SSA NEWSLETTER - August 2026
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SAWMILLING SOUTH AFRICA NEWS |
Focusing on the Future, Fire and Growing Connections
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Dr Johann van der Merwe shared research priorities and results from the Department of Civil Engineering, University of Pretoria with Christo van der Hoven then illustrating the progress at UP Department of Architecture (Boukunde) and Mass Timber Technologies. Pieta Heyns from Dataviue weighed in on the importance of industry intelligence and how technology and data sharing can enable better decision-making.
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As we enter a critical fire-risk season in the northern parts of the country, we are pleased to report that no major forest fires have been recorded to date.
We should not, however, become complacent. Forecasts point to a prolonged hot and dry period across both the northern and southern regions. Please remain vigilant and ensure that the necessary fire awareness, prevention and response measures are in place.
Adjusting our focus as an industry association
In August, we commenced the process of developing a renewed strategy to take the organised sawmilling sector into the future. In this fast-paced, ever-changing needs and dynamics in this world of ours, you will know that any business worth its salt needs to stay abreast, if not ahead of the game. What may have worked yesterday may not be the right way tomorrow.
To this end, your newly elected Executive Management Committee (Exco) convened at the University of Pretoria where, under the guidance and facilitation of Prof Schalk Grobbelaar, we took a closer look at who we are, what we stand for and how we can better serve the sawmilling sector and its broader value chain.
A second session is planned for the coming months, where we will build on this work with the aim of creating a more streamlined, focused association that effectively represents and supports sawmillers across the sector.
News from the ‘marketplace’ is that sawn board volumes continue to show an increase and, if you are a follower of the Lumber Index, you will know that SANS structural long length timber is still the biggest seller by volume. The Gauteng region is the biggest consumer of our timber pie. We are trusting that this will translate into better times for our structural timber producers, and we can end the year better than last year.
Tackling the ‘hot topic’ of fire and timber
As many of you know, our Talking Timber webinar series aims to promote the use and application of South African timber by addressing some of the key questions and considerations around timber in the built environment. One of these is fire safety.
Our August webinar brought together Dirk Streicher, founder of Ignis Testing, and Dr Humaira Fataar, senior lecturer at Stellenbosch University, to unpack how timber behaves in fire and what this means for safe building design. The session explored timber performance at elevated temperatures, the engineering principles that underpin fire-safe design, fire resistance testing, the behaviour of timber connections, and the practical interpretation of test results.
It reinforced that fire safety is not a timber-specific issue, but a fundamental consideration in the design of every building. I want to thank the University of Pretoria and the York Timbers Chair, Stellenbosch University and the Wood App for the financial support that makes these webinars possible, and to industry partners Forestry South Africa and the South African Wood Preservers Association who lend their weight behind the York Timbers Chair. I must also thank the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition and Earthworld Architects.
Grow those timber connections
Taking place on 14 and 15 September at Future Africa, University of Pretoria, the Growing Timber Connections colloquium and conference will bring together academia, industry, government and the built environment sector under the theme Connected by Timber: From Forests to Future Cities.
I encourage you to consider attending – even if it’s just for the conference. It will leave you inspired about the future through the topics of research and innovation, industry collaboration, policy, investment and the practical steps needed to grow timber construction in South Africa.
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As always, do not forget that it remains just as important to cut straight and dry flat.
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| Executive Director: Sawmilling South Africa |
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Sawmillers in Ivory Coast Build Better Lives With Wood-Mizer |
The journey from Abidjan towards the nation’s capital Yamoussoukro in the north, starts on the Autoroute du Nord.
It’s a busy road that leads from the city centre through busy traffic, businesses and traders that are ready to sell goods so that families can eat and life can go on.
Just off the autoroute and near the Les Brasseries Ivorienne, lies Scierie Rama. Managed by mill manager Sila Baba, the sawmill opened its doors to the public in 2017.
“It’s a tough life to be a sawmiller in Ivory Coast,” says Sila Baba.
“It’s hard work to move the logs, and we have to obey all the rules of the Societe de Developpements des Forets (SODEFOR). They control the country’s forests and sawmilling sectors,” Sila Baba continues.
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| An LT15WIDE slicing through timber with a thin kerf narrow bandsaw blade. The blade wastes less timber with more timber to sell. Scierie Rama maintains its own blades to cut costs further. |
An LT15WIDE slicing through timber with a thin kerf narrow bandsaw blade. The blade wastes less timber with more timber to sell. Scierie Rama maintains its own blades to cut costs further.
