Beyond the Forest... (cont’d)
Other challenges?
Buckle: Within the industry there’s a trend of expecting
companies to concentrate more on the social side of
issues. We’re challenged by the public’s perception that
we shouldn’t harvest trees. There’s a disconnect between
the visual of a tree being cut, and the sustainable usage
of a renewable resource. We need to close this knowledge
gap and continuously educate the public.
In which areas do you see the greatest
growth for the BC forestry industry?
What key success factors does the
industry need to continue to grow?
Baarda: The industry needs to embrace technology
and make the most out of each hectare of working forest.
Other jurisdictions and industries use technology to
better utilize natural resources and improve safety. This,
combined with investment certainty at the planning
stage, will enable the highest value at the next harvest
– including all the other resources that are managed in a
forest. Good government policy is needed to make that
happen.
Forestry companies are diversifying
beyond logs, pulp, and paper.
Increasingly, we’re seeing companies
offer green energy, real estate, and
specialty pulp products. Is this the way
of the future?
Michie: Forestry companies and their business models
are constantly adapting to changing business conditions
and emerging markets. I think forestry companies are
always working to find innovative ways to extract the
most value from the land base and to manage forests
responsibly.
Buckle: Fortress has always looked to purchase
companies that could operate in specialized industries. Our
Thurso mill was a shutdown paper pulp mill. We invested
and converted the mill into a dissolving pulp producer
with a cogeneration facility for creating green energy.
Dissolving pulp is a specialized product, with higher
margins, that operates outside of the commodity paper
pulp business that this mill was no longer competitive in.
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I N D U S T R Y U P D AT E
Increasingly, there is competition for land. Ensuring a
secure fibre supply that is well managed and properly
utilized is a key success factor. Deriving the maximum
possible value from the available fibre and log, to create
viable byproducts, while reducing waste, is crucial. This
helps to create multiple revenue streams, keep costs
down, and ensure competitiveness. Diversifying into new
product lines is only a part of the solution but this takes
time and resources to be successful. Cost control is no
longer enough for forestry to ensure its long-term viability.
What trends are you seeing within
the forestry industry? Internationally,
are there best practices we should be
implementing in BC?
Baarda: Eastern and Northern Europe have many more
centuries of experience with maximizing the growth
and value of timber. The Southern United States and
New Zealand also have a clear focus on high-visibility
supply chains that facilitate good financial modelling.
Government and corporate policies in all of these cases
allow for quick cycling of ideas into practice. BC needs
to have forest policy that reflects the reality of global
competition if it wants its forest operations to lead in that
global market.
Michie: Adding value to the goods produced by our
industry is an ongoing trend. Innovations in products,
markets, and practices are factors for future success.
Buckle: From an innovation standpoint, a lot of new
research is being done in Canada in diversifying products
and using more of a log commercially. Research is being
done in breaking a tree down into components (such as
cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin) in order to find new
commercial uses. The challenge is to bridge the five- to
10-year gap in taking research to the next step of creating a
product with demand potential that works on an industrial
scale. There are some federal initiatives funding innovative
production ideas, but this is an underfunded research area.
The provinces could look to increase funding in these
areas if they want to help the industry adapt and ensure
stable future operations.