brief Article)
February 5, 2002... 'Forrest Estate is very proud to be able to demonstrate in this building that, with good... management, Scotland's forests can produce timber of a good quality for a building of this calibre'. Margaret Watson, manager of the Galloway property,...

`For services to arboriculture'.
February 5, 2002... `For services to arboriculture', Bill Matthews was named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2002 New Year Honours list. Founder and MD of Southern Tree Surgeons (STS), he has been involved with many of the major enterprises...

`Home sweet holm!'.(Brief Article)
February 5, 2002... In 1988, Jeremy Barrell received a letter of thanks from the Queen Mother for his work in restoring the world-famous avenue of Holm oaks at Ilex Way in Worthing, West Sussex. Thirteen years later, Peter Best - who now owns Fordingbridge,...

Tilhill changes.(Brief Article)
February 5, 2002... George McRobbie and Peter Middleton have been appointed to the board of Tilhill Forestry Limited. As operations director Mr McRobbie will play a leading role in supporting the consolidation and further growth of Tilhill's existing business,...

Fences down - flights up?(Brief Article)
February 5, 2002... The capercaillie, a king of Scotland's forests, is faced with extinction. Behind this threat is a string of natural causes largely beyond human help: habitat loss, predatory crows and foxes and climate change (a string of wet, cold breeding...

Green Dollar.(forest planting in Dollar, Clackmannanshire, Scotland)(Brief Article)
February 5, 2002... `Today, we are beginning to create an ancient woodland of the future'. Angela Douglas, Woodland Trust Scotland's (WTS) operations director, was commenting when members and supporters spent a day planting thousands of birch, oak, alder and ash...

Forestry's legal Wilde card.(forester Lawrence Wilde now developing forestry law practice)(Brief Article)
February 5, 2002... Ever had the need for a lawyer, to help you with some forestry matter, yet were unable to find one who had any comprehension of your industry? You are not alone. Lawrence Wilde, a forester himself, found that it was difficult to find a lawyer...

Big clean-up for Little Wood.(Brief Article)
February 5, 2002... Away with the burnt-out cars (11), `literally tonnes of rubbish' and fire-damaged trees and in go footpaths, fencing and hedges: two years of dedication and careful planning by the Little Wood of Stockbridge Association and the Mersey Forest...

Worm warfare.(Brief Article)
February 5, 2002... Microscopic worms are being scientifically harvested to wage war against some of Europe's deadliest forest pests. At the behest of the FC Research Agency - which has pioneered the use of the parasitic nematode insects for biological tree-pest...

Esus Branches Out.(Brief Article)
February 5, 2002... James Noble, director of Esus Forestry and Woodlands, is moving this Spring from his current Sussex base to a new office in Wiltshire, `to satisfy the growing number of Esus clients in the south and south- west'. Fellow directors, Jeremy...

Make a date for Chopwell.(Chopwell Forest Festival, England)(Brief Article)
February 5, 2002... Organisers of the popular Chopwell Forest Festival are looking for `new participants, and exciting demonstrations of woodland skills, craftsmanship and products' for this year's event over the weekend of September 13 and 14. With 6500 adults...

Queen's Wins Industry's Award.
February 5, 2002... In the Christie-Elite raffle, where all customers spending over #5000 in the previous season have the chance to win a week's holiday for two at a destination of their choice, the Crown Estate was the first out of the hat. Will Anderson, on...

William joins Eamonn.(Eamonn Wall & Co. hires William Garrett)(Brief Article)
February 5, 2002... William Garrett, 33, has recently joined consultants Eamonn Wall & Co at their Dollar office in Scotland. William replaces Alastair Seaman who is now in Nepal and remains an e-mail consultant with the firm. William brings useful experience...

DON'T PUSH PRICES PLEASE.(Brief Article)
February 5, 2002... The UK speaker at the Timber Market Conference in Karlstad Sweden urged timber producers not to push for excessive price rises this year. The event in November, which drew 1500 delegates from throughout the Swedish forestry and timber...

Iggesund plans reduced.(Brief Article)
February 5, 2002... The expansion of the Iggesund sawmill in Sweden, a big supplier to the UK, has been cut back by parent Holmen Group. Following major expansion in the plant's kilning facilities, Iggesund was preparing to build a Skr175m finishing unit....

