The Monterey Pine (Pinus radiata) seed was first introduced in New 
Zealand as a trial in the 1850’s being imported from California as a 
replacement for the slower growing native Kauri Pine. The Monterey Pine proved to be an excellent solution for widespread planting. Its ability to not only grow but thrive in a variety of hostile soil types made it ideal for New Zealand’s diverse climate. Under these conditions the Monterey Pine was shown to reach maturity in 28 years, 7 times faster than in its native state of California and 20 times faster than in Canada. 

By the first New Zealand forestry boom of the 1920’s the Monterey Pine  had been deemed the species of choice. By the 1930’s relief workers had planted this tree of choice on vast amounts of land, creating the largest plantation forest in the world reaching 188k hectares. Today, various  plantation forests can be found in all regions of New Zealand. New Zealand is home to 1.8 million hectares of plantation grown trees (largest in the southern hemisphere), of which 89% are Monterey Pine commonly known as Radiata or “NZ Pine”. NZ Pine is widely sought after due to its high performance and the quality of fiber it yields. 

This sustainably grown resource provides a balance of strength, weight, and fastening that can be manufactured with consistent quality.  SFI has sourced New Zealand Pine since 2010. The stewardship of this resource is the gold standard in sustainable forest management, utilizing scientifically scheduled pruning and extraordinarily gentle log handling throughout the harvest cycle.