PROCUREMENT

Although the stands of Pinus Sylvestris in Finland are homogeneous, the experienced professionals of IVO Power Engineering Ltd ensure that only the stems most suitable for po]es are selected prior to felling, whether the trees are felled manually or using the most modem harvesting technology.

Since the poles are felled during the winter season, and debarked and transported rapidly to well-organised storages, the quality of poles is secured. The rawpoles are handled with care during the preliminary seasoning and loading on ships heading frequently for Turkey according to the needs of Unipole.

Wooden poles have been procured in Finland for more than 100 years together with the harvesting of other forest products. As the forest sector is based on sustained yield, our clients can rely on the fact that wooden poles are always available in Finland, which is not the case with countries producing poles from raw materia] grown on man-llade plantations of imported species. In such countries harvesting could be suddenly banned for environmental reasons.

PINUS SYLVESTRIS OF FINNISH ORIGIN
Pinus Sylvestris is commonly called by then following names; Redwood, Baltic Redwood, European Redwood, Scots Pine or Scotch Fir. The terminology can be confusing as the redwoods in America and Asia are of collpletely different species and of Sequoia-related fallilies, which are often not the best raw materia] for utility poles. Another common confusing name is Red Pine, which is in fact a North American Pinus Resinosa.

The conditions of growth are important for producing satisfactory material for poles, which must be strong, straight and free troll ]arge or dead knots or other defects. The climatic conditions in Finland, between the 60th latitude and the Arctic Circle are ideal, providing the trees with close annual rings, straight stem, thin branches and an optimal amount of sapwood.

As the summers in Finland are short and the severe winters are long, the poles are free from hazardous insects and diseases, which is a fact to be taken into account overseas.

As Pinus Sylvestris has good permeability, the whole of the sapwood is penetrated by the selected preservative and the heartwood itself is resistant to fungi due to the pinosylvines which accumulate while the tree is growing. Neither steam conditioning nor incising are needed to ensure satisfactory penetration. These measures, which are necessary for some species, may even weaken the strength properties of utility poles.

Homogeneity is one of the advantages of the Finnish Pinus Sylvestris. Due to this factor, the designer of an overhead line can rely on the fact that the calculations tally with the reality, and that oversized safety factors are not needed..