COTOPAXI, been aware of limited forest resources, started in 1978 a pine plantation program along with its industrial operations, thereby ensuring sustainability of its business.

Plantaciones:
Our pine plantations (mainly Pinus radiata and Pinus patula) are set to land suitable for forestry with a number of trees per hectare according to site conditions (soil, climate, topography), which guarantee healthy growth and, under proper plantation management, we obtain good quality timber in a rotation cycle varying between 16 and 24 years.

The plantation management is performed to achieve a better quality and greater growth. For this purpose the following activities are performed:
• Land preparation
• Plantation establishment
• Post planting control
• Pruning
• Thinning (thinning)
• Pests and diseases control
• Wildfire prevention
• Harvesting

Pine has proven well adapted to forest soils of the Ecuadorian highlands, being a viable alternative raw material for the timber industry.

Supply the industry:
COTOPAXI industrial plant has different sources of supply:
Own plantations:
from the origin of the company, we considered the sustainable supply chain our industrial plant. For over 30 years we have grown our own plantings for the supply of raw materials to industry. That is why today we have 11 000 hectares of plantings that are part of our supply chain and confirm our commitment to a Sustainable Forest Ecuador.

Purchased plantations and timber suppliers:
As a company policy, COTOPAXI reserves a portion of their supply chain to buy wood from third party plantings, fulfilling a key role in closing the forest business cycle, thus allowing other actors to be part of the business.
Thanks to its long-term vision, the company buys timber at competitive prices that leave a good profit to the owner of the crop and all actors in the supply chain.

Research and Breedin:
More than 25 years ago COTOPAXI, along with the establishment of its plantations, launched several research programs through studies and trials have allowed us to define aspects such as: planting densities depending on the location and purpose of crop management regimes to ensure higher yield of the plantation, diversification of plantations based on the introduction of other species, management of natural regeneration, knowledge of pests, studies of flora and fauna, among others.
In order to optimize the forest resource, along with the best forestry practices, COTOPAXI develops a breeding program based on a selection of the best trees from which we obtain the necessary seeds for future plantings, for which the program includes activities such as:
005 seed orchard seed (3 of them for Pinus radiata and 2 for of Pinus patula).
001 Clonal Seed Orchard.
001 provenance test of Pinus Muricata.
104 Plus trees, is being established from progeny tests of these same trees plus.
004 Test Adaptation of species including 16 provenances of pine, plus: Cupressus, eucalyptus, acacia and casuarina assign
016 016 Pine Provenance, cypressus addition, eucalyptus, acacia and casuarina assign.
001 Seed producing area.