Forestry & British Timber articles from March 2005

Forestry & British Timber archives from March 2005

TIME FOR A NEW ACT OF DEDICATION.(Forestry and Timber Association)
March 4, 2005... Our January leader (FBT p2) calling for the private sector to get real about its commercial prospects seems to have struck a nerve or two. We did not mean any criticism of the Forestry and Timber Association's `level playing field' agenda. This...

BSW boost for Wales and the industry.(BSW Timber PLC)
March 4, 2005... 'Customer demand is fuelling the need for a more diversified and higher quality end-product. BSW is committed to continuous customer service improvement and, as the UK market leader, we are meeting this growing demand for more value-added...

A DECADE AT BENTLEY.
March 4, 2005... Organisers of Weald WoodFair have confirmed the venue as Bentley Wildfowl & Motor Museum near Lewes, East Sussex. Despite initial uncertainty about future use of the site the WoodFair will go ahead as planned on 23-25 September when it will...

`Big tree country' booster.
March 4, 2005... Perthshire foresters are seeking the public's views on the future of two of the county's most important forests: Craigvinean Forest and Ladywell Plantation, both near Dunkeld, whose long-term management plans are due to be updated. Early...

A FIRST FOR WOOD!
March 4, 2005... A Myerscough College student has become the first arboriculture apprentice in Lancashire. The aptly-monickered Will Wood, who works for Wigan's Grounds Maintenance Services, part of Wigan Leisure & Culture Trust, is studying towards his NVQ...

Now we are ten!(forest products industry)
March 4, 2005... `This is truly a forest for the nation, within ten minutes' drive-time of ten million people', said National Forest Co (NFC) chief executive Susan Bell on the occasion of its 2005 tenth birthday. However, more importantly, she added, it was a...

Sound advice on mammals.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2005... The complex and fascinating relationships between woods and the animals that live in them are explored in a new Forestry Commission publication. 'Managing Woodlands and their Mammals'* draws together the expertise shared during one of Britain's...

10 years and six million trees.
March 4, 2005... 'The National Forest meets so many of the criteria about sustainable development, not just improving the environment, but doing so in connection with local communities and creating new sources of wealth. It is doing it in such a way that will...

Wales makes it again.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2005... `One of Forestry Commission Wales's (FCW) key objectives is to provide and achieve best practice for woodland management'. Its environment adviser James Laing was speaking after announcing that its public woodlands had been re-certified as...

For grinding and chipping.(appointments)(Brief Article)
March 4, 2005... Lincolnshire-based Richard Smith has been appointed by OBMtec as its UK sales manager*. From its headquarters in the Netherlands, the company is the European distributor for the Morbark and Peterson range of tub and horizontal grinders,...

Trees in a changing climate.
March 4, 2005... Does climate change signal the end for the trees making up our traditional landscape? Will Mediterranean Aleppo pines soon to be a familiar sight in southern England, and beech forests in northern Scotland? These are some of the questions...

`Oversize' reminder.
March 4, 2005... Converting oversize conifer logs into valuable timber is the speciality of the #1.5m-upgraded mill of BSW at Petersmuir, near Haddington, East Lothian. In a recent reminder to growers about its `modern and efficient conversion unit', it points...

All is concord.(Forestry Commission Scotland)(Scottish Ornithologists Club)
March 4, 2005... The genesis of a major new showcase to marry bird and timber interests in East Lothian was signed at a ceremony in late January. It will result in the erection of a multi-purpose centre overlooking Aberlady Bay. Due to open to the public...

WORTHY HONOUR.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2005... John Kissock, joint managing director of James Jones & Sons Ltd, was appointed OBE in the New Year Honours List for services to forestry Commenting upon the award, James Jones chairman, Tom Bruce-Jones CBE, said: 'All of us in James Jones...

EU funding boost.(European Union)(European Social Fund to fund land based business)(Brief Article)
March 4, 2005... A project aimed at helping land based businesses in and around the Cairngorms National Park access and pay for training has been given an EU funding boost. The European Social Fund has just announced that the Land Based Business Training...

Predicting grey spread.
March 4, 2005... 'Few people realise that the small grey squirrel can cause such widespread devastation. Their destructive habits are extremely damaging to woodlands and forests and in addition they force out the native red squirrels which live in harmony with...

Committed to Krono.(Kronospan)(Brief Article)
March 4, 2005... To say that Chirk-based Kronospan has a committed workforce is something of an understatement as senior mechanical engineer Keith Jones has become the company's 50th employee to complete 25 years' service with the company. Kronospan, the...

To build sustainably.
March 4, 2005... The use of timber from renewable sources and biomass heating will be two themes at the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum's fourth annual celebration of sustainability and `green' building technology on Sunday, May 15*. Sited at Singleton,...

WOODfair returns to Perth.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2005... The Dewar's Centre in Perth will once again host the Scottish WOODfair over the weekend of 13/14 May. Funding partners Perth & Kinross Council, Forestry Commission Scotland, Scottish Enterprise Tayside and the Scottish Forest Industries Cluster...

BEASTLY BUSINESS!(Material Change grows)(Brief Article)
March 4, 2005... Although formed less than two years ago, Material Change has grown to be one of the UK's largest shredding contractors. The success of their business is due to the professional, reliable service they can provide offering 'true value for...

Letter: A history of treeshelters.(Letter to the Editor)
March 4, 2005... From Graham Tuley 'Sir, I agree with what Mark Potter says in his letter in January (p11) about the reconstruction of the history of the development of treeshelters given in your November 2004 issue. Tubex was the first treeshelter...

ConFor: WHICH DIRECTION FOR THE WELSH TIMBER INDUSTRY?
March 4, 2005... The industry has never been uniform across the four countries of the UK, but the process of devolution has sharpened those variations and introduced a new tier of government or agencies that representative bodies ignore at their peril. It...

