Bosque

The sawmills have made an investment for the purchase of a machine suitable for turning wooden poles. The aim was to use local and naturally durable wood species without adding chemical impregnating agents (chestnut in Tuscany, larch in Trentino) to offer turned stakes for fences, wooden toys and outdoor furniture on the market. The approach was to innovate the production process to better exploit the characteristics of the two species, also with a view to increasing consumers' environmental sensitivity (0 km wood, without the use of chemical impregnating agents). The larch on the Alpine arc and the chestnut on the Apennine ridge certainly are not lacking in Italy, just as the small or less assortments market that could be in this way valued. The investments for the plant and the training of the personnel must be carefully evaluated, but good margins can be imagined. To enhance this type of production, widely used for public urban furnishings, the willingness of Public Administrations to develop "green purchasing" policies must be carefully evaluated. The Casolla sawmill produces around 600-800 m3 of larch turned piles per year, PEFC certified, of which about 70% is turned out of heart and 30% with heart. The product is much appreciated, every year new customers are added to those already established and the practice of replacing, once consumed, pine poles impregnated with those in local larch is spreading. A great result for the Casolla Sawmill was the supply of large quantities of this product for EXPO 2015 (Milan). This aspect represents a negative for the Tani sawmill, because many Tuscan administrations continue to buy turned and impregnated products of foreign origin. The company currently produces around 3,000 q of turned, chestnut but also douglasia, less than the potential it had set for itself.

Since 2005 Cip Calor has focused on woody biomass. Careful to professionalism, safety and quality, the company has explored fields that were little known at the time. The sale of wood was accompanied by contracts for the supply of wood chips to public users and contracting activities. In 2010 it invested in the construction of an innovative biomass platform, today the company's nerve center, where firewood and wood chips can be produced and marketed in compliance with the quality standards required by the market and the relevant regulations. The advantages of this logistic-productive-commercial model are many. The organization and optimization of productivity has improved; thanks to the covered structure it is possible to work even in bad weather days; it is easier to manage the quality control system; the number of customers has increased, seeing in the platform a place characterized by a clear and transparent marketing; also interesting is the aspect of visibility and access to the platform at convenient times, where customers can observe and "touch" the work phases and the product they intend to buy. The platform has been designed in an optimal position for the management of the material: from about half of the wooded area that the company manages, it is even possible to cut the wood with a cable crane directly in the yard, with obvious logistical consequences. Excluding raw wood deposits all production activities are covered, below a 1,400 m2 ventilated structure. The main elements of the platform are: "Chipped" line: deposit for the wood chips to be dried; drier; mini co-generator for the production of electricity and heat; storage for dried wood chips. "Firewood" line: area used for cutting and splitting; roll-off bodies connected to the hot air exiting the co-generator; storage for firewood. Other structures: mini-sawmill for the production of manufactured goods; warehouse for the recovery of tools and staff rooms, heated to the floor with the heat recovered from the co-generator; commercial office.

This company was founded in 2013, when a manager in the IT sector, Carlo Petrolo, decided to renovate a family farmhouse using the trees on the property. None of the few remaining sawmills, however, makes itself available to take a few logs and then saw them. Petrolo sees an opportunity in this crisis situation. Thus was born the idea of ​​preparing a mobile, self-transportable sawmill service, suitable for all those who had the need to work their own wood on site.

The activity appears easily replicable with reduced investments. In addition, a service like this could complement another activity, forest or agricultural. However, a widespread action of promotion and contact with all possible purchasers of the service is necessary: ​​very diversified subjects, since we pass from the forest operator to the private citizen, up to the public administration. In the case in question, marketing activities via internet had a fundamental role, especially through social networks.

The service, initially based on a single mobile sawmill, immediately received great interest from operators in the sector and inhabitants in mountain areas. The service, now expanded also in the Italian territory with several mobile sawmills in action. It has responded to the need of many small private owners or farms who are often in a position to be unable to use their raw materials due to the lack of local facilities still capable of sawing small quantities. This experience has also been the forerunner of numerous other alpine entrepreneurial activities (forest companies and treeclimbers) that have purchased mobile sawmills to enhance the wood that was previously used as biomass or waste.

