On Friday, October 4, more than 100 attendees participated in this edition, where technical exhibitions were combined in the morning and a variety of proposals in the afternoon, with a field trip, training, a visit to the logging industry and a meeting with actors in the sector.
The technical talks addressed topics of current relevance, including aspects of primary forestry production, industry and markets. Research was also presented in the form of papers that offer interesting discoveries about forestry activity and which will be published in the minutes of the conference.
One of the central focuses was climate change and its impact on forestry. The 2020-2023 drought, which caused the loss of large areas of plantations due to water and thermal stress, has highlighted the need for forest management that takes into account the multiple factors of climate change to guarantee sustainable production. María Elena Fernández, researcher at INTA – CONICET, addressed these challenges, relying on examples of extreme events in Mesopotamia.
In addition, the day included a look at responsible forestry production and the need to calculate the carbon footprint in the activities of the forestry-industrial chain. In this sense, Mariano Minaglia from INTI presented how these measurements can improve efficiency and corporate social responsibility in the sector.
On the other hand, Gonzalo Leguizamón and Guillermo Malavasi spoke about the importance of standardization in industrial wood preservation processes, with special focus on the IRAM Standards and the future of this industry in Argentina.
Finally, Leandro Mora Alfonsín virtually presented the current opportunities and challenges of the Argentine forest-industrial value chain, proposing strategies to explore new markets and maximize the use and industrialization of forest resources.
Annual recognition
On this occasion, the traditional recognition that is given each year by the organizers of the conference was awarded to the Maderas Study Group – GEMA – of the UTN, Regional Concepción del Uruguay.
The group is mainly made up of Civil Engineers specialized in the use and calculation of wood. For more than 25 years they have been studying the resistant and elastic behavior of wood from the region for structural uses and advising logging companies. They are leaders at a regional, national and international level and were founding partners of the National Network of Wood Technology Institutions. They also joined the Forestry-industrial Development Center (CEDEFI).
Among its numerous contributions we highlight the IRAM Standards on Laminated Beams; studies of the woods of Eucalyptus, araucaria, pines and poplars; and his participation in the drafting of the first Argentine Regulation of Wooden Structures Cirsoc 601, for buildings and civil works.
Technical visits
On this occasion, the organization offered a variety of parallel activities, related to the entire forest-industrial chain.
Operational afforestations and trials of the Forestal Argentina company were visited, where the different management procedures carried out according to the soil and the varieties planted in each site were explained. At the same time, a visit was made to the EGGER board manufacturing plant, where visitors were able to learn how the process of the different production lines carried out by the company is developed.
On the other hand, an Oregon cutting assembly maintenance course and training in sharpening and safety were carried out on Harvester processors.
Presence of authorities
During the afternoon, the visit was received from the governor of Entre Ríos, Rogelio Frigerio, from the mayor of Concordia, Francisco Azcué, from the national director of Industrial Forest Development of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Sabina Vetter and from Guillermo Bernaudo, Minister of economic development of the Government of Entre Ríos.
In this sense, the authorities worked in a Forestry Roundtable, where the main actors in the activity exchanged ideas with the aim of seeing how to add value, generate more quality work in this process, improve logistics, lower costs and improve the competitiveness of the sector.
