Finland

CFLogistics (LogForce) is a software service for forestry related transport that streamlines the business for both the haulage contractor and the forestry company. CFLogistics software covers all the planning and vehicle software needed by a haulage contractor. With the help of the CFLogistics service, a transport company can offer its services to several forestry companies using one information system. The forestry company can focus on managing delivery volumes and optimising stock turnover. With the CFLogistics software service, the haulage contractor can plan and manage the transport of logs, forest energy, chips and other by-products of the forest industry from the starting depot to the location of use.

Advantages for transport companies:

• Higher utilisation rate of the transportation equipment
• Ability to work for different forestry companies using just one application
• More flexible transport planning
• Forestry companys advantages:
• Focus on managing delivery volumes
• Better stock turnover
• Cost-efficient logistics

Third party digital service Kuutio brings together forest owners, wood buyers and other service providers in a digital environment. Kuutio.fi enables asking bids from wood procurement companies, when a private forest owner wants to sell wood. The service is developed by Suomen Puukauppa Oy, which was founded by all the major actors in the forest sector. Involved are Stora Enso, UPM and Metsä Group among almost all of the smaller saw mills. Kuutio is fully functional in any role of forestry professionals either through a browser interface or the company’s own forest system as long as it has been set up with a Kuutio connection.

Actual sales are made outside the service, Kuutio only acts as a go-between wood buyers and sellers. In most cases it is still required to do some field work and validate the information provided by system by visiting the stand marked for harvesting. All parties of wood trade benefit from Kuutio because sellers and buyers are able find each other more easily than before. The service utilizes public forest details from the Metsäkeskus database Metsään .fi and improves the functionality of wood trade. Kuutio paves the way to wood trade especially for those who are not the most at ease when it comes to taking care of their forestry property. Kuutio is targeted to all Finnish forest owners and they can use the service for free.

The purpose of the act on the financing of sustainable forestry (Kemera-law) is to advance economically, ecologically and socially sustainable silviculture and use of the forests. A private forest owner may receive financial support from the State for forest management, forest improvement work and for nature management. Public funding for forestry is based on the Act on the Financing of Sustainable Forestry. The general objectives of forestry financing are stated in the Act: increase the growth of forests, maintain road networks for forestry purposes, secure the biodiversity of forests and promote the adaptation of forests to climate change.

Government subsidies are essential for safeguarding sustainable wood production, maintenance of forest biodiversity and improvement of the health of forests. The most common reason not to participate in the cost sharing program is the challenge in applying the support. The receipt of Kemera subsidies requires a implementation plan or an application for support and declaration of completion. The amount of Kemera support varies by type of work and by financial zone. Support is a taxable income and the funding is provided by the Finnish Forest Center. Forest management and improvement work which may be eligible for support include the tending of seedling stands, tending of young stands, ditch cleaning and supplementary ditching and construction of forest roads. Support may also be granted for remedial fertilisation.

One of the challenges in wood mobilization is small-scale wood units within long distances from the nearest roads. These units are not profitable for harvesting, since forest and long-distance transportation are of high costs. The answer to the challenge might lie in bigger wood terminals where wood from multiple small-scale units would be gathered from the same area for intermediate storage. In general, storing the wood is sensible at a distance of about 100 to 150 km from the site of use. The best location for intermediate storage is at the beginning of forest roads.

In Lapland, for instance, a few big terminals have been built close to the railway to advance the efficiency of wood transportation by train. In the provinces, larger terminals are usually located mainly according to the needs of industry and large forestry companies. Benefits of common terminals occur especially in wintertime, when maintenance of storage area could be done commonly or by the certain terminal operator. The joint terminals are well suited for energy wood and wood for which the need for storage is at a different time. This allows continuous use of area.

Operating culture, various practices, and lack of cooperation of the actors are experienced to restrict the wider deployment of common terminals. However, an increase in wood flows will require building more terminals. There is a need for more joint terminals, but it requires cooperation between forest service providers. It would be highly useful to gather the intermediate storage places in one map-based spatial database, which would be open-accessed for all the service providers. This would advance bringing together different actors in the wood procurement chain. In summary, the main benefits comprise:

• Joint wood terminals of forest companies for short-term storage of wood
• Profitable harvesting from the small-scale unit
• Efficiency in wood transportation by train
• Less environmental effects because of centralized terminals

Fragmented ownership structure is one of the main challenges of wood mobilization in Europe. Small-sized, dispersed forest property with difficult access to forests results in high costs for timber harvesting per hectare. The joint forests have been established in Finland since the end of the 1800. In the beginning of 2019 there were 460 common forests in Finland. The establishment of the common forest and the incorporation to existing joint forests have recently become more widespread. The total area of common forests is growing and it is already more than 700 000 ha. There are about 25 000 stakeholder in the common forests of our country, and they include over 5% of the surface area of our private forest. The smallest common forest is less than 20 hectares, while the largest, Kuusamo common forest has over 90 000 hectares of territory. The largest common forests are in North-Eastern Finland.

Changes in the common forest law have facilitated the integration of common forests and the creation of new joint forests. The common forest can provide a good and workable solution to many objectives of modern forest ownership. The common forest is a shared forest area for operating sustainable forestry in favour of the shareholder forest estates. The common forests are privately owned and have no public-law character or obligation. According to the Common Forestry Act, common forest must be used primarily for operating sustainable forestry. Sustainable forestry includes economic, social and ecological sustainability. The shareholders of common forest decide how to emphasise the utilization of different areas for the purposes of sustainable forestry.