TTF protest over Nikon.(Brief Article)
February 5, 2002... The Timber Trade Federation has lodged a complaint with the Independent Television Commission about the latest TV advertising by camera maker Nikon. The commercial shows a number of `future historical moments' that will be ideal subjects...

Trading up.(Brief Article)
February 5, 2002... Hardwood flooring firm Tradewoods is forecasting 50% sales growth this year following its move to bigger premises. The company has taken on 10000 ft2 premises in Burscough, Lancashire, enabling it to boost stocks and open a new trade...

Warrior winner for Timbmet.(Brief Article)
February 5, 2002... Timber importer and distributor Timbmet has won the contract to supply teak for the refurbishment of the historic warship HMS Warrior. The 140-year-old iron-hulled ship, which is berthed at Portsmouth, currently has a pitch pine deck, but...

Skellingthorpe collapses.(Brief Article)
February 5, 2002... Saw doctoring technology specialist Skellingthorpe Saw Services has gone into liquidation with the loss of 16 jobs. The company actually ceased trading at the end of last October and liquidators KPMG said that it had debts in the region of...

SCA raises training profile.(Brief Article)
February 5, 2002... Swedish-forestry giant SCA held a special seminar on training in the timber sector to mark the completion by the first batch of candidates on its own new customer training programme. The seminar was addressed by Geoff Bagnall of the...

Battling bad debts.(Color-Board continuing to trade)(Brief Article)
February 5, 2002... Family-owned MDF panel finishing specialist Color-Board says it will continue to trade, despite being hit by bad debt. The Essex company said that it had been hit by defaults on two major contracts, for one of which it had invested heavily...

Travis Perkins 500.(acquires DKH Ltd.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 5, 2002... Travis Perkins has hit the 500 outlets mark with the acquisition of Preston builders and timber merchant DKH Ltd. The company said that the 1.5 acre DKH yard plugged a gap in its geographic coverage. It now plans to change the product mix...

Ahlmark expands Hull service.(shipper doubles service, sets up new office)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 5, 2002... Swedish shipper Ahlmark is doubling its service into Hull from Kristinehamn, Sweden, to twice weekly. It is also setting up a new office in the port. The increase in services will take the company's total number of calls to Hull to 175 a...

Kilbroney invests.(in manufacturing plant)(Brief Article)
February 5, 2002... Predicting rapid growth in demand for timber frame housing in Northern Ireland, Rostrevor-based developer Kilbroney Homes is investing #2m in a new component manufacturing plant in Newry. Currently the company produces 70 to 80 timber frame...

Lithuanian first.(Evans Bellhouse, softwood importer)(Brief Article)
February 5, 2002... Softwood importer Evans Bellhouse has taken delivery of its first shipment into Liverpool out of Lithuania. The cargo came over as part of a collaboration with UCM Timber, which represented the Lithuanian shippers. Traditionally...

WoodWISE: The view from the sharp end.(Nick Hilton, Woodwise Forestry)(Column)
February 5, 2002... In which our monthly contracting contributor Nick Hilton of Woodwise Forestry* does his jury service, can't get no education and does a bit of forestry work too. It's Panto time again as I write this - trouble is it's getting harder now to...

Letter: Don't Blame the Timber Merchant.
February 5, 2002... From Peter J. Chantler `Sir, May I, in self-defence, be given the opportunity to respond to Mark Yorke's letter (FBT Jan p9), in which he cites "the activities of certain timber buyers" as the root cause for the "steady decline" of the...

THE TRUTH BEHIND THE SPIN.(certification in the forest industry)
February 5, 2002... It is essential, writes David Ogg of Independent Forestry, that the end buyer of timber, i.e. the merchant, knows more about the difference between FSC and PEFC and it is equally important that the forest industry as a whole receives unbiased...

Oxford's outdooor academy.(Bagley Woods)
February 5, 2002... Afforested for ten centuries, few woods in England can have been subjected to such regular academic attention as Bagley. This is not surprising inasmuch as it lies on the outskirts of Oxford and with the university's long history of...

Testing time for Jeep Grand Cherokee.(Brief Article)
February 5, 2002... The Grand Cherokee has been Jeep UK's bestselling vehicle ever since it was introduced into the UK back in 1996. However, the diesel version was always a bit rough so woodland consultant Eamonn Wall recently test drove the latest five cylinder...

