When laminated veneer lumber (LVL) was launched in the Australian and New Zealand markets not all that long ago, it was promoted as "the environmentally friendly alternative to steel and concrete in construction". Liz Light talked to architects, engineers and builders to get a read on how it has been received.
The actions of frustrated loggers surrounding the Gisborne (New Zealand) office of Huaguang Forests in early October was effectively the final act of a messy saga that began almost two years earlier.
When laminated veneer lumber (LVL) was launched in the Australian and New Zealand markets not all that long ago, it was promoted as "the environmentally friendly alternative to steel and concrete in construction". Liz Light talked to architects, engineers and builders to get a read on how it has been received.
Massive shifts in land use are occurring on either side of the Tasman, and forestry is at the centre of the sea change. Elizabeth Howarth reports that in Australia they are swapping gold for trees, while in New Zealand it is plantations for pints of milk.
An evening cruise on Wellington Harbour planned for 1 November could be make-or-break time for an initiative to achieve more unity and goodwill in the New Zealand wood processing industry as Tony Neilson reports.
Stymied by internal squabbles and lack of funds, New Zealand forestry interests are now turning to Australia and Chile as possible allies in the international promotion of radiata pine.
Despite near-record log prices in key Asian markets, export returns to New Zealand forest owners and sawmillers are so low that a NZ$600 million a year trade is on the verge of collapse.
Pink, orange, blue and two shades of green - all those colours of timber can potentially be found on every house-building site in New Zealand. They are supposedly, a ‘simple’ guide to help builders know which kind of treated timber has to be fitted in each area.
