56 | S Jones Logging Ltd T T Hugh de Lacy Reputation built on steep hill harvesting The contract with PF Olsen to harvest logs from some of the steepest country in Otago has been S Jones Logging’s lifeblood, “We specialise in steep hillside harvesting, and we’ve been doing it for PF Olsen for seven or eight years.” FORESTRY The firewood business Steve Jones started up as insurance against the deepening trough the global forestry industry was falling into has done its job, and Dunedin’s S Jones Logging Ltd has survived to look forward to better times. “A lot of forestry contractors have had to sell up because the overseas log market has been in turmoil virtually since Covid, and it’s showing no sign of coming out of it soon,” Steve says. “We’ve got through the squeeze, and have been able to keep five staff in work – down from the previous eight – in large measure because of our logging contract with PF Olsen, but also the firewood business, Farmhouse Firewood Ltd, we started a couple of years ago. “When things got really tight we had to sell the Madill 120 we’d bought for steep hillside harvesting, and carried on with a John Deere 948 skidder. “However, things are looking brighter with the likelihood of our being able to expand our contract with PF Olsen about the end of the year, and with that in mind we’re teeing up a replacement for the Madill. “That’s going to set us back between $750,000 and $1million second-hand – a new one would cost $3.5million.” A former shearer, Steve got into forestry after a decade in the woolsheds, and went on in 2012 to buy an existing logging business that came with a hauler and three diggers. The contract with PF Olsen to harvest logs from some of the steepest country in Otago has been S Jones Logging’s lifeblood, supplemented by farm and private woodlots ranging in size from a couple of hectares to upwards of hundreds. PF Olsen is a forestry service provider with 160,000ha under management in New Zealand, and a further 212,000ha in Australia. “The contract we’re hoping to land with PF Olsen at the end of the year involves steeper ground and a longer haul distance, and it’s to serve that, that we’re looking to acquire another Madill 120, or something like it,” Steve says. “The Madill is essentially a swing yarder built on to a bulldozer’s track gear, and it sits on the top of the hill and has wire ropes and a grapple system with a camera set-up. It eliminates some of the safety risks of having men on the ground taking the logs from wherever on the hill they’re being felled, down to a skid site. “At S Jones Logging we specialise in steep hillside harvesting, and we’ve been doing it for PF Olsen for seven or eight years. Of course, we’re more than happy to take on jobs on the flat, but it’s the steep blocks that we’ve made our name on.” The last two years have been the worst of the global log market slump, Steve says, and he’s seen nothing to suggest an imminent recovery. “Even if the market does eventually come right, it’s going to be a long time before we see its effects in Otago,” he says. Here when you need us. Let's go. 03 489 6112 mosgielmobil@xtra.co.nz Car Wash • Dog Wash • Full Workshop 21 Factory Road, Mosgiel, Otago 9024 OFS Insurance Brokers Proud to support Steve Jones Logging Ltd and looking after their insurance needs. OFS Insurance Brokers – your locally operated Insurance Specialists. 0508 637 637 www.ofs.nz enquiries@ofs.nz Log Cartage PROUDLY SUPPORTING STEVE JONES LOGGING LTD 03 215 9460 Invercargill & Dunedin
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