2018 International Forest Industries December 2017 January 2018 | страница 3

LOGGING • BIOMASS
CONTENTS
44
34

44 FELLING HEADS
Better batching, tilting and sawing are on
show from two industry greats

34 BIOMASS
It’s business as usual for manufacturers of biomass equipment as they push forward with their
continuous improvement in tandem with lowering emissions
INDUSTRY VOICE
John Deere:
From a macro-economic standpoint, we are
starting to see some economic recovery in
the United States and Canada, which is a
positive sign. Housing starts are healthy, as
are lumber prices. However, there are still
several unknowns in the market, including
the implementation of tariffs and unexpected
events, such as the forest fires that hit northern
Canada and the western United States, hurting
production. We will have to see how these
unknowns impact the logging industry. Looking
at other markets, we have seen a lot of stability,
especially in Russia and Europe. Additionally,
China continues to play a large role in the
forestry industry with their importing of pulp
and lumber.
Q.
Cautious Optimism
The industry’s finest have once
again fed back to International
Forest industries on how the
sector looks to them, what their
clients are asking for, and where
they see the opportunities for
the immediate future. And it has
been a mixed response, as key
figures from leading companies
offered varied accounts of
market strength, while most
agreed it was volatile. However,
the majority of respondents said
they continued to experience
growth when able to deliver on
demands for innovation
Q.
How has the
macro-economic
situation affected
your sales?
A.
Cat:
Caterpillar Inc. is benefiting
from the strengthening of the
global economy.
The success of Caterpillar
Forest Products is tied to the
success of our customers, and their success in
turn is tied to the economic health of the overall
forest products industry. The improvement in
the global economy has favorably impacted the
forest products industry in some regions while
other regions are still recovering.
Barko:
We have seen a decrease in some new machine
sales mainly due to decreased market demand
and a surplus of inventory in the used-
equipment market. With the Tier 4 Final engine
requirement in all new equipment sold in the
US and Canada starting in 2018, some buyers
have been hesitant to upgrade and will try to
get more out of their older equipment before
upgrading. We have also dealt with mild winters
in the Great Lakes region the past few years that
result in shorter harvesting periods for certain
areas of the region. Pulpwood prices continue
to remain relatively unchanged, which means
producers need higher production to increase
profits. Lumber prices seemed to improve and it
appears that most of the mills are keeping their
yards stocked.
Tigercat:
The uncertainty created around the 2016
American election, new government and threats
A.
30
Respondents
to withdraw from numerous trade agreements
have played a role in affecting sales as potential
customers proceeded cautiously for a few
months post the election. The strong demand
by Asia for round logs and wood chips has seen
countries like Australia, New Zealand and South
America increase their exports to mainly China
and Japan.
Do you feel the
forestry sector
has been robust
in 2017?
Cat:
Robust may be too strong a
word, but the forest products
industry has experienced
growth in some regions in
2017.
However, you have to remember that logging
contractors still have their work cut out for
them if they want to operate profitably. It is a
very challenging business. They take risks, and
they make substantial capital investments in
equipment. In addition, the prices they get for
their products, particularly in the Southeastern
U.S., have been near historical lows, which puts
further pressure on margins.
These businesses are critical to the supply chain
of the forest products industry. It all starts with
them. They rely on a company like Caterpillar
to provide them with the tools they need to do
their job and be profitable. And they rely on a
dealer network like Caterpillar to provide the
ongoing support and assistance they need to
keep operating. Caterpillar has a wide portfolio
of machines, engines, and services that serve
the forestry industry, whether it be building and
maintaining roads, logging, managing land, or
performing tasks on a mill yard.
Barko:
The forestry industry in 2017 seemed to improve
some when compared to the past few years
but it has not recovered as quickly as most had
hoped that work within the industry. We look
forward to improv ing in 2018 by setting a path
for success within our company.
Tigercat:
When looking at the state of the mining
and construction industries and associated
equipment suppliers the forestry sector has
indeed been the shining light. Bar slight hiccups
here and there the forestry sector has been
exceptionally robust and in many cases the
saving grace for many dealers who operate
across the various industries mentioned.
John Deere:
This year we have seen quite a bit of fluctuation
in the forestry sector, as we saw a softening in
the industry in the United States and Canada
at the beginning of 2017. However, toward the
end of the year we have seen positive signs,
such as increased mill activity, indicating that
the industry is getting stronger. Russia, Europe
and South America were relatively healthy
throughout the year.
Q.
Have you seen
any changes in
your key markets
or emerging
markets over
2017?
A.
Cat:
We see continued growth
opportunities in the emerging
markets of the Asia-Pacific
region. We think the potential
is there for a bright future for the forest products
industry. Certainly plantation forest growth and
mechanization will contribute to these changes.
Caterpillar already has a strong footprint in the
region, and we are well positioned to serve the
Steve Talaga, product
manager for Barko
Hydraulics
Mario Godbout, Chief
Technology and Quality
Officer, Autolog
Gary Olsen International
Sales Manager at
Tigercat Inc.
Tom Budan, VP
Worldwide Forestry
Advertisers 2017 include ...
Anthony (Tony) Fassino,
Director, Caterpillar World
Wide Forest Products
56 International Forest Industries | DECEMBER 2017 / JANUARY 2018
International Forest Industries | DECEMBER 2017 / JANUARY 2018 57



52 INDUSTRY VOICE 30 TIGERCAT 58 STEEP SLOPE LOGGING
The industry’s finest have once again fed
back to International Forest industries on
how the sector looks to them, what their
clients are asking for, and where they see
the opportunities for the immediate future Fourth generation logger, Larry Richards talks
about his operations in the Adirondacks and
leveraging the knowledge and expertise of the
team to capture more value – for the company
and the landowners. The landscape for steep-
slope logging presents an
opportunity for loggers and
manufacturers alike
LUMBER PROCESSING
DECEMBER 2017 / JANUARY 2018
REGULAR FEATURES
6 Logging News
CONTENTS
64 Advertising Index
COVER: MICROTEC - Goldeneye 900 Transverse Quality Scanner
LOGGING • SAW
Goldeneye 900 Transverse Quality Scanner
for rip, trim, grading and sorting solutions
- the only transverse quality scanner
that uses X-ray scanning over the whole
board length to determine the quality of
green, dry or planed lumber – in one pass
from all four sides. The scanner detects
and localizes all types of knots as well
as cracks, discoloration, pitch pockets,
wanes, curvature and other dimensional
defects. Value optimization before kiln
drying, secondary wood processing or
remanufacturing are all possible since
Goldeneye 900 grades both rough and
finished lumber. This allows automating,
streamlining and optimizing all further
production steps.
MILLING • EWP
’s
• BIOMASS
DECEMBER 2017
/ JANUARY 2018
INDUSTRY VOIC
E
Heavy hitters
have their say
DRYING TIM
FALLING DOW
Tree-length
cutting powe
r
N
GREASE
LIGHTNING
World’s faste
st
sawline goes
live?
CRUNCH,
MUNCH, CHIP
Biomass mach
ines
making wave
s
www.microtec.eu/Goldeneye900
International Forest Industries | DECEMBER 2017 / JANUARY 2018 1
ES
Kiln technolog
y
to unbottlen
eck
sawlines
TIGERCAT
Capturing value
in the Adirondac
ks
MICROTEC
Optimizes rip
and chop cut
at
Woodgrain
Millwork