ABOUT
Summit Forests started its New Zealand operations in 2013 and is now the sixth largest forestry business in New Zealand with around 50,000ha of forestry. The estate is spread throughout iconic landscapes in Northland, the Coromandel, Whanganui, and the Gisborne and East Coast regions. We also have an office in central Auckland city.
Summit’s main areas of business include harvesting, marketing logs and private woodlots, and investing in New Zealand forestry assets for the future.
At all times, people are at the forefront of what we do at Summit — not just with our own employees but with the iwi and suppliers we work with and the communities we work in.
Summit is a big employer and supporter of local communities and their families, employing more than 200 staff and contractors around New Zealand.
We support the local forestry eco-system through planting, thinning, roading, harvesting, transporting, loading, and logistics.
To download a copy of our Forest Management Plan, please click here.
We proudly support the communities we work in, supporting groups, sports teams, schools, maraes, and events, such as the popular annual Summit Forests Kaitaia Trail Run/Walk.
OUR VISION
Summit is proud to help grow the communities we operate in and of the contributions we make to society as a whole through our sound business practices.
OUR VALUES
STEWARDSHIP
— KAITIAKATANGA —
Respecting and caring for the land and future generations.
- Safety first
- Sustainable practices
- Accountability & trust
- Growing communities
INTEGRITY
— NGĀKAU TAKATAHI —
Acting ethically in conducting good business
- Ethical & honest in all matters
- Live by our principles
- Open & transparent
- No easy gains
EMPATHY
— NGĀKAU AROHA —
Putting people at the heart of everything we do
- Respectful & socially conscious
- Value cultural diversity
- Create inclusive environments
- Caring
LEADERSHIP
— HAUTŪTANGA —
Growing a positive business environment and industry
- Long term & future focused
- Ambition for our industry
- Visionary & inspirational
- Setting the standard
HAVE FUN
— TĀKAROKARO —
Loving what we do and doing it together
- Take pride in our work
- Celebrate success
- Value work-life balance
- Teamwork & communication
GROWTH
— WHAKAWHANAKE—
Continually innovating & improving who we are and what we do
- Develop & grow our people
- Foster creativity
- Mutually beneficial relationships
- Always seek to innovate & improve
OUR MISSION
“Our mission is to protect the land and our environment for all future generations”.
OUR HISTORY IN NZ
Summit Forests is a 100% owned subsidiary of Sumitomo Corporation. In March 2013 Summit entered the New Zealand forestry industry through the purchase of a 36,000 hectare Forest Estate in Northland. Since then, Summit has continued to invest in New Zealand forestry, growing into additional regions through a careful planned acquisition strategy, and is now the seventh largest forestry business in New Zealand. Summit is vertically integrated through forest management, harvest management, forest ownership, and somewhat uniquely, also having its own in-house export department that is linked to the wider Sumitomo Corporation group.
OUR PARENT COMPANY, SUMITOMO
Masatomo Sumitomo (1585-1652) was the founder of Sumitomo. His first business was a book and medicine shop in Kyoto before joining forces with his brother-in-law who had recently perfected Nanban-buki, a Western refining method to separate silver and copper. It was this technological breakthrough and their astute business practices which set the foundation of the Sumitomo Corporation we see today. The Sumitomo Group has gone on to become Japan’s leading corporate group in multiple fields such as finance, insurance, manufacturing, real estate and others.
Sumitomo has trading networks and business interests in over 66 countries throughout the world. The Sumitomo Corporation Group consists of nearly 790 companies with approximately 74,000 personnel. Today, Sumitomo’s business philosophy is still based on Masatomo’s original business credo: “Benefit for self and others, private and public interests are one and the same”, which emphasizes the importance of social contribution, meaning Sumitomo business must not only benefit Sumitomo, but also bring benefit to the country and society it operates in.
Sumitomo is committed to responsible forestry management and is currently certified under the Forest Stewardship Council certification in Sumitomo’s New Zealand forestry interests. It is this commitment to sustainability that drives us to achieve excellence within all our forest operations. To find out more about Sumitomo Corporation, please click HERE.