Forestry & British Timber articles from September 2005

Forestry & British Timber archives from September 2005

FAREWELL TO FUTURE OPTIONS.(environmental conservation concerns)
September 7, 2005... Chairman Mao Tse-Tung was once asked what he thought of the French revolution. He is reputed to have replied that it was too soon to be able to judge. Decisions taken in haste do not have a good reputation. Decisions taken in haste in forestry...

Scottish mill draws nearer.
September 7, 2005... Plans for Scottish-based company Forscot to build a #1bn integrated forest products plant at Invergordon in NE Scotland have moved another step forward. Confirmation comes with the publication of an environmental consultation report* which...

Arbor Eater reaffirmed.(Arbor Eater Brushwood Chippers Ltd)(Pezzolato SpA )(Brief Article)
September 7, 2005... Michael Dalrymple of Arbor Eater Brushwood Chippers Ltd with Riccardo Pezzolato in front of the latest machine on its way from Italy to the UK. The West Sussex-based company has been reaffirmed as sole UK distributors for the full product range...

Mapping the future.(Forestry industry's services)
September 7, 2005... `The most comprehensive study of the forest and woodland industry in the last 100 years': That is how the England Forest Industries Partnership (EFIP) describes its recently commissioned project to create a foundation map of the industry in...

Kevin moves to UK's `outdoor capital'.(Brief Article)
September 7, 2005... Branding itself as the `Outdoor capital of the UK', Lochaber has a new man in charge of this important cluster of national woods and forests - some of Scotland's most popular with visitors. Kevin Peace has taken over as manager of Forestry...

Carlisle's new log buyer.
September 7, 2005... With a wide and varied background in the forest products industry, Harry Stevens has joined BSW Timber, the UK's largest sawmilling business, as new log purchaser and supply manager at its Carlisle operation. Harry, 37 has over 12 years'...

Trees for ink.(Trees are being bartered for printing ink )
September 7, 2005... Trees are being bartered for printing ink in a recycling deal between the Forest of Marston Vale and the computer franchise Cartridge World. Young trees are being paid for with loyalty card stamps earned by IT customers in a 'Plant a Tree not a...

Inverness goes even greener.
September 7, 2005... `The Forestry Commission is proud to be acknowledged as one of the "greenest" forest managers in the world', said FC Scotland Inverness forest district manager David Jardine recently. Now the district's foresters are bringing these credentials...

Seed gatherers unite.
September 7, 2005... October 9 has been designated by the Tree Council (TC) as `Seed gathering Sunday'. `Anyone can take part, as seed gathering is easy to do and the cheapest way to obtain young trees for planting at home, school, work or the wider neighbourhood -...

Rhona Brankin returns.(Brief Article)
September 7, 2005... Following an earlier spell in the role, Rhona Brankin MSP has returned as Forestry Minister for Scotland. The latest move follows First Minister Jack McConnell's recent cabinet reshuffle. She previously served as forestry minister in the...

Happy birthday!(Tree Council's National Tree Week)(Brief Article)
September 7, 2005... November 23 to December 4 has been designated the Tree Council's National Tree Week. This year sees the 30th birthday of the countrywide festival founded and co-ordinated by the environmental charity to mark the start of the planting season and...

Monkey business in Sherwood Forest.(Brief Article)
September 7, 2005... A Newark, Notts woman took to the trees to celebrate her 50th birthday. Elaine Potts became the 250,000th person to tackle `Go Ape!' high-wire adventure courses when she swung through the trees at Sherwood Pines Forest Park near Clipstone. ...

New woodlands reprieved.
September 7, 2005... Concerted lobbying by the forestry sector has helped secure continuing support for the establishment of new woodlands in the UK, Confor (Confederation of Forest Industries) announces. Setting the scene, its chief executive David Crichton said...

Ospreys ring in new era.(Information services)(Brief Article)
September 7, 2005... Aberfoyle's osprey chicks put on a good performance recently that was somewhat different from the usual tree-top routine that has impressed visitors on a live camera link, reports Forestry Commission Scotland. Cowal and The Trossachs...

A lifetime's dedication.(Royal Forestry Society)(Brief Article)
September 7, 2005... For 43 years' service on the Adhurst Estate, Petersfield, Hampshire, Ted Floate received the Royal Forestry Society's long-service award. Medal and certificate were presented to him by RFS president John Fryer- Spedding during the society's...

Algarve moves to Lycetts.(Algarve Insurance Brokers Ltd)
September 7, 2005... Described as the market leader in providing insurance in the arboricultural and forestry sectors, Algarve Insurance Brokers Ltd (AIB) has been acquired by Lycett, Browne-Swinburne & Douglass Ltd which specialises in covering farms and estates....

