| 63 T T Hugh de Lacy Volatile market brings its challenges Pomeroy Logging is principally involved in harvesting farm-lots of macrocarpa, Douglas fir and cedar. Pomeroy Logging “What was stressed on the course was that you had to get to know every aspect of logging to be of value to a contractor, and I took that to heart and concentrated on continuing to build up my experience.” FORESTRY Times are tough in the logging industry, but Whanganui’s Pomeroy Logging is hanging in there, albeit reduced to one gang harvesting for the nationwide forestry management company Forest360. Pomeroy Logging was founded and is owned by Jennie and Harley Pomeroy, with Jennie doing the bookwork and Harley working in forests, at the moment mostly round Fordell, north of Whanganui. These days, the Pomeroy Logging company is principally involved in harvesting farm-lots of macrocarpa, Douglas fir and cedar, three species whose value has to some extent defied the downturn in the forestry industry that followed the post-Covid near-collapse of the Chinese market for logs. Harley got into forestry fresh out of high school in 1997 at the age of 15, spending a year in Rotorua on a forestry course run by the Papatoa Polytechnic. “What was stressed on the course was that you had to get to know every aspect of logging to be of value to a contractor, and I took that to heart and concentrated on continuing to build up my experience,” Harley says. With this behind him he went on to a 12-month stint with Silver Fern Logging out of Feilding, before joining Murray Williams’ logging company back home in Whanganui, where he stayed for the next three years. He then went to work for four years in Taupo for Ron Thomassen’s logging company before being hired as a foreman by Phil South, of PPGS Logging, again working out of Whanganui. That job involved working away from home for four-and-a-half days a week but, with Jenny expecting their second baby, he took up the offer of a foreman’s job with another Whanganui logger, Dave Hickford. In 2014 the Pomeroys finally went out on their own, leasing a 30-tonne Sumitomo digger, a de-limber, a timber jack and a skidder. The industry was in a better state then than it is today, and Harley and Jennie were able to build their business up to employ a staff of six, including Harley, specialising in harvesting. “The logging market has been so volatile for the past few years and it’s seen many logging crews shut down and go into liquidation,” Jennie says. “ We have been extremely lucky to continue logging, but we’ve endured a huge amount of stress, mainly around the uncertainty of continuous work. Multiple times in the past few years we have been parked up with no work.” Jennie says Forest360 is “doing all they can, but the Government needs to step in and start making some changes before the bottom falls out of the country’s third-biggest exporter and it falls to bits completely”. Forest 360 grew out of a merger between two of the biggies in the New Zealand industry, FOMS and Woodnet, and it has since expanded its reach to cover the whole country. The Pomeroys’ hope is that the world is not going to stop needing timber, and that it is really just a matter of time before demand ramps back up. ONLY THE BEST FOR YOUR FORESTRY MANAGEMENT Proudly independent and backed by over 30 years experience in all areas of forest advisory work and management. l i i i ll i . 0800 366 700 www.forest360.co.nz businesscentral Each edition priority delivered to your door. . Stay informed; we work with business owners and decision-makers across all economic sectors, pro iling their success. i ; i i i i - ll i , ili i . www.waterfordpress.co.nz/subscriptions . . . i i 03 983 5525 5 Your Business, Your Industry, Your News. Volume 6 | Issue 2 | April 2021 www.waterfordpress.co.nz ‘Excellence in Energy’ Taranaki’s Todd Energy will have a key role to play as New Zealand moves toward a low emissions economy. Page 8 Waikato farmers Dean & Ang Finnerty have expanded their dairy cow operation into a successful goat milking enterprise as well PAGE 10 Turning challenge into opportunity AUTUMN 2022 www.waterfordpress.co.nz Volume 6 | Issue 3 | July 2021 www.waterfordpress.co.nz Making waves Back on track New Zealand hydrofoil maker Armstrong is generating interest around the world with its high performance products. Work on the ambitious NZCIS facility in Upper Hutt is progressing well after Covid disruptions. PAGE 70 PAGE 10 Healthy delivery A new elective surgery facility in Hastings will provide a big boost to the region’s operating capacity. PAGE 52 Volume 6 | Issue 5 | December 2021 www.waterfordpress.co.nz Cheers Boys! YoungWellington irm3Māori Boys is creating a buzz with it’s ground-breakingWai Manuka natural beverage. PAGE 45 Passion and pride New Plymouth’s Energyworks has forged a strong reputation in 50 years of business. PAGE 64 Seaview upgrade CentrePort’s SeaviewWharf facility is set for a major upgrade to bring it up to international standards. PAGE 14
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