SA Forestry magazine

17/12/2025

As the year draws to a close, we want to thank all our advertisers, contributors, interviewees, support staff and readers for your loyal support, both in these pages and across our websites. You make it possible for us to keep telling the stories that matter.

Machines and industrial technologies are ineffective without people to operate them. Safety and productivity go hand in hand, and this month we feature the STIHL MS 382 chainsaw, a powerhouse known for its field reliability and performance, and Ewald Klingenberg and his company’s new Bell forwarder, which is advancing efficiency in their operations. Sappi Southern Africa Forests’ regional teams have achieved record lost-time injury-free milestones, demonstrating what’s possible when safety becomes a core value in a company.

Sappi and Wits - University of the Witwatersrand have renewed their partnership to help build forest resilience in the face of climate change. Kudos to Prof Mary Scholes and her multi-disciplinary and inter-university teams for their extraordinary efforts in driving this vital work.

Further on, we explore JP van der Merwe’s research detailing how York Timbers is using high-resolution climate, terrain, and species data to future-proof their silviculture regimes. It shows the value of big data in forestry planning, ensuring a sustainable supply of high-quality raw materials for the growth of the economy.

The recent Green Building Council convention was a milestone event for the mass timber movement in South Africa. The York Timbers Chair at the University of Pretoria brought “Timber transformed” to life with a standout exhibit and targeted workshop, putting timber’s potential in the built environment firmly in the spotlight.

You will also find highlights from SAFCA’s annual contractor gathering, a practical guide from David Marks on building helical staircases using traditional techniques, and a heartwarming peek at Arxada’s annual graduation and festive party for the children at Vulingqondo Creche.

If you are taking a break over the next few days and weeks, enjoy the holiday. If you are working over the festive season, please stay safe. We look forward to reconnecting in the new year with more inspiring stories, fresh insights, and shared successes.

~ Joy Crane and Mickey Petersen

https://www.woodbizafrica.co.za/november-december-2025-issue-54/

08/12/2025

Wits - University of the Witwatersrand and Sappi Southern Africa renew climate-smart forest resilience research partnership

Wits University and Sappi Southern Africa have renewed their research partnership to increase forestry resilience to climate change risks by extending the Wits Sappi Chair in Climate Change and Plantation Sustainability until 2028.

The new R4.3 million investment was announced during a launch event at Wits on 26 November 2025. The programme will continue under the leadership of Prof Mary Scholes, with research focused on drought tolerance, fire regimes and tree responses to pests and pathogens in a warming climate.

“Forests are under growing pressure from heat, drought and disease”, says Scholes. “We need data and practical tools to help foresters plan for these changes now – not in 10 years”.

https://saforestryonline.co.za/articles/wits-and-sappi-renew-climate-smart-forest-resilience-research-partnership/

12/11/2025

Some will disagree with me, but I believe South Africa's plantation forestry sector is regrouping, transforming, and forcefully asserting itself as a leading contributor to economic growth, social development, and environmental sustainability.

The stories in last month's edition and in this issue prove my point. The Nukor Group has built a double arbour multirip saw and customised grading line for a local sawmill. New Forests is investing in Rance Timber. Weza has been upgraded, Northern Timbers is pushing the boundaries of eucalyptus, and several other sawmills are making improvements to develop their products and markets.

The merger (if the Competition Commission doesn't say no) of PG Bison and MTO Group's Cape operations is particularly significant. Cape Forest Products now manages 41,900 hectares of plantations, three sawmills, and a pole plant. Add to this the news that the DFFE has contracted Cold Stream Timber Company to reforest 22,000 hectares in the Garden Route, and you have genuinely positive momentum for the region.

That said, let's call it what it is: it has taken the government 17 years to implement a cabinet decision reversing the exit from over 22,000 hectares of plantation forestry in the Southern Cape. Abominable. Hundreds of forestry workers and their families have paid the price, and the skills base has been eroded. Restoring the infrastructure and land for reforestation will require deep pockets, patience, and hard work.

However, the timing is critical. The Western Cape had a dry winter, and we're only months into the fire season and already thousands of hectares of agricultural land, fynbos, and indigenous forests have burned. Cold Stream will need to move quickly on firebreaks and fuel load reduction.

Meanwhile, innovation continues. The 6th annual Precision Silviculture meeting, organised by Nelson Mandela University (NMU) and industry sponsors, showcased how collaboration and integrated research can leverage technology effectively. Equipment manufacturers like Bell, Hitachi, John Deere, Log Max from AfrEquip, and Waratah are delivering machinery that builds businesses and increases harvesting efficiencies.

Catch up on these and more by reading our October Issue 53 online, or you can download ihis edition to read at your own leisure - https://www.woodbizafrica.co.za/october-2025-issue-53/

07/11/2025

Vacancy Alert: Forester

Witzenberg Properties (Pty) Ltd is seeking a Forester to manage harvesting and silviculture operations in our forestry department. You will be based in the Koue Bokkeveld, Ceres. As a member of our timber division team, you will play a critical role in delivering productivity, quality, environmental stewardship, and community engagement across our plantations.

Click the link for more information - https://saforestryonline.co.za/news/witzenberg-forester-vacancy/

05/11/2025

31/10/2025

Cape Forest Products is a new dawn for South Africa's forestry sector

The merger of PG Bison’s Southern Cape sawmilling operations with MTO Forestry Southern and Eastern Cape operations to create a new company, Cape Forests Products, creates a more sustainable timber and sawmilling industry in the Southern Cape.

CEO of the newly formed Cape Forests Products, Greg Woodbridge, says, “This merger heralds an exciting new dawn for an industry that is so important to the region in terms of sustaining jobs.” Cape Forests Products will employ directly and indirectly over 2,500 forestry and sawmilling people in the region.

Read more - https://saforestryonline.co.za/articles/cape-forest-products-is-a-new-dawn-for-south-africas-forestry-sector/

30/10/2025

EXPRESSION OF INTEREST (EOI) FOR PROVISION OF ENUMERATION, GROWTH & YIELD RESEARCH AND QUALITY ASSESSMENT SERVICES

The purpose of this expression of interest (EOI) is to engage company profiles from interested parties who wish to participate in this tender for the provision of Enumeration, Growth & Yield Research and Quality Assessments in Mondi South Africa Forestry Plantations across the KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga region.

Learn more - https://saforestryonline.co.za/articles/research-and-development/mondi-expression-of-interest/

21/10/2025

🌲Welcome to the latest edition of your sector’s magazine.

The Growing Timber Connections conference, Timber Construction Colloquium, and tour of the University of Pretoria's Engineering 4.0 Timber Laboratory demonstrated something crucial: the supply chain from plantation to construction site is ready. This collaborative academic platform, driven by UP’s York Timbers Chair, connects commercial timber growers with , , , and with the government and private sector supply chains.

Catch up these stories and more, by reading the online mag, or dowload it to read at your leisure - https://www.woodbizafrica.co.za/september-2025-issue-52/

16/10/2025

When Knysna’s woodcutters cut wood

Adam Stander was born in the Knysna forest in 1928 and given two birth days, 22 November, when his name was carved on a tree to note his birth and 28 November, the day his woodcutter father travelled into town and registered his son’s birth.

The Knysna forest, which forms part of the “Garden Route” on South Africa’s southern coastline, was historically significant from colonial times as a natural timber resource used for fuelwood, construction, shipbuilding, furniture, and other purposes.

Read more - https://saforestryonline.co.za/articles/when-knysnas-woodcutters-cut-wood/