A mathematical model was developed for determining the value of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.) stems on the basis of sawing and pulping. The model was based on selling prices of sawn goods, pulp and other products as well as processing costs. Sawing was applied to large-dimension parts of stems and pulping to other parts and small stems. Bark and other residues were burned. The quality of pine stems was described by the distance of the lowest dead branch. In spruce only stem size affected the quality-
According to the results, the size of stem affects considerably the value of pine stems and clearly that of spruce stems. The main reason is an increase in the productivity of frame sawing as the stem size increases. In pine another factor is the higher price of sawn goods. The effect of pulp price increases as the stem size decreases. Even in large sized stems the effect of pulp was notable as the value of chips and saw dust was determined on the basis of product values in export. The competition ability of mechanical pulp was greatly affected by the price of electricity.
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The purpose of this investigation was to construct a procedure for measuring the profitability of the use of waste wood. The average price a sawmill gets from the waste wood depends, on the amount of use compared with the waste wood output, and on the composition of waste wood. Production of different kinds of waste wood presupposes investments, therefore, the size of a sawmill, in addition to its location, affects the composition. The data was collected by mailing a questionnaire through the central organizations of the sawmill industry in 1959.
The amount of waste wood per standard of sawn wood increases with the size of the sawmill. Because small sawmills cannot generally use or sell their waste wood, they strive at using the raw material effectively. In addition, they produce much rough-edged sawn wood, and sorting is not as strict as at large sawmills. They also leave their sawn wood untrimmed.
Finland’s pulp industry has expanded significantly since 1958. This has increased the need of raw wood, and the demand of sawmill waste. An additional data collected showed that in 1958 there was about 150 and in 1963 about 200 sawmills delivering waste wood to the forest industry. The amount of waste wood used as raw material compared with the total waste wood utilization had increased about 10% during the period. The production of cellulose chips became profitable when the annual output of sawn wood of a sawmill exceeded 1,000-2,000 stds. The size structure of the sawmills affects the regional usage of the waste wood.
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The issue 39 of Silva Fennica includes presentations held in professional development courses in 1935 that were arranged for foresters working in public administration. The presentations focus on practical issues in forest management and administration, especially in regional level.
This presentation describes the quality of timber and coniferous forests in the point of view of saw industry.
Seasonal variation in the sawmill industry of Finland was studied in an investigation based on questionnaires answered by a random sample of sawmills concerning the time period of 1958-1960. The method is described in detail in a separate article in Acta Forestalia Fennica issue 75 no. 1.
The seasonal variations in purchase of roundwood was largest in big sawmills, which purchase the main part of the timber as standing sales and buy most of the wood from the State Forest auctions at the end of September. Also, they can afford to reserve their material earlier than the smaller companies. The saw logs are mainly felled in the winter in Finland because the climatic conditions and availability of labour are best at that time. Small sawmills begin fellings a little earlier than the larger ones.
In long-transport of timber the proportion of floating decreased from 47% in 1958 to 38% in 1960. At the same time, proportion of truck transport increased from 48% to 55%. Small sawmills use almost exclusively land transport. They received almost three-fourths of their logs between January and May, because the sawing is concentrated in the first half of the year. Therefore, floating does not suit for their transport method. The larger the sawmill, the later is the seasonal peak of log deliveries. The output of the big sawmills is distributed more evenly thoughout the year. The smaller the sawmill, the quicker is the turnover of raw material and the smaller the sawlog inventories.
The seasonal variation in output is sharper at small sawmills where sawing is concentrated in the first half of the year. The seasonal peak of the early spring is due to the aim at getting the sawn wood to dry early enough for shipments in the summer. Air drying takes an average of 4 ½ months. Kiln drying is more common at the larger sawmills, and gives them more flexibility. Due to the large seasonal variation in operation, the capacity of the small mills is poorly utilized. Domestic sales of sawn wood levels up the seasonality of the deliveries. Export sales are concentrated at the end and turn of the year. Also, the seasonal peak of expenditure occurs in the winter, but that of income in the summer.
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The purpose of this paper is 1) to establish the possible seasonal variation of the different phases of work in the sawmill industry in Finland, 2) to study the internal and external factors influencing the seasonal character of the sawmill industry, 3) to study ha time lags between the work phases of the sawmill industry, 4) to analyse the seasonal nature of the industry’s money transactions, and 5) to give information concerning the factors influencing employment. The investigation is based on questionnaires of a random sample of sawmills concerning the time period of 1958-1960. This paper concentrates on the methods of the study, the results are reported in a separate paper in the Acta Forestalia Fennica issue 75 vol 1.
