When a possibility to join FOBIA project came along, the project team at the Riveria’s Valtimo School of Forestry was especially excited about the international opportunities it offered. As training Manager Mikko Saarimaa describes: – We have developed a skills survey and a training on systematic working methods for forest machine operators. We aim to increase the drivers’ efficiency with this approach. This, in turn, has a positive impact on …
Photo: Saku Ruusila/Riveria, Valtimo With a swift move a gigantic harvester loads freshly cut logs effortlessly by the road side. There is demand for timber as the forest bioeconomy is booming, with significant investments being made across Finland. But the investments and growth have not reached small wood-harvesting enterprises. They struggle financially with low profitability, and in some regions they lack a skilled workforce. As the FOBIA project coordinator, …
Laois Sawmills Ltd., located in the centre of Ireland, is expanding from an annual roundwood intake of 100,000 m3 to 250,000 m3 over the next three years, with the additional timber being sourced from private forest owners. John Kelly, the sawmill Purchase Manager is tasked with securing this supply. We spoke to him about this and how the forest harvesting sector is scaling up in Ireland. What is the business …
The FOBIA project aims to build practical tools that can help to enhance and in improve operational efficiency of forestry businesses. Currently in development is a tool that reads operational monitoring data (mom files) of forest machines (harvesters and forwarders). This tool is in an early testing stage, and when completed, it provides potentially useful application for forestry businesses. The open-source application will be available for anyone to access online. …
Filip Benjaminsson, forestry student at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) in Umeå, presented in March 2018 his master thesis “Development of a tool to characterize business models for forestry services”. The thesis work was part of the FOBIA project, and the goal was to develop a framework for mapping and comparison of forestry service business models. Business model – what is it? A business model describes how a …