New Zealand: Optimism for forestry’s future

Republished from Top South Farming Paper, December 2023

While the forestry industry – like many others – is in a challenging space at the moment, the industry will be a major beneficiary once demand lifts from China.

That’s the assessment from Shaun Truelock, who in August was appointed General Manager at OneFortyOne a major timber player in the Top of the South.

“It’s a challenging space at the moment. It’s not just us who’s affected its contractors, drivers, workers, we all have to work together to get through,” says Shaun.

He says the upcoming months look tough for the forestry sector, however he’s quick to point out that all in the sector need to remember that New Zealand is China’s main supplier of timber which means it’s when, not if, demand lifts, we will all be ‘back with front row seats’.

Forestry is nothing new to Shaun, he was born and raised on a South African plantation. And like his father and grandfather Shaun has continued family tradition by having a career in the forestry space.  “My eldest boy, who is 19, is an aspiring fourth-generation forester up in Gisborne,” Shaun adds.

We could list his past roles including establishing a harvesting company and working as a forestry optimisation consultant.

 Or we could explain how he took on the task of saving 12,000 hectares of sub-tropical trees from being burnt by teaching local guys to fell it, then started up a sawmill and furniture factory to turn the trees into locally used school desks and office desks in the Zambia region with no electricity. Before moving to New Zealand for an extensive role running and developing forestry operations.

However, it would be just easier to say he has hands-on experience in every element of a forestry business across New Zealand, Zambia, and South Africa.

Shaun says “I’m really looking forward to getting into the forest more  and working with others to improve our field operations.”

He’s realistic that the sector has a lot of ‘noise’ around it regarding forestry’s potential impact on communities.

 “Managing expectations of the public is something we are continuing to work on. Agriculture, horticulture, and forestry would all achieve a lot more if we worked together so I’m enthusiastic about making connections within communities and working together.” Shaun explains.

Agriculture is a sector Shaun knows well, as alongside his forestry career he has grown and harvested his own arable crops.

Shaun says that he feels with his past experience, innovative approach, and genuine passion for building long-lasting relationships there are many opportunities for the Top of the South forestry sector that he wants to explore.

He concludes by saying “While the road ahead looks challenging there are a lot of companies coming through with innovative ways to get through this tough period which is encouraging, and worth exploring.”