There is a need for raising awareness of the positive possibilities of forest consolidation, including:

• Bigger forest units with easier access to forest property
• More cost-efficiency in harvesting, smaller unit costs in work and supplies
• Ease of foundation and joining$Ease of owning forest
• Better forest management with constant profits
• Easier management and administration
• Tax relief, lower income taxation
• Better recreational possibilities
• Functional and democratic administration
• Simple and safe investment

Heat entrepreneurs produce heat for customers by using renewable solid bio-fuels. In recent decades this operational model has become more common in Finland. Different skill sectors have formed around heat entrepreneurship such as training, research, consultation and equipment production. A heat entrepreneurship knowledge cluster has been built in South Ostrobothnia Finland.

The HECSO development project has assembled the heat entrepreneurship knowledge cluster of South Ostrobothnia. The knowledge cluster has been made to utilise, in many different ways, the companies located in the region, other actors in the region and the internationalisation of the whole province.
A principal component of internationalisation is the knowledge cluster’s training package on heat entrepreneurship, which is on offer to interested foreign target groups. Vocational Adult Education Sedu is responsible for the training. The training package lasts for one week, and is compiled through co-operation with the Finnish Forest Centre and regional heat entrepreneurs and machine and equipment manufacturers.
Heat entrepreneurship is the production of local renewable energy, where an entrepreneur or company sells heat at an agreed price to a user. In the best scenarios there can be many heat purchasers. Heat is conveyed to the customer from the heating plant by a district heating network. Generally the fuel is the entrepreneur’s own forest or locally procured wood, but it can also be wood refining by-products, wood for re-cycling and peat.

The knowledge cluster consists of heat entrepreneurs, heat entrepreneurship units, research, training and the supply of machines and equipment for the whole production chain. The knowledge cluster can also be utilized internationally by offering knowledge and training opportunities to foreign target groups.

Transportation costs are the most costly part of wood mobilization especially in sparsely populated areas with long distances.  The distance between forest and factory can be over 500 kilometers. To reduce costs of long-distance transportation of wood, bigger lorries were innovated and are now tested in Finland in a research project. The environmental effects and traffic safety are also explored.

Full utilization of HCT vehicles requires maintenance of road networks including forest roads, main roads, and bridges.

The 33-metric vehicle combination is able to carry even 70 tons of wood. The vehicle consumes less fuel than the smaller one and therefore contributes to reducing the environmental effects of transportation. The vehicles will also contribute to traffic safety since fewer vehicles will be needed to wood transportation in the future.

The research project is participated by experienced research institutes: Aalto University, Oulu University, Metsäteho, and Tampere Technical University. In the research project, the impacts on the road as well as the features of the lorries are investigated: braking distances, passing capacity, oscillations of the vehicle, and curve driving. The consumption of fuel, emissions, and durability of tires are also focused on.

Cost efficiency is gained in long-distance transportation of wood. The HCT vehicles reduce transportation costs and carbon emissions.

The first combination to transport wood started shipping with a pilot permit in December 2020.

Demand for forestry-service products is increasing. This means the service providers must be easy to reach and be able to offer all services needed by forest owner. Providers have to take into account the diverse forest owners groups and their needs regarding the management and use of forests.
So far, the challenge have been scattered services for forest owners.
Now many companies and entrepreneurs have started to offer full forest management services from one place.

Full service from one company/association is attracting forest owners to take care of their forests.
The change of the business environment aims at better competitiveness and cost-efficiency in forest management.

Network of associations offering full service of forest management for forest owners: guidance, planning, call for bids, comparing offers, harvesting, forest regeneration, digital services and forest estate
brokerage.

The Finnish forest road network (150 000 km) gives value not only to forestry but enhances recreational utilization of forests and serves for preventing forest fires and for rescue services. It contributes also to putting out fires if needed. Half of the private roads in Finland are forest roads. Forest roads allow access to forest assets allover Finland.
The forest road networks enable efficient wood procurement from forests. Access to forests are easier and the long-distance transportation is simple. Distances to forests are shorter and in the countryside, forest roads are used for other transportation as well and as links between villages. The recreational users (berry picking, hunting) benefit from roads also.

It is important to keep the road clear of bushes and prevent water from resting on the road. Heavy vehicles are not allowed to utilize the roads during frost heave. Constant maintenance of forest road network and the connected road networks and bridges would be essential, since roads have been built lightly and cost-efficiently.
In the forest road maintenance, utilization of side steams from forest industry, heat plants and mines, for example, would advance actions or circular economy and contribute to preventing emissions and waste.
Heavier vehicles require constant maintenance of forest roads. New method for maintenance need to be applied as well. Mild winters and rainy summers add to the need for maintenance.

The fragmented ownership structure is one of the main challenges of wood mobilization in Europe. In Finland, 4 million hectares of forest area are in need of forest arrangements. Small-sized, dispersed forest property with difficult access to forests results in high costs for timber harvesting per hectare. Forest management and harvesting are more difficult in small estates since boundaries and forest vehicle paths take up most of the estate.

 
Through the process of forest estate arrangements, it is possible to form bigger forest estates for cost efficiency.  Arrangements can be made by changing estates among forest owners to shape the size and form of the forest estate. The arrangements might need trading forest estates.  A new forest consolidation and forest conservation are possible also. Forest road network and drainage need to be adapted for the new situation. The process takes usually 3-6 years depending on the area.

Forest estate arrangements lead to bigger forest estates units, which contribute to better forest management and harvesting. Forest owners become more active in taking care of their forests and forestry companies are more interested in mobilizing wood from better harvesting conditions and easier access to forest.  
To gain the benefits, more discussion and communication are needed around forest estates. Forest owners need to be activated in taking action concerning the arrangements of their forests. 

Bigger forest estates with easier access to forest property.
Better conditions for harvesting.
Cost-efficiency in harvesting and forest regeneration.
Active management of forests.
Easier management of forests.
Increased forest growth.
Tax relief and financial support for forest owners.