APF 2022: Show comes to a close as event hailed for positive impact on forestry

Thousands of guests attended Warwickshire's Ragley Estate as the exhibition made its long-awaited return following a four-year enforced Covid hiatus - but it was more than worth the wait. 

The biggest names in the industry - including Ponsse - showed off the latest products and innovations, with forwarders, forestry tractors, harvester heads, and cone splitters among the highlights.

Ian Millward, APF exhibition secretary, said: "It was excellent and we really enjoyed it. 

"We were blessed with the weather and the crowds came in through the gates and everyone had happy faces. 

"People were ready to come out. Equipment needed replacing or people wanted to come out and buy something.

"In the last few months, we've spoken to many exhibitors who said their sales fell off a cliff because they were waiting for APF. 

"And there were lots of happy exhibitors in the show grounds." 

Exhibitors included GreenMech, Euroforest, Timberwolf, Jas P Wilson, Tubex, and Clark Engineering (you can find a full list here), with many more household names and beyond. 

In the woodland demo area, guests could see the British Horse Loggers in action, Home Forestry (which showed off a wide-range of products), and Lantra. There was also a woodland craft area, where the world's best pole lathers competed - although all of this was only the tip of the APF iceberg. 

Sponsors, including Forestry Journal, praised the show for its impact on the industry and its power to bring people together, with four-year reunions taking place across the site. 

"The first time we came onto the show was 2008," said Simon Bullock, a senior woodfibre manager with major APF sponsor AW Jenkinson. "We were just establishing ourselves and putting our head above the parapet.

"It was a natural progression to start putting some money into the show. It's nice to have that presence, but also to be involved in the show." 

Simon Bullock said AW Jenkinson was delighted to sponsor the show (Image: FJ)

For the first time at APF, the ARB Show took place concurrently, with a dedicated Arb Zone offering arb professionals and tree surgeons the chance to speak with experts, have a go at fun games - including knot tying - and find out more about the Arboricultural Association. 

While a decision is yet to be made on whether or not it will be a permanent feature, arb bosses were delighted at the chance to get their message across to even more industry figures and members of the public. 

"It went really, really well," said John Parker, chief executive of the Arboricultural Association. "The sun was out and we had lots of people down looking at the activities and stands. We are really, really pleased. 

John Parker hailed the show as a success (Image: APF)

"We are a very separate profession to forestry but there is some crossover. So people who want to go to the Arb Show got a much bigger group of things to look at, and our exhibitors were exposed to some new audiences."

Forestry Journal will have full and comprehensive coverage of APF across our social media channels in the coming weeks, and there will be in-depth reports in both FJ and essentialARB's October editions.