Forest Management, and the Harvesting and Marketing of Wood in Sweden
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FORESTRY COMMISSION BULLETIN No. 41 Forest Management, and the Harvesting and Marketing of Wood in Sweden By B. W. HOLTAM, E. S. B. CHAPMAN, R. B. ROSS and M. G. HARKER FORESTRY COMMISSION LONDON: HER MAJESTY’S STATIONERY OFFICE PRICE 13s. 6d. NET Forestry Commission ARCHIVE FORESTRY COMMISSION BULLETIN No. 41 Forest Management, and the Harvesting and Marketing of Wood in Sweden REPORT ON A VISIT OF FOUR FORESTRY COMMISSION OFFICERS TO NORWAY AND SWEDEN IN MAY 1965 By B. W. HOLTAM, B.Sc., E. S. B. CHAPMAN, B.Sc., R. B. ROSS, A.M.I.Mech.E., and M. G. HARKER, B.Sc., FORESTRY COMMISSION LONDON: HER MAJESTY’S STATIONERY OFFICE 1967 PREFACE Members of the team Mr. B. W. Holtam Team Leader—Assistant Conservator in the Marketing Division at Forestry Commission Headquarters, London. Mr. E. S. B. Chapman Work Study Officer, Edinburgh. Mr. R. B. Ross Machinery Officer, Work Study Section, Edinburgh. Mr. M. G. Harker Sales and Utilisation Officer, East (England) Conservancy. Period of Visit The team was in the southern half of Sweden from the afternoon of Monday, 3rd May to the afternoon of Monday, 31st May, 1965; Tuesday, 1st June and the morning of Wednesday, June 2nd were spent in Norway in and near Oslo. Terms of Reference The team was given the following terms of reference:— The main object of the visit to Sweden is to study managerial, organisational and technical practices which seem likely to assist in promoting greater efficiency in the creation and maintenance of state and private woodlands at home and in the harvesting and transport wood to consumer industries. The emphasis must be on problems likely to be of some practical importance in Britain rather than on problems which may be interesting but not significant under British forestry conditions. Particular Terms"of Reference (i) Utilisation and Marketing To study the management aspect of the utilisation, harvesting, trans port and marketing of production which (a) arises in many individually small woodlands but which (b) can only be utilised economically in large processing factories. The study should cover the role played by the State Forest Service in assisting in the marketing of timber from such private woodlands; the overall marketing policy of the State Forest Service; the day-to-day organisation of the State Forest Service (at district level) in this context. Co-operative marketing by woodland owners and co-operative buying by processing plants should also be covered in the study. (ii) Harvesting and Engineering To study harvesting (logging and transport) methods, road lay-out and forest machinery. The study will involve obtaining up-to-date information on current trends and discernible trends in forest road lay-out, logging methods (including extraction and road transport) related to our present thinning practice and to future exploitation of mature crops. Partial convertion at stump or roadside, loading methods and devices, types of transport, types of equipment and machines. ii The above terms of reference were supplemented by the following guidance which was given both to the team and to those in Sweden who arranged the tour:— The main object of the visit to Sweden is to study from the Managerial Organisational . Technical f AsPects Economic practices and ideas which might help to promote greater efficiency in the marketing, harvesting, and transport of wood to industries (pulpmills and sawmills). Problems of Special Interest to Mr. Holtam and Mr. Harker (as Timber Marketing Officers) Overall marketing policy of State Forest Service; organisation of log auctions; trends in marketing, that is trends towards more or towards fewer auction sales? Role and influence (if any) of State Forest Sales policy on private sales. Organisation of Swedish State Forest Service at conservancy and district level. Organisation of private forestry, etc. County level with special reference to (i) planning and to (ii) marketing, harvesting and transport of wood from relatively small wood lots. Organisation of marketing, harvesting and transport of wood by private owners co-operatives at national and regional level. Planning and execution of logging operations in large (share capital) companies. Wage agreements. Sawmilling industry (problems of rationalisation and log supplies to smaller sawmills). Road spacing problems and practice. Problems of Special Interest to Mr. Chapman and Mr. Ross (as Work Study Officers) Harvesting methods (logging, skidding, conversion, transport). (a) Present Practices (b) Future Trends Types of equipment and machines used in harvesting (logging, skidding, conversion, and transport), especially tractors and tractor mounted devices. FORESTRY COMMISSION, 25 Savile Row, L O N D O N W.l. March, 1967. