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UPM Tilhill provides complete solution for council

UPM Tilhill was chosen by a West Midlands council to manage a sensitive tree-removal project, thanks to the complete solution approach the company was able to offer.

Telford and Wrekin Council needed a large number of mature Scots pine removing from a large, urban site before work on a new sports and educational facility could begin. It was also keen for the local community to benefit from the timber and make sure all of it was put to good use.

Teams from different parts of UPM Tilhill’s business worked together to manage the project and coordinate the tree harvesting with a biomass and timber management operation. They successfully completed the project, on the steep site, in just five weeks.

Telford and Wrekin Council’s Estates and Investments Team Leader James Dunn explained: “This was a difficult project as it was not simply about removing trees within tight timescales. We were impressed that UPM Tilhill’s team was able to remove the trees and then sell the wood into various markets, including its biomass operation. UPM Tilhill also did a great job involving the local community which was able to benefit from the harvested timber in a number of ways.”

As part of the contract, UPM Tilhill provided a large quantity of logs for local people to collect for private use. The local scout population also benefited and were given 24 lengths of timber to use as ‘pioneer poles’ to practise building ‘A’ frames and bridges. In addition, a project designed to teach adults with special needs how to work with wood, based in Horsehay, was supplied with a quantity of timber to make into garden furniture, planters and bird boxes.

Approximately 1,400 tonnes was sent to wood-product manufacturer Kronospan and 600 tonnes of biomass bales will fuel the CHP (combined heat and power) boilers at Shotton, UPM's nearby paper mill.

UPM Tilhill Contract Manager Anthony Brown, who led the operation, said: “This was a challenging project in many different ways and there were many different aspects to coordinate. It was excellent that different areas of UPM Tilhill’s operation were able to come together to provide the ideal solution.”

Because the site was steep with unusual contours, the harvesting team couldn’t use traditional methods in all of the areas and had to combine state-of-the art equipment with innovative ways of removing the trees.

“We combined machine and hand felling and, in the more accessible areas, we were able to remove the timber using a forestry harvester and forwarder. Where there was poor access, we had to use an excavator-mounted winch. Additional clearance was carried out by an arboricultural team, climbing and felling by hand as needed,” Anthony added.

The new Dawley Sports and Learning Community is next to Dawley High Street and forms a major part of the regeneration of Dawley under Telford and Wrekin Council’s multi-million pound Borough Towns Initiative.

It is part of the council’s vision to transform its educational sites and is partly funded by the government’s Building Schools for the Future scheme with additional funding from the council and other partners.

ENDS

For further information, please contact:
Suzi Christie
Blueberry PR
01435 830031 or 07590 591140
suzi@blueberry-pr.co.uk|

Notes to editors:

UPM Tilhill is the UK’s largest timber harvesting and forest management company. It harvests and markets over 2.0 million tonnes out of a UK market in excess of 8 million tonnes per year. The company provides a full range of consultancy and contracting services to the forest owner and forestry investor. It also provides market leading services in utility arboriculture and commercial landscaping throughout the UK. Further information is available on the company’s website at www.upm-tilhill.com

UPM leads the integration of bio and forest industries into a new, sustainable and innovation-driven future. Our products are made of renewable raw materials and are recyclable. UPM consists of three Business Groups: Energy and pulp, Paper, and Engineered materials. The Group employs around 23,000 people and it has production facilities in 15 countries. In 2009, UPM's sales amounted to EUR 7.7 billion. UPM's shares are listed on the Helsinki stock exchange.
UPM – The Biofore Company – www.upmbiofore.com| and www.upm-kymmene.com|