Metla Project 3569
Business models and success factors of wood energy harvesting entrepreneurs
Duration: 2012
Research Programme: ForestEnergy2020
Objectives
Harvesting and transport of wood energy is a relatively new field in wood harvesting business. Energy wood is bought by as well the traditional forest industry companies, power- and energy plants as consortia of small buyers. Part of the wood energy harvesting and transport enterprises are traditional round wood harvesting entrepreneurs, but significant part of them are new entrepreneurs. Even forest owners themselves deliver energy wood. Methods, machinery, organising of the operations and wood assortments are partly still under developing phase. Forms and agreements and machinery and range of services alike differ a lot from those of harvesting round wood for forest industry.
Harvesting and transport enterprises, which collect more than half of their turnover from energy wood harvesting and delivering it to various utilizers, are counted in this study as wood energy harvesting enterprises. Examples of field of these activities are logging and transport of energy wood, collection and transport of stumps, chipping, long distance transport and terminal services at power plant. The definition is refined in the material collection in cooperation with external research organisations.
Traditional round wood harvesting and transport enterprises have been studied in Metla. Among those studied enterprises there were some, which also harvested energy wood, anyway their reasons to energy harvesting are not known. When utilisation of energy wood is increasing, the efficiency, economy and selection of services affect drastically on the utilisation of renewable energy. Anyway, the enterprises and entrepreneurs are not known. With help of development possibilities the business potential and need of professional labour force can be cleared. First, energy wood utilizers are found out together with cooperation of TTS, Koneyrittäjät ry (areal heat producers) and VTT (forest industry and large power plants). Interview is done to clear who are delivering the energy wood. In cooperation with Metla’s other energy wood program projects (particularly Forest owners in energy wood production by Jouni Pykäläinen) and SYKE, it is arranged a questionnaire to forest owners about their opinion on energy wood harvesting and transport business. New service possibilities are clarified.
Second, the energy wood harvesting business and its properties are studied. Who and why have started energy harvesting business? According to the entrepreneurs which factors hinder the harvesting business and developing of enterprises? The success factors of entrepreneurs and enterprises are cleared by interviews and by studying various databases. The sustainability of the process is evaluated by the profitability of the enterprises and by the satisfaction of customers.
Based on collected material analyses, the success models and best practices are described together with VTTbusiness knowledge department , so that the whole energy harvesting and transport business and customers can optimise their operations. Significance of subsidies and reasonable steering of them is analysed together with research partners. Developing the energy harvesting business create possibilities for new business opportunities, create diversity to forest utilisation and reactivate countryside.
Project leader:
Rummukainen, Arto
The Finnish Forest Research Institute,
Vantaa Unit,
PL 18, FI-01301 VANTAA, FINLAND
Phone: +358 10 211 2369 Telefax: +358 10 211 2103
E-mail: arto.rummukainen@metla.fi
Other researchers:
Nummelin, Tuomas, VA (2012), Petäjistö, Leena, VA (2012)
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Updated 24.05.2012
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