Forestry & British Timber articles from October 2002

Forestry & British Timber archives from October 2002

A FAREWELL TO ARBRE?
October 14, 2002... August 7 was a black day for UK bioenergy when the flagship green Arbre energy plant near Selby, N Yorks, went into liquidation. As well as a the shock to the 34 directly employed and the 63 farmers and woodland owners left with no market for...

Partners in action the way ahead for forestry.
October 14, 2002... The Woodland Trust, the UK's leading woodland conservation charity, has been one of the central players in the UK Forest Partnership for Action, a coalition of key environmental charities, Government departments and the timber industry. The...

Emerging market for willow coppice.
October 14, 2002... Against the backdrop of Arbre Energy in receivership comes some welcome news for existing short rotation coppice (SRC) growers and those looking to plant SRC in the future. Coppice Resources Ltd*, which specialises in commercial growing of SRC...

Locals to have a say in woodland management.
October 14, 2002... `As a local person, I'm very proud to ensure that the voice of the people of North Wales is heard within Welsh forestry'. StJohn Ashworth was talking following his appointment as the first community ranger to the north-east Wales area where he...

FE helping rural employment in Wales.
October 14, 2002... An innovative pilot project by Forest Enterprise Wales's Operations Department is helping to re-skill rural Wales and deliver real added value to its woodlands. During the last few years the shortage of skilled forest machine operators...

Audition time in Powys.
October 14, 2002... The rare dusk and dawn cry of the Nightjar has been echoing over the hills of mid-Wales during the past few months. But was it a bird or was it a Forest Enterprise Wales (FEW) ranger with a tape player? As part of an innovative partnership...

Don Kennedy.
October 14, 2002... `As Don Kennedy reports': Hardly has an issue of FBT apppeared over the past two decades that has not contained an article or news story under this familiar byline. However, this will no longer be the case as it is, with great sorrow, that we...

Letter: `Improved trees' - why bother?
October 14, 2002... From Niel Nicholson `Sir, Over the years many nurseries have been trying to improve the planting stock they provide and British and Irish Hardwood Improvement Programme (BIHIP) has been carrying out research to help. Wildstar cherries...

FCA Chairman Retires.
October 14, 2002... Ken Buswell, chairman for the past two years of the Forestry Contracting Association has resigned, due to ill health. At a meeting on September 2, the board of directors `regretfully accepted' his immediate resignation and placed on record...

Have your say on FRM regs.
October 14, 2002... The Forestry Commission is looking for comments on the draft regulations it has produced to implement a new European Directive on the marketing of forest reproductive material (FRM), including seeds, cones, cuttings and plants. It is...

Welsh warden appointed.
October 14, 2002... A new countryside warden - Rhun Jones - has been appointed to help improve and promote recreational facilities at Coed Moel Famau, between Ruthin and Mold. The North Wales woodland is located within the Clwydian Range of hills and mountains and...

Illegal logging.
October 14, 2002... A draft action plan to combat illegal logging and smuggling of the resulting timber has been agreed between the UK and Indonesian governments and NGOs. The plan effectively ratifies a memorandum of understanding signed by the two...

New chapter for London's Chase.
October 14, 2002... Pages Wood in Essex lies entirely within London green-belt land between Romford to the east and the M25 to the west. Two years ago, the site was under arable cultivation but, in mid-summer, it was officially designated as a new Thames Chase...

Small woods - major brief.
October 14, 2002... For the past four years, representatives of key woodland initiatives have met informally to discuss mutual experiences, and share problems and solutions. Building on these, the Small Woods Association (SWA)* announces, it has joined forces with...

Butting into Irish territory.
October 14, 2002... Heading west across the Irish Sea are Welsh ash butts to help solve a supply problem suffered by makers of sticks for Ireland's game of hurling - a wild version of hockey, akin to Scottish shinty. This sporting gesture by Forest Enterprise...

Birchwoods rebirth.
October 14, 2002... Scottish environment minister Ross Finnie played three roles when he visited Munlochy, Ross-shire at the end of August. Speaking at its HQ, he announced that, to mark the tenth anniversary of Highland Birchwoods (HB), the Scottish Executive had...

Re-creating Cree.
October 14, 2002... `Lowland raised bog is now recognised and protected as one of Britain's most rare and precious habitats'. Galloway district officer Rena Tarwinska was explaining the decision to restore the Forestry Commission's 64-hectare Moss of Cree site -...

Status symbol.
October 14, 2002... `The Tweed Valley has all the ingredients for a memorable visit, be it for a day or for longer'. SE deputy minister for parliamentary business Euan Robson was speaking in the summer at the launch of a new walking trail in the area's main...

Grampian grant-winners.
October 14, 2002... Thanks to almost #1.7m awarded in special Scottish Executive forestry grants, Aberdeenshire and Moray will benefit from another 762 hectares of woodland areas established on 21 sites over the next year. They were announced by forestry minister...

