WoodTECH Issue 44 - Latest news and resources
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Welcome to the latest issue of WoodTECH.News.
This is the first issue of 2022 and how things have changed since we last corresponded. Omicron has been an unwelcome game-changer in Australia. While the worst may be over, the big issue for business has been chronic worker shortages in key industries across the country. Companies reported that 20% to 50% of workers were off sick with covid, or isolating, during the peak. It soon became apparent that an 'essential worker' was not limited to teachers, doctors and supermarket workers - it now included truck drivers, meat workers, cleaners, machinery operators, maintenance staff and hundreds of other occupations.
With omicron now in New Zealand, we are likely to see a similar scenario play out. Hopefully, some lessons have been learnt from across the Tasman and New Zealand businesses can plan for upcoming disruptions.
In industry news, sawmillers, wood manufacturers and saw doctors across the region have been looking forward to the upcoming WoodTECH 2022 event in Rotorua, New Zealand. Because of covid and international travel uncertainty over the next couple of months, the mid-May WoodTECH 2022 event has been rescheduled to 18-19 October 2022. This will be the first in-person event run for green mill operations since 2019. As well as the issue of safety, the delay will most likely enable key technology and equipment providers from Australasia to finally travel into this part of the world.
As well as numerous major investments announced in local sawmilling operations, we’ve also highlighted again the issue of a lack of digital skills within the manufacturing workforce. Manufacturing, no matter what industry it is, is facing rapid technological change and the challenge is how businesses can upskill workers to keep pace. While automation has long been a feature within sawmills, we are now seeing robotic arms working alongside skilled staff and connected devices removing the need for manual data recording.
Check out these stories and much more below. Enjoy this month's issue.
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AU$6m investment in Tasmanian wood processing
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The Tasmanian Government is investing in our AU$1.2 billion timber and forestry industry to gain higher returns by increasing value-added production and supporting more jobs in regional Tasmania. Seven projects around Tasmania will share in an AU$6 million investment through our Forestry On-Island Processing Program to help the sector turn existing wood supplies, as well as wood residues, into higher-value ...
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Weinig launches ‘pay-as-you-use’ equipment service
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More flexibility dealing with market and economic fluctuations as well as access to the latest technologies: that is the promise of the new “Woodworking as a Service” business model, which the Weinig company will be implementing over the next two years. In the future, the company says, will enable customers to pay for machines according to actual usage. This means ...
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AU$63m for Timberlink’s Tasmanian mill
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An AU$63 million capital investment at Bell Bay Tasmania will see an increase of more than fifty percent in on-island sovereign timber manufactured from sustainably managed pine plantations. The project will commence in 2022 with commissioning expected by the end of 2025. The expansion project installation and construction will be in two stages, from 2022, with full output achieved at ...
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Strengthening digital skills for NZ manufacturers
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Low levels of digital literacy among staff is a challenge facing many manufacturing businesses, and strengthening those skills is not only essential to meet rapid technological changes in the workplace, it’s vital to increasing productivity. Digital literacy encompasses numeracy, literacy and computer skills. Across the manufacturing sector, digital literacy has been identified as the most pressing skills gap due to ...
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New GLT beam to match changing wood resource
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With Australia’s demand for structural pine framing and engineered wood products at an all-time high, pressure has been on the timber industry to ramp up production to make products more available to the market. But what happens when the log resources required isn’t available to produce the glulam beams the market is crying out for? This is exactly what happened ...
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Reimagining factory automation: The winds of change
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The need for a cognitive shift Factory automation has played a pivotal role in the evolution of manufacturing from the early days of manual control through relays and switches to the advanced digital platforms that are seen today. Increasing productivity, achieving mass production, and improving efficiencies have been a perennial quest for manufacturers and have been catalysts for advancements in ...
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Wood locks up carbon – treated wood locks it up for longer
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COP26 Glasgow highlighted just how hard it is to get united global action on climate change. Although agreements were thin on the ground, a significant highlight of the conference was recognition for the positive role that wood plays in tackling the principal cause of global warming – carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions – and why the increased use of wood should ...
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OneFortyOne to invest $11 million in Jubilee Sawmill
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OneFortyOne, Mount Gambier’s largest private employer, has committed to investing over $11 million in its Jubilee Sawmill over the next two years. Jubilee Sawmill General Manager Paul Hartung said the modern manufacturing investment was a continuation of the re-investment program that started in 2016. “OneFortyOne has invested close to $40 million since purchasing the mill in 2018, on state-of-the-art technology ...
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WoodTECH is a community and we want to hear your voice. Do you have any thoughts about the stories above? Please don't hesitate to share your thoughts with the wider community and leave a comment at the end of the story!
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