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Joint bulletin from Luke and TTS (Työtehoseura) According to the results of a survey conducted by TTS, nearly a third of forest machine operators with operations in Finland do not consider the data collected by a forest machine important for their business. The survey is part of the FOBIA project coordinated by the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke). The project aims to develop the business competence of forest service companies …

In Sweden, a major recruitment of forestry drivers will be required. A survey initiated by the TSG (Forestry Technical Cooperation Group) shows that a large proportion of forestry drivers will achieve retirement age over the next ten years. At the same time there are indications that younger engineers jump off after 5-15 years in the profession. In order to provide simple basic facts to the discussion of forestry skills in …

Over the past year, I have spoken to dozens of professionals involved with the forest contracting industry, and there are some very clear messages that are shared by all of them. One of the strongest messages relates to encouraging young operators into the sector: currently, there are not enough, and there is insufficient provision in the current structure to encourage them without significant cost. Currently, there are very few training …

In May, FOBIA newsletter presented an overview of Finnish harvesting contractors’ financial performance which showed that bigger companies were more profitable than smaller ones. Since then, researchers at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) have investigated the situation in Sweden by analyzing financial statements for approx. 500 harvesting contractors. The preliminary results show that also in Sweden the smaller companies have the smallest profits. However, there are also concerns …

Meet Jussi Antman, a long-time forest harvesting driver and entrepreneur, who sleeps better these days than before. His sleeping patterns have improved thanks to a conscious change in his working methods which have brought him more free time. Automation specialist Markku Heikkinen from machine manufacturer John Deere and trainers at Valtimo School of Forestry helped bring about this change by testing new methods with Jussi over a period of ten …

Päivi Hirvonen from Finnmetko Oy cannot stop smiling. She has recently returned from the FinnMETKO 2018 exhibition, where she demonstrated the Datapankki (Databank) service provided by the Trade Association of Finnish Forestry, Earthmoving and Energy Contractors for its members. The 35,000 exhibition guests produced a steady flow of interested visitors to the stand. More productivity through monitoring Account manager Päivi Hirvonen likes to talk about Datapankki face to face to …

There is nothing new about collecting and sending data directly from the harvester’s measuring device to forest companies. However, FOBIA has developed a prototype tool that also serves the needs of harvesting contractors. Seven years ago a working group set up by the The Trade Association of Finnish Forestry, Earthmoving and Energy Contractors (Koneyrittäjien Liitto) came up with the idea of a tailor-made tool for harvesting contractors. Tietohippu Oy has …

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 …