The NZ Commerce Commission has received a clearance application from Ixom Operations Pty Limited to acquire chemical manufacturing assets in Kawerau from Oji Fibre Solutions (NZ) Limited. Ixom is headquartered in Australia but has chemical manufacturing, supply and distribution operations in several countries around the world. In New Zealand, Ixom supplies chemicals including sodium hypochlorite, hydrochloric acid and caustic soda. …
EOI for Australasia’s premier sawmilling event
The two-yearly technology update for sawmilling companies in New Zealand and Australia is being planned with local industry and key technology providers. It runs in September 2019. Record numbers attended the last event in 2017 and exhibition spaces sold out at both venues. 2019 plans to be even better. Mark the date now into your diaries. Early expressions of interest …
New wood panels prefab operation for Australia
Quintessential Equity has hailed the opening late last year of a new Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) processing and offsite manufacturing factory at Avalon Airport’s new industrial precinct, as a major win for both the City of Geelong and the building industry’s march toward more sustainable methods of construction. Executive Chairman of Quintessential Equity, Shane Quinn, said the launch of Cross …
Allied Timber Products sold to AAM Investments
The Australian Financial Review has reported that AAM Investment Group has acquired Allied Timber Products’ softwood sawmill and business located in Bathurst for about AU$25 million. This latest transaction is yet another addition to its diversified, unlisted investment offerings now valued at AU$160 million. The saw mill sits on six hectares and processes about 92,000 cubic metres of saw logs …
Wood processing clusters provide new opportunities
Establishing industrial clusters around wood processing is a promising prospect for regions with surplus forestry resources and can contribute substantially to New Zealand’s bottom line. In a recently completed research project, Scion identified four regions where wood processors could collaborate with other industries to provide, share and reuse materials, energy, water, and/or by-products for mutual benefit. If a cluster was …
Fatigued log transport drivers and sleep apnoea
In December we were fortunate to get an update on the very popular work being delivered to log transport companies and their drivers up and down New Zealand. This is important initiative being led by the Log Transport Safety Council (LTSC) in New Zealand. In the course of the meeting, LTSC’s Bruce Nairn made mention of the high levels of …
Positive heresy: unconventional saw filing tips
Here are some great tips from Trevor Shpeley, a former executive of the BC Saw Filers Association and currently works as a filer at Kalesnikoff Lumber in British Columbia. What is the right way to do any given task in a filing room? You might want to say, “Whatever you were taught in school,” or maybe, “Whatever works best,” but …
Colour ingrained into the wood with new technology
Staining or painting timber is the traditional way to add colour to wooden products, but that colour is only surface deep. Any scratching or resurfacing can remove the colourful layer and affect the aesthetic of the wood. The full thickness colour technology developed by Scion fixes colourful dye throughout timber in a range of bright colours. The full thickness colour …