Silvicultural approach that early selects a limited number of target trees to which ensure a free and harmonious development of crown and trunk. The thinnings are selective or from above and they are oriented to remove the direct competitors of the target trees, preserving the remaining stand. The target trees are chosen as a function of vigor, stability, tree morphology, spatial distribution. The number of released target trees (from 50 to 120 per hectare) depends on the site characteristics, the species, the biotic and abiotic risks, the type of owner, the silvicultural goal. · This approach can be applied in high forests and in coppices, in conifers (as Pinus nigra and Pseudotsuga Douglasii) and broad-leaved species, to social (Fagus sylvatica and Quercus sp.) and valuable (Castanea sativa) or sporadic tree (Prunus avium, Sorbus sp., Fraxinus sp., …) species, in public or private property. To apply this method is necessary: Specific training and care of technicians and workers from tree marker to logging Specific training of people involved in the control of the forest utilization. · From an economic and productive point of view: decreasing the management costs reduction of rotation time increasing of quantity and quality of assortments production of high-quality timber relatively quickly enhancement of phenotypes and / or species potentially able to produce quality timber - From an ecological and environmental point of view: increase of individual and stand stability increase of biodiversity increase of structural complexity maintenance of an irregular canopy cover protection of sporadic species - From a social point of view: integration with the traditional forestry increase of non-wood products increase of landscape value

The Travaglini Company has been active since 1976, when it managed to buy 36 hectares of forest. Over the years, thanks to a correct organization of work, attention to efficiency and quality and a correct use of public funding, she managed to "live with the resources of the forest", giving work to family members as well as seasonal workers. This example demonstrates how it is possible to create efficiency and innovation also in our sector and with our woods. What made the experience of this company great is certainly the mentality and passion with which work and investments have been faced over the years. Having always focused on the efficiency of the company organization and on the quality of the products has given the solid foundation to the company, which thanks to the push towards innovation, of process and product, has made a leap more. The Travaglini family company demonstrates every day how it is possible to work thanks to the forest also in the Apennines, using wood and renewable energy. The first investment was the construction of a large one agricultural storage with innovative features, to be able to work even on bad weather days. Under this structure there is a very well organized line for the production of 4 different types of poles. Subsequently, the company aimed to enhance its production waste, by installing one of the first district heating networks in Tuscany that serves 8 homes. Later the company also focused on the sale of part of the waste as a biofuel. Realizing that many families in the area preferred pellets rather than wood or wood chips, the Travaglini family created a new type of wood chips, called cippatino, capable of replacing pellets. This product, sold in 15 kg bags, costs less than pellets, and therefore is required by customers, but much more than wood and chips, bringing great added value to the company.

Venturini was founded in 1985 as an agricultural company, to then devote itself to forestry work since 1997. With the entry of Michele, the owner's son, the forestry activity took over and traditional work systems led to employment of more modern machines, with large investments. The transformation from a traditional forest company to a modern enterprise has been realized thanks to the Region Tuscany Rural Development Plan 2007-13, which has allowed Venturini Biomasse to completely renovate the machinery and reorganize itself, becoming a reference in the territory for the supply of wood chips.

Venturini Biomasse is a beautiful example of a family-run company that, over the years, has been able to expand, renew and improve. Michele's entry into the family business also marked the change of pace at the business level. It is in fact thanks to his foresight that it has been possible to access public funding with the PRS 2007-2013, by exploiting them productively on the basis of clear, concrete objectives and above all calibrated to company dimensions.

Through the purchased equipment
the company has achieved important goals.
First, working conditions have improved. New technologies have also made it possible to optimize logistics. A strategy of diversification and, above all, of production qualification, has allowed the company to start operating outside the local market, obtaining a positioning capable of guaranteeing better sales conditions and therefore greater profitability. The company is healthy today, with good development prospects, and aims to grow further. There is no shortage of design ideas for the future, such as the expansion of a covered structure to optimize the storage and handling of the chips produced, or the construction of a forced drying plant to speed up production cycles.

