Establishment
Planting
Seedlings in the ground at the right spacing, in the right season. Stocking rates hit the target, not just near it.
Ongaonga · Central Hawke's Bay
Pruning, planting & thinning crews for Hawke's Bay forest blocks
A Safetree certified forestry company, established in 2018. Planting, spraying, pruning and thinning crews working from Hawke's Bay to Taupō, Rotorua and Masterton.
2019 Health and Safety Silviculture Excellence Award · Hawkes Bay Region
Example reviews
What we do on the block
Silviculture is the whole job here. Our crews cover the full rotation, from planting bare land to a sprayed, pruned and thinned stand that is worth harvesting.
Tending
Pruning
Clean lift pruning, cut flush and tidy. Clearwood is where the money sits at harvest, so every pass counts.
Tending
Thinning by chainsaw
Final crop stems picked, the rest felled. Your stand ends up at the stocking your forestry plan calls for.
Establishment
Spot spraying
Weeds knocked back around young trees so the crop gets the light and water. Targeted spraying, not blanket coverage.
Tending
Chemical thinning
Unwanted stems treated and left standing to die off. A safer, faster option on steep or hard-to-work country.
Tending
Regen pulling
Wilding and regeneration seedlings pulled out before they crowd the crop or spread across the block.
See us at work
The crew on the block: planting a hillside by hand, and chemical thinning a pine stand.
School Leaver Training
We provide ongoing and hands-on training for young boys who want to build their career in the forestry industry. They get first aid and work training on site.
We're hiring
Forestry Workers
FM Silvi Limited has been operating for over 5 years and is a Safetree certified contractor based in Hawke's Bay. We are looking for a number of keen, reliable, energetic and willing people to join our growing crew.
- Work type
- Full time, permanent
- Location
- Hawke's Bay
- Pay
- $30 per hour
- Hours
- Usually 40 hours a week, with a guarantee of 30
Hours of work are 5am to 5pm, Monday to Sunday excluding public holidays (usually Monday to Friday), with the opportunity to work longer hours when available. Pick-ups and drop-offs are provided in the Napier and Hastings areas. Training and equipment are provided, and if overnight stays or travel are needed we provide transport, accommodation and food, or an allowance.
What the job involves
- Cutting, pruning and planting of trees
- Killing weeds, felling and de-barking non-productive trees and thinning young plantations
- Collecting seeds, and cultivating and planting seedlings for reafforestation
- Maintaining and protecting forests
- Maintaining forest roads, buildings, facilities, signs and equipment when required
- Applying fertilisers, insecticides and herbicides to trees and forest areas when required
- Keeping a look-out for fires in forests
- Removing major branches and treetops, and trimming and thinning branches and trees when required
- Operating and maintaining manual and machine saws to thin trees to waste
What we're looking for
- 12 months of relevant work experience
- Able to follow health, safety and security measures at work
- A good level of physical fitness, with good manual dexterity and balance
- Prepared and able to work outdoors in all types of terrain
- Able to work with tools
- A positive, can-do attitude
- Reliable and keen to turn up for work
- Ready and able to pass a pre-employment drug test, and drug free at all times
We offer varied places of work and opportunities to develop your skills. To register your interest, email your CV and cover letter, and tell us your citizenship, residence status or legal right to work in New Zealand. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
Firefighting
Our crew are trained firefighters who work on forest fires. The team is on call during the fire season and have successfully helped extinguish forest fires.
A Hawke's Bay crew since 2018
FM Silvi Limited is a Safetree certified forestry company, established in 2018 and based in Hawke's Bay. Our office is at 675 Wakarara Road, RD2, Ongaonga.
We work along the Napier–Taupō and Napier–Wairoa highways, and in Masterton, Taupō and Rotorua. Our mixed crew is made up of locals and men from Fiji and Vanuatu, all trained in first aid and in fighting forest fires.
- Safetree certified, established 2018
- First aid and forest firefighting trained
- Hawke's Bay, Taupō, Rotorua and Masterton
The people behind FM Silvi
A family-run business. You deal with the people doing the work.
Anial Prakash
Anial started working for a forestry company in 2016, when he first came to New Zealand. Over those years he built up his experience in the industry and started his own crew with just three men. Now he runs a crew of 21.
Anial comes from a farming background in Fiji and has always had a strong interest in the outdoors. He is one of the directors and the main man behind FM Silvi Limited.
Taziana (Taz)
Taz is also one of the directors and Anial's partner. The two of them established FM Silvi together.
Taz looks after the accounts and runs the office for the company.
Aminisitai Ratucoka (Ratu)
Ratu is the foreman and one of the first workers at FM Silvi Limited. He has been with the company since it started, and his loyalty and commitment to the job are outstanding.
He runs the whole crew, from tailgate meetings to organising the work plans.
Awards & certification
Recognition for safety in Hawke’s Bay forestry.
2019 Health and Safety Silviculture Excellence Award
Presented to FM Silviculture Hawkes Bay by Rayonier Matariki Forests for its contribution to safety in the Hawkes Bay region.
Safetree certification
FM Silvi Limited is Safetree certified by the Forest Industry Safety Council. Certified 7 December 2025, valid until 7 December 2027.
Our crew in the field
The crew behind the work, on the block and off it.
Example reviews
What forest owners say
Shown as examples until the live Google feed is linked up.
The crew planted 8,000 seedlings for us over winter. Rows are straight, the stocking checked out, and they turned up every day they said they would.Hamish R. · Waipukurau
Booked them for thin to waste on an old shelter block. Straight answers on price, and the job matched the quote to the dollar.Grant M. · Tikokino
Pruned our woodlot in a day and a half. Good price, tidy cuts, and no mess left behind on the tracks.Jill T. · Waipawa
Common questions
The things forest owners and managers usually ask before booking a crew.
What areas do you work in?
We're based in Ongaonga, Central Hawke's Bay, and work along the Napier–Taupō and Napier–Wairoa highways, as well as in Masterton, Taupō and Rotorua. If your block is somewhere else, give us a call and we'll tell you straight whether we can get a crew there.
What work do you do?
Planting, spot spraying, pruning, chemical thinning, thinning by chainsaw and regen pulling. Silviculture is all we do, from getting seedlings in the ground to a pruned, thinned stand.
Are you Safetree certified?
Yes. FM Silvi Limited is Safetree certified, current from 7 December 2025 to 7 December 2027. We also received the 2019 Health and Safety Silviculture Excellence Award for the Hawke's Bay region. You can see both in the Awards & certification section.
How are your crews trained?
Our crew is trained in first aid and in fighting forest fires. Ratu, our foreman, runs tailgate meetings and organises the work plans on every job.
How do I get a quote?
Call us on 027 341 0107 or email with the rough numbers: how many hectares, the age of the stand and where it is. We'll come back to you with a price and when we can start.
Where is your office?
675 Wakarara Road, RD2, Ongaonga. Most of our time is spent out on the block, so call ahead before dropping in.
Talk to us about your block
Ring or email with rough numbers: hectares, age of the stand and where it is. We will come back with a price and a window.
Get in touch
Phones answer on the block, so leave a message if it rings out. We call back.