Radiata Pine Refined Through Genia’s Expertise

Radiata Pine is “the super softwood of the 21^st century.”

For a small country NZ produces large numbers when it comes to forestry, in particular Radiata Pine.

Forestry contributes over 6.4 billion dollars in export earnings to NZ’s economy annually with the lion’s share being Radiata Pine products. Year on year there is around 1.5 million hectares of Radiata trees standing in the country.

How Did New Zealand Become A World Leader In Radiata Pine?

Radiata Pine (Pinus Radiata) has been developed from the Monterey Pine, arriving in the 1850’s from California as atrial. It loved the soil and conditions in its new country. It flourished, hitting its first boom in the 1920’s and 30’s.

Early trees grew fast and were big and “bushy” used mainly for shelterbelts and woodlots, so it was decided to use some grafts to enhance this up-and-coming species. By the 70’s, straighter, tougher and faster growing pine trees were being farmed and harvested in massive forests across the country.

Pruning is key to producing clear wood. The lifespan of a plantation pine tree in New Zealand is 27years, and by the time they have reached a third of its lifespan, more than half of the available forests have been pruned three times. Pruning young branches restricts knots in mature trees to the centre of the tree to make clear wood available in the outer portions.

Trees Devour Carbon

Trees are good for the planet so although large volumes of new trees is a good thing – since the 70’s environmentalists have become more active in New Zealand, lobbying to get the industry to become more environmentally friendly. They wanted forest owners to be responsible and not wipe out natural forests to make room for purpose-grown pine.

In 2007 the forest owners and environmentalists reached an agreement for a code of practice that became an example for the rest of the world to follow.

Now the majority of the country’s owners are governed by not only RMA legislation – but have Forest Stewardship Council certification and conform to their own code of conduct.

Which is good news for NZ as our natural forests are protected, our plantation forests are renewable, and we harvest Radiata Pine responsibly and look after the environment.

Forestry Is A Thriving Industry - It’s A Win-Win For All Of Us

Today’s Radiata Pine is strong and versatile making it ideal for construction, plus it has a stunning finished appearance making it a sought-after decorative timber. Add to this that is easy to preservative treat making it last for decades.

It has become one of the world’s most popular timbers.

One Billion Trees By 2028

The NZ Government are in behind it. They have a goal of ensuring a billion trees are planted over the next decade. That’s a lot of carbon being devoured and a lot of Kiwis being employed.

Our Foundation In Timber

Radiata Pine is Genia’s timber of choice. It’s all we process. We are also Forest Stewardship Council certified so we only buy pine from sustainable sources and we have become very well-acquainted with it. We have refined our processes over the years to get the best from the pine feedstock we process to ensure specifications meet the market our customers are active.

Our people have become experts in Radiata Pine, we know how well it performs and we know who around the world likes the products we make from it, we have formed relationships over decades, backed by a product we are confident can hold its own in the international arena.

That’s why we think NZ Grown Radiata Pine is the “super softwood” of the 21^st century.