Nghiên cứu nông nghiệp: Nâng cao kỹ năng và công nghệ cho xưởng cưa nhỏ ở nông thôn Việt Nam

Collabor

ation for Agriculture and Rural Development

(CARD)

Program

250

DEVELOPMENT OF RURAL FOREST INDUSTRIES IN VIETNAM

Project

title:

Improvement of operator skills and technology in small rural sawmill

s in

Vietnam

Project c

ode

CARD 027/06 VIE

Author

Prof.

Peter V

inden

, Philip Blackwell

and Dr. Pham

Duc Chien

Project Implementing organi

ations:

The University of Melbourne, Australian Centre for Advanced Wood Processing

Forest Science Institu

te of Vietnam

SUMMARY

This report summaries major achievements of the CARD project entitled “Improvement of operator

skills and technology in small rural sawmills in Vietnam”. An extensive survey of the needs of the

rural sawmilling industry has identified

the current and future prospects for forest industries in

Vietnam. It highlights the very significant importance of this industry to the economy of Vietnam and

future well being of rural populations.

The CARD project has trained a core team of Vietnames

e scientists in the technologies (current and

future) that will assist the industry to develop. Visits to rural sawmills during the conduct of the survey

has provided an audit of their operations (as might be undertaken during a sawmill improvement

program

). The opportunity for providing advice on improving the operational efficiency of the

sawmill, drying or treatment facility was taken together with on

site training of Vietnam researchers

in the application of sawmill improvement programs.

Vietnamese res

earch staff attended an intensive training program at the School of Forest and

Ecosystem Science, Creswick campus, University of Melbourne, Australia and learned about the

hands on operation of sawmills, the alleviation of growth stresses; the efficient op

eration of kilns and

treatment plant, quality control monitoring of finished products, value added manufacturing and new

low tech technologies to assist expansion of sawmilling operations into value adding. The same

Vietnamese staffs participated in the de

velopment of training courses and have actively participated in

the training of rural communities in Vietnam in these aspects of wood technology.

Detailed analysis of specific sectors (sawmilling, drying and preservation) has highlighted the

technical need

s of these sectors, the technology options available and the cost / benefits of adopting

particular technologies. Very specific recommendations have been provided in each of these sectors as

to the best technical and economic (low risk) options available f

or expanding into value adding.

The haphazard and exponential proliferation of small sawmills has identified the potential for this

industry to be self starting and sustainable with appropriate technologies and local investment.

However, the survey also i

dentifies the fragility of self help initiatives that are dependent on

continuing raw material supplies (albeit of low quality) and the scant availability of knowledge and

technical skills needed to value

add sawn timber output. Clear policy decisions and

action is needed

to ensure continuing raw material supply of improved quality, together with appropriate training and

the availability of appropriate technologies for value adding that can be taken up through the same

process of self

help. At the same time

training needs to be provided that will upgrade skills and

awareness of OH&S issues.

Training materials and infrastructure have been developed and tailored to the requirements identified

in the survey. Implementation of policy recommendations from the re

ports will have a major impact on

the long

term development of the industry and future development of rural communities.

CARD 027/06

–

Improvement of rural sawmills

251

The most significant outcome of the project is that rural communities have articulated their perception

of the future needs of their se

ctor, their aspirations and fears for the future as well as their vision of

what potentially could develop in terms of expanding their activity. To a greater extent the sawmilling

community has articulated optimism in the light of opportunities that are av

ailable in developing

products and markets.

The project has provided the Vietnam Forest Service with a blue print or plan that is relatively low

risk in its implementation, but which recognises what has been achieved by the rural community in

low tech proc

essing of plantation logs and builds on this through a “New Forests” strategy and

Government investment in an innovative program of research, training education and out

reach.

Introduction

An overview of Vietnam’s forest industries

and domestic market

(Chien et al 2010).

Identifies the following salient points:



Sawn timber production in Vietnam

exceeds 2 million m3 /annum.



Wood exports rank fifth in importance

behind crude oil, textiles, footwear and

seafood



Exports increased on average by 43%

annually

between 2000 and 2008.



Vietnam has become the 4th largest global

manufacturer and exporter of furniture that

together with handicrafts are exported to

over 100 countries.



Domestic production of timber is

supplemented by significant imports of

unprocessed

logs. Fifty

three percent of

logs processed in Vietnam are imported.

The value of timber imports exceeds US$1

billion.



Vietnam uses 11 million m3 of wood / year

of which 57% is used for sawn timber for

producing outdoor and indoor furniture and

constructio

n timber. The percentage end

use of acacia produced by rural sawmills

(derived from questionnaires directed at

small rural sawmills, (Blackwell et al,

2009) highlights also the importance of the

domestic markets for furniture production.