Living tribute for September 11.
October 14, 2002... On September 11 2002 at 1.45pm, the exact time the first aircraft struck the Twin Towers in New York a year ago, seven trees were planted and dedicated to the memory of the victims of the terrorist attacks. The planting ceremony took place at...

New premises for Hemming & Wood.
October 14, 2002... Following 30 years of trading from its familiar Lichfield address, Hemming & Wood has moved to new purpose-built premises near Burntwood, also in Staffs. The move, to a 2000m2 site at the heart of the motorway network has been facilitated by...

Spruce's golden harvest.
October 14, 2002... With the decline in timber prices and forestry jobs, interest in the profit potential of non-timber forest products' (NTFP) is - according to Don Kennedy - beginning to be taken seriously in the UK, 20 years later than in Scandinavia or North...

Another brick in the wall.
October 14, 2002... Martin Price, 26, has joined the Dollar team of Eamonn Wall & Co. Martin graduated from Aberdeen University with a degree in forestry in 1999 and has just completed an MSc in environmental forestry at University College North Wales,...

Spruce a `hoot', say owls.
October 14, 2002... Tawny owls are helping to re-write the nature books, providing Kielder foresters with new insights into the vitality of England's biggest woodland. In other words, the Forestry Commission is working with `Northumbria ringing group' researchers...

Taste of honey on the net.
October 14, 2002... Rare honey buzzards from the Scottish Highlands are being tracked again on the internet as part of a pioneering project to uncover the mysteries of the birds' annual journey south. This elusive raptor, which is neither a member of the...

Dollar's decade of discovery.
October 14, 2002... Two separate anniversaries were marked by visitors aboard the famous Antarctic exploration ship, RRS `Discovery' on a fine sunny evening at Dundee in August. For them, it specifically related to the tenth birthday of woodland consultants and...

In the still of the night.
October 14, 2002... Three thousand hectares of forest in Strathnavar, northern Scotland have been unlocked for production as the result of a new rail transportation link-up. The first load of timber from Rosal Forest arrived in Inverness in mid-August after making...

New life for `old wives tongue!'.
October 14, 2002... Moves are underway to safeguard the last strongholds of one of Scotland's most ancient and unusual trees. The delicate aspen - named `old wives tongue' because of its ever quaking leaves - has been a rich source of folklore down the centuries,...

Sheffield joins the club.
October 14, 2002... Sheffield County Council has joined Independent Forestry's* group certification scheme. The Lord Mayor of Sheffield, councillor Mrs Marjorie Barker is presented with a certificate of membership by David Ogg, group manager as Nick Sellwood...

Irish into timberframe.
October 14, 2002... Coillte Teoranta, the Irish state forestry organisation, has gone into the commercial timber frame house building market in a joint venture with an Austrian company. Local sources say that Coillte is putting up to Euros 5m into the project...

UPM-Kymmene out.
October 14, 2002... The Finnish-based forest products giant UPM-Kymmene has sold off its interests in UK timber merchanting and does not envisage a return to the sector. The company has sold its Brooks Manson chain, which has 11 outlets, to the Wolseley...

Grange grows.
October 14, 2002... Grange Fencing is setting up a new factory at the Port of Hull to meet demand. The 35000ft2 unit will complement Grange's other production sites in Shropshire. The company said it made sense to site the factory in Hull as this is its...

Garden products firm cuts and grows.
October 14, 2002... Timber garden products manufacturer Forest Garden is shutting its sawmill at Stanford Bridge, but taking on more staff at its expanding operation in Scotland. The company said it did not make economic sense to keep the Stanford Bridge unit...

Top recycler.
October 14, 2002... West Bromwich Pallets has been named reprocessor of the year by the government-backed Valpak recycling initiative. The company makes its waste into a product called `Enviromulch' which is used in garden landscaping and playground areas....

Aye to I-joists.
October 14, 2002... Booming demand for I-joists, the flooring beams comprising solid timber lengths fixed to a sheet material flange, has prompted timber products specialist and merchant Harlow Bros to double output. The Loughborough company makes TJI-Joists...

`Platform' launched.
October 14, 2002... Jewson-owner Saint-Gobain's has opened a new breed of builders merchant outlet called `Platform Building Materials'. The first branch, covering 60000ft2 is at Kings Norton, Birmingham and up to 15 more are promised in five years. The...

Merchant invests to quadruple.
October 14, 2002... Merchant and sawmiller Beesley & Fildes has invested #500 000 to develop its milling site and set up a joinery production business. The company has set up a new Tanalith treatment plant at its Deeside Sawmills in Chester and installed...

Tsar in the south.
October 14, 2002... Tsar Timber Distribution Ltd has opened a southern importing terminal and sales office at the Port of Shoreham. The company, which to date has run out of Goole, East Yorkshire, says the move will give it better access to Greater London and...

Illegal timber issue.
October 14, 2002... A leading UK plywood trader has acknowledged that his company may have sourced products based on illegally-felled timber. John Pickford of Mendip Plywood made the admission on an Australian Broadasting Company documentary called Four Corners on...

