Operating at scale: The off-highway advantage
Inside Kaingaroa, the heavy lifting happens off the public highway. A privately managed off-highway road network runs around the clock, moving logs efficiently from harvest sites to processing or rail.
“The forest’s scale lets us plan and coordinate properly,” says Jake Rogers, RFH’s Off-Highway Truck Manager. “That’s what makes the operation efficient.”
The trucks inside the Kaingaroa Forest Estate are unlike any others in New Zealand. Purpose-built stem trucks for full length tree cartage, as well as double and triple units stretching more than 50 metres in length, carrying up to 150 tonnes of logs - and up to 200 tonnes all-up. These vehicles operate on a continuous cycle. Their routes service the Kaingaroa Processing Plant, off-highway domestic customers and the Murupara railhead, which links export volume through to the Port of Tauranga by rail.
“Our biggest units can carry around 150 tonnes of logs. You can’t run that anywhere else but inside a forest like this,” Jake explains.
“We’re a 24-hour operation most days. That’s what keeps the mill fed and the trains moving.”
Because the network is designed specifically for forestry, scale translates directly into efficiency.
“Because we’ve got the space and the roading, we can move more wood with fewer trips,” Jake says. “That means less fuel, less wear, and less risk.”
Within Kaingaroa, road and rail function as one integrated system. Each train departing Murupara or Kawerau removes dozens of heavy trucks from public highways.
Each off-highway haul reduces emissions, improves safety, and limits impacts on surrounding communities - while maintaining the throughput required to support New Zealand’s wood processing sector.
“The off-highway network means we don’t need to run heavy units on public roads,” Jake says. “It’s better for the environment, safer for everyone and better for the communities around us.”
Our people
For Jake and many of the drivers he works alongside, the forest is more than a workplace. “A lot of our drivers are second or third generation,” he says. “Their fathers and grandfathers worked here too.”
That sense of continuity brings with it a deep respect for the forest and for one another.
“Communication is the key out here,” Jake explains. “We run dedicated radio channels and on-board systems, so everyone knows what’s happening on the roads.”
The operation is about more than moving timber.
“Our job’s not just about trucking wood,” Jake reflects. “It’s about respecting the forest so it can keep providing for the next generation. If we can do the job safely and get everyone home to their families at the end of a shift, that’s the win.
“No one really owns the forest. The forest owns you. Respect it and look after it, and it will look after you.”
