PNG timber industry gets boost from N.Z. aid

Press, 27 January 1979, Page 15

PNG timber industry gets boost from N.Z. aid

Under a senes of sloping, corrugated-iron roofs which once sheltered bat-tery-fed chickens by the thousand, sawmill trainees today sit down to dinner or watch films at one of Papua New Guinea’s newest technical institutions . — the Timber Industry Training College at Lae. It used to be the site of Lae's biggest poultry farm. Instead of demolishing the hen run entirely, the New Zealand Forest Service architect, Graeme Craigie, of Wellington, converted the shelters for use in a kit-chen-dining-recreation area , for the new college. i In Lae’s muggy climate, the unusual roofing pro- , vides the best possible ventilation. j Set up with New Zealand capital and technical assistance, the college complex includes a spe-cially-designed sawmill, a saw maintenance shop, accommodation block, lecture rooms, and library. A new phase of construction beginning this year will provide the college with a remanufacturing plant (for work such as laminations), a kiln, treatment plant, and workshop. There is accommodation for up to 48 students. The first course, in saw maintenance, began last September. Training in sawmill operation will start once installation of the machinery is completed about the end of February. A medium-sized bandmill with automated control units, the sawmill was custom-made in Tauranga to provide instruction in both automated and simple levels of sawmill technology. Mr Knut Bergseng, the New Zealand project man-

ager, says trainees will gain experience in sophisticated sawmill operation as well as simple village milling methods. “In saw doctoring, though, we are aiming for the highest standards — world- standards, in fact.” The equipment for the saw maintenance shop was imported mainly from the United States and West Germany. . . New Zealand became involved in the project — its biggest in the Bilateral Aid Programme in Papua New Guinea — in 1974 when Mr Bergseng was commissioned to investigate the potential for

a forest industry college. He found there were about 90 commercial sawmills in the country, mainly in Morobe Province (Lae), New Brighton, New Ireland and Madang, but that no sawmill training schemes existed other than a basic course at a technical institution at Rabaul.

“There’s a lot of wastage in the milling here,” he says. “Some of the sawmills are not economic and breakdowns are frequent. And, of course, unsafe methods have crept in. Safety is strongly emphasised at this new college."

In August, 1976, the New Zealand Cabinet approved the expenditure (over five years) of up to $1,747,000 on construction, equipment, and staff for the college. The college is just starting to run its first major courses. When fully operational it will have a staff, including administration personnel, of 25 to 30.

A priority is to train existing sawmill staff in safe and efficient methods. New recruits to the industry will be offered places at the college as the old hands complete training.

An apprenticeship scheme will be started as well as specialist courses such as timber grading and preservation. A longterm prospect is that the college will take on a regional training role and offer places to sawmill trainees from other Pacific countries.

The college is expected to be self-supporting financially through course fees, contracts for sawmilling and timber treatment, and saw maintenance jobs. Consultancy work by the instructors is another possible source of revenue for the college. New Zealand Forest

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NEVILLE PEAT, publicity officer

External Kid Division

Service expertise has had an important role in the establishment of the college. Mr Bergseng, formerly principal of the Timber Industry Training Centre at Rotorua, has worked with the project from the feasibility stage. He took tip a two-year ap-

pointment in November. 1976, and is seeing in the college's first year of operation.

Also seconded for twi ears from the forest ser

— Frank Conn (sawmilling) and Phillip Higgins (saw maintenance) — with a third, Athol Smith, having been recruited from the private sector. Forest Service engineering and architectural staff in Wellington have also assisted the project.

Rotorua has provided training for four Papua New Guinean instructors

already on the staff. Fou more trainee instructor will take the courses a