2017 International Forest Industries Magazines May 2017 SHOW Special | Page 6

EDITOR ’ S COMMENT
ISSUE 56 - MAY 2017
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EDITOR ’ S COMMENT

Industry events crucial to innovation

Industry events crucial to innovation
I love conference season , which is right about now for the Northern Hemisphere .
Apart from signalling that the long , dark days of winter are well and truly behind us , it also kick-starts a period during which we periodically take a break from harvesting and processing trees to meet with others in the industry , kick the proverbial ( or literal ) tyres of a few machines and have a few drinks with old friends .
I personally enjoy this period because it allows me to get out from behind the desk and , at times , handle the controls of some of the most powerful and sophisticated pieces of technology in world – it makes a nice change from writing about them and looking at the pictures .
But there are , clearly , far more important reasons to hold these events than to give journalists a chance to play ‘ make believe ’ with expensive pieces of kit and for industry professionals to socialise .
Industry events give forestry professionals a chance to compare , contrast and move innovation forward through collaboration . They provide concentrated periods of discussion when not only technology is broached but topics such as sustainability , best practice and safety .
We would hope many of the ideas that come up appear misguided and , at the extreme , slightly crazy . These are the ideas that today seem far-fetched but may turn out to be the cornerstones of a better , more efficient , more productive industry in the future .
At one point , biomass wasn ’ t collected , all scanning and sorting was done by humans , and sitting in the cab of a harvester was cold and uncomfortable .
Can you imagine the look on the faces within the sawmilling space when the idea of using machines to watch , analyse and optimise mill throughput and cutting patters was first floated some decades ago ? At best , the cost would have been seen as horrendously prohibitive . Today , sawmills failing to invest in the latest technology risk losing money on a daily basis to inefficiency .
The first two events on the International Forest Industries radar are Ligna and Elmia in Germany and Sweden , respectively . Both these events provide a comprehensive program of technical presentations , machine demonstrations , as well as a high-level sessions for foresters and sawyers to learn more about what ’ s driving their industries right now and what might be driving those same industries in the future .
For Ligna , that will this year centre on a theme of ‘ Access to Resources and Technology ’, within its World Industry Summit initiative , which started in 2015 . Every day , the forum will highlight a topic of current international interest in the industry , with experts from Germany , Austria , Canada , Russia , Sweden and Spain giving presentations and fielding questions from the audience .
The main themes at the Wood Industry Summit 2017 are : Forestry 4.0 – Vision or Future ?; Development and Infrastructure to Ensure Sustainable Forestry ; Forest Fires – Prevention , Detection and Firefighting ; and Fleet Management to Optimize the Logistics Chain from the Forest to the Factory .
At Elmia , the show and coverage promises to be bigger than ever with three new sections being added . They are : Load & Transport ; the Drone Zone ; and Hunting .
That final section is unlikely to interest a great number of our readers but one must be wondering why haulage hasn ’ t been covered previously and all will be hugely excited by the wide-ranging applications possible with the introductions of drones to the industry , particularly for woodland managers .
We ’ ll of course be at both shows with pens and cameras at the ready so please look out for us if you want to enjoy one of those highlevel discussions ( or maybe just a cold beer !).
Enjoy , Chris Cann Editor
4 International Forest Industries | APRIL / MAY 2017