Forestry & British Timber articles from June 2005

Forestry & British Timber archives from June 2005

Ministry of silly talks.
June 3, 2005... Can there ever have been a drearier or more depressing General Election than that which has just taken place? A weary, apathetic and cynical electorate dragged itself to the polls to elect a leader that they didn't want at the head of a...

Opening the GATE to make timber pay.(Gaining Added Value for Timber in Europe)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Wales is leading a five-nation challenge to put timber at the top of the tree as a major player in the modern building and construction industry. A new three-year European funded project, GATE - 'Gaining Added Value for Timber in Europe' -...

Great event at great show.(Great British Pole Climbing Championships)(Operation Harrogate )(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Heads turned skywards at the Great Yorkshire Showground, Harrogate towards the end of April as two new 85ft climbing poles were carefully craned into position in preparation for the `summer country showcase' on July 12-14* where a `highlight'...

RFS award goes to Dr Cyril Hart.(Royal Forestry Society )(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... The historic Verderers Hall in the Speech House in the heart of the Forest of Dean was venue for the presentation by the Royal Forestry Society of its Gold Medal for Distinguished Services to Forestry to Dr Cyril Hart. A prolific author, during...

`Ancient' clarion call.
June 3, 2005... 'Absolute protection for ancient woodland is essential to ensure we don't lose our most valuable wildlife for ever.' Andrew Fairbairn of the Woodland Trust Scotland (WTS) was commenting on a WTS petition handed to the Scottish Parliament (SP)...

From Lombardy to Lochaline.(services of Forestry Commission Scotland )
June 3, 2005... Small-scale, minimum-impact operations in an Atlantic oakwood was the theme of a `day out' for 70 people when they travelled to Ardtornish Estate near Lochaline, Morvern in the Scottish Highlands to see a demonstration of timber extraction and...

Barry moves up.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Barry Sutton, who has been with Gladsmuir, East Lothian-based Alba Trees almost since it was founded in 1988, has joined its board with the appointment of development director. Commenting on the news, managing director Rodney Shearer said...

Providing a guiding hand.(Small Woods Association)(Woodland Initiatives (WI) Handbook)
June 3, 2005... `Groups and organisations working on woodland projects need a guiding hand when they begin sorting out the legal and financial processes, raising funds and keeping it all under control, said the Small Woods Association (SWA) in launching its...

Tree Aid `wins' on the lottery.(Tree Aid charity )
June 3, 2005... In rural Africa, trees provide not only food, shade and timber - and even medicine - but they also offer the chance to earn money (for instance, shea butter and soap from the Vitellaria paradoxa) tree. This fact is recounted by Bristol-based...

Logging on to river transportation.(River Spey)
June 3, 2005... A bygone - and dangerous - era of Speyside's forestry heritage was recreated in May when two local foresters piloted a raft of logs down Scotland's River Spey. And, as it turned out, it was more exciting than they had bargained for. ...

Ingliston intelligence.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... `This year's Active Woods campaign* aims to make the connection in people's minds that our woodlands have loads to offer in boosting healthy living'. James McDougall, Forestry Commission Scotland's exhibition co-ordinator, was launching plans...

CARVING THEIR NAMES WITH PRIDE.(Chainsaw Carving Competition)(services of Living Heritage)
June 3, 2005... 'The three-day English Open Chainsaw Carving Competition is the most extreme art form on the planet,' said Dennis Heath, one of the UK's foremost carvers on the largest chainsaw carving competition in the world which will be held again at...

Thirty-five years on, Bill signs off.
June 3, 2005... 'I've been fortunate to be around at just the right time. Timber production remains important in Kielder but the forest is about so much more these days'. Bill Burlton, who played a key role in the transformation of the Northumberland Forest...

WoodWISE: The view from the sharp end.
June 3, 2005... In which our monthly contracting contributor Nick Hilton of Woodwise Forestry* remains staunchly optimistic about the fate of Douglas and spends some time working on the railway... Firstly, a big thank you to all those readers who rang or...

ConFor: FOCUSING FIRMLY ON ENGLAND.
June 3, 2005... For ConFor to be successful it is important that it is influential in England, writes Stuart Goodall. England is the principal market for so much of the wood produced in the UK and imported from overseas. It is influential across all four...

STOP PRESS.(ConFor)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... At the fourth AGM of the FTA more than 93% of members voted in favour of amalgamation with ConFor. When the amalgamation has been completed, FTA will cease to exist as a separate legal entity but will continue to exist as the Forestry and...

Forty years of French sustainability.(French national forest- management service)(ONF )
June 3, 2005... Next year marks the 40th anniversary of the French national forest- management service ONF set up as part of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, Fisheries and Rural Affairs. However - as Hilary Burke reports - state involvement in this sphere on...