It was concluded that if seasonal variation in the sawmill industry is to be analysed on the scale it has been in the present work, sampling is the cheapest and most practicable method of collecting the material. If seasonal fluctuation of the industry is to be calculated by size classes, the sample must be allocated into strata by measuring the heterogeneity of the classes with a parameter illustrating seasonal variation. It might be useful to apply these parameters already when the total size of the sample is determined. For the smallest sawmills, for which practically all data have to be collected from primary documents, the most practical method is perhaps to send collectors to the spots. To the larger sawmills the questionnaire can perhaps be sent by mail. A moving index should be obtained for calculation of a seasonal index, but this demands long time series. The collection of the data is described in detail.
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The article summarizes import and export of timber and manufactured wood products in Europe before the Second World War, and outlines which are the opportunities of import and export after the war. The evaluation is based on statistics of 1936 and 1937. The export balance of Europe was positive; when all the timber assortments were included, Europe exported almost 10 million m3 more timber than it imported. Export and import of round timber were almost in balance, whereas export of paper products was about 12 million m3 larger than import. Consequently, European forest industry reached its magnitude before the war through export overseas. Foreign markets have been important especially for countries like Finland and other Nordic countries.
The war has disturbed the markets. In a scenario where Europe remains a closed sub-area in the global market, there is 10 million m3 excess of timber and wood products. Within Europe, United Kingdom is the greatest importer of timber and manufactured wood products. If UK was excluded from the European market, it would mean a big change in the export and import balance within the area. In 1936 and 1937 the import would have been only 45% and 55%, respectively, of the export if UK is not included in European numbers. If also Russia is excluded from the European sub-area, it would affect especially the export of round wood, sawn timber and plywood. Nordic countries have accounted for about 80% of European paper products export before the war. According to the article, Finnish wood resources do not allow big increase in sawn industry. However, there is potential in increasing demand of pulp in continental Europe in future. In general, Finnish forest industry would have to decrease the production, if the markets would be limited to the European sub-area.
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The consumption of wood and the value of the wood in the forest manufacturing industry in 1925‒1935 was studied using the official industrial statistics as the main source of data. The annual wood consumption of sawmills, plywood industry, match production, wood-wool industry, spool production, mechanical pulp mills, sulfite pulp mills and sulfate pulp mills was in average 15.6 million cubic meters, of which 4.0 million m3 was pulpwood, 11 million m3 saw logs and 0.44 million m3 veneer timber. The spool production used 163,200 m3, match production 39,900 m3 and wood-wool production 7,900 m3 of wood. When the wood consumption is at its maximum levels, the fellings cannot be increased sustainably. Thus, the sawing cannot be increased from the present level. The growth of pulp industry has created demand for small timber, and in that industry there is room for expansion.
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The article is a review on the forest resources, forestry and forest policy in the United States based on the publication A National Plan for American Forestry, published in 1933. The earlier estimates of forest resources of America have been proved to be exaggerated. The annual drain had been estimated to be twice the annual growth of the forests. The author disagrees with the estimates, and argues that the growth, if calculated with the American method, do not give right figures of the sustainable fellings.
The situation is better than estimated. The national plan of forestry suggests that the public ownership of the forests should be increased to 60% from the present 20%. In addition, there are plans to introduce public control of private forests in the American forestry so that fellings do not risk the sustained yield of the forests. Rapid depletion of the saw timber resources in the North-Eastern and Lake States, and the high lumber prices lead to the assumption that the timber resources of the United States are in decline. The following decrease in lumber consumption lead to surplus of sawmill capacity, and to increasing competition in the sector.
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The article is a review on the costs of raw materials in the Finnish sawmill industry in 1920s based on statistics collected from the members of the Central Association of the Finnish Woodworking Industries (now Finnish Forest Industries). The article includes statistics about the average size of if the saw timber bought in standing sales from private forests and harvested from the industry’s own forests, stumpage price of the timber, and labour costs of the harvesting of the wood. The average size of the logs was greater in the northern part of Finland, where the sawmills could limit the purchases of smaller timber. In the southern part of the country, the size of the timber decreased in 1922‒1926 due to growing demand of the timber. The long transport distances in the north influenced the costs. The number of logs per tree increased during the period. The level of stumpage price varied considerably in different parts of the country, falling from the south-west to the east and north. Competition of raw material increased the stumpage prices in 1922a and 1926‒27. The international economic downturn influenced the industry in 1929‒1931.