Seeing the wood and trees.(Forest Education Initiative )(Brief Article)
September 7, 2005... The link between everyday wood products and the forests from which they emanate was emphasised this summer term, when pupils from Flint High School in North-East Wales took part in timber activity days. Organised by the Impio Forest...

CA names new head.
September 7, 2005... Graham Carbutt has been named as the new chief executive of the Countryside Agency (CA), taking up the appointment this month (September). His previous position was as regional director of the Government Office for the West Midlands. CA...

Farewell to NUFU after ten years.(National Urban Forestry Unit)
September 7, 2005... `Despite our strenuous efforts over the past four years, it has proved impossible to raise the resources necessary to finance our wide range of work and my board and I have therefore reluctantly concluded that the (National Urban Forestry) Unit...

New team at CFA's helm.
September 7, 2005... Backed by extensive experience of tropical forestry - 27 years in Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria and the Sudan - Jim Ball has taken over from Professor Jeff Burley the chairmanship reins of the Commonwealth Forestry Association (CFA). Returning to...

`Dales to double broadleaves'.(Brief Article)
September 7, 2005... `Unusually this year, we are able to offer our own grants towards creating... woodlands and we hope to make them go further by using other money from the Forestry Commission and from the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust'. Geoff Garret*, the...

New name at Husqvarna, Jonsered.(Electrolux Professional Outdoor Products appoints Andy Pringle )(Brief Article)
September 7, 2005... Andy Pringle has been named by Electrolux Professional Outdoor Products as its new commercial manager; the company's brands include Husqvarna and Jonsered chainsaw and related products. He joined the company from Suzuki GB where he was national...

Joining up the dots.
September 7, 2005... `When we attempt to inform and influence the movers and shakers of government policy' - writes Steele Haughton of the European Squirrel Initiative (ESI) - `it is important that we understand who is doing the moving and shaking (as opposed to...

Big Chip for B.E.(Brief Article)
September 7, 2005... B.E. Recycling have taken on a new dealer - Big Chip, based in Hampshire will be selling the Bandit range of chippers and stumpgrinders in Hampshire, Wiltshire, Dorset, Surrey, West and East Sussex. Big Chip, in collaboration with B. E....

WT strikes absorbing deal.(Woodland Trust)
September 7, 2005... `With measures like the Government's climate change levy and increased awareness of corporate responsibility, UK companies are under more pressure than ever to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions', states the Grantham, Lincs-based Woodland...

Changes ahead?(Forestry Commissioners)(Brief Article)
September 7, 2005... The Forestry Commission is seeking to change its statutory powers, with proposals laid before Parliament in July. `An update to current forestry legislation is needed', it said, `to enable the Forestry Commissioners to ensure that forestry...

`A year to forget' - 2004.
September 7, 2005... The global forest and paper industry showed signs of a slight improvement in 2004 but still fell short of industry financial performance targets, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers' (PC) eighth annual `Global forest and paper industry survey'....

Native woods under microscope.
September 7, 2005... `The survey will be valuable to woodland owners and managers by providing them with information that will (help) them with management planning'. Forestry Commission Scotland's Dr Zoe Laird was commenting on the first phase of a new survey of...

Melville's go for Volvo.
September 7, 2005... `The high specification of the machine means we can be very adaptable to take on a variety of work from ground working to preparing clearfell areas of forest land for replanting'. Mike Melville of M.A. Melville Plant Hire and Agricultural...

Trees a safety net, says charity.(Brief Article)
September 7, 2005... Reports of the food crisis in Niger in the wake of crop failure and locust attacks which led to hungry families eating leaves from trees have highlighted the essential role that trees play in times of emergency, reports Tree Aid. The UK-based...

`Dual certify to both PEFC and FSC'.
September 7, 2005... `The unavailability of sufficient amounts of timber and wood-based products from certified sources was early recognised as a serious concern for industry and the ultimate consumers'. Len Yull was reporting, in his role as chairman, at the...

`Grey' damage invitation.(Brief Article)
September 7, 2005... The recent series of mild winters has seen an alarming rise in the population of grey squirrels - and Britain's forests are suffering as a result, reports the Europe Squirrel Initiative (ESI). `In a wood near Dudley, West Midlands, for example,...

TTF's `responsible' members.(Timber Trade Federation )(Brief Article)
September 7, 2005... Twenty-six members of the Timber Trade Federation (TTF) have signed up to the organisation's `Responsible purchasing policy' (RPP), covering around 30% of the volume of the wood traded in the UK. `Launched earlier this year and welcomed by the...

