Australian Forestry Industry, Machinery & Parts

Australia is a massive country continent with an understandably very complex forested landscape filled with varied and unique ecosystems. To put that into numbers, there are a total of 143 million hectares of Australian forests that cover around 17% of the overall land area of the country. That’s about 3% of the forest areas of the world combined and the 7^th largest among countries worldwide.

To break down this forested landscape, these enormous forests are comprised of 132 million hectares of native forests, 1.95 million hectares belonging to commercial plantations, and 0.47 million hectares assigned to agro-forests and non-commercial planted forests. But despite these staggering numbers, Australia still imports about a third of its forest product needs, which translates to around $3.5 billion worth of something that it can actually produce itself. So, why?

How Did Australian Forestry Begin?

Forests are abundant with products, benefits, and values to people and the world, and forestry ensures that they are fostered sustainably and wisely. The development of Australian forestry has gone a long way from 1788 when the first settlement by Europeans has been documented. There’s much more to Australian forestry than just machinery and parts!

The state government retained authority over and responsibility for the forests under their jurisdiction in 1901 at a political federation. However, it has given up this power at Federation and from then, it has allowed the Commonwealth government to expand its influence over the entire forestry sector. This in turn has complicated what should have been a very straightforward history of Australian forestry.

Before the 1960s, not a lot of people were interested in forestry except those who worked in forest-based activities and industries. This mindset dragged on for quite a while until the wave of concern regarding environmental conservation began to form and people began taking interest in forestry and its management.

1960s Softwood Agreements

During this decade, Australia’s plantation estate has expanded significantly as a result of collective efforts between the Australian Government and State and Territory Governments. The Australian government agreed to the States’ strategies in establishing more plantations to counterbalance the anticipated shortages and find other markets for the unsaleable trees in order for the forests to be able to regenerate. 

This resulted in a significant increase in the rate of plantation from the 1960s to the 1980s. As expected, this significantly contributed to the country’s timber and wood-product output.

1992 National Forest Policy Statement

During this year, the Australian government, together with five States and two Territories came to an agreement to the National Forest Policy Statement. Eventually, the Tasmanian government also agreed to the same, which secured the agreement of all of Australia’s State and Territory governments.

This statement “describes a process of consultation and cooperation designed to protect Australia’s natural and cultural heritage in the context of conservation and development initiatives.” Under this, the governments contribute their visions in managing the forestry of Australia. Some of these visions include increasing forested land, private forests’ management being in close coordination with public forests, and efficient, sustainable, and environmentally sensitive use of forests and their products, among others.

Plantations for Australia: Vision 2020

This was launched in 1997 by the then Australian Minister for Primary Industries and Energy. This was the result of the work that was commissioned by the Standing Committee on Forestry under the Ministerial Council on Forestry, Fisheries and Aquaculture.

This vision is a “strategic partnership between the Australian, State and Territory Governments and the plantation timber growing and processing industry” with a target of trebling the commercial tree crops area from 1.1 million hectares to 3 million hectares in a span between 1997 and 2020. This was forecasted to be achieved through planting an average of 40,000 hectares a year.

In 2009, there were around 2.02 million hectares of plantation in Australia or approximately half of the target. However, during the extreme heat of summer in 2019-2020, the vision seemed to have become one of the worst Australian government decisions to date. Exactly on December 20, 2019, a lightning storm sparked a bushfire that caused extensive damage and was made even worse by heat waves.

Australia’s Forest Types

Urban Forests

As the name suggests, they are forests that can be found within or near an urban area. These are developed in order to contain trees within the cities or municipalities. Urban forests not only improve the place’s liveability by providing some products but also mitigate the urban heat island effect, as well as provide ecosystem services and biodiversity that can improve people’s wellbeing. These are not normally managed by forestry organisations, but smaller local businesses. For example, if there was a need for tree removal in Queensland’s capital city, you would want to find a good Brisbane tree service company.

