Empowering forestry and wood through tech

The Government is backing the New Zealand’s forestry sector’s innovation and sustainable productivity, announced from Agriculture Minister Todd McClay last month.

“Greater land use flexibility results in prosperity through productivity, and new production methods and technologies are key to driving that step-change. Enabling this exemplifies the Government’s commitment to fixing the basics and building the future,” Mr McClay says. “More than 39,000 Kiwis work in forestry, a sector that contributes $6.2 billion in export revenue – supporting regional economies and jobs.

“This National-led Government is committed to backing farmers and growers, including through sensible regulatory reform and cutting of red tape and costs, combined with the latest science, technology and farming methods provides the opportunity for strong returns with a smaller environmental impact.”

Leveraging this, the Government is investing $3.2 million over three years in a new $8m project to assess the feasibility of producing prefabricated, fully fitted mass timber modules for the New Zealand market and potentially Australia. This will mean more timber is processed onshore creating greater value and more jobs. This work is funded in partnership with VoMo Limited, a Red Stag Investments company.

The project aims to convert industrial-grade logs into higher-value timber for a range of applications, including use in the construction of hotels, student housing, apartments and offices, multiplying the logs’ value 6.7 times.

It will determine if this model of construction is likely to be successful in New Zealand, which includes analysing aspects such as design, technical performance, seismic resilience, productivity gains, cost efficiency, and carbon savings.

Shifting supply from export to domestic markets also offers greater stability and encourages long-term investment in forestry and wood processing.

“Data and information from this and similar projects will be shared with farmers and growers to give them further confidence to innovate and grow their businesses – supporting a more productive and responsive sector that is better positioned to supply New Zealand and the world with high-quality produce,” said Mr McClay. “The primary industries are the backbone of this economy and the lifeblood of rural communities. Supporting their success is a priority for this Government.”

Source: New Zealand Government

Further reading:Government announces Primary Sector Growth Fund projects (RNZ)