70 | FORESTRY Southern Forests T T Richard Loader Highly skilled contractor workforce About half the area under company management are trees planted on marginal land by Southern Forests. Southern Forests manages in excess of 20,000 hectares of forests in Otago, Southland, Canterbury and Nelson. The company was founded twenty-two years ago by Managing Director Paul Molloy and wife Kathryn, to deliver forest management, logging management and forest consultancy services. Paul says the company’s success over two decades has been due to great staff, a highly skilled contractor workforce and strong client relationships, and due to operating in regions where there is a strong moral code and business ethic. “We’re very professional and uncompromising in delivery. We’ve limited the scale of our operations based on our resources and that has been a big factor in our success. Because it’s a long-term business, forestry is quite unique in that you have long term relationships with clients and those relationships are critical in our industry. As a business we’ve had an incredible amount of stability in terms of staff, contractors and client base.” While Gore is Southern Forests’ main operational office, its Head Office is based in Wanaka, with a number of managers operating remotely close to the forest locations. “Our team includes forest managers and supervisors, logging manager and supervisor, General Manager, ETS manager — all from a range of backgrounds, and assisted by very competent support staff. We have negligible staff turnover, and our philosophy is to employ the right people and train them into various roles suiting their character, initiative and skill sets.” About half the area under company management are trees planted on marginal land by Southern Forests. The balance are forests and woodlots under management gained through a steadily expanding client base. “Our clients range from large corporate companies to privately owned and limited liability companies, to private individuals and farmers. The companies we work with are all registered in New Zealand, though some have foreign ownership. About ten percent of our client base by number would account for ninety percent of the resource we manage.” None of Southern Forests’ clients are considered ‘carbon farmers’, with the main focus remaining on timber production. Carbon is a secondary commodity but significant driver for new planting. An associate company Carbon Solutions NZ Ltd manages the carbon forestry portfolio for Southern Forests. Paul acknowledges the key role that the contractor workforce contributes to land preparation and planting, roading, silviculture, logging, and transport. “We have silviculture contractors who have been working with us since we started the business twenty-plus years ago and our main logging crew worked for us for over a decade. “ We value those relationships to the extent that our company policy is that we never tender work, unless a client specifically requires it, because it undermines those relationships. There’s a shortage of skilled labour and good contractors, so once you get your key supplier, your key contractors, you maintain that relationship and that loyalty is reciprocated.” Southern Forests is currently logging about 100,000 tonnes of logs a year, down from previous years, which Paul says is reflective of the industries boom-and-bust cyclic nature. “It’s a cycle that’s typical for the industry, but it has got worse in recent times, mainly because of the shrinking Chinese market. Over the last three years that market has shrunk from 65 million cubic metres of softwood to 35 million cubic metres currently, with a projected capacity of 30 million cubic metres in 2024/2025.” This winter about 3 million trees will be planted by five different planting crews working for the company. Douglas fir account for about a third of the forests under management, with significant areas undergoing production thinning. While not entirely dependent on what is currently happening in the log export market, last year was the first time in 20 years that Southern Forests have had to park up a logging crew, and the same has happened this year. “We’ve traditionally operated at a limited scale and within our capacity, but because of health and safety and environmental legislation, and to be cost effective, we’ve had to transition to more mechanised harvesting, which requires our contractors to outlay more capital. “The downside of mechanisation in the private sector is that you lose flexibility when you have an adverse market situation. Contractors who get parked up because of that market downturn who have invested in mechanisation, might not get started again, or might have a different configuration and lose workers. It’s very disruptive and a huge risk to their business and ours, and to private forest owners, because that capacity might disappear.” Root Raking • Farm Drainage • Laser Drainage • All Track & Lane Work • Roading • Dairy Conversions• Grader Bulldozer • Precision Finishing Work •Vibrating Roller • Effluent Spreaders • 13, 16 & 20 Tonne Machines • Section Clearing THWAITESCONTRACTING Luke 021 204 3788 luke@thwaitescontracting.co.nz SPECIALIST IN: FarmDrainage • E luent Ponds • Dairy Lanes • General Earthworks Nick Wilson Contracting Ltd. For all your roading and land preparation needs Nick Wilson 027 496 2350 Contact
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