In fact, all going to plan, it will be three years since sawmillers and saw-doctors’ last met up outside of their mill environment. Covid 19 torpedoed the WoodTECH event planned to run in New Zealand in September of this year along with every other event across the region. Source: Timberbiz
Planning for WoodTECH 2022 is now already well underway. It’s based on a format that was set up together with industry and key technology and equipment suppliers from Australasia and around the world for 2021.
The 2022 event will provide an independent showcase for local companies to evaluate the very latest in innovations, technology and operating practices around; saw design and operation, mill maintenance, wood scanning, sawmilling and mill optimisation.
Next year’s event is expected to be one of few sawmilling events that will be run in 2022 anywhere around the world.
It’s planned that New Zealand sawmillers will be able to meet up in person in Rotorua. It will run on 18-19 May 2022. Australian mills, as well as sawmills and technology providers from outside New Zealand, will also be able to live stream for the first time the full two-day tech event.
There’s also an opportunity for mill sites that may be unable to bring in all their key production and operational staff from the mill at one time, to access later the recorded presentations to use for their own on-site meetings, to provide technology and troubleshooting updates or for future staff training.
The WoodTECH 2022 event’s program is extensive. A one-day conference and exhibitions will run over the two days. In addition, two workshops will be running; a pre-conference workshop titled ‘Managing and Making Use of Data to Drive the Business’ and post-conference workshop, running just after the conference concludes, titled ‘The Wood Processing Skills Pipeline – Broken but Repairable.’
In addition to a raft of exciting new innovations around sawmilling and saw maintenance, a feature of the event will be the number of practical presentations (saw guides and lubrication, fine tuning your circular and band saws, making use of machine data in the mill, real time data collection for machine diagnosis and troubleshooting).
A focus will be given to one of the major constraints to increasing production, how to retain workers and attract younger skills into the industry. A series of presentations around new timber treatment and wood modification technologies have also been able to be built into the 2022 event.
Full details on the program and format for the sawmilling event can now be found on the event website, www.woodtech.events/wt22