Native Forests

These are natural forests, the composition of which is determined by a lot of factors, including climate, geology, management regimes, and disturbance history, among others. These have evolved for thousands of years and become home to endemic species of plants and animals which make them very unique and highly biodiverse.

Agro-Forests

These types of forests are the intentional integration of trees and shrubs into private crops and animal farming systems to provide not only productivity but also biodiversity, mitigation of erosion, shelter, as well as other environmental and economic benefits to farming and forestry in general.

Plantations

There are areas everywhere with planted trees but were intended for another purpose besides forestry, most likely for timber production. However, even with that original intention, plantations still provide various benefits besides economic but also have positive effects on biodiversity, water, soil, carbon, and salinity.

Forestry is a sum of a lot of things being practised in natural and planted forests, whether public or private, that has positive effects on the maintenance and protection of the resources within its jurisdiction and the people within the community. It creates and protects in such a way that the forest flourishes, capable of supporting products and resources, wildlife, and livelihood, as well as providing a sustainable and renewable future, most especially in the midst of a changing climate that poses threats to our natural resources.

And since not a single person can do these things alone, a collective effort is necessary to be able to achieve the desired common goal. Hence, forestry organisations and companies are a crucial piece of the puzzle and have been during the long history of forestry in Australia. Farmers, forest professionals, scientists, educators, and the likes make up these organisations and companies and they manage, repair, protect, and conserve forests that benefit the environment and the community.

Government Forest Agencies

Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences

The ABARES is the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry’s (DAFF’s) science and economics research division. It provides world-class and professionally independent research, analysis, and advice for decision-makers in both government and public sectors about anything related to the country’s forestry, agriculture, and fisheries industries. DAFF has offices in many locations across Australia, including Brisbane, Adelaide and Darwin to name a few. My good mate Dom who does the best pressure cleaning Bundaberg has to offer, says there is even in a DAFF office in his home town.

Its objectives include supporting policy-making that is evidence-based through providing research that is relevant to its policies and advising decision-makers about the challenges that the industry is currently facing and will face in the years to come. It also aims at promoting the findings in its websites, conferences, and other forms of media that the stakeholders’ needs, as well as developing and managing their manpower, processes, and the systems themselves, among others.

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation

The CSIRO is the national science agency of Australia. Its purpose is to solve the greatest challenges of the country and improve the lives of its citizens and residents through innovative science and technology. These challenges include food quality and security, health and wellbeing, sustainable resources and energy, resilient and valuable environments, and development of future industries,  

It started in 1916 as the Advisory Council of Science and Industry and has since provided a wide range of inventions that have positively impacted people’s lives not just in Australia but all around the world. Among these innovations include Aerogard, the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet, polymer banknotes, and even faster WiFi, among others.

Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

This department aims to enhance Australia’s agricultural, forestry, and fisheries trade and industries, as well as manage any threat to the biosecurity of the country in order to protect its million-dollar value. It also aims to maintain the existing opportunities for agricultural export, as well as to provide opportunities to earn from them.

It engages with its international counterparts to strengthen the country’s involvement in shaping how the rest of the world’s agriculture and fibre industry approaches issues of food security, sustainability, productivity, and trade, not to mention climate change impact.

Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water

The department spearheads the country’s response to sustainable energy use and climate change concerns, as well as the protection of the environment, water, energy, and heritage sites.

Some of its roles include driving climate action and investing in technologies that reduce emissions, managing the water resources of Australia for the benefit of the environment and communities, securing a reliable, sustainable, and inexpensive energy system, and supporting the management of sustainable natural resources, among others.

Organisations and Initiatives

Australian Forest Products Association

The forest products sector of Australia is a very important part of a more comprehensive industry under agriculture. AFPA is considered the top industry body nationwide that represents the entire forest product value chain that is comprised of resources, processes, and pulp and paper production.

