SSA NEWSLETTER - June 2026
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SAWMILLING SOUTH AFRICA NEWS |
New Leadership, New Connections
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The new committee of South African Saw Doctors Educational Association (SASDEA) comprises
Herman Jordan (Southern Cape), Stefan Botha as chairman (Mpumalanga), Robert Welsh (Suppliers),
Phillip Tshikhudo (Eastern Cape), and Alfred Mnyandu (KwaZulu-Natal) |
June has been a big month for us at the sawmilling association, and it all started with our executive committee meeting, WoodEx and AGM held in Pretoria early in the month.
This Exco meeting was an auspicious one, as it was the last under the chairmanship and deft guidance of Craig Rance of Rance Timbers. But more about that further on.
As has become custom for SSA, we like to take a different approach to our annual gathering to make the trek to Gauteng more worthwhile. This year, together with Professor Schalk Grobbelaar and the University of Pretoria, we hosted a delegation of sawmillers and associates from Finland.
We were honoured to have the morning's proceedings opened by the Finnish Ambassador to South Africa, Mr Pekka Metso, who set the scene for a series of presentations by various Finnish sawmilling equipment manufacturers and service providers.
On behalf of SSA, I want to express my sincere appreciation to Prof Grobbelaar, who is continuously exploring ways to add value to the South African sawmilling sector and to the world of timber in general. Engagements like this are often his brainchild – and somehow he still finds time to do things like run the Comrades Marathon.
Sawdust in his Veins: Farewell to Craig Rance
While our Finnish friends visited the University's Timber Lab, the rest of us got down to serious business. It was here that Craig officially announced his resignation from "all things" sawmilling.
Craig and his family have sold their sawmilling interests in the Eastern Cape, and he is off to pursue new paths.
Craig was born into sawmilling, as his father John was before him and his grandfather CJ before that – three generations shaped by the trade. So if there is any truth in the old saying that a man can have "sawdust in his veins," then Craig surely qualifies.
Under his leadership, SSA has grown into a more professional and structured association, and we thank him for his insight and guidance – not only during his chairmanship but also as a dedicated Exco member.
We also said farewell to Sean Hoatson of Tekwani, who is stepping down from Exco.
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left to right : Oscar Tait, George Johnson, Wiilie Stander, Craig Rance, Niel Gouws, Jaco Oosthuizen,
Sean Hoatson, Fritz Ernst |
With that, I am delighted to introduce our new Exco:
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- George Johnson – Bracken Timbers
- Fritz Ernst – Busby Sawmill.
- Graham Hansel – CJ Rance Sawmill
- Sean Brown – Merensky
- Jaco Oosthuizen – MTO
- Niel Gouws – Safcol
- Frans Mentz – Tekwani Sawmills
- Willie Stander – White River Sawmills
- Oscar Tait – York Sawmills
Fritz was unanimously elected Chairman by the new Exco for the 2026/2027 financial year. As he takes the reins, we look forward to his direction for the year ahead. Conditions may be easing slightly as pressure on sawmills lifts, but it remains a daunting task nonetheless.
The busy day ended with an enjoyable reception hosted by the Finnish Ambassador at his residence in Pretoria, where sawmillers had the opportunity to socialise and network with their Finnish counterparts.
White River Saw Mills named Most Improved Sawmill
White River Saw Mills has been named the 2026 Most Improved Sawmill in the Intermill Comparison. Coordinated by Crickmay & Associates, the annual Intermill Comparison is one of South Africa's longest-running sawmilling benchmarking programmes, in which mills voluntarily share confidential operational and financial data to measure performance against industry peers – making this award a recognition of the progress and improvements White River has made over time. Thank you to Andrew and his team for promoting benchmarking, knowledge sharing and continuous improvement across the industry.
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left to right : Graham Hansel, Oscar Tait, George Johnson, Wiilie Stander, Niel Gouws,
Frans Mentz, Fritz Ernst, Jaco Oosthuizen, Sean Brown |
Flying the flag for timber
With the help of Peet van Straaten at RAW Modular and our communications consultant, Samantha Choles, SSA produced an interesting feature at the AGM event: a photobooth made entirely of wood. The installation is modular and for use at various events and is an extension of the Grow the Solution campaign, developed by the Forest Communicators Network under the auspices of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The global campaign seeks to shift perceptions around timber as a material of choice in construction.
With the AGM activities behind us, we headed off to the annual WoodEx show to engage with local and international buyers and suppliers.
Our upcoming Talking Timber webinar on 6 August will see Stellenbosch University’s Prof Richard Walls, Professor of Structural and Fire Engineering, and Dr Humaira Fataar, Senior Lecturer in Civil Engineering share insights on the relationship between timber and fire.
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As always – don't forget it is still important to cut straight and dry flat.
