Northland Forestry Award winners
DOW brings you the Forestry Award winners at the ASB Stadium in Whangarei on 7 July
A person who leads by example has been awarded the Northland Forestry Skilled Professional of the Year before nearly 500 of his peers at the annual awards.
Shayne Maxwell was presented the prestigious trophy by Honourable Louise Upston, associate minister of primary industries.
He was nominated in three categories and took out two of those: the Individual Harvesting Excellence Award and was joint winner of the Outstanding Health and Safety Management Award.
About Shayne Maxwell
Working as a health and safety manager and company trainer for Kohurau Contracting, Shayne also keeps his hand on the practical side of the business as a faller, breaker out, and hauler driver.
He grew up in the Central North Island, starting his forestry career in ground base and hauler logging before moving his family to Northland.
Shayne is part way through a bachelor’s degree in psychology, and his employers say that he brings mana to their company and as an expert hauler faller, can truly walk in the shoes of others he works with.
Doing his part for improving the industry, Shayne has developed the health and safety systems with a focus on falling and breaking out for Kohurau Contracting. He pioneered the use of video and photographs for the company, recording faller behaviour and techniques and using them to teach crews.
He has also helped develop the company’s use of scanning technology and smart phones to record and share vital information.
Shayne’s peers say the much-improved safety record of the company is a huge credit to Shayne.
New categories
Two new categories were introduced this year to the awards—the Faller Excellence Award and the Breaker Out Excellence Award—and both were well-supported with an extremely high calibre of entrants.
This is the second Northland Forestry Awards, and the organisers are pleased with the increased number of entries and the support they received from the wider industry and sponsors.
"These awards show, in this second year, how important they are for the industry in Northland because it is a chance to role model the professionals we have and continue the development of our safety culture within the region," Andrew Widdowson, chair of the awards organising committee and spokesman for the Northland Wood Council, says.
"The Northland Forestry Awards provide us with an occasion to celebrate the industry and the positive impact it has for the region, the fantastic people we have working on the ground, and the opportunities if offers."
Awardees of the night
Training Excellence
- Trainee of the Year: Michelle Harrison, Wise on Wood
- Training Company/Contractor: Northpine
Skilled Professionals
- Forestry Excellence: Jonathan Tukaki, Silviculture Contractors
- Roading Excellence: Bill Ringrose, JSB Construction
- Harvesting Excellence: Shayne Maxwell, Kohurau Contracting
- Distribution Excellence: Frances Leslie, C3
- Wood Processing Excellence: Nathan Jacoby, Northpine
- Breaker Out Excellence: Dwaine Chaise, Skipps Logging
- Faller Excellence: Buck Reihana, Kohurau Contracting
Industry Development Awards
- Forestry Family of the Year: Charles Logging
- Contractor of the Year: Stokes Logging
- Outstanding H&S Management: Rosewarne Cable Loggers, and Shayne Maxwell of Kohurau Contracting
- Outstanding Environmental: Rosewarne Cable Loggers
- Northland Forestry Skilled Professional of the Year 2017: Shayne Maxwell, Kohurau Contracting
For full results, visit Northland Wood Council's website.
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