Type of Project	Shared Cost
	Contract No	FAIR-CT96-1837
	Total Cost	1,893,816 ECU
	EC Contribution	1,250,000 ECU
	Start Date	01/01/97
	Duration	36 months

PROMOTE, PROduction and Marketing of Timber in Europe: Evaluation and development of the logging-processing-marketing chains in five countries and practical implementation of the best solutions

Objectives

Technical Approach

The basic aim of this joint European project is to develop and enhance the efficiency of timber production and timber trade in Europe. This will be achieved by jointly introducing new information and processing technology on a broad scale throughout the wood chain and by incorporating successful features from one country (bench marking) in the development of the industry in an other.

The advances in relation to current state of the art would be to introduce and to improve wherever possible fully mechanised harvester technology in most countries of the Union. The harvesters will optimise the timber output according to end use, and in the most advanced case studies, operate them on line with the industry using tree length optimising software from the present tree length terminals. Support systems to find out the market needs, the optimal stand for every type of demand, the best grading system according to end use will also be developed.

Expected Results

• A detailed description of the major marketing systems of timber in the participating countries.
• A detailed description of the major production systems of timber in the participants countries.
• A routine to synthesise market demands (orders, inquiries and other market signals) to demand tables for harvester production control.
• A routine or three routine variants (small stands, large stands and thinnings) for collecting inventory data and selecting the most suitable stand for actual demand.
• A new grading system deduced by selection and improving the best EU grading system today, when paying attention to the correlation between outer characteristics on sawlogs and the demand specifications of the end users.
• Know-how transfer on harvester operations technique (computerised "Bucking-to-Value & Demand") to all participating countries.
• Management experiences from a sawmill supplied by an on-line demand system connected to a number of harvesters and from optimising the output from several harvesters to the needs of the forest industries in a region.
• An analysis model of the logging-processing-marketing chain including an "End Product Demand Module" and a "Timber Allocation Model".
• A report on the evaluation of all studies including proposals for practical implementations and strategies for implementations of the best solutions.

Benefits

Since Austria, Finland and Sweden entered the Community there is roughly balance between the production and the demand of timber. A project dealing with production and marketing of timber within the Community thus must be of high relevance as the supply of timber has shifted from great scarcity to balance.

There are great differences in the marketing and production systems in different countries. In central Europe for example the sawn timber is produced according to advanced on-line custom order systems but in the Nordic countries the bulk production is predominant. In the Nordic countries, on the other hand, the most advanced mechanised harvesting systems world-wide, are developed and used. These systems are computer aided and capable to produce timber according to customer demand. These systems are rarely used in a proper way outside Sweden and Finland and even in the later countries their potential is not yet fully used. A very fruitful task therefore will be to combine the marketing strategies of continental Europe (including UK) with the harvester production potential and the experience of the Nordic countries. Linked together in a development project it must be the leading combination of the world and this combination exists within the Community. To identify the best marketing and production system solutions and to use them in all European countries after local adoption will offer an outstanding potential of development. The production of sawn timber in the Nordic countries would be more customer-oriented using the marketing experiences from central Europe. By introducing the harvester production and bucking technique in central European countries, the production cost could be lowered and the production output could be very well adapted to customers demand. However the development of the supporting tools is necessary for the good result. Thus routines for systematising the demand, choosing the right stands and using a grading systems corresponding to end-use are essential.

Inventory work before harvest with a data calliper

One grip harvester with on board computer during production in the forest

Operators environment with computer screen, mobil telephone and harvester control panels

End user ordered wood after conversion and ready for transport

Contacts

Coordinator

• SkogForsk SWEDEN

EC Scientific Officer

• Ignacio SEOANE / European Commission DG Research Theme 1 Key Action 5.3 / BELGIUM

Participant

• Gero BECKER / Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg Institute for Forest Utilisation / GERMANY
• Mr. KALDENBACH / Dold Holzwerke GmbH GERMANY
• G. ERLACHER / Holzindustrie Schweighofer GmbH AUSTRIA
• Metsateho Oy FINLAND
• Mr Per Bergenheim / Sodra Skogsagarna SWEDEN
• Mr Ulf Thyr / Stora Skog AB SWEDEN
• Mr Kari Taskinen / Suomen Metsatieto Oy FINLAND
• MR. S PAANANEN / UNITED PAPER MILLS LTD. DPT. FOREST, DEVELOPMENT AND PLANNING / FINLAND
• Dr Ewald Pertlik / Universitat fur Bodenkultur Institut fur Forsttachnik / AUSTRIA
• Paul MITCHELL / University of Aberdeen School of Resources, Environment and Society / UNITED KINGDOM
• Prof Esko Mikkonen / University of Helsinki Dpt of Forrestry Resource Management / FINLAND