Renowned nationwide as ‘the complete forestry company’, Worrell Harvesting celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2024. While the company boasts a remarkable history, rather than dwelling on past accomplishments, founder Kenneth Worrell’s gaze is fixed firmly on the future. We returned to the midlands to get an update on recent developments.
Over the past three decades, Worrell Harvesting / Worrell Timber Group (WTG) has amassed vast knowledge and experience undertaking largescale timber harvesting projects and programmes not just in Ireland but also in France, Germany and the UK.
A trusted and respected name amongst many of the largest sawmills across Ireland and the UK, a standout defining characteristic of Worrell Harvesting is that everything they do is geared towards the grower and the forest.
The Worrell team – who thrive on getting owners the maximum yield from their investment in timber – has unrivalled experience in accessing, acquiring, harvesting and personally managing forestry portfolios for private and corporate clients.
They have firmly established themselves as the go-to, complete forestry company by offering forest owners the most cost-efficient solutions to achieve significant increases in revenue whilst also maximising the long-term development of their timber infrastructure.
The Worrell way is the greener way and sustainability is key across all company operations. At the forefront of the circular economy, Worrell’s state-of-the-art, industry-leading biomass harvesting system is making a significant contribution to Ireland’s pressing climate challenges.
Priding themselves on their status as proven market leaders, Worrell’s celebrated biomass harvesting system represents one of the most important sustainable solutions currently available to the Irish timber industry and the economy as a whole.
The advantages of Worrell’s biomass harvesting system are myriad. As well as growers receiving cash for their brash and therefore increased revenue, they benefit from better and more efficient forest management. The value and volume of trees in the next stock is increased and the risk of wind blow is also reduced.
On September 8th Worrell Harvesting were awarded with Red II Certification SGS/KZR/BIO/1014 and became the first company in Ireland to be certified as a woodchip / biomass supplier.
“We are proud of this achievement which involved a four-year process of developing our own bespoke online timber tracking system LOG WATCH and passing an extensive audit process to verify our compliance with the required standards applicable to such an award,” explained Kenneth.
“The time, effort and expense required in gaining this certification is not easy, but we felt it was too beneficial to our customers to ignore.
“Biomass harvesting has become a big part of the business and the work we carry out in the forest has to be conducted to a very high standard to receive that certification,” Kenneth notes. “This takes the risk away from the grower, who has the peace of mind of knowing that his timber will be harvested correctly. It gives him confidence and raises standards across the board from every point of view. At the end of the day, if you don’t cut a tree, somebody won’t plant another one.
“It’s not just about energy costs, but energy security. Biomass can be used to generate green, carbon-neutral heat and electricity. People are looking at biomass now in terms of carbon tax and carbon credits. If timber is harvested in the right way there are credits with that. If you are getting biomass from a certified supplier, then you can avail of carbon credits.
“The environment / sustainability issue has changed everything and the benefits of biomass harvesting to the local economy are huge,” Kenneth continues. “Why would we pay the Russians for gas to generate energy if we can do it ourselves?”
Supplying logs to sawmills and woodchip to customers with biomass boilers, Worrell Harvesting is the premier timber harvesting, haulage and woodchip supplier in Ireland, offering the best price to growers for their timber and always providing prompt payment alongside a professional approach. All timber removal is 100 per cent traceable through their unique in-house timber management system, again giving the grower full transparency and security.
To achieve the maximum return and value from all types of forestry plantation, Worrell’s modern fleet of forestry harvesters and forwarders – manned by experienced, trained and NTPC-certified drivers – are equipped with the latest software to enable the trees presented to be critically accessed. As Worrell Harvesting is a one-stop shop and operates its own haulage division to haul timber and biomass, the swift and professional removal of timber and biomass on secure, tracked trucks is a given.
Worrell Harvesting’s game-changing timber security system is called LogWatch. As timber traceability and security is paramount to Worrell Harvesting, they strive to offer all their timber suppliers a live system to trace every load from the forest. Thus, they designed their own software package offering full visibility of timber leaving the forest.
Using the LogWatch system, before a truck is loaded in the forest, a notification will be sent to the timber supplier. Once the load is delivered, the weight is updated. Suppliers can log in any time to receive live reports, which are also available in a hard copy if required.
Going forward as a nation, is it feasible that we can continue to harvest more and more timber? “More timber definitely needs to be planted and it needs to be easier for a grower to get his licence, otherwise he will be discouraged from planting trees,” says Kenneth. “It’s obvious that we need to plant more trees in Ireland and that’s why the government is putting forward €1.3 billion euro in supports for afforestation.
“The bottom line is that if we want people to plant timber then we are going to have to take the obstacles out of their way so that when they go to harvest it, things are not so complicated. The felling licence was a big issue and there are many in the industry who would argue that it still is…
“The target is that the volume of timber being grown in Ireland will double by 2030 and we want to be part of that but things are still being held up by the felling licences. Forest owners have to wait too long to get their licence. The government would say there are a lot being issued but the industry would contend that they aren’t coming quickly enough.”
Between harvesting and haulage, Worrell Harvesting – a model family business delivering the all-important personal touch – employ a team of 25, providing a complete forestry / timber management service tailored towards total grower satisfaction.
“The grower is dealing with one company from stump to market,” Kenneth concludes. “Our sole focus is on providing a good service to the grower and maximising their profitability from their timber. That’s where our emphasis is and that’s why we have diversified into biomass and launched LogWatch, to provide full traceability which will result in security and confidence.
“We get a lot of very positive feedback from growers. We look after them as best we can and you’d hope that would encourage them to stay with us and also to tell others about the services we provide.”
Worrell Harvesting Ltd.,
Killenure,
Ballybritas,
Portlaoise,
County Laois.
Tel: 045 529574
Fax: 045 529575
Email: [email protected]
Web: worrellharvesting.ie
Facebook: www.facebook.com/worrellwoodchip
First published in Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 11 No 5, October/November 2023
