It has never been more important than now to make maximum use of raw materials and one of the most generously diverse is wood. Wood is not only renewable, it is also a critical element in carbon capture, and its uses span multiple industries from energy production to construction.

In building capacity, African countries have the opportunity to ‘leapfrog’ to the best dry bulk handling systems available on the market, enabling growth and development. By using mobile ship unloading technology, even ports with little or no infrastructure can benefit.

Agricultural giant, Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM), the American multinational food processing and commodities corporation, understands grain handling more than most. Headquartered in Chicago, ADM’s US operations comprise more than 160 ingredient manufacturing plants and more than 300 crop procurement facilities, located across 29 US states.

Recently, hub ports in Europe have made agreements with their Asian counterparts aimed at addressing shortcomings within the maritime trade framework. A hurry-up-and-wait regime has ships speeding through the Suez

Mobile wood chipping is at the heart of bioenergy harvests, and for good reason. Able to work in remote areas, deep along forest roads, mobile chippers can handle a huge range of forestry wood, from slash piles to full length trees.

Highlighting the ability to tailor technology to meet the unique requirements of retrofitting new dry bulk material handling arrangements, is a recent air-cushion conveyor contract from BASF Corporation for its Maricopa agricultural solutions facility in Bapchule, Arizona, USA.

This year, more than most, the world has become accustomed to disruptions in supply chains. Over the past twelve months, as much as 30 percent of the merchant fleet had been stuck in port queues, raising awareness of the previously unnoticed world of maritime trade.

Trímet France, part of Germany-headquartered, Trimet Aluminum SE, principally receives vessels from Greece and Ireland, with the largest standing at around 14,000gt and the smallest close to 6,000gt. Shipments of alumina are discharged to silos, ready to be sent in rail wagons to a long-established aluminum-producing factory in Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, south-east France.

The port of Veracruz, in east-central Mexico, is being developed into one of the most advanced port terminals in the world. Accessing global waters via the Gulf of Mexico gateway, the port is undergoing a USD 5 billion redevelopment project, which will quadruple its installed capacity to reach more than 90 million metric tons by 2030.

The global shift towards e-commerce, the replacement of plastic packaging with sustainable fiber-based alternatives, and the continuing drive for bioenergy to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, sees the world’s wood-processing industries needing to meet huge rises in demand.