Stora buys Baltic mill.
October 14, 2002... One of the leading Nordic timber suppliers to the UK, Stora Enso, has bought a large part of the business of AS Sylvester, Estonia's biggest sawmiller. The Swedish/Finnish conglomerate has bought 66% of Sylvester's sawmilling operations...

Faith in UK.
October 14, 2002... Canadian-based forestry and timber industry software systems specialist Progressive Solutions has underlined its confidence in the UK market by buying Software Aspects of Cheshire. Progressive has already set up a sales and support office...

Standard sheets.
October 14, 2002... The Wood Panels Industry Federation has unveiled a new performance standard for non-construction sheet materials in association with the Furniture Industry Research Association. The standard, IS (WPIF) 1/2002, specifies performance...

Shoreham invests in timber.
October 14, 2002... The Port of Shoreham has completed a #1m programme of investment in warehousing as part of its programme to encourage more timber trade. An additional 6000m2 of undercover storage has been completed at the port's Brighton Terminal and it...

WIND OF CHANGE IN THE WILLOWS.
October 14, 2002... As the busload of British bureaucrats bustled about at the Earth Summit, some of us, writes Martin Pearce, wonder if the cost of the jaunt to Johannesburg and the energies of those attending might not be better concentrated on environmental...

WOODWISE: The view from the sharp end.
October 14, 2002... In which our monthly contracting contributor Nick Hilton of Woodwise Forestry* has been removing lots of broadleaves to make way for conifers (steady!), taken a short break in Wales and lost a man to the building trade. Oh, the topsy...

ASH: choosing a seed-source.
October 14, 2002... When planting ash, the choice of seed-source is important says Dr Ned Cundall, Project Leader for the Improvement of Broadleaves for Forest Research at their Northern Research Station. Early results from our ash provenance trials show that...

SCULPTREE - how the fallen are mighty again!
October 14, 2002... Westonbirt Arboretum was once again the scene of the annual Sculptree auction over the August Bank Holiday weekend as the works of ten skilled wood carvers went under the hammer to raise money for the charity Tree Aid. For those budding...

Woodland expansion and restocking under SFGS.
October 14, 2002... In August (p7) we revealed that in Scotland a new forestry grant - Scottish Forestry Grants Scheme (SFGS) no less - will be introduced from January 2003 (given EC approval). With many woodland owners now thinking about autumn planting and...

A decade in tree care.
October 14, 2002... A youth training scheme at Blenheim Palace after he'd left school gave Mike Harvey a taste for forestry that led to him set up his own business. Ten years on, Mike Harvey Tree Surgery has evolved into Arbocare, based at Didcot in Oxfordshire...

FREELANDER - what all the fuss is about!
October 14, 2002... The Land Rover Freelander is the best-selling four-wheel-drive in the UK and Europe. Two years ago Land Rover vastly improved the vehicle and also introduced a new BMW diesel engined version, the TD4. This model proved so popular BMW could not...

Taking the slog out of spade-work.
October 14, 2002... Although firmly established in harvesting operations, Irish contractors Roland Forestry Ltd have in recent years begun to diversify, notably into reforestation. To overcome the problems inherent in the laborious task of tree-planting on...

Shades of Silverstone.
October 14, 2002... By the time this article appears, the 25th World Logging Championships (WLC) will be a memory - albeit a very recent one. Staged for the first time in Great Britain, they formed a highly popular attraction at the late-September Lockerbie...

Chainsaw sculpture.
October 14, 2002... Chainsaw sculpture has branched out over the past decade as a visit to the annual Sculptree event at the Forestry Commission's Westonbirt Arboretum will attest. Sculptree was founded by Glos-based Dave Johnson and a small band of like-minded...

Cutting up the market place.
October 14, 2002... The introduction of the DCS range of chainsaws by Makita, has, according to the company, `already had a major impact on the chainsaw market and the established brands are under pressure'. The DCS7900 is proving a popular machine for both...

Carving a successful niche.
October 14, 2002... Husqvarna* offers one of the market's most comprehensive chainsaw ranges, from 40 to 120cc Since its launch in July as a replacement for the popular 254XP, Husqvarna's 357XP professional chainsaw has gone on to establish itself as a firm...

Emphasis on i-start.
October 14, 2002... Echo, who developed the first light and powerful trimmers and brushcutters over fifty years ago continue to innovate with i-start, the device that makes first-time starting of two-stroke engines `a certainty'. i-start, available on...

PRO-ACTIVE!
October 14, 2002... Professional chainsaws from Stihl* fall effectively into four categories and depending upon their intended use each range has a number of models available with varying accessories and options. Robust, mid-range chainsaws make reliable...

Two from Efco.
October 14, 2002... Designed to minimise vibration, both Efco's latest chainsaws - the 147 and 152 available through Hemming and Wood* - use a one-piece handle, while the fuel tank assembly is isolated from the drive unit by five anti-vibration mounts (three...