Are you looking for a partner for sustainable forest management? Or are you looking to sell your timber? We at Pölkky are happy to help to keep your forest healthy and growing. Here’s how our wood procurement system works
Offer
Selling of timber starts with an offer request. The offer is made by Pölkky procurement supervisor in your area. The offer request can be done in many ways, for example by call, email, filling our form or asking for a meeting. After the offer request has been received, our procurement supervisor will be in contact with you. Before the offer can be finalized, a forest visit is required. The visit is free for the owner of the forest.
Forest visit
The forest owner is welcomed to join to the forest visit. A forest visit with the owner is even recommended to best assure that the wishes and priorities of the owner are made clear and discussed. A forest visit includes observation and evaluation of the property, quality of the wood and other factors concerning the harvest. Also the method and timeline of the harvest can be assessed better after the forest visit. After the forest visit, our procurement supervisor purchasing will make a written offer of the procurement which includes all factors such as the price, measurement and quality requirements of the timber.
Forest harvest methods
Forests can be managed in many ways. The harvest method is chosen considering the aims and wishes of the forest owner but also respecting the environmental and forestry matters.
Thinning: The primary aim of forest thinning is to increase growth of selected trees into high quality timber. The poorer quality and damaged trees are removed and the forest is thinned so that it will grow richer and healthier. The remaining trees are higher quality and bigger than the removed trees. A thinning made at the right time and well will ensure higher profit at the next harvest.
Cutting of the hold-overs: In cutting of the hold-overs the forest is harvested in cycles or rotation periods. Once the stand has become stabilised, the seedling trees and shelterwood are removed.
Final felling: Final felling can be done in many ways. The felling is a step towards creating a new generation of forest.
Clearcutting: Clearcutting means felling almost all the trees in a forest stand. The harvesting area leaves old-generation trees as a retention tree group. The stand is re-cultivated with seeding or planting.
Seeding felling: In a seeding felling, 30 to 100 trees are left per hectare as a seeding stand. The rest of the trees are left seeding the next generation. The forest stand can be harrowed to speed up the growing process.
Shelterwood felling: Shelterwood felling can be used as a regeneration felling when felling spruce or in some cases pine. 200-400 shelter trees are normally left to protect the spruce seedlings to offer some shade.
Strip cutting: Strip cutting or strip system clearcut is a less used method for removal of all the trees in strips. The area is adapted and the new generation is grown naturally from the seeds of the remaining trees. Strip cutting is suitable for spruce and pine.
Continuous-cover silviculture: Continuous-cover silviculture means uneven-aged forestry. Large clear fellings are not used in continuous-cover silviculture. Forests are kept vital by removing the largest single trees or making small-scale, at most 0.3 hectare, clear fellings. This method can be used in forest stands where natural regeneration in happening.
Sale methods
The most common timber sale methods are standing sales and delivery price sales.
Standing sale: The forest owner gives the buyer a right to harvest an agreed stand. The buyer is responsible for harvesting the trees, the shipping and paying the expenses.
Sale at delivery price: In a sale at delivery price, the forest owner is responsible for harvesting the trees. The timber is delivered to a place where it can be collected by a truck. The buyer is in responsible for the transportation and its costs. The sale by delivery price is agreed before the harvesting is done. An agreement is also made about the quality and measurement requirements.
Timber sale agreement
A sale is finalized once the forest owner accepts the offer. The owner and buyer create a contract about the felling which includes the terms of the contract such as the price and quality of the timber, time and method of the felling, a map of forest compartment and so on. In standing sale, the buyer is in responsible for the harvesting and transportation in the forest until mill.
The contractor of the felling or the procurement supervisor will report the start of the felling to the owner, if agreed on. The owner is also entitled to monitor the felling.
Wood measurement and payment
Wood measurement is made with the methods agreed on the felling contract. Usually the measurement is made by harvester or the buyer. The final price is concluded after the measurement. The measurement certificate will be paid to the seller on the basis of the measurement, by multiplying the accumulated number of timber by the timber-based unit price agreed by the logging contract. The payment is made in agreed time after the measurement.