The Ivory Coast is one of several West African countries that have imposed increasingly stricter regulations to protect and restore the country’s forests and to encourage replanting.
The country now has some 430 000 hectares of commercial plantations that contribute to log exports from the Ivory Coast.
The country’s timber sector is made of veneer, plywood and round log production, and also has an active sawmilling sector that produces close to 872 000 m³ of sawn timber per year for local consumption.
In the past, the Ivory Coast’s focus on log exports made sawmilling and furniture manufacturing difficult. The renewed importance of producing round logs for domestic use, has reinvigorated the sawmilling sector and Scierie Rama to build profitable sawmilling businesses in the Ivory Coast.
Scierie Rama – working to support families
“We started this sawmill in 2017,” says Sila Baba.
“We started small, but we now have three Wood-Mizer LT15WIDE sawmills, that we use to cut the large diameter hardwood logs that we get from SODEFOR into sawn timber. We work closely with government on what sizes they want us to cut.
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| The Scierie Rama crew. With Wood-Mizer, everyone is now earning a salary to care for their families. |
"The Wood-Mizer sawmills help us to produce good quality sawn timber that we sell to the market. The machines cut straight and we don’t waste timber. Our customers buy from us because they know our timber is accurate, Sila Baba continues.
“We also have our own saw sharpening and setting equipment from Wood-Mizer that we use to maintain our blades. This helps us to save money and we don’t need to wait for sharp blades. This helps our production.
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| Solomon Opoku-Mensah is Wood-Mizer’s dealership manager in Abidjan. Scierie Rama relies on his fast and efficient service for the mill to always work. |
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| The modern, 11kW electric motors fitted on the LT15’s and narrow bandsaw blades that need less electricity to cut, has lowered Scierie Rama’s electricity bill for them to cut more profitably. |
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“We also use Wood-Mizer’s branch in Abidjan, that is managed by Solomon Opoku-Mensah to get spares and new blades. Solomon is always at the shop to make sure that we get what we need. We now don’t have to wait to get replacements parts and blades. We can now work harder and make more money.
“Most importantly, Wood-Mizer allows me to put food on the table for my family. That is the main reason why we leave so early and come back home late with something to feed everyone,” Sila Baba says.
About Wood-Mizer in Ivory Coast
Wood-Mizer has a wide dealership network in West Africa.
Dealerships in Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Liberia and Senegal ensure that spares, blades, technical training and after sales support are available to sawmillers throughout the region.
After sales support is an important part of ensuring that sawmillers can grow sawmilling businesses in Africa.
The company’s dealership in West Africa allow sawmillers to focus on growing their businesses instead of worrying about support.
The Wood-Mizer product range provides for entry level, affordable sawmills through to heavy duty industrial capacity sawmills. This makes it possible to start and then grow the sawmill as the sawmiller can afford it.
Blade maintenance equipment cut costs further and sawmillers can sharpen and set their own blades instead of having to pay a supplier to do this.
The company also recently released a new range of machines for furniture manufacturing. The range is focussed on delivering affordable, durable manufacturing tools that sawmillers and manufacturers can use to rework sawn timber into finished product.
CLICK through to video - www.youtube.com
Or click through to the story on the website - woodmizer.co.za
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Established Magoebaskloof Sawmill Operation Presents Rare Acquisition Opportunity
A unique opportunity has become available to acquire an established and fully operational sawmilling and timber processing facility located in the heart of one of South Africa’s recognised timber-growing regions.
This going concern offers an ideal opportunity for an existing sawmiller looking to expand capacity, an industry investor seeking an established timber processing operation, or an entrepreneur wanting to enter the timber sector with the benefit of existing infrastructure, experienced employees, and an established market presence.
The sawmill is strategically located in the Magoebaskloof area of Limpopo, where commercial timber farming is well established. The availability of locally grown timber provides a significant operational advantage, ensuring access to raw material with reduced transport distances and associated logistics costs.
Operating from a fully developed 17.0448-hectare industrial property, the facility has been designed to support ongoing sawmilling activities, with comprehensive production infrastructure, supporting workshops, administrative facilities, and employee accommodation already in place.
The operation manufactures timber products, including roof timber and structural timber supplied into the building industry, with an established customer base and the infrastructure required to continue production.
For more details and a comprehensive valuation report CLICK HERE
CONTACT
Pieter Human Real Estate
Pieter Human
Cell: 082 553 5887
Tel: (015) 307 2755
Email: pieter.human@realty.net.za |
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| South Africa's Leading timber Specialists to Headline CPD-Accredited Construction Workshop in Pretoria |
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