Haldon has it all.(Woodland renaissance)
September 7, 2005... `Woodland renaissance' (WR) is the name of a `ground-breaking scheme to breathe new life into the region's forestry sector' to be officially presented at this year's South West Woodland Show at Exeter Racecourse, Haldon, Devon on September 16....

English scheme opens shop in autumn.
September 7, 2005... The latest update from Cambridge on the Forestry Commission's English woodland grant scheme - for both management and improvement - which opens to applicants this autumn, reveals that round #5m will be available. These final parts of the EWGS...

Price revisions.(Brief Article)
September 7, 2005... Amended figures for the standing sales price index and the GB softwood sawlog price index were published by the Forestry Commission in mid- June. They correct the version given in the May 26 2005 release which used incorrect data for the GDP...

New Bombardier dealer.(Brief Article)
September 7, 2005... A TV specialist Nick Davies of Pembrokeshire has joined the dealer network of Jets Marivent, UK sole distributor of Bombardier Recreational Products. The dealership offers customers a wide range of both leisure and utility ATVs including the...

BSW's #3m upgrade.(Brief Article)
September 7, 2005... BSW Timber, the UK's largest sawmilling business, is investing more than #3m in a major upgrade of its Scottish sawmills in Fort William and Boat of Garten, Inverness-shire. The investment programme will cover a wide range of site...

Barnsley backs biomass.
September 7, 2005... `To develop the infrastructure needed to support the woodfuel/biomass industry that has finally started to emerge in the region', the South Yorkshire Forest Partnership (SYFP) has won funding of almost #40000 from Yorkshire Forward. Included in...

Letter: Dead cert?(Letter to the Editor)
September 7, 2005... Ben Gunneberg `Sir, I was pleased to see forest certification covered in FBT - "It's A Dead Cert" July p2. Forest certification has indeed developed rapidly in the last 5 years and its importance is likely to increase. Although growth in...

WoodWISE: The view from the sharp end.(story of business being burgled)
September 7, 2005... In which our monthly contracting contributor Nick Hilton of WoodWise Forestry* has 'It' happen to him but finds there is a light at the end of the tunnel, or to be more specific an interior light in someone's car... Guaranteed mate. Bound...

MARKET REPORT: Steady as she goes!
September 7, 2005... The spring and early summer have seen a continuation of the rare and welcome situation for the UK timber industry where buoyant demand is reported from all markets. Usually, writes Martin Pearce, if one sector is doing well then one or more...

The KIELDER story - today and tomorrow.
September 7, 2005... Almost 80 years ago Australian born Roy Robinson, later to become chairman of the Forestry Commission and also to be granted the title Lord Robinson, recommended to the British government that Northumberland's inhospitable upland wastes offered...

Elmia - where factory forestry rules.
September 7, 2005... `Every four years, the world's forest industries gather at Jonkoping in southern Sweden' - reports `Robin de Bois' (Robin Carter - Timber Resources) - `for one of the industry's biggest events: Elmia Wood. In forestry terms, four years is not a...

The road to AA-approval.(Myers Tree Care's way to getting Arboricultural Association Approved Contractor status)
September 7, 2005... `At Myers Tree Care* we care for trees throughout their life and not just when the tree requires felling' - David Myers Based in Marple Bridge, Stockport, Cheshire and established in 1997 by David, Myers Tree Care has gained a...

`We would not return to - the traditional `C' trouser.(equipment for tree climbing)
September 7, 2005... Arborists are fast becoming the largest group of chainsaw users in Britain's professional tree-work sector, writes Chris White of Cut- Above Specialist Tree Services*. In the past ten years, the number of tree surgery contractors has increased...

Giving direction on new directive.(European Commission's Physical Agents Directive to reduce exposure to excessive vibration for employees)
September 7, 2005... The Physical Agents Directive (V) to reduce employee's exposure to excessive vibration, came into force on July 6. As an affected and concerned manufacturer/employer Stihl have addressed the implications at a number of end-user presentations,...

Herbicides replace strimmers.(Avondale Environmental Services )(Brief Article)
September 7, 2005... Avondale Environmental Services of Chatham, Kent will use its `unique herbicide spraying system' to control trackside vegetation alongside the Newcastle Metro Urban transportation infrastructure to replace the previously employed mechanical...

Filling the arb gap - and then some!(Treeworks Limited)(Brief Article)
September 7, 2005... Father and son Allen and Chris Brereton launched Treeworks Limited* to meet the wide-ranging needs of arborists across North Wales and the surrounding areas. Based at Deeside on the Express Way Business Park they have converted a 3000 square...

Recycling partnership impress at open day.
September 7, 2005... Recycling group Shorts Services* of Ascot joined forces recently with recycling plant and equipment specialist Blue Machinery** to provide a working demonstration of a wide range of screening, shredding, compost turning and field spreading...