Business North July / August 2021

60 | NWC backs forestry as a career from page 58 “We’re there to guide, monitor and improve the performance of health & safety in forestry in our region.” FORESTRY Northland Wood Council “One of their young guys is currently on a twelve week/one day a week programme look- ing into our industry to see if that’s something he might want to do.” One of the key drivers for establishing NWC was to form a collective voice in respect to the poor roading conditions and that the three Councils that make up Northland – The Far North District Council, Kaipara and Whangarei District Councils – lacked a cohesive under- standing of the NWC’s forward harvesting programme “We needed to engage with Council to help them understand where the wood was coming from and from what roading corridors so they could better plan and manage the mainte- nance of largely unsealed roads and bridges, some that are over one hundred years old. “What has really helped progress with road- ing infrastructure has been the creation of an umbrella organisation called the Northland Transport Alliance that pulls together the different Councils’ engineers as well as addi- tional resource around strategic planning and allocation of maintenance resources. “That has been a very useful entity for NWC to share forward data and is working very well in comparison to how it used to be ten years ago.” In total, the Northland region embraces 190,000 hectares of plantation pine and harvests just under 3.9 million tonnes of logs each year, of which NWC member companies represents 70% with the balance in small to medium sized forest ownership. Of the annual harvest total, 2.6 million tonnes will be exported from Northport in Marsden Point while the remainder of the output is fed into Northland’s twelve wood processing mills. Of the annual Northland harvest of nearly 3.9 million tonnes, 2.6 million tonnes is exported and the remainder fed into the regions 12 wood processing mills. Still passionate about stepping onto the forestry loor each day, Hemana Curtis has lost absolutely none of the drive for what he and his teamdo, and he’s been doing it for a very long time. Hemana has spent over three decades in the forestry industry, starting out in silviculture and working his way into logging before an opportunity arose to buy some kit and establish Curtis Logging in early 2000. Over the last 21 years the Northland based company has continued to evolve both in operation and reputation with a major shift occurring in 2015 when the company became a fully mechanised ground crew, in response to a drive for greater health and safety standards within the industry. Harvesting over 70,000 tonnes of logs every year, Curtis Logging’s machinery now includes an array of harvesters, skidders, bulldozers and excavators. Contracting to Hancock Forest Management and Taumata Plantations, Curtis Logging adheres to the strict standards set by the Forest Stewardship Council for responsible forest management and sustainability. Operating one crew that consists of six men, including Hemana, Curtis Logging becomes a road line salvage crew during the summer months and a clear fell harvesting crew during the winter. Logging on after 21 years “We are still clear felling in the autumn and depending on the weather conditions we will start road lining October and go right through to early June,” says Hemana. “Road line salvage is clearing ridges to form roads for the landings and new roadways.” Re lecting on the success of the business over the years, Hemana has no doubt that while leadership plays a role, it has always been about the men in his team. “They are the ones that make Curtis Logging what it is. They’re a very good team and very good at what they do and most have been with me for long periods of time. One guy has been with me for thirteen years. Once you set them on the right path they can work independently to do the job safely and produce good results.” The culture of Curtis Logging is all about teamwork, working well together and having each other’s backs. “Hancock Forest Management know what the crew are like and they have a lot of trust in us,” says Hemana. “We have a very good relationship with Andrew Widdowson and Geo Gover who are part of Hancock Forest Management’s leadership team up here. From that good relationship comes a very good work ethic, forward planning and trust.”