New Swedish Traceability Technology Can Revolutionize the Global Forestry Industry

STOCKHOLM, July 1, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- The growth company OTMETKA Log Marking AB is now, after ten years' development work, most of which has been carried out in silence, ready to present the marking system Woodpecker, with its huge financial, environmental and social advantages for the forestry industry and society as a whole.

Woodpecker is a patented system with sole rights in all the important forestry industry countries. It can guarantee full traceability of the timber from where the tree grew in the forest to the saw. The system can even be linked with existing bar code systems and thereby create traceability all the way out to the retail trade. This makes it possible to mark every log with an automatic ID code when it is felled with a harvester.

Disclosure of this technology is taking place at a time when there is huge demand for the traceability of timber. At the beginning of July (5-8 July), the European Parliament shall decide upon legislation to prevent the trade of illegal timber. It has been indicated that there will be sharper wording and that companies that import or sell wood or wooden products within the EU may need to take active measures to prevent such trade. Critics fear that the demand for traceability will lead to higher costs, complications and bureaucracy. But it can instead lead to the opposite.

The advantages of the Woodpecker system are significant and multifaceted. Besides preventing illegal felling, corruption, money laundering and distorted competition within the forestry industry, the system can make timber handling much more efficient through improved logistics and provide better security in business transactions with timber. Certification systems that demand traceability can also receive automatic receipts that traceability regulations have been followed with, among other things, increased biological variety as a result.

- The system can create completely new opportunities throughout the processing chain where industry has plenty to win, says Bengt Sorvik, CEO and founder of the Swedish company.

Only practical testing of the technology remains and the company is now looking for proactive partners, clients and investors in order to launch Woodpecker. If all goes well, the system is expected to be up and running in connection with next year's international forestry trade fair, Elmia Wood, in Sweden.

OTMETKA Log Marking AB is a public limited company with over 50 shareholders. The name OTMETKA is the Russian word for mark that can loosely be translated to approved.

Bengt Sörvik, CEO, OTMETKA Log Marking, tel: +46-70-516-12-52, +46-18-35-13-00, [email protected]; Anne Nilsson, press contact, tel: +46-70-517-38-76 Pictures that can be used freely can be found on: http://www.otmetka.com

SOURCE OTMETKA Log Marking AB