Five hundred years of sustainable development.(Devon estates)
June 3, 2005... `The award recognises our commitment to sustainable forestry management over 1900 hectares of woodland in East and North Devon'. John Wilding, Clinton Devon Estates' (CDE) forestry manager, was commenting on the news that the estates had...

Power station fuels chip-quality drive.
June 3, 2005... `We spent a considerable amount of time and effort investigating the chipping equipment available on the markets', said Paul Vidgen, owner of Ascot Tree Services (ATS)*, of Ascot, Berks - `a company that has a bit of a reputation for "firsts...

Happy birthday!(Timberwolf)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... This year marks the 10th anniversary of Stowmarket, Suffolk-based manufacturers of today's Timberwolf* range of machines. First introduced as the Entec Chippit 30DH in June 1995, this model, it says, `set the standard for performance...

Overcomes access problem.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... `Getting serious chipping capacity into a restricted area has always been a problem', says Fletcher Stewart (Stockport) Ltd*, claiming that its latest machine `has the answer'. The JoBeau M500 self-propelled chipper, it says, combines power and...

Martinshaw moves on to plan 'B'.
June 3, 2005... What do you when you are part-way through an extensive thinning programme of unfashionable conifers on an ancient woodland site, faced with high transport costs and searching further and further afield for elusive markets? Shutting the gate -...

Shredding its way to royal honour.(GreenMech)
June 3, 2005... `Exporting is hard work; nothing is achieved by sitting in an office; you have to get on your bike and take machines to meet potential dealers and customers'. Tony Turner founder and chairman of Kings Coughton, Alcester, Warwicks-based...

Premier crew.(Premier Waste Management Limited )
June 3, 2005... Premier Waste Management Limited is primarily involved in the processing and composting of green waste and operating two sites - one in Durham handling material from civic amenity and waste transfer centres in the region and the other, located...

MOBILITY ON HIRE.(CRJ Services Ltd )(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Cheshire-based CRJ Services Ltd has created a new division devoted to the hire of mobile shredders, chippers, screening plants and blenders. Established six years ago, it specialises in the collection and processing of green waste to produce...

Recycling recyclers.(Thorne Engineers Ltd)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Manufacturing engineers for nearly 60 years, Thorne Engineers Ltd* now refurbish forestry equipment and in particular woodchippers. 'This service is based on our wide ranging experience and our ability to manufacture most parts and rebuild...

High-specs have pro appeal.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... `Our new range of heavy-duty chippers are built for contractors who need the ultimate in performance with a long and trouble free working life. The capacity of the machines and features such as "Letter box" feed rollers (50% wider than rated...

Getting what you pay for.
June 3, 2005... 'Buying something because it was cheap had proved expensive and so I decided to "bite the bullet" on price'. When it came to replacing his two trailed chippers in 1998 with Premiers, Mark Knight of Landmark Tree Surgery admits that although it...

Self-contained Laimet has it all.(Laimet)
June 3, 2005... Chipper manufacturers Laimet have developed a self-contained unit, with large silo and vibrating conveyor, linked for use with their model HP25. This machine, aimed primarily at processing sawmill waste, is driven by a tractor and requires...

BE respond to 'super-size me!'.(BE Recycling)
June 3, 2005... 'The chipper market in the UK is changing. Many new customers are coming to us to purchase higher output machines'. Speaker is Myles Mackay of BE Recycling* who offer the well-established Bandit range of chippers to European customers. This...

Jenz make impact on UK.(United Kingdom)(Westcon Equipment)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Jenz from Germany, are Europe's leading producer of large biofuel chippers. Their machines are widely used in Italy, France, Scandanavia, Austria and of course Germany itself. However, the market in the UK for biofuel chip is growing fast and...

Going for Gandini.(Chippers International Ltd)
June 3, 2005... At any one time, Chippers International Ltd* (CI) holds #100,000-worth of parts and machines valued at #300,000. Managing director Graham Satchwell - who, together with his wife Eileen runs the Snitterfield, Warwicks business - has been in the...

Big on waste.(Eurogreen)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Eurogreen* are the sole importers of Willibald shredders, screeners and compost turners. These include the Willibald 4600 MZA with a 429hp MAN Engine which, according to Eurogreen's Stuart McIntyre, 'is a very advanced shredder and excels in...

Ardnamurchan advances on fuel front.(Richard Livett)
June 3, 2005... It's all systems go for woodfuel in the Highlands peninsula of Ardnamurchan thanks to the initiative of contractor Richard Livett. Richard Livett, based at Strontian, now has essentially all the equipment he needs to produce and deliver...

Norwich launch-pad for US range.
June 3, 2005... `We are delighted to be marketing and using such a high-quality range of products that were well designed and have a build quality second to none'. Brian Williams director of ORM Rotochopper Europe Ltd* was commenting on his company's award of...