WoodWISE: The view from the sharp end.
March 4, 2005... In which our monthly contracting contributor Nick Hilton of Woodwise Forestry* can't make up his mind whether or not to be indecisive... Oh I don't know what to write about. I mean the last correspondence I sent in revolved around the...

Imperial impetus - AT HOME AND AWAY.
March 4, 2005... Imperial College London's newly-established MSc degree in forest protection and conservation continues to attract graduates at a time when recruitment onto forestry and other tree-related courses is generally slow. It combines course work with...

MAPPING RUST DISEASE.
March 4, 2005... New technology is being used to help identify areas of Scots pine forest at risk from resin-top disease as Darren G. Moseley and Steve Woodward of the University of Aberdeen, and David R. Miller of the Macaulay Institute report. ...

Technical Developments: Bucket design for excavator mounding.
March 4, 2005... Forest Research Technical Development evaluates and develops forestry methods and machinery for greater efficiency, improved ergonomics and safety, and reduced environmental impact. Project scope is wide- ranging, from farm and small-scale...

STUMPGRINDERS/MECHANICAL WEED CONTROL: Charting a new route.
March 4, 2005... New from Charterhouse Turf Machinery Ltd* is the ten-strong Active brushcutter range as an addition to its `Connoisseur' line-up of heavy- duty equipment for professional contractors and estate managers who maintain grounds, embankments and...

Getting out of a tight corner.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2005... Narrowing down to `an amazing 740mm (29in) for those tight spots', the 27HD Danequip* hydraulically operated stump grinder still boasts a 1190mm (47in) working width and extra stability whilst grinding. Other plus-factors of the machine are its...

'Down Down, Deeper & Down'.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2005... 'Riko UK* were bound to upset the Status Quo when, just prior to the APF, they were appointed as UK distributor for the USA-built Miller stump grinders', Steven Cabrol told FBT. 'As the picture shows, the popular mid-size PRO100 is certainly...

Stumping stable's triple expansion.
March 4, 2005... One of three new recruits to the StumpMaster stable, courtesy of GreenMech Ltd* (`Britain's leading manufacturer of professional woodchippers and green-waste shredders'), the STM25-500, is powered either by a 25hp petrol or 21hp diesel engine,...

`Spectacularly low' vibration.(brushcutter)
March 4, 2005... Promoted as running below the 2.5ms2 legal vibration limit, the new Makita (UK) Ltd* RBC 421L brushcutter is a two-stroke, 40.2cc professional machine. `The latest vibration-reducing system and the handlebar vibration ratings', the company...

Eco-friendly cutting.(brushcutters)
March 4, 2005... Extending its range of brushcutters driven by the `eco-friendly', Stihl* `4-MIX' engine, this Camberley, Surrey-based company introduces its new FS 130 lightweight professional machine, available in booth loop and bike-handled configurations....

For weeding and mulching.(gardening)(Brief Article)
March 4, 2005... New last year and exhibited in the UK for the first time, the RT100 mini mulcher is the result of a joint venture between AHWI (UK) Ltd* and the German manufacturer to produce a machine specifically for weeding between young plantations. ...

Low in vibs, high in comfort.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2005... In designing its two new brushcutters - models 343R and 345x - Husqvarna* focused principally on three critical areas: weight, ergonomics and manoeuvrability. Targeted at both professional and consumer markets, `they're particularly useful...

For 21st-century grinding.(Ryetec Industrial Equipment Ltd)(Brief Article)
March 4, 2005... New from Ryetec Industrial Equipment Ltd* is a range of stump-grinders designed `to reduce operator stress and fatigue to much lower levels than any models currently available on the UK market. Not only this', the company adds, `but the...

Narrow access - high power.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2005... New for 2005 from Liston Equipment Ltd* is its narrow-access Carlton 4012PN stump grinder with `all the power and ability of the 4012 model but with 29in width capacity (to) fit through those garden gates', according to Liston's David Kendall....

Attila the Hun-gry.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2005... Etesia's* Attila ride-on brushcutter offers a cost-effective and speedy solution to maintaining areas of overgrown vegetation, long grass, scrub and wooded areas. This little workhorse also efficiently mows down brushwood and even young...

1200rpm to stop in under five secs.(seconds)(Brief Article)
March 4, 2005... No fewer than 15 models of stump cutters - from 13 to 275hp - are distributed by Westcon Equipment (UK) Ltd*, UK and European dealers for the Rayco range. The smallest of the self-propelled, four-wheel machines - the RG 1625A - offers more...

The giant strimmer.(agriculture)(Brief Article)
March 4, 2005... Bird-Eye via Marshall Agricultural Engineering*, offer a full range of heavy duty attachments to fit 360 excavators and skidsteers which can be fitted and removed easily with no auxilliary engine pack required. They are built using high...

Resounding Echo from Countax.(Brief Article)
March 4, 2005... The SRM 2305L is a new affordable (#199 plus VAT) brushcutter from Echo featuring all the advantages of their established range. The SRM 250SIL, and SRM 250SIU, now feature i-start, the Echo innovation for instant starting, while the SRM 330ESL...

On and off-track.(vechicles)(Brief Article)
March 4, 2005... Contracked Lands* based at Maidstone, Kent, offer a consultancy or service for arb, forestry, landscaping and surveying and weed control. Pictured is one of the company's 6x4 road/rail vehicle conversions which can assist in the variety of...

PLANE SAILING BY THE THAMES.(Central Tree Services )
March 4, 2005... Felling and pollarding street trees is one thing - felling and pollarding a dozen mature planes in a quiet London avenue by the Thames alongside the approach to Twickenham Bridge and a busy dual carriageway is quite another. It has to be...