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Post: NCT Forestry always looking forwards

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NCT Forestry always looking forwards

Interview with NCT Forestry general manager – Danny Knoesen.

This year NCT Forestry turns 75, however, do not expect a lot of fanfare and fuss, explains their General Manager, Danny Knoesen.

“While it is a big milestone, I am not sure anyone in the organisation has the time, or appetite, to stop and pause to celebrate. So much has happened in the last 12 months that turning 75 is simply the last thing on most people’s minds.”

Instead, the focus has been firmly placed on rebuilding both the physical infrastructure and the global business momentum that was lost with the Richards Bay fires. The fire came on the back of two record export years for NCT Forestry, despite the downturn in the market.

“I think everyone is passionate about bringing the company back to that point, proving it was not simply a flash in the pan, but that we can consistently reach and maintain those export levels”.

It is a big ask for any company, considering the global economic downturn and national energy, infrastructure, crime and political challenges, to name a few, that South Africa currently faces. And yet, NCT Forestry is not just any company.

In 75 years they have transformed from a small marketing cooperative, serving the needs of a handful of private and independent timber growers, into the largest forestry marketing organisation in southern Africa. In doing so, they have adopted a company culture that fosters innovative thinking, proactive communication, an open mindset, flexibility and quick decision making. This, paired with the determination and resilience that was so evident during the Richards Bay fire, place NCT Forestry, not only in good stead to achieve their goals, but to exceed them.

“I attribute NCT Forestry’s past and future successes to the company culture we have fostered across our organisation. Our staff and Directors are as comfortable in khaki and vellies talking to NCT members, as they are in jackets and ties negotiating international contracts. This ability to be both member-centric when communicating inwardly and business-centric when marketing our products outwardly, has earned NCT Forestry the loyalty of its members and the respect of our international customers. It has enabled NCT Forestry to have built up a global brand reputation based on the consistency and reliability of our product, while ensuring strong and lasting relationships are nurtured with our members, who understand our sustainability is very much linked to theirs.”

It is certainly not an easy balance to strike, nor one that has evolved by chance.

“A lot of thought has gone into our company culture. This is evident across NCT Forestry structures, from our recruitment process where cultural fit and personality traits are considered alongside skills, education and training, to our communication endeavours, which are an inherent characteristic of who we are and how we engage.”

At no time has this been more evident than during the Richards Bay fire.

“I am proud of our communication during the fire, how we didn’t hide away or shirk the responsibility. The fire was by far the biggest challenge NCT Forestry has faced in its 75 years and while it was not good for us, I felt we walked away from it without a blight on our name.”

For many observing from the outside, the level of communication updates being regularly sent out by NCT Forestry, whilst managing a disaster, was impressive and inspiring, if not a little unexpected.

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“NCT Forestry has a degree of freedom most corporates do not, as we are run by a Board of Directors, two of whom were on site at any one time during the 12 days the fire burnt. This enabled us to make quick, snap decisions, like sending out regular communication updates twice daily to keep our members informed and opening the site for news access and the Deputy Mayor. While I understand many other companies may have wanted to keep more in house, to us, this level of communication was simply an extension of how we do things.  We wanted our members, and the wider community, to understand what was happening and how it was being managed. I think this transparent approach to disaster management garnered a great deal of understanding and applaud. Certainly, we had local lobby groups coming up to us afterwards and complimenting us on our transparency and the way we dealt with the situation.”

It is not just the power of proactive communication that NCT Forestry have taken from the Richards Bay disaster. “

The fire illustrated the importance of an agile management team, who can make quick under pressure decisions and change course if needs be. It also highlighted how vital it is to have a supportive Board with a strong business acumen. Certainly, some of the decisions our Directors have had to make when it comes to rebuilding after the fire have required a deep understanding of many moving parts. For example, the decision to replace rather than repair much of what was lost does have cost and time implications but also comes with long term gains.” The business insights of NCT Forestry’s Directors and management team is not just essential in times of disaster, but will greatly aid NCT Forestry going forwards. “

We live in an ever-changing, fast paced world, where global and national challenges need to be constantly navigated. 2023 was not just the year of the fire, locally there were floods, high levels of corruption and crime, loadshedding and an energy crisis, logistical challenges at our ports, on our railways and across our road networks. This year, much of this will continue, but we also face the political uncertainty associated with it being an election year and the prospect of a coalition government. Abroad, there is huge political instability, multiple wars and the prospect of a Chinese recession. There are so many influencing factors that it is hard to forecast the next year accurately, let alone the next 25, yet it is important to take time to understand the local and global terrain.”

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Certainly, there are some trends that Danny is keeping a close eye on.

“The last 10 years we have seen an increase in demand for pulp, as new nano-fibre technologies allow us to unlock even more uses for wood. This, however, has been offset by the reduced demand for paper and paper-based products, that has been declining by 1-2% per annum for the last decade or so – with the noted exception of packaging paper and sanitary tissue. The question is, can nano fibre demand fill the gap left by declines in traditional paper-based products?

Personally, while I think it has come a long way, I am not sure it will offset the dip in demand alone. There are other exciting opportunities opening up, sustainable energy is one area that has emerged over the last decade and has the potential to realistically transform the global timber market. NCT Forestry are already chipping and shipping to Japan where our 6–8-year old trees are being burnt as green energy, however, in Europe they are already way ahead of this and are capturing the gas from burning biomass and storing it in the ground! This space is evolving rapidly and will be exciting to watch, especially with more emphasis being placed on bioenergy, carbon capture and storage.”

While nano fibres and bioenergy will open numerous exciting doors for the South African Forestry Industry, Danny warns these will rapidly close again if timber is not deemed to be responsibly managed. “

The European Union Deforestation-free Regulation, EUDR, is case in point of how globally more emphasis is being placed on responsibly sourced and produced wood. Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) certification used to be enough, however moving forward it is unlikely that this will be the case as consumers and regulators require more layers of assurance. The challenge is how we provide this without discriminating against certain producers who may not have the financial, logistical or technological capacity to implement the assurance schemes and systems necessary. A great example is chain of custody implementation which utilises precision forestry in the form of geo-tracking. Already there is unintended socio-economic fall out resulting from certain communities being unable to access the tools and technologies needed. Currently, NCT Forestry is developing an app which we hope will negate some of these issues, but it is not easy.”

While there is a lot of uncertainty when it comes to future forecasting, one thing is for sure – NCT Forestry will be leading the way. The last 75 years is testament to this, as they have demonstrated time and again their ability to adapt to ever-changing global market pressures, show great resilience in the face of adversity and capitalise on every opportunity afforded them. No doubt the remarkable metamorphosis they have undertaken over the last 75 years will continue as they head into the next 25 years, and as FSA we would like to congratulate them on all they have achieved.

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Source: Forestry in Focus – Issue 15

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