The Forest Cluster and Society

The forest industry uses renewable raw materials to produce means necessary for the material and non-material well-being of mankind. Societies set different priorities within the framework of their overall structures. Future scenarios have brought up two major alternatives, namely agreement/political control and technology/enlightened consumer, the latter approach probably having better prospects for global success, but also stronger opposition of traditional structures. Mass production obviously remains dominant in fiber production while other parts of processing approach consumption. For improved productivity, the target of availability should replace ‘bottleneck thinking’. Principles of lean resources and simplicity should be emphasized.