A survey of the Finnish mechanized tree-planting industry in 2013 and its success factors

Abstract

A survey of the Finnish mechanized tree-planting industry in 2013 and its success factorsLaine T., Kärhä K., Hynönen A. (2016). A survey of the Finnish mechanized tree-planting industry in 2013 and its success factors. Silva Fennica vol. 50 no. 2 article id 1323. 14 p. http://dx.doi. org/10.14214/sf.1323. Highlights• In 2013, 31 planting machines were operated by 22 businesses and planted 4.7 million seedlings on 2663 hectares in Finland.• Critical success factors included expertise of planting machine operators, high quality planting, adequate amount of work, stoniness, and removal of slash.• Growth of the industry will depend on improved cost-efficiency, appropriate worksites, marketing, development of planting machines. AbstractThe aim of the study was to update the information pertaining to mechanized tree-planting activity in Finland in 2013 and its success factors. All businesses providing a mechanized tree-planting service were interviewed and asked to describe their equipment and activities, identify critical success factors (CSFs), and suggest areas for improvement. In 2013, 31 planting machines (18 Bracke P11.a, 11 M-Planter and 2 Risutec) operated by 22 businesses planted approximately 4.7 million seedlings on 2663 hectares. CSFs included expertise of planting machine operators, high quality planting, adequate amount of work, stoniness, and removal of slash. Based on the survey, some recommendations for improving mechanized planting work can be made. Firstly, improving the cost-efficiency of mechanized planting is necessary to enhance businesses' profitability. Secondly, worksite selection is crucial as stoniness, stumps and slash debris diminish productivity. Lastly, the popularity of mechanized planting in the future will benefit from more marketing. Many businesses were unwilling to increase the area of service, invest in new equipment, or increase the volume of planting work but they believed that mechanized planting will become more popular in the near future.

Mechanized Tree Planting in Sweden and Finland: Current State and Key Factors for Future Growth

“…Our key factors "High quality planting work" and "Education of operators" have previously been identified by Laine et al [8] as critical success factors for Finnish mechanized tree-planting contractors. Meanwhile, Mäkinen [34] concluded that for Finnish harvesting contractors, having only one client was a success factor.…”

“…In Finland, some of the corresponding information could be found from an interview study conducted in 2014 [8]. This information was updated via a Metsäteho-maintained online catalogue of Finnish mechanized tree-planting contractors [25], and two typical contractors were interviewed using a semi-structured method during the winter of 2017-2018.…”

“…Mechanized tree planting has been shown to be time efficient [4], so the machines can potentially alleviate future labor shortages. In addition, because planting trees mechanically with today's machines produces high-quality regeneration (often with better quality than when trees are planted manually [2,5,6]), foresters in both Sweden and Finland are keen on this option, rather than the standard option of manual planting [7,8].…”

“…In Sweden, the proportion of mechanically planted seedlings historically peaked at circa 12% during the late 1990s [9] with the highly productive, continuously advancing Silva Nova [10], but fell to <1% during the mid-2000s and has stayed there since [2]. In Finland, this figure is considered to be <5% [8], despite plenty of research and development work to promote mechanized planting. The proportion of mechanized planting in Finland has, in fact, stagnated or even slightly decreased over the last few years [11].…”

“…The client for mechanized planting in Finland is usually a forest company, a local forest owners association (FOA), or a non-industrial private forest owner [8]. A client can be regarded as a service provider, and foresters working for a forest company/FOA are responsible for organizing mechanized planting activities (for example selecting the worksite), while the planting machine contractor is responsible for performing the actual planting work.…”