Planning for a Vertically Integrated Forest Industry

A linear programming model and an information system designed for tactical planning in a vertically integrated forest industry is presented. The industry jointly manages forest lands, a pulp plant and a sawmill. The model considers technological, geographical, silvicultural and economic aspects of planning and gives guidelines for management of timber lands, the supply of timber to plant and mill, and the buying and selling of timber. An information system, with a matrix generator and a report writer, was developed to facilitate handling of input and output by users. Implementation of the model and empirical results are reported.