It represents every element of the value chain, ranging from sustainable harvesting to various usage of natural forest resources which include but are not limited to establishment and management, harvesting and hauling, processing, and manufacturing. This means that its membership category falls under all four chambers, namely, Growers, Pulp, Paper and Bioproducts, Hardwood Processing, and Softwood Manufacturing. 

Forest and Wood Products Australia

The FWPA is a federally-funded, not-for-profit industry services company and sometimes referred to as a Rural Research and Development Corporation or RDC where members pay basic industry levies and charges in order to fund research. It is only one of the 15 Australian rural R&D corporations and in fact, is nominated under the Forestry Research and Development and Marketing Act 2007 for industry-owned services company.

It collaborates with different governments and stakeholders in order to come up with strategies and invest only in relevant and effective research and development. It also aims to execute programs that are intended to expand wood and forest product markets, increase production and profits within the value chain, as well as make sure that all of the efforts can have positive effects on the environment and society.

Forestry Australia

This professional association is composed of over 1,200 farm foresters, forest scientists, and forestry professionals. Each and every member is very much committed to the organisation’s principles of sustainable, adaptive, and active forestry management and at the same time, applying them to yield environmental, social, and economic outcomes, regardless of the types of forests.

It welcomes any individuals who work as foresters, farm foresters, policy officers, scientists, or practitioners involved in the conservation of nature, land and resource management, communication, administration, research, and education as members.

Forest Stewardship Council Australia

The FSC is an international organisation that is non-governmental, which is devoted to promoting responsible forest management worldwide. It was founded in 1994 and has since emerged as the most respected and most extensive forest certification system globally.

Its pioneering certification process, now covering 200 million plus hectares of forests, helps consumers and businesses alike in choosing forest products that are made from materials that support responsible forestry. In other words, the certification provided by FSC ensures that the forest from which the products came from is managed in a way that ensures preservation of biological diversity and that the workers and local people benefit from the same. It also ensures the sustainability of the economic viability of the forest.

Forestry machinery and equipment have a very significant role in the forestry industries as they are very useful in clearing and logging processes, as well as in conservation and management. Understandably so since they are made to handle the heaviest tasks, especially in the wilderness where the environments can be very rugged.

While these beasts are designed to weather against the toughest and the most demanding jobs, all different types of forestry machinery are not immune to wear and tear and breakdown. Hence, it is crucial to familiarise and understand their attachments, parts, and accessories, as well as the brands to be able to use them properly to get the desired result and to be safe at all times. You should also be able to know where these machines and parts can be sourced in case they encountered a breakdown or some parts were damaged and needed replacements.

Forestry Equipment Attachments

Forestry Mulchers

Mulchers are responsible for clearing land by turning vegetation into mulch from grinding trees and bushes. They can be mounted on different equipment such as tractors, skid steer loaders, or excavators, which makes them more efficient and flexible.

Logging Equipment

The three most important logging equipment out there are the feller bunchers, log loaders, and skidders. 

• Feller bunchers are for cutting trees and also gathering logs for trouble-free transportation. They are equipped with a cutting head which is a chainsaw attached to an arm.
• Log loaders take care of loading and unloading materials. They are equipped with grapples that tackle logs, which makes transporting them way easier.
• Skidders handle the jobs in between which is transporting these logs from the cutting area to the loading section. These attachments have many configurations depending on the specific need, but they are all designed to carry or drag logs to where they intend to be.

Top Brands

The top brands for forestry machines and equipment are as follows:

Barko Hydraulics, LLC

Established in 1963 and the headquarters is located in Wisconsin, USA, Barko Hydraulics manufactures heavy equipment for forestry, material handling, and site preparation. Its premium fleet includes industrial wheeled tractors, knuckleboom loaders, rough terrain carrier loaders, stationary electric loaders, the advanced line-up of harvesters, and feller bunchers, among others.

Caterpillar Inc.