NATURAL PRODUCT HERBICIDES IN FORESTRY: what are the prospects?(Brief Article)
February 5, 2002... What alternatives are there to synthetic pesticides? Ian Willoughby and David Clay look at whether natural product herbicides might play a role. Used correctly, synthetic chemicals are often the cheapest way of killing weeds. Hardly...

Electrodyn system introduced at Maelor.(Brief Article)
February 5, 2002... Maelor Nurseries* has made its first delivery to a customer in mid- Wales of plants treated by its new Electrodyn static conveyor sprayer. Maelor believes that it is the first commercial nursery in the private sector to introduce the system...

Controlling Weeds Around the Woodland Environment.(Brief Article)
February 5, 2002... It is a reassuring thought that even the most aggressive weed control problems in tree establishment will be finally vanquished when nature does its stuff after canopy closure. But what about all those situations around the site where difficult...

THE WHO, WHAT AND WHERE next in forestry herbicides!(Brief Article)
February 5, 2002... Colin Palmer reviews changes and developments in the agrochemical supply industry. It's an increasingly tough world out there for pesticide manufacturers, and at the current rate of attrition only a handful will survive through the first...

APF 2002 Diary.(Brief Article)
February 5, 2002... APF Exhibition secretary Ian Millward continues his countdown to this year's APF demo at Lockerbie. I am aware that many were disappointed (thank you mum!) that my regular article was missing from the last issue. Being the APF Exhibition...

What willow beetles like to bite.(Brief Article)
February 5, 2002... Postgraduate students on the MSc crop-protection course at Bristol University look to the national willows collection at nearby Long Ashton Research Station as an important resource for their research, writes Terry Mabbett. Of special interest...

Let the meter take the strain.(Brief Article)
February 5, 2002... Forests are ecologically sensitive and call for carefully targeted sprays, either to young trees or stumps, to fight insect pests, disease or weeds. The need to cover vast areas quickly puts pressure on management teams. Emphasis is on the...

Horse chestnut leaf miner.(Brief Article)
February 5, 2002... A French post graduate student at Imperial College has been studying the behaviour of a `leaf miner' which finds the large compound palmate leaves of the horse chestnut too good to resist. In a Pan-European project Sandrine Girardoz from...

`Ware the weevil.(Brief Article)
February 5, 2002... The large pine weevil (Hylobius abietis) - writes Micron Sprayers Ltd - attacks all types of pine as well as high-value spruce crops and some deciduous tree species. It opens the way for secondary fungal infections and is by far the most...

Still a future for excavator bases?
February 5, 2002... Though the trend may be towards purpose-built machines, as numerous contractors advance from excavator-based harvesters, the excavator conversion still remains an important element of many harvesting enterprises as Eoghan Daly reports. ...

New direction for Valmet.(Brief Article)
February 5, 2002... `If you want large-scale scarification and planting on a small scale with very good biological results, the Valmet EcoPlanter is very suitable and meets the strict requirements applicable to modern forestry regeneration'. So speaks Ove Stenman,...

Sharper chippers.(Brief Article)
February 5, 2002... A dedicated Bernhard* chipper-blade sharpener is the latest addition to Ermin of Gloucester's plant, access and tool hire equipment line-up. Acquired to maintain its chipper fleet, the Chipper Master is also a valuable tool for the forestry...

New name in milling.(Brief Article)
February 5, 2002... Holder of the `highest production' award at the USA West Coast `Sawmill shootout 2001', the Peterson portable sawmill is making its debut on the UK market and is also looking for interested agents in this country. Described as `the original...

Good to be forty.(Brief Article)
February 5, 2002... Latest brushcutter from the Stihl Ltd* stable, model FS250 40cc, is aimed at those faced with such chores as removing tough grass or thinning out gnarled bushes. Its features include the company's ElastoStart handle for easier, `virtually...

Power for extreme conditions.(Brief Article)
February 5, 2002... Two new heavy duty professionals have been launched by Italian manufacturer Oleo Mac - the 971 and 981 - `aimed at the most demanding users who want reliable performance, day in, day out in extreme conditions'. With 70.8 or 80.7cc engines...

Double your money.(Brief Article)
February 5, 2002... `DoubleHard' blades for portable and stationary bandsaws are described by Wood-Mizer UK Ltd* as the fruition of 12 years' continuous development work aimed at an increased sharp-life. They claim that an operator could halve annual blade spend....