Management of Tenon Industries local forest estate
It focuses on adding value to pruned logs by processing them into solid lineal mouldings and boards, many of which are exported to the USA.
Tenon is also a forest owner and it engages PF Olsen for management of its local forest estate.
This has been an ongoing relationship for over 10 years. PF Olsen looks after the management of establishment and tending operations, fire protection, forest health surveillance, security and harvesting.
PF Olsen is managing harvesting at Tenon's Emery forest in Rotoma where, in combination with good past tending and favourable growing conditions, impressive timber yields are being achieved.
Recoverable volume per hectare is coming in over 700 tonnes with pruned log yields edging up to 20%. All the pruned volume is being sent to Tenon's mill in Taupo where they are generating high clearwood recoveries with almost no resin - an important value generator for Tenon.
Graeme Young, Forest and Fibre Procurement Resource for Tenon says "PF Olsen provides such good service that we also use them for additional services such as forest inventory and harvest planning. As we want our forests to hold Forest Stewardship Council certification, PF Olsen's FSC group scheme is an added bonus."
When Tenon required a special order of pruned logs to supply high-strength clear wood for an order from a European bridge builder it turned to PF Olsen. Two bridges were constructed from New Zealand Radiata pine clearwood which was Accoya-treated and edge-glued into massive dimensions (see photo above right). The bridges span 40m each across motorways in northern Netherlands, near a city called Sneek. The Accoya treatment (a process called acetylation) improves both the durability, hardness and strength of the wood.
PF Olsen sourced the pruned logs from a stand known to have high-strength wood. In addition PF Olsen tested each pruned log with the Hitman sonic testing tool to ensure that it meet the minimum strength threshold. Logs that didn't meet the threshold were diverted to other uses.
This project was a great opportunity to show-case the versatility of Radiata pine in an international context, as well as the utility of wood in specialist engineering applications. The fact that the wood was produced from a sustainable source and was FSC certified was also of critical importance to the customer.