Domestic productio

n of raw logs from

plantations is expected to grow

substantially following the Vietnamese

Governments objectives (1998) of

establishing a 5 million hectare

reforestation program. Various estimates

(e.g. MARD, 2010) estimate that by 2020,

Vietnam could be c

apable of supplying 20

million m3 annually. Currently domestic

wood production from plantations is

expanding at about 10% / annum. This has

offset a reduction in the availability of

wood from natural forests.



Seventy

five percent of the current harvest

fro

m plantations comprises acacia spp. This

percentage is expected to increase.



The plantation rotation age for acacia is

approximately 7

8 years. Logs have a small

average diameter of approximately 250

mm.

Very little information is available on the rural

wmilling industry in Vietnam or its

prospects. The objectives of this project were

therefore to:



Identify and define industry problems,

needs and opportunities through a

comprehensive survey and review of the

rural sawmilling industry.



Establish processes

and infrastructure for

training and technology development



Develop and conduct training programs to

improve operator sawmilling and business

skills for trainers and for mill operators.



Investigate demonstrate and recommend

more appropriate or alternative

echnologies to improve industry

performance.



Develop long

term strategies for industry

development

Materials and methods

An inception meeting of stakeholders from

industry, education and research institutes,

government, bilateral and multilateral aid

gencies was held to identify industry

problems, needs and opportunities. Detailed

questionnaires were developed with input from

the inception committee. Vietnamese project

participants attended a training program in

Australia to develop and refine survey

ethodology and review appropriate wood

processing technologies. The industry survey

Peter Vinden, Philip Blackwell

Pham Duc Chien

252

and review was undertaken by a joint

Vietnamese / Australian team in representative

provinces, in cooperation with provincial

Departments of Agriculture and Rural

Developme

nt.

The survey was conducted in the form of a

participatory rural appraisal (PRA). Individual

mills were visited and the following types of

information sought from owners: log volume

input, sawn wood output and grades, price and

cost data, end

use markets

, equipment used,

employee statistics, problems identified by

owners, and owner’s views on development

needs of industry. A complementary survey

was also undertaken to include plantation

growers to assess their views on markets and

prices and sawn timber b

uyers to assess their

views on sawn wood products purchased. The

findings were supplemented by a separate

report outlining the current state of

development of forestry and the forest

industries in Vietnam, their contribution to the

economy and rural develo

pment and potential

to grow in the future. These reports were used

as background to developing more detailed

reports on individual sectors of the industry

including sawmilling, wood drying,

preservation, forest industries education and

training, research a

nd extension.

Structured programs of sawmill training for

rural communities were developed based on

the needs analysis identified in the survey of

rural sawmills. The focus for this training was

technical rather than training in business skills,

since it

was anticipated that this was the area

of greatest need. Course materials in the form

of Technical Notes and overheads were

developed for these courses. A “train the

trainer” course was held in Australia for

Vietnamese participants and again in Vietnam.

ur sessions of rural training were completed

successfully by the CARD project and feed

back obtained from course participants.

Research results and discussions

Survey results from the small rural sawmilling

industry highlighted a chronic problem for

st rural sawmills in ensuring an adequate

and consistent supply of logs for their

businesses. To a greater extent the use of

small

scale low capacity horizontal bandsaws

can be viewed as “opportunistic processing of

raw materials as and when the opportunit

arises”. The current focus of raw material

(acacia) producers is to produce wood chips

for export. Wood chips represent a low value

product and there is enormous opportunity loss

in satisfying local demand for furniture and

potential markets in building

and construction

that have not been realised. The absence of any

planned long term supply of logs to rural

sawmills servicing the domestic market means

that there is insufficient security for any

entrepreneurial activity to either invest in kiln

drying equ

ipment or sawmilling equipment.

The problem is difficult in Vietnam because of

a shortage of suitable forestry land, the small

size of farms where farm forestry might be

practiced.

Analysis of the forests industry sector

highlights a number of important a

ttributes

impacting on future directions for the industry.

Firstly the forest products industry is an

important export

earning sector that should

continue to expand in the future. Protocols

need to be in place to ensure that pests and

diseases are containe

d and are not imported

with unprocessed logs. Control methods need

to be in place pending outbreaks of timber and

forest diseases. Export of furniture and crafts

requires similar safeguards i.e. inspection to

ensure that exports are free of any pests that

may lead to barriers being imposed because of

potential infection risks in the importing

country. There is increasing international

awareness of the importance of containing and

minimizing risks of disease transfer between

and within national boundaries. D

omestic

production of timber destined for high value

uses such as furniture manufacture or export

needs to be free from sap

stain that may arise

during log handling and transport. There is an

unrealized market potential for domestic

timber production to be

used in construction.

Realisation of this potential demand needs to

be preceded with the implementation of some

preservative protection against termites and

decay that will be required for sapwood

protection.

