Worrell Timber Group harvest major innovation award
12/03/2026
Worrell Timber Group were worthy winners of the Innovation Award 2026 at this year’s Irish Haulier of the Year Awards - due recognition of the time and effort invested into creating their game-changing, bespoke Log-Watch system.
Log-Watch is a robust timber traceability system providing a wealth of information to assist in all aspects of Worrell Timber Group’s operation, from sales and stock control to customer and supplier record management.
This award-winning innovation offers an online docket recording system which notes all timber load movements, provides automated notifications to the forest owner via email and text message, allowing for full transparency of activity taking place on forestry sites and greater confidence to the grower on the reliability of that information and accuracy of payments being received for their product.
Worrell Timber Group is a family run business involved in the forestry industry for over 30 years. In the early days, the company used chainsaw equipment to harvest timber and now use the most technologically advanced systems and machinery capable of working on any terrain for largescale projects undertaken in Ireland, the UK, France and Germany.
Their haulage operation commenced in 1998 and they have since grown a large fleet of trucks and trailers adaptable to any conditions to provide a full in-house package to customers. The business is driven on offering the most cost-efficient solutions, giving the forest owner a revenue increase while maximising the long-term development of the timber infrastructure in the forest to maximise the forest owner’s yield from their investment.
Industry leaders in innovation and sustainability, Worrell Timber Group’s biomass harvesting system is one of the greatest sustainable solutions available to the Irish timber industry at present.
Pioneering sustainable forestry and biomass solutions, WTG have honed their skills from decades of first-hand experience in the industry, positioning themselves as a forward-thinking company that prioritizes environmental best practise, customer and supplier satisfaction, and efficient resource management.
Headquartered in Tullamore, County Offaly, the company operates throughout Ireland and across multiple markets, continuing to provide high-quality timber products while maintaining a focus on sustainability and responsible forest management.
In the forest, Worrell Timber Group run a state-of-the-art modern fleet of six harvesters and six forwarders (a Ponsse Scorpion, Scorpion King, Buffalo and Wisent alongside John Deere 1270D, 1070E, 1070D, 1110D, 1010E, 810D, TimberJack 870 and FMG678).
The forest machinery is supplemented by a fleet of twelve Scania and Volvo trucks - a variety of arctic and rigid trucks with walking floor trailers, log trailers and low loaders – plus two chippers.
Managing director Kenneth Worrell was delighted by Worrell Timber Group’s achievement in scooping the Innovation Award 2026 for its fantastic timber traceability, securing and tracking system, which gives all parties a better understanding and complete transparency of what’s going on in the forest. “The forest is a remote location, so we started to develop this app six years ago to provide all parties with more information and better control of everything that’s going on from the day we purchase the timber from the owner.
“It records everything from the very first phone call to where the sites are right down to fuel consumption, and the driver can see the site mapped out when he opens the digital docket – Google Maps will only bring you to a certain point but not to where the trees are. It will only let the driver collect the correct timber and won’t let him unload it at the wrong sawmill. It keeps everything calibrated and also records driver hours, wages and bonuses for reaching targets.”
Log-Watch is a unique haulage management system created by the company for internal and external use. It allows for greater reporting of information than previously existed and in doing so has greatly improved the quality of the information available for quick decision making.
Log-Watch offers an online docket recording system which notes all movements of the trucks within the fleet as they complete their deliveries. The information links to the company accounting package to streamline the invoicing and payments required. It shares the cost and revenue generated by every load delivered, from fuel, payroll, parts cost to timber and haulage revenue.
During the past twelve months, extensive work has been carried out on migrating the Log-Watch system to a secure cloud based platform called Microsoft Azure. With this movement, WTG have been able to expand the applications offering by including features such as, ringfencing customer and suppliers’ sites. This facility allows for a transport load docket to prepopulate with a significant amount of information when the docket is opened within the vicinity of a location which has been identified as a specific type of user in the system, the benefit of this being that it improves the quality of the information being recorded and removes any element of human error or typos from the system as they can review the data and submit if correct or edit if required before completion.
WTG’s Log-Watch system is an advanced traceability tool that tracks every log from the moment it is harvested
to its final destination. Developed in house by a team of engineers and data scientists, it allows the collection of real time data with emails and texts issuing to the forest grower for every load moved. Through the Log-Watch system, WTG can offer customers unprecedented transparency.
Buyers can trace the origin of their timber back to its starting point in the wood all the way through to payment. This system helps address growing consumer demand for greater transparency in sourcing and sustainability. The Log-Watch system increases efficiency within WTG’s operations by optimizing logistics, minimizing waste and ensuring timely delivery of products.
Log-Watch drives efficiency as it ensures that drivers can only go to the correct site, advises on best routes to and from the site, incorporates and awards bonuses when certain targets are met. It also provides complete peace of mind to forest owners. “It provides security and confidence to all parties that everything in the forest is being done correctly,” says Kenneth.
Worrell Harvesting has also revolutionised the forestry sector with its cutting-edge Strategic Biomass Harvesting (SBH) methodology. This pioneering approach not only maximizes revenue for forestry owners but also minimises ecological disturbance, setting a new industry benchmark for sustainable forestry management.
Unlike conventional logging practices that leave behind valuable organic material, SBH ensures that every part of the harvested tree is utilised efficiently, transforming what was once considered waste into a highly sought-after biomass resource for renewable energy production.
SBH is a system being carried out by Worrell Timber Group’s machinery operators in thinning and clearfell sites, providing maximum revenue to the forestry owner and minimal ecological disturbance as material often left behind during conventional logging operations is transformed into valuable biomass. Through using SBH growers can also save on the cost of replanting and will see an increase in the value of the tree in the
next crop.
Strategic Biomass Harvesting has been welcomed by the Department of Agriculture, IRBEA and Irish Timber Growers Association. By managing the selection process carefully, WTG – renowned as ‘the complete forestry company - optimize the energy output of their biomass operations, ensuring that biomass remains a sustainable and efficient renewable energy source, a method that aligns with the company’s broader goal of reducing environmental impact and promoting sustainable energy solutions in the global market.
The level of technology Worrell Timber Group is using these days is highly impressive – nothing short of remarkable, really. “When I started, there was never any intention of going this far with technology, but it’s down to the teams we have in the office and onsite and the machinery we have here,” says Kenneth.
“It’s all been moved to a secure platform now and there are always new ideas coming up to make the company more efficient. There is a lot going on with timber moving and, as the product is coming from a very remote place we want to give the grower confidence that he is getting paid for absolutely everything that comes from his site. We want forestry owners to know that if they deal with us then they are going to be treated properly and fairly.”
Worrell Timber Group,
Axis Business Park,
Tullamore,
Co Offaly.
Tel: 045 529574
Email: [email protected]
Web: worrellharvesting.ie
Facebook: www.facebook.com/worrellwoodchip
First published in Irish Trucker magazine March/April 2026, Vol 29-2