The PDF includes a summary in German.
The main source of data was the official industrial statistics in 1911‒1929. The data was complemented with information from other sources, and the figures converted to solid volumes under bark. The wood consumption of wood manufacturing industry in the period varied strongly, being lowest in 1918 (2.2 million m3) and highest in 1927 (18.1 million m3). The wood consumption dropped during the World War I.
The wood manufacturing industry in Finland concentrated on sawmilling industry which has used annually 70‒80% of the wood consumed in the whole wood manufacturing industry. Other sectors of industry using wood were plywood industry, wood-wool industry, spool factories, match industry, mechanical pulpwood industry and pulp industry.
The PDF includes a summary in German.
The survey focuses on the stumpage prices of standing sales, where the buyer of the wood takes care of felling and transport of the timber. The study concentrates further on conifer sawn timber. The prices of the sawn timber rose continuously from 1891 to 1910. After 1913 the stumpage price fluctuations reflected the changes in the market. The article includes a detailed description on the changes of the saw timber in 1913-1922 and the factors affecting the prices. The prices are shown for different parts of the Finland. The first world war affects the prices and demand on saw timber in 1917-1918. In Northern Finland the prices of sawn timber increased slower than in Southern Finland. In general, the unfavorable factors have had stronger impact on the stumpage prices than the favorable.
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The influence of log properties (diameter, length, taper, volume, density and quality), sawing pattern, yield, sawing efficacy, stoppages, consumption of electric power and thereby on the financial result of sawing was examined. In addition, the significance of various revenues and costs were studied from the point of view of the financial result of sawing. The revenues from sawing are composed of revenues obtained from sawn goods, chips, sawdust and bark. The costs in sawing are made of raw material, capital, labour, energy and other costs. The results were calculated per diameter class and applying the basic principle of targeting all returns and costs on the different diameter classes.
The results are based on test sawings of a total of 1,606 Scots pine logs representing eight diameter classes, using conventional frame saw sawing patterns. In addition, a sawing simulator was used. Log top diameter had a significant influence on the financial result obtained when calculations were made per log volume. The financial result obtained for the biggest diameter class exceeded that of the smallest diameter class by FIM 99.1/m3. Sawing revenues accounted for FIM 66.0/m3 and sawing costs for FIM 33.1/m3 of this difference. In addition to being influenced by the top diameter, the yield and sawing efficacy were observed to have a clear influence on the financial result. The influence of stoppages was smaller.
The only means of gaining significant improvement in the annual result obtained from sawing were improvements in the revenues from sawn goods or reductions in the cost of raw material. Increase of the minimum diameter led to a significant improvement in the annual result obtainable from sawing only if the production time remained unchanged; i.e., when correspondingly more logs from the other diameter classes were sawn. If the production time was reduced by an amount corresponding to the increase in minimum diameter, then the annual result fell dramatically except in the case of minimum diameter.
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Residue of the wood is good raw material for pulp and board industries, but the question of the use of barking waste still remains to a great extent unsolved. This research deals with the possibilities to utilize the barking waste of sawmill industry in general and, in particular, its use as a soil improver and substrate for plants. It also explains the industrial manufacturing method of composted bark, bark humus, developed by the author as well as the properties of bark humus and the economy of bark humus and the economy of manufacturing.
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The purpose of the present investigation was to study the extent of human interference with the forests of different epochs in the district of north Ostrobothnia in Northern Finland, and its effect on the condition of the forests.
The study revealed that the quantities of wood removed were not most detrimental to the condition of the forest; the regionally irregular loggings and the logging methods employed were the most harmful. The old forms of wood utilization, tar industry, shipbuilding, sawmill industry and timber exports, were characterized by timber selection. Public opinion considered it the only recognized cutting method long after the conditions had changed and silvicultural methods should have been used.
The spread and abandonment of selection cuttings are illustrated in the results of first National Forest Surveys in Finland. According to the first survey (1921–1924), nearly half of the loggings in the province of Oulu were based on selection, which spoiled and devastated 41% of the forests. In the 1930s one-fifth of the North Ostrobothnian forests were weakened by selection cuttings, in 1960s the figure was 6%. The article also summarises the extent of tar and pitch production, sawmill industry, shipbuilding and household wood consumption of wood in the area.
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