Otmetka Ready to Launch New Timber Traceability System

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Otmetka Log Marking AB, Stockholm, Sweden, reports that following 10 years of development work it is now ready to introduce its new Woodpecker timber marking system, which can guarantee full traceability of timber from where the tree grew in the forest to the saw. The system can even be linked with existing bar code systems and 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, the company notes.

Otmetka is launching this technology at a time when there is huge demand for reliable traceability of timber. This week the European Parliament is deciding legislation to prevent the trade of illegal timber. According to Otmetka, critics fear that the demand for traceability will lead to higher costs, complications, and bureaucracy. But, instead, it can lead to the opposite, it says.

Only practical testing of the technology remains, and the company says it is now looking for proactive partners, clients, and investors. "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 explains, adding that the name Otmetka is Russian for "mark" that can loosely be translated to "approved."