In other news, read on for a diagrid for turtles; Industry facts; Felder Australia 35; Briquettes from coffee; Biesse Business Plan; Forcing log imports out; Good, Better, Bessey; Homag record results; Altendorf Finance; Australian office furniture; Wadkin, still a player; WEINIG Strengthens management; NSW election removes threat.

Diagrid for Queensland turtles

Kirk Architects and Hyne Timber have been chosen to build a new centre known as a ‘diagrid’ for turtles in Queensland using Spotted Gum. The structure located in Mon Repos is known as a ‘diagrid’ which presents an innovative resistance against cyclonic conditions. It is believed to be the largest diagrid in Australia. This particular timber was specified for its durability, strength, density and appearance to suit the corrosive, coastal environment. The largest concentration of marine turtles on the eastern Australian mainland choose Mon Repos as their nesting place. Mon Repos, meaning ‘my rest’ in French, is a conservation park near Bundaberg, Queensland.

Industry facts and figures

Australia’s dwelling approvals in November 2018 totalled 16,059 separate approvals, down more than 31% on November 2017. This will have an impact on the cabinet making sector mid to late 2019. Australia’s imports of particleboard over the year-ended November 2018 were 16% higher than for the prior year, totalling 130,526 m3. Australia makes some of the highest quality particleboard in the World so these imports are likely of lower quality from Asia.

Felder Australia 35 years

Felder recently celebrated 35 years in Australia with a special release K940 X-Motion ‘Jubilee” edition sliding table panel saw. The top panel saw model from FELDER impresses with modern design, innovative operating elements, durable precision, extreme performance and maximum operating comfort. The large dimensioned saw aggregate makes it possible to use large diameter saw blades and maximum power transfer is achieved regardless of which of the 3 speeds the saw is set. In other Felder news, the company is continuing its expansion program with further manufacturing capacity at their headquarters in Austria.

Briquettes from coffee grounds

Melbourne has often been called the coffee capital of Australia. Agree or not; with so much coffee being consumed around the World, there is an increasing issue as to what to do with the grounds. Wonder no more as a Melbourne start-up is now recycling the grounds into briquettes that could warm the home or cook the meal. Apparently, there are 65 commercial coffee machines for every square kilometre in Melbourne’s CBD making in some cases thousands of cups of coffee every day. Zero impact is the Carlton company and entrepreneur Max Middleweek says the coffee ‘logs’ will burn for up to 40 minutes in fire pits and barbeques or in the fireplace. There is a slight aroma of coffee, but Max says not to worry, the logs have been tested in a pizza oven with no affect to the food.

Biesse Business Plan

Pesaro, February 2019 – The Board of Directors of Biesse S.p.A. approved its 2019-2021 Three-year Business Plan. Based on this Plan and on the international macroeconomic environment, the principal forecasts for the Biesse Group in the period under consideration are three-year compound annual growth rate in Net Revenues of 6%; and three-year cagr in earnings before interest and taxes of 7.7% Biesse Group report that 2018 consolidated revenues rose 7.3% compared to the previous financial year with gross operating profit exceeding Euro 92 million. Despite the international political and economic uncertainties, the Board of Directors is intent on maintaining its focus on investments in innovation, service and after sales care without ignoring marketing/distribution efforts. The Three-year Business Plan is predicated on three main strategies: increase in products; new solutions for clients and increased digitalisation.

In other local Biesse news; Biesse Group AWISA sales reached a record of $10.3M and for the first time, the AWISA exhibition exceeded 10,000 visitors, an increase of 16% to the last exhibition. This is the first time that Wood, Stone and Advanced Materials machinery were exhibited together at an AWISA exhibition.

Forcing log imports out of the US market

The US sawn lumber market is in a process of change that has implications for the global lumber market and could impact supply into countries like Australia, according to latest analysis by Forest2Market. If US housing remains sluggish; and Forest2Market thinks it will until around 2021; the expansions of the US South will force at least some of the imports out of the US market. Given the prominence of European producers in the Australian sawn softwood import market, it seems reasonable to anticipate that there will be more volume seeking to enter the domestic market, potentially at the time when the Australian housing market is itself softening. Source: Forest2Market.

Good, Better, Bessey Website

Innovative, practical solutions – that’s what BESSEY stands for. This claim applies equally to Bessey’s own clamping and cutting technology products as it does to the new website of BESSEY Tools. Maximum end user experience for mobile devices is built into the responsive web design, making the new BESSEY website experience even more comprehensive. The design not only offers a high degree of user-friendliness, but also optimizes to the respective mobile device screen size in terms of size, orientation and structure. The new website provides information in a clearly structured way. This includes detailed product data, PDFs for download and valuable tips on the correct handling of BESSEY tools in the FAQ. The site is live from April 1st and Supplier trusts this is not a joke (pun intended).

Homag record results

In fiscal year 2018 the HOMAG Group further increased its sales and achieved a record result. The company was particularly successful in selling large systems for furniture production. Preliminary figures show that the HOMAG Group increased its sales by 6.5 percent to € 1,298 million (previous year: € 1,219 million). The order backlog was worth € 602 million as of December 31, 2018 (12/31/2017: € 561 million) and incoming orders reached € 1,337 million, the second highest figure in the company’s history. The HOMAG Group won several major projects in the kitchen industry in Germany and in China, systems business calmed down temporarily following the strong years of 2016 and 2017.

Altendorf Finance

From April this year Altendorf Australia (only in Australia) will offer finance like that offered by Mercedes Benz. Contact your Altendorf dealer for more information.

Australian office furniture under pressure

In 2018, office furniture imports lifted 20% to a record 1.450 million items, while over the year, the average import price fell more than 10%. Source: Timberbiz. Tim Woods, managing director of IndustryEdge says, “Over the last two years, although there has been some growth, new offices, and the normal replacement rate do not account for imports rising by around 500,000 units in 18 months. Because the market doesn’t seem to have grown as quickly as imports, we think it is clear domestic manufacturers are under pressure. That means their local particleboard and MDF suppliers could be under pressure also.”

Wadkin, still a player

Daltons Wadkin is the owner of the famous Wadkin brand since their acquisition in 2010. The company continues manufacturing and updating some of the original Wadkin designs. A new Wadkin website is now available.

WEINIG Strengthens management

Following the appointment of Gregor Baumbusch as CEO as of 1 January 2019, the Supervisory Board appointed Dr. Mario Kordt as Chief Technology Officer at its meeting on 12 March 2019. Dr. Kordt will take office on 15 March 2019 and, together with Chief Financial Officer Gerald Schmidt, will complement the Management Board which will then consist of three members again.

NSW election removes threat

The peak forestry body in New South Wales says the election of the Coalition Government has removed the threat from the proposed new koala national park. General Manager Maree McCaskill said the proposed Great Koala National Park in northern NSW was now “not in prospect” for the next four years. This would give time to better inform the public that forestry was not a threat to the koala’s survival, she said, as the campaign showed that many people mistakenly thought koalas were about to become extinct.