The Forest Industry Safety Summit is set to be the second-largest of its kind in the country.PHOTO/FILE
The Forest Industry Safety Summit is set to be the second-largest of its kind in the country.PHOTO/FILE
Loggers and forest managers have been quick to capitalise on the latest Forest Industry Safety Summit set to run next month in Rotorua.
Registrations have exceeded expectations and the gathering is set to be the second largest forest safety conference held in New Zealand.
"We have had some really positivenews in our speakers lineup as well," said conference organiser, John Stulen.
"While we lost Cos Bruyn as a keynote speaker, we are really pleased to announce that we have two new keynote speakers who more than compensate for his unforeseen departure."
Rob Moonen, chief executive of the BC Forest Safety Council, would be the keynote speaker on day one of the conference, said Mr Stulen.
"He has been directly involved with running the BC forest industry's SAFE certification system for most of the past decade," said Mr Stulen.
"The loggers and their safety teams in BC have learned a lot from experience in 10 years and Rob will bring their story to share with our industry safety leaders - which really is everyone on the forest floor."
FIEA has also been lucky to gain the services of Steve Carden, chief executive of Landcorp. Mr Carden is leading the large farming company to a new phase in safety and is keen to compare notes with people in forestry. So, it should be the basis for some great conversations and information sharing, said Mr Stulen.
Looking to the event itself, the conference room is going to be a busy place.
"All of our exhibitor stand spaces are sold out, even though we extended the capacity with a marquee in the hotel courtyard," said FIEA event manager Gordon Thomson.
"There are only small number of conference seats available. Now is the time to register to make sure you don't miss out."
Special offers are now being made available to members of other industry associations across the forest industries. To take advantage of this offer, go to http://forestsafety.events.
The summit runs from March 1-2 at the Distinction Hotel. The following week it moves to the Bayview Eden Hotel in Melbourne.