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| Executive Director: Sawmilling South Africa |
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Sawmilling Gives Former Auditor A New Career
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A successful career in finance wasn’t enough reason for auditor, now sawmiller, Julian Kakule to stay in banking once he saw a Wood-Mizer sawmill in action.
“I was an auditor at a large commercial bank in Kinshasa. I was successful and comfortable in my job. However, visiting a log yard in 2018 to buy sawn timber for a building project changed my life. A timber trader friend took me to a log yard where a Wood-Mizer sawmill was cutting sawn timber.“The speed and precision of the mill was amazing. My professional background immediately saw a business opportunity.” |
| Fred Kapenda, Wood-Mizer DRC’s Country Manager (left) together with Julian Kakule, Wood-Mizer’s Authorised Dealer for Kinshasa and MD of Scierie Jules Fie. |
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A Wood-Mizer LT15 WIDE cutting a large diameter hardwood log at Scierie Jules Fie.
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Julian bought his first Wood-Mizer LT15 three months later, in 2018. Five years later, Julian owns six Wood-Mizers and runs a successful sawmilling business, Scierie Jules Fie, in Kinshasa’s Kinkole district.
“To take a log and produce sawn timber from it that you can sell at a profit has many advantages,” Julian says.
“Locally produced sawn timber builds our economy. Exporting finished timber products rather than raw logs that are processed elsewhere creates jobs, grows the timber sector, builds people’s lives, and protects our forests. People will protect and grow trees if timber is their business.
Julian’s sawmilling successes also attracted Wood-Mizer’s attention. In 2020, Julian was appointed one of Wood-Mizer’s representatives in the DRC.
Wood-Mizer representatives in Kinshasa, Lubumbashi and the Eastern DRC now combine forces with Wood-Mizer’s Country Manager, Fred Kapenda to build a service support network in the DRC to support sawmillers and develop the sector.
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Tropical hardwood no match for this Wood-Mizer.
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A busy day at Scierie Jules Fie.
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A tough balancing act
“When I decided to go into sawmilling, my friends and bank colleagues thought I was mad.
“I took a risk because there’s a saying in French – if you don’t take risks, you’ll never make it. I took the risk, and today I am where I am because of Wood-Mizer,” Julian says.
Running a successful sawmill and managing a Wood-Mizer dealership in the heart of Kinshasa’s busiest sawmilling district, Kinkole is a tough balancing act.
But the experience Julian’s gained from running two businesses is now helping both to be better.
Julian developed his sawmilling business to do general and artisanal cutting. The general side cuts are popular sawn sizes sold daily, and the artisanal side cuts are custom sizes according to customer specifications.
Scierie Jules Fie has seen exceptional growth with general and custom cutting overlapping.
“The cutting accuracy, durability, and recovery that my Wood-Mizer’s give me have also grown my business,” Julian says.
Customers spend more to get accurately sawn timber. Wood-Mizer’s thin kerf, narrow bandsaw blade technology also wastes less, so there is more sawn product to sell. The thin kerf blades use less electricity for more savings.
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Wood-Mizer’s blade maintenance range makes it
easy to save money with sawmillers sharpening
and setting their own blades. |
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Precisely sawn finished product
ready for a customer. |
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“Wasting less with more timber to sell is very important during the dry season. When the river is low, and logs don’t reach Kinshasa, logs become scarce.
“Because I waste less, I always have logs. Customers know I always have sawn timber. I also don’t need to pay more for logs when the river dries and log prices go up,” Julian continues.
Wood-Mizer’s bandsaw blade sharpening and setting equipment also saves time and money.
“Sending blades away for resharpening takes longer and costs more. I resharpen, set, and check the quality of my blades in-house for the best-cut quality and the straightest timber.
Julian’s made all these lessons part of Wood-Mizer’s dealership, which he now manages.
“Because I am a sawmiller, I know the frustration of waiting for blades, spare parts, or when sawmills break down and you have to wait,” Julian says.
With easy access to Wood-Mizer’s two branches in Kinkole and Kingabwa and technical service support teams visiting sawmills to service machines, train staff and advise, sawmillers now have the convenience and trusted partnership of an experienced sawmiller and Wood-Mizer dealership on their doorstep.
“Selling Wood-Mizer’s to sawmillers is easy,” Julian says.
“The durability of a Wood-Mizer, its year-on-year dependability, proven large log cutting capacity, and its reliable source of income makes it easy for sawmillers to choose Wood-Mizer.”
Wood-Mizer’s service support, the reliability and availability of genuine Wood-Mizer spare parts and blades across the DRC, and our commitment to sawmillers' success make it even easier to choose a Wood-Mizer,” Julian ends.
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Julian Kakule in the middle discussing a sale with customers
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