Italy

The strength grading of timber is mandatory for structural uses. Most of the sawmills in the area are small or medium-sized enterprises that cannot acquire an automatic classification line because of the very high costs. For this reason it was decided to develop a new portable machine, with significantly reduced costs, which could be shared between the sawmill of the territory. The new grading machine was design starting from the technology ViSCAN of Microtec With these results, it becomes possible to introduce the machine strength grading among small/medium sawmills. Thanks to this new opportunity the companies can enjoy advantages both in terms of quantitative yields and efficiency in the classification. On the other hand, the portability of the machine is an interesting stimulus to its possible spread: neighboring sawmill could share the purchase or lease the equipment, reducing the amount of initial investment and operating costs. This sharing mode is well suited also to a non-continuous production of lumber. The machine was then set on the timber species present in the FMMF territory already used or potentially suitable for construction: ViSCAN-portable was officially certified as strength grading machine on March 2014. At the same date the settings for Douglas fir and black pine were approved, while for fir and chestnut they were approved on October 2014. Some local sawmills have already used the machine to grade their sawnwood for structural uses, but the VISCAN-portable has also been requested by other Italian regions, especially to grade chestnut timber.

iBioNet (Intelligent Bioenergy Network) is a spin-off of the University of Florence, established in 2015.
iBioNet supports the local communities through the development of renewable energies and guarantees the environmental and social sustainability. Furthermore, iBioNet promotes wood-energy supply chains, assists the enterprises and the local communities. iBioNet supports the energy production togheter with the maintenance strategy into the local framework. iBioNet promotes the biomass energy to reduce the GHG emissions and as drive force for the rural economy and forest management.

iBioNet pays particular attention to the growth of a sustainable economic model, compatible with the economic and ethical development of local companies, thanks to the coherence between the core business of "renewable companies", based on principles of environmental sustainability and efficient use of resources.

iBioNet’s services are:
•       Planning and design of biomass supply chains, through specific analyses and the development of web applications that allow an assessment of the sustainability of the new energy plants.
•      Biofuel Certification Service and emissions analyses aimed at certifying the quality of solid fuels (wood chips). In particular, iBioNet issues quality certification of solid biomass samples, according to the UNI EN ISO standard.
• iBioNet also produces and installs SensorWebEnergy (SWE) and Air Quality (AIRQ) remote monitoring systems and able to determine: the first the quantity and quality of biomass supplied to the plants; the energy eventually produced; the overall performance of the plant, weighed against climatic and electricity consumption data; whereas the second, weather data and emission value data of CO2; CO; NO2; VOC; PM10; PM2.5 . SWE and AIRQ data are sent in real time to the web platform (www.ibionet.eu) to be processed and made immediately available to the users.

IDWOOD aims to promote and foster innovation and competitiveness of SMEs in the wood sector in the SEE area by sharing and transferring technical and organizational know-how to enable local support organizations to address structural deficits of SMEs and enhance innovation potentials.

Inclusion of both, stakeholders and policy makers, is of great importance and beneficial for both. Stakeholders are given the opportunity to strengthen their organizational and technical capacities, to develop new functions, to participate to working groups and to be actively involved in networking activities. Policy makers receive guidelines and advice on support policies to foster sector’s development.

Results of the project are improved capacities of support organisations; transnational cooperation between support organisations, knowledge poles and productive sector; increased information flow towards SMEs; innovation, design and knowledge transferred to SMEs; sustainability of the transnational network/support system and SMEs cooperation after project end; increased knowledge of market opportunities.

The European Forestry and Environmental Skills Council (EFESC) is a membership organization of industry representatives and organisations which manage and monitor the skills and competence certification processes on national level.

Chainsaws are potentially dangerous, so it is important to acquire the necessary skills and knowledge to use it. First checking if your training was set up to meet the European Chainsaw Standards, then next level is European Chainsaw Certificates that ensure skills and competences through detailed description of the required qualification for each level. ECC enhance operator mobility and employability throughout Europe, independent of language and country. ECC guarantee traceability of the licensed certificate holder through registration at the National Agency and in the EFESC database.

European minimum standards (ECS) have been developed for different competence levels of chainsaw use.Currently standards are available for the following competence levels:
ECS 1 : chainsaw maintenance and crosscutting
ECS (Tension) : wood under tension (simulated situations)
ECS 2 : basic tree felling
ECS 3 : advanced tree felling
ECS 4 : windblown and damaged trees
ECS (Height): chainsaw use at height (currently being developed)
Based on each of the above ECS competence levels, a formal assessment procedure has been agreed upon. By taking an assessment in an accredited assessment centre, chainsaw users can acquire a European Chainsaw Certificate. Only EFESC accredited assessment centres can issue European Chainsaw Certificates. From 2012 to 31/12/2018, 12.532 certificates were issued at European level.

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.