"FMMF Il Legno" identifies wood products derived from Montagne Fiorentine Model Forest boundaries. The brand can be used only by public and private forest owners and by the forestry companies that are members of the MFMF association who have signed a set of regulations about safety and sustainable cutting. It guarantees: the legality of the products supplied through compliance with international, national and regional laws regarding forestry, commerce and taxation; compliance with current safety regulations; the presence and respect of regular contracts for the buying and selling of the woods.

This project has tried to improve conditions of the companies (owners and users) of first transformation who work on the territory of FMMF, through a continuous training process that can improve the working conditions of the operators in the woods. It has tried to put together demand with offer by selling products (certified timber) that guarantees environmental, economic and social sustainability. The demand is often unwilling to use the forest due to a high fragmentation of the forest property with a marked prevalence of limited private property surfaces.

Types of products guaranteed: woody biomass for energy, firewood, wood chips, pellets, round wood, semi-finished products, wooden products.
The brand managers have carried out activities to promote the brand chain: participation in events; participation at meetings with trade associations or public bodies (Tuscany Region, CNA Borgo San Lorenzo, Gal START, etc.).
They supported the FMMF members drafting projects (PSR calls, GAL START calls, forestry PIF - integrated supply chain projects) and with documents in compliance with EUTR regulation 995/2010 (DUE DILIGENCE).
Project "Bosco Chiavi in ​​Mano" was designed to help owners manage their forests efficiently; professionals offer a service that simplifies forest management and facilitates transactions. 250 turned chestnut poles were sold, 650 q. of firewood, barrels, boards, 250 square meters of chestnut for the floor of the C.BIO shop in Florence and a Center dedicated to Chestnut at Castagno D’andrea was made with branded chestnut wood.

The Forest Funds en Limousin is a regional structure that acts as an interface between forest owners and financial contributors. It manages financial flows and handles requests from forest owners requesting assistance.  This private initiative was initiated by Fransylva in Limousin (Limousin forest owners' syndicate).

By the end of 2017: 180 hectares of plantation have been validated by the Forest Fund in Limousin and 90 hectares are still under study.

In return for their financial investments through the Forest Fund in Limousin, companies and local authorities are awarded the "I love the Limousin forest, I support it" label, enabling them to communicate to their clients or employees about their interest in preserving the environment and fighting climate change. The sums paid by companies are tax deductible because the share is considered sponsorship. The forestry works eligible for aid are plantations or forest improvements. The minimum surface area of the forest sites must be 1 ha.

Adeli is an interprofessional association whose objective is to bring together neighbouring private owners in order to set up sufficient site units to trigger stand improvement operations and equipment work (storage area, wood loading area). Adeli's technicians, partly financed by the region, help to define the appropriate silvicultural interventions, constitute grouping files and carry out site receptions. Thanks to this animation, the stands are put back into management with dynamic silviculture that will eventually produce quality wood.

Thanks to Adeli, the overheads and prospecting costs of economic operators are reduced. Cost implementation of volumes mobilized is 3-4 € m3 depending on the files.

To initiate a grouped site, it is necessary at least 3 owners, for a site surface of at least 8 ha (4h for hardwoods), within a radius of 2km. Owners and operators must commit to a sustainable management certification system and pay membership fees: €25/year and €250/year respectively.
Once the grouping is completed, aid is provided by the region for owners ranging from 200 € to 500 €/ha for stand improvement. For aid for the creation of equipment, the maximum aid before tax is € 6500.
The sites implemented by ADELI mobilize 650 ha of stands every year, 50% of which are deciduous for a wood volume of 45,000 to 50,000 m3.

It is a handbook on the practicability of forest plots. The machines work all year round in the forest and sometimes in unfavourable weather conditions. With an average cutting period of 6 to 10 years, soils have little time to recover in the event of major impacts. Soil compaction and rutting can cause productivity losses on the nearest trees. The handbook aims to give recommendations at each stage of the forest site and for each actor in the mobilisation of wood.

The guide aims to improve the quality of forest sites and consequently to make wood cutting more acceptable to the general public.

The handbook contains 23 recommendations throughout the wood mobilisation chain: during forest management, before the forest site, during the site, after the site and in the company. For example, it indicates to the owners the good practices to adopt to avoid a too important impact of the ground during the building site, like knowing the feasibility of the grounds, the elements of the ground, and the sensitive zones.