Being involved with heavy machinery is nothing new for Melissa (18) and her twin sister, Danielle, whose parents, Mike and Michelle, own HWH Contracting.
Mr and Mrs Wallace have a logging gang which works in Canterbury and Otago. They have log boat diggers working from Christchurch to Bluff and also own a mechanical company.
Mr Wallace has always been a "great believer in giving young ones a go".
There were a lot of opportunities now for young people to get involved in the forestry sector, he said.
The value of New Zealand's forestry exports reached $4.4 billion for the year ending March 31, up $800 million on the previous year.
About 695,000cu m of logs were exported across Port Otago's wharves for the year ending June 30.
Mr Wallace employs a few young people, including Danielle's boyfriend, Carl Johnstone (20), who drives a 40-tonne Tigercat excavator, "a million-dollar machine".
Both Melissa and Danielle, who are in year 13 at Kaikorai Valley College, have spent time in the bush.
Melissa can stack about 100 tonnes of logs in an hour.
On the wharves, logs are swung on to the ships by crane and the digger operators then placed them neatly.
"It looks quite easy and then you try do it. It's a constant challenge, which is what I like," Melissa said.
"It's a big job . . . and it can be quite testing. It's like a big jigsaw puzzle: none of the pieces fit.
"We've had a lot of experienced machine operators come along and have failed," Mr Wallace said.
The company had three log-boat diggers operating in Port Chalmers, two in Invercargill and three in Christchurch and business was brisk.
"They [the boats] come in, you jump to it and you load the boat. There's no 'I can't supply staff or they've gone on holiday for the weekend'. You get stuck in and do the job," he said.
The past 18 months had been very good, and while the next two to three months looked a little quieter, the long-term forecast was positive for forestry, Mr Wallace said.
At this stage, the twins are not looking at pursuing a career in the industry.
Melissa is keen to become a police officer, with a particular interest in dog-handling, while Danielle hopes to further her love of equine eventing.
