40 | Northland Forestry Awards: Manulife Investment Management FORESTRY Richard Loader Forestry a major player in Northland Upwards of 2200 people are directly and indirectly involved in Northland’s forestry industry. With upwards of 2200 people directly and indirectly involved in Northland’s forestry industry, it is easy to appreciate the importance the sector has in the region’s economic well-being and development. In addition to the 850 – 1000 people working directly in forestry, accounting for 4% of Northlands employment, a further 250-300 people work in businesses supporting forestry activities. There are also nine sawmills in the region — all of which are busy processing Northland logs. Manulife Investment Management Forest Management (NZ) Ltd’s National Operations Manager Andrew Widdowson, says Northland’s annual harvest across the board costs in the region of $350 million. That includes everything from building roads, to undertaking the harvest, to log transportation. “All the businesses involved in these activities are Northland businesses, and that $350 million goes right back into the Northland economy, where it’s spent again, and again. “Then there’s another $30 to $35 million spent on forest establishment and silviculture. That’s also paid into Northland forestry businesses, and ultimately the regional economy. So yes, forestry is very important to Northland.” Previously known as Hancock Forest Management NZ Ltd, Manulife Investment Management Forest Management (NZ) Ltd (Manulife IM) currently manages 220,000 hectares of plantation forestry on behalf of three clients. Headquartered in Tauranga, with regional offices in Whangarei, Tokoroa and Rotorua, Manulife IM looks after plantations in Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Manawatu/Wanganui and Hawke’s Bay. Through its contractor workforce, Manulife IM undertakes the full suite of forest management activities from silviculture right through to delivery of log product to the domestic market or to Marsden Point’s export facility. Manulife IM’s small Northland team contrats about 28 local businesses, with a combined employment of 200 forestry workers. The relationship between forest manager and contractor workforce is by nature acutely symbiotic, where the success of one party drives and influences the success of the other. Andrew agrees, saying without those relationships and the quality of the businesses contracted, Manulife IM would not have a business in Northland, it is as simple as that. “We see the relationship as a business partnership and put a lot of investment into helping contractors upskill their people around health and safety, environmental practices and management, and quality management. “We’re working on fatigue management with drivers and introducing technology to improve safety and efficiency. Any successful forestry business comes down to the quality of the people doing the work and the quality of how the businesses are operated. “Northland is quite a challenging region for forestry. The trees grow well and have great structural properties, but there are challenges around topography and soil, and managing the environment. Infrastructure such as roading can be challenging — at best. “So managing those challenges does come down to relationships and partnerships with local forestry businesses, to make sure our supply chains are efficient, sustainable and that our footprint in those communities is minimised.” New Zealand has an aging population and Andrew says that is evident in forestry as well, particularly in log transport operations. Attracting new blood into the industry is just as important to sustainability as are good forestry practices. “It’s important we work with contractors and industry associations on career promotional campaigns to attract new people into our industry. “We’re up against traditional perceptions that forestry is difficult and dangerous. But when you look at how forestry is now undertaken, most harvesting work is by highly skilled operators sitting in high-capital, highly protected and sophisticated machines. “We took a busload of career advisors out to forests a couple of years ago to show them the technology and different career paths in the operating environment, because they are highly influential to those Year 13 kids, who we are trying to attract to be the future of forestry.” Dual certified with FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) and PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification), Manulife IM is committed to managing its forests as a renewable and sustainable resource. “We have a tree breeding programme to ensure we’re bringing through increasingly improved stock quality for the forests. We harvest the trees as close as possible to the economic effective age, and do a lot of proProud to partner with Manulife HOLMESGROUP www.holmesgroup.co.nz
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