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The excellent arrangements for the tour in Sweden were made by Mr. Ingemar Orhn of the logging Research Foundation in Stockholm, under the guidance of Mr. Kjell Kilander, Research Manager, and of Mr. H. G. Lindberg, President of the Association and with the help of others of his staff. It is difficult to express adequately our thanks and sincere apprecia tion of the careful preparations that were made for our tour, not only by Mr. Orhn and his colleagues in the Logging Research Foundations, but also by many others in the organisations which we visited and all of whom gave us such friendly welcome, kind hospitality and much of their time, to make the whole of our tour as interesting and as enjoyable for us as it could possibly have been. The equally excellent arrangements for our brief visit to Norway were made by Mr. Ragnar Stromnes of the Norwegian Forest Research Institute. Our hosts were not only outstanding in their respec tive fields of know ledge but, without exception, all were patient, kind and forthright in answering our endless questions. We offer to each one of them our warmest thanks for all their generous and friendly help. They are not all mentioned in the text, but the appendix to Part I gives a list of the firms and organisations which we visited with the names of those whom we met. The British Motor Corporation very kindly lent us an Austin 1800 saloon car for our travels in Norway and Sweden. We are grateful to the Corporation for this and to Mr. G. Clarke, the Commission’s Chief Purchasing Officer, for having made the arrangements for the loan on our behalf. Mr. J. R. Aaron made a thorough survey of literature not only in relation to Norway and Sweden but also in relation to other selected European countries before this tour began. His survey has since been printed for departmental use as Forestry Commission Research Branch Paper No. 28, A Survey of the Literature on the Management Aspect of Large Scale Utilisation in Selected European Countries. Mr. Aaron’s help is gratefully acknowledged. We also want to thank Mr. R. A. Palmer for having prepared the maps and Mrs. A. W. Meyer for her patience and help in dealing with the many papers, for assembling the final text and for reading the proof. Photographs Plates 1 and 27 to 43 are by B. W. Holtam; Plates 2 to 19 and 22 to 26 are by E. S. B. Chapman; and Plates 20 and 21 are by R. B. Ross. CONTENTS Page Members of the Team .... ii Period of Visit . .... ii Terms of R e fe re n c e ........................................ ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.................................................. iv INTRODUCTION ...... 1 P art I SWEDISH CONDITIONS AS THEY AFFECT FORESTRY By B. W. Holtam General 3 Topography ............ 3 Soils . 3 Climate . ............ 3 P r o t e c t i o n ................................................................................................................................... 4 Communications ......................................................................................................................... 4 By Road, Rail and Water .......... 4 By Telephone ............ 5 The Forests: Some Comparisons with Britain ....... 5 Species ............. 6 Other Points of Comparison between Swedish and British Practices . 6 E co n o m y ..............................................................................................................................................6 Extent of F o re s ts ..........................................................................................................................6 Ownership of Forests ..........................................................................................................................6 Private Forestry. ........... 7 Farm Forests ............ 7 Estate Forests ............ 8 Company Forests ........... 8 A Comparison within the Private Sector in Sweden ...... 8 P art II ORGANISATIONS AND THEIR ACTIVITIES By B. W. Holtam Two National Forestry Boards ..... ... .9 The National Board o f Crown Forests and Lands...... .9 Regional Organisation of State Forestry ...... 1 0 Points of Comparison between State Forestry in Sweden and in Britain . 1 0 Marketing in the State Forest Service ............................................................. 1 1 (1) Policy ........... 1 1 (2) Sales Trends .......... 1 2 (3) Marketing Arrangements ........ 1 2 (4) Felling Contractors ......... 1 2 (5) Season of Felling ......... 1 2 (6 ) Marking for Thinning and F e llin g .................................................. 1 2 (7) Standing Sales ......... 1 2 (8) Sales of Felled Wood ........ 1 3 (9) Sales by T e n d e r ............................................................................... 1 3 (10) Sales by A u c t i o n ...............................................................................