In the old days, many softwood receivers reckoned that the very best Archangel whitewood came from the Onega River basin.
Today, the owners and management of JSC Onega Sawmills say they’re making every effort to ensure that buyers of the company’s softwoods can be assured of a product processed and graded to exacting modern standards and with the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) stamp of approval.
Since the early 90s and Perestroika, a small but influential number of Russian sawmill owners have been determined to modernise all aspects of their businesses. Starting with the reorganisation of their associated logging companies, through to the modernisation of their sawing equipment and grading practices and extending through to the commercialisation of the sawn timber, they have worked hard to put new strategies into place to meet the challenges of the modern softwood trade.
In Onega’s case, an early goal was to achieve full FSC accreditation. “Our Continental and UK customers had indicated to us that proper certification is absolutely necessary in today’s markets,” said Pavel Yakovlev, general director of Onega Sawmills. “We have been having ongoing dialogue with FSC so the process was not particularly time-consuming or complicated. We are one of the first Archangel producers to hold FSC certification.”
New saw line
At the same time the company made a major investment in a new saw line, a Hew saw system which can process logs at a speed of 90m per minute, and this summer new Finnscan automatic grading equipment comes on line. Unfortunately, modern equipment means fewer jobs and, in a sawmilling town, other employment possibilities are limited. For this reason Onega is trying to spread the impact of job losses over a number of years.
It exports about 300,000m3 every year, mainly to European markets, of which two-thirds are whitewood and the balance redwood; the UK accounts for roughly 60,000m3. The question arose quite naturally about whether the traditional Soviet export grading system GOST 26002-83 should continue to be used. Onega maintained that its grading was superior to the GOST standard and it had already started moving away from GOST packaging and towards five-side poly-wrapping. The next logical step was to use Scandinavian grading rules. It invested in Finnscan equipment and started a comprehensive re-training system for its BG graders. As grading rules tend to be interpreted differently by different producers, the company took care to involve its customers closely in the changeover.
Every aspect of the operation is subject to continual scrutiny. For example, the activity of Onega’s logging companies and its waste management/energy use strategy are also in the process of redevelopment.
With all this activity, Mr Yakovlev is convinced, as are all his colleagues, that the time is coming when the serious Russian producers will begin to reap the rewards of their efforts.
“We still have some way to go to catch up with the Scandinavians, and the logistical problems we have to solve are usually more complex than say in South Sweden,” said Mr Yakovlev. “But the important thing is that in Russia we have the resource which, if looked after carefully, will permit us in time to regain our position as the main softwood supplier to many of the European markets.”