Caterpillar Inc. was founded in 1925 and has headquarters in Texas, USA. It is considered one of the biggest companies in terms of manufacturing construction and mining equipment, diesel-electric locomotives, industrial gas turbines, natural gas engines and off-highway diesel, and many others.

Deere & Company

With a base in Illinois, USA, John Deere was established in 1837, with a portfolio that includes 25 brands that provide ingenious solutions for a wide variety of end-user sectors. Its equipment boasts to have intelligent applications and technology so advanced that it intends to revolutionise both the agricultural and construction sectors. 

Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd.

A well-known Japanese brand based in Tokyo and founded in 1970, Hitachi Construction Machinery is well known for its production, sales, and service of different machinery for forestry, construction, and transportation, among others. One of its achievements is being involved in the manufacturing of the country’s first mechanical excavator.

Komatsu Ltd.

With a centre of operation based in Tokyo, Japan, Komatsu was established in 1921 and has since been manufacturing machinery and equipment used in forestry, construction, utility, and industrial applications. Komatsu also has 76 manufacturing sites around the world.

Rottne Industri AB

Rottne Industri headquarters is located in Smaland, Sweden, and was established in 1955, the company is currently one of the most sought-after manufacturers of modern forestry equipment and machinery worldwide. In fact, it is the fourth largest manufacturer of the powerful wheeled forest machine for the short timber method worldwide.

Where to Buy Forestry Machine Parts

Purchasing parts and accessories for your forestry equipment isn’t just a spur-of-the-moment, whoever-comes-first type of decision. The first order of business is to ensure that the quality of the replacements can be comparable to the first time you have purchased the machine and attachments and you can only achieve this by making sure that you only deal with reputable manufacturers and suppliers.

For this option, going to authorised dealers or original equipment manufacturers is the best way as you can ensure to only get genuine replacement parts and accessories. This eliminates the possibility of not getting the perfect match for your equipment, especially so for specific models, which can affect its functionality and longevity.

Another option is to look for reputable suppliers of repossessed and used equipment and machine parts and accessories. However, be sure to find the ones that sell items that are in good condition. While going this route saves you a lot of money, refurbished parts often create more harm than good in the long run by compromising operation and safety if bought from untrusted sources.

Choosing the Right Parts and Accessories

Your choices in sourcing the correct parts and accessories for your forestry equipment decide their performance and durability as well as the safety of your operation on site. So, how do you ensure that you are getting the right items? Here are some guides

Always Check the Manuals First

Equipment purchased from reputable manufacturers always comes with comprehensive manuals where you can find specific part numbers and specifications for a particular machine model. When the need for parts replacement arises, you can refer to these for guidance about the exact accessories to look for.

Consult the Experts

It’s good if you have resident experts in your team that you can always rely on during equipment or machine breakdown or malfunction, especially those with extensive knowledge about them. If none, you can outsource experienced equipment operators. This ensures that you get the best advice, whether it’s about the specification of the parts or accessories to get or if you really need them at all or not.

Inspect Parts Before Buying

This may be unnecessary when buying from OEM outlets as you can rely that they only provide authentic parts and accessories. But of course, unintentional mistakes can happen so it doesn’t hurt to double-check the specifications. What’s good is that reputable companies provide warranties and guarantees, whether you are buying OEM parts or used ones.

However, when purchasing used parts from refurbished equipment and machines, inspection is always advisable. Since you are purchasing second-hand items, make sure to check for signs of damage and if they really are compatible with the equipment you are buying the parts for.

It’s no wonder that there are so many forestry organisations in Australia – forests are vast and so are very challenging to manage, maintain, or convert. Because of this, forestry equipment is very much a necessity in this kind of operation. But what exactly are they and what types are a must to get the job done?

Forestry equipment is any tool, whether heavy or light, that is necessary for managing, converting, or upkeeping the forests so that they can serve their intended purpose. These machines ideally have advanced automation and are remote-controlled, which make them safer and more efficient to use. These features also make them more feasible for forestry professionals to meet the ever-growing demands for forest products, while taking advantage of their safety features helps in protecting and preserving these resources.

