25 INTEGRATED ANNUAL REPORT 2024 Members The primary role of NCT, given its very nature, must be one of service delivery to its members, comprising both growers and trade suppliers of timber. The course of the year certainly illustrated such innovative service delivery in many guises, and which led ultimately to maximising member benefit from available markets all experiencing the ebbs and flows of dynamic and unprecedented circumstances. A list of the services and actions implemented for members makes for an interesting commentary and, in our opinion, is certainly worth celebrating. Let’s start at the beginning of the year and make our way through to year end outlining what can be considered key service deliveries, but which still does not cover all the NCT inputs. The chipper disaster at NCT Richards Bay Wood Chips (February 2023) led to NCT opening the year with the creation of a unique arrangement with our biomass client to place two mobile chippers and a temporary feed line on site to keep the biomass operation going. This whilst damage to the NCT chipper was repaired in record time. Vessel schedules with our major chip clients were amended appropriately resulting in no loss of custom during the NCT chipper downtime. Strategic Acacia storage further allowed now accessible BayFibre capacity to chip mixed Eucalyptus to service an inbound Eucalyptus vessel. The inclement weather experienced in the early months led to NCT mills applying some flexibility to booked vehicle loads that had experienced legitimate and unavoidable delays. The ongoing and concerning collapse of state-owned service delivery encouraged NCT to place more focus on the use of NCT Tree Farming depots, using the Vryheid East depot more as a storage depot, and maximising mill storage and handling capacities. The establishment of the Cato Ridge depot in the south continued as an urgent work in progress (sadly delayed by state bureaucracy). A devastating break-in at the Vryheid District Office early in the year led to massive focus in upping the security of the office and in light of not wasting a good crisis, establishing much improved electrical supply backups and more streamlined IT connectivity. NCT Head Office invested in full solar allowing it to operate off the electrical grid. Roll-out of solar commenced to the District Offices. Fully understanding the members’ concerns regarding timber moisture measurements and the need for accuracy, intensive trials of both near infrared and magnetic resonance testing were conducted at Richards Bay. This led to the decision of NCT embracing magnetic resonance as the official moisture test platform going forward. On the financial side, continued judicious exchange-rate protocols were the norm as was critical attention to maintenance of a strategic NCT financial reserve. This reserve was to prove its immense value after the Richards Bay mill-complex fire disaster.
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