CARD 027/06

–

Improvement of rural sawmills

253

Results of an intensive survey undertaken of

he rural saw

milling industry engaged in the

processing of acacia and eucalyptus species

Vietnam identified that approximately 90 % of

the rural sawmills operating in Vietnam are

family businesses. Ten percent are private

companies. The growth in rural saw

mills has

been relatively recent. Of all the sawmills

interviewed none had been in operation longer

than 18 years. The average time that sawmills

had been in operation was 5.3 years thus

indicating that the expansion of the rural saw

milling industry has b

een very recent. This

probably reflects the maturing of acacia

plantations that forms the raw material base for

this industry and the freeing up of the economy

to promote entrepreneurial activity. The survey

identified that a large number of the rural mill

only operated part time.

Table 1.

Percentage number of sawmills

operating full time

Region

Full time operation

North

Central

South

However, of those mills that indicated that

they were operating full time a large number

identified reas

ons as to why there were

substantial periods of down time. Key issues

comprised:

Lack of a c

ontinuity in the supply of logs;

Inconsistent markets.

Other reasons identified included:

That they only supplied local needs that were

seasonal or

That they s

upplied specialised end uses such as

coffins, joinery etc.

Bad weather and

Inconsistent power supply.

Despite a potential over capacity for sawing

the available raw material and inadequate

markets, 44% of sawmills indicated either

plans to expand or a wi

sh to expand their

activities. Target expansion areas were

primarily furniture manufacturing (78% of

respondents) of whom 21% indicated that they

would like to focus on high value export

markets. Other markets included handicrafts,

and kiln drying of timbe

r. Reasons forwarded

for identifying these potential opportunities

related to a perception that there were

substantial market opportunities in these

particular sectors. The main obstacles

hindering expansion related primarily to a lack

of funding followed

by the lack of available

skills. Other issues included the availability of

quality raw material, lack of good managerial

skills, a lack of knowledge and unstable

market conditions. In most instances, there was

a perception that there was an expanding

marke

t for furniture and that expansion into

such areas would stabilise demand for sawn

timber.

Fig 1

Typical verticcal sawmill with carnage that

moves the logs past the saw

Fig 2

Typical horizontal sawmill with operators

pushing the saw over the log

Saw

milling equipment (horizontal and

vertical bandsaws) have been manufactured

almost exclusively in Vietnam. Mill expansion

usually involved purchasing addition mills.

Most sawmills also owned circular saws.

These have been introduced more recently for

recutting flitches into sawn timber for furniture

and other end uses. Virtually all mills had

rudimentary saw doctoring capability. The

equipment was purchased new. However,

skills in saw doctoring varied enormously

between mills. None of the mills survey

indicated any modifications to purchased

equipment indicating that in general the saw

milling equipment was suitable for the sawing

Peter Vinden, Philip Blackwell

Pham Duc Chien

254

of acacias. Only 12% of mills surveyed had

plans to upgrade equipment. Emphasis on

replacement focused on:



Purchasing ver

tical bandsaws because

these were more suitable for sawing

small logs,



Establishing furniture manufacturing

equipment,



Replacing old circular saws.



Further processing undertaken by

sawmills to add value include:



Air

drying. Only a third of all sawmills

eng

age in drying.



Kiln drying is undertaken by relatively

few mills, although a number of mills

send their timber to enterprises that

specialise in kiln drying,



Preservative treatment was being

conducted by 13 enterprises



Integration of sawmills into

manufact

uring was reported and focused

mainly on furniture pallet making and

construction.

Those companies involved in kiln drying were

experiencing very serious problems

particularly in relation to drying to a consistent

moisture content and identifying suitable

drying schedules for eucalypts and some native

species. The Australian team observed some

larger enterprises (not covered by the terms of

this survey) that had invested heavily in kiln

drying equipment. These kiln were not

operated correctly and results

for the more

difficult to dry species were unsatisfactory, the

main cause was lack of training of the

operators and limited understanding of the

principles of timber drying. Discussions with

the kiln operators revealed a genuine interest in

learning and

getting an understanding of how

they could improve the quality of the finished

products.

Log storage times at the sawmill were on

average 1 month in the South 1.1months in

Central Vietnam and 0.6 months in the North.

The total elapsed time from tree fellin

g and

transport to the log storage yards was not

identified. However, storage in extreme cases

at the log yard was reported to be as long as 6

months. Strategies need to be implemented to

streamline the logistics of supply to reduce log

storage time partic

ularly given the incidence of

decay that was reported by 29% of

respondents. Log supply was identified as a

problem for 57% of respondents, mainly

because of “availability”. The wet season also

compounded the problem often resulting in a

discontinuity in s

upply. Research needs to

address the whole question of log supply.

Techniques need to be developed to reduce

sap

stain including proper housekeeping

techniques at the sawmill to lift logs off the

ground and provide timely rotation of the

stockpile. This i

s needed to avoid the

development of a decay environment in the

yard. The biggest problem (25% of

respondents) in relation to log quality was the

presence of sweep (i.e. bent logs). Inevitably

sweep resulted in the crosscutting of logs into

short lengths.

The most common log length

was 2.4 metres.

An end use analysis of timber derived from the

survey is summarised in table 2.

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