Home » Consorzio Legno Veneto: a sawmill is needed with the support of politics

Consorzio Legno Veneto: a sawmill is needed with the support of politics

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«Veneto is a territory rich in artisanal and industrial activities related to wood, but the use of wood of local origin is very limited. To reverse this trend and make the most of this resource, a serious forestry policy must be developed ”. To support it is Enzo Bozza, president of the Veneto Wood Consortium which groups 35 companies including forest owners, woodcutters, sawmills, secondary processing industries (such as carpentry, joinery, etc.).

The fragility of the system is evident. What is it given from?

“The objective difficulty in procuring the raw material wood derives from the multitude of small private owners, with a strong fragmentation of very small wood lots, beyond public ownership (local authorities, Rules), so that the current forestry policy does not allows a constant procurement of timber. As a result, many primary processing businesses (sawmills) have closed in recent years. Consider that on average a Venetian sawmill is able to process a volume of logs equal to 20-30% of that processed by an average structure in Austria. Furthermore, a correct planning of forest cuts is needed that allows the use of at least 50% of the regrowth (currently we do not exceed 30% against 80% in the rest of Europe, 90% in Austria) ».

What should be done right away?

«To create a first processing unit, that is a sawmill, capable of using modern techniques of working in quantities? that allow it to have an industrially economic dimension, that is 150 / 200,000 cubic meters per year. Just think that our largest Venetian sawmill currently processes 25,000 cubic meters per year; the smallest of the Austrian ones reaches 100,000, four times as much. Just to give a dimension of the phenomenon ».

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Have you made a business plan?

«Certainly, after Vaia we had a very specific project in mind, but to implement it we needed a hand from the Veneto Region. We went to Venice to illustrate it and do you know what the answer was? Nice idea, if you have the money do it! Unfortunately they did not understand the numbers well. To create a sawmill up to 120,000 cubes a year, ten million euros are needed, which are then not remunerated. Because to make a sawmill truly sustainable, it is necessary to cut at least 200,000 cubes: below this threshold nothing is gained, and no entrepreneur, however far-sighted, is willing to invest in order not to earn anything. It should be politics, then, to understand that instead, with adequate economic support, the sector could be revitalized, giving life to a short quality chain, but above all giving work to many workers ».

There are those who argue that auctions should not have been carried out immediately after Vaia, but they had to manage the timber, stack it, wait for the recovery of the market …

“A good idea, but where could it stack up? There are no adequate spaces and, in my opinion, it would not even have been cheap because we must consider that almost three years have passed. The wood sold then is certainly not what we are talking about today that solid wood (to be used for carpentry and construction) has grown by 50%, glulam by 110%. Furthermore, our offer of 5 million cubic meters of crashes is little compared to the European panorama ».

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In short, are we conditioned from abroad?

«Without a doubt: 320 new sawmills are opening in the US, not one! The United States and China today buy at any price. The Chinese plan to purchase 54 million cubic meters of timber this year compared to 20 million in 2019, more than doubling their consumption; all while Europe produces less, Russia has closed its borders to exports, Canada mainly feeds the domestic economy. I repeat, something different could have been done: as I said, our Consortium had asked for funding to set up a sawmill and work our own timber: if it was done by 2019, it would have been operational in six months. But the region responded spades. We may not have been able to be convincing enough; perhaps the right interlocutor was missing ».

Meanwhile, the market price is skyrocketing

«Let’s say rather that it is returning to its proper value. Just put a few numbers next to each other: let’s say that a forest owner puts up for sale, in a hectare of wood, 1,000 cubic meters of fir, after a maturation of over 30 years. Considering all the problems, from snow to storms (Vaia), the value of that forest could be equal to 80 / 90,000 euros, or 80 euros per cubic meter; then we consider 50/60 euros of manufacture, necessary to bring the trunk to the street, and we arrive at 130 euros per cubic meter; then 60 euros for transport and sawing and you get to 190 euros per cubic meter. Considering that in reality, then, the gain is only obtained on 50 percent of the harvested volume, because the other half goes between waste and twigs, the cost of the table product doubles. So the wood, which until now has been sold below cost, has now returned to the correct market prices. Because, I stress, in the supply chain, there must be remuneration for everyone, starting with the forest owner. Therefore the correct value of the material is not far from the current price of 400 euros per cubic meter for the table. Also because wood is the only product in construction or carpentry that has been experiencing a real increase for over 20 years.

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There are countries abroad that have set up a real economy on wood.

“Of course, like Austria and Germany; for us, on the other hand, the forestry sector is considered, in fact, a gregarious sector, which comes even after agriculture. We are practically giving away a commodity, losing workforce, depopulating the mountains, with all the consequent damage. And then we are also practically stopped on district heating ».

That is to say?

“There is a lot of talk about green, renewable sources, but then in fact very few at the level of local administrations make investments in this direction”.

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