Common Forestry Equipment

Forwarders

Forwarders are basically tractors that can have up to eight wheels that pull a wagon loaded with wood. They are articulated machines that have a cab for the operator and a bunk where the logs are stuffed. A lot of these forwarders have a grapple mounted on their boom that is used for loading and unloading different materials. Their cab can either be fixed or can be rotated on the chassis.

You can also increase their floatation and traction through additional tracks that can slide on over their dual wheels or you can just opt for wider tiles for more convenience. If there is plenty of mud or snow, tire chains are another option. Believe me, it takes a very skilled pressure cleaning specialist to clean the mud off those.

Harvesters and Harvester Heads

Harvesters are one of the heavy vehicles in forestry mostly used for felling or cutting down, delimbing, and bucking trees. They usually work hand in hand with forwarders which are used for hauling logs.

Harvester heads are comprised of a chain saw for cutting trees at the base and to their desired length, two or more delimbing knives that can reach around the truck to eliminate the branches, two or more rollers to hold the trees firmly, diameter sensors used to calculate the volume of the harvested timber, and a measuring wheel to get the actual length of the stem that goes through the head.

There are three categories of harvester heads and these are the following:

• Bunching heads – these are attached to feller bunchers and are used to hold more than one stem all at the same time while cutting. They utilised three cutting methods, namely bar saw, disc saw, and shear. 
• Processing heads – as the name suggests, these attachments are used to perform some processing on the stems, apart from felling trees. Some of these include delimbing and bucking stems and turning them into logs, otherwise known as a cut-to-length system.
• Felling heads – these are grapples that come with a bar saw that is perpendicularly attached to them. These are used for cutting trees while controlling the direction in which the tree falls.

Log Loaders

Log loaders are very crucial forestry equipment as they are used, as the name suggests, to stack, sort, and load logs for transport. The design and types are also different, depending on the specific intended function. Some of these include:

• Knuckleboom loaders – are swing machines equipped with special booms for handling logs and fast hydraulics for quick boom and swing movements. The types used in forestry include trailer-mounted, wheel-based, or track-based. However, the trailer-mounted has a limitation as it is incapable of moving around a landing on its own.
• Truck-mounted loaders – these are loaders that are attached to the truck and are typically used for stacking and loading smaller logs or wood.
• Wheel loaders – although payloaders or bucket loaders used in the construction industry are also categorised as wheel loaders, there is a clear difference between them and the ones used in forestry, which is the attachment. Construction loaders usually have buckets to scoop materials, and the forestry equipment counterpart has a special set of forks equipped with a grapple that can pick up and load several logs all at the same time.

Mounders

Ground preparation is a crucial part of planting which keeps the forest lush and green. Since forests involve a massive scope of land, heavy equipment is necessary to make the process easier. Mounders are widely used for creating humus mounds covered with mineral soil, which are very ideal planting spots. 

Mulchers

Forestry mulchers are popular for different environmental tasks such as land clearing, wildfire prevention, and vegetation management. They can either be a stand-alone machine or an attachment to another piece of equipment such as a tractor, excavator, or skid steer. They are particularly beneficial in dealing with massive acres of vegetation which is the case of forestry.

What they do with vegetation is they cut it to reduce the volume and height, either for aesthetic purposes or to control some invasive species. They are then chopped and ground into small bits that they eventually turn into mulch when left on-site. 

Processors

Perhaps one of the most amazing equipment in the fleet is the Processor, which is very complex but some of the best equipment to have in forestry. Processors consist of an operator enclosure, a power plant, and an articulating arm with an attached processing head that an operator can manoeuvre. This equipment is usually utilised in tandem with the harvester feller buncher, which it follows after it cuts trees.

The processor’s clamp picks up each tree through its clamp which also removes its branches and stems. It then stops at a desired length and cuts it off, then proceeds to do the same to the rest of the log.