WoodTECH Update – Issue 30

Welcome to the latest issue of WoodTECH.News.

In this month’s issue, we highlight a number of significant changes that have occurred in just four weeks for Australasian wood processing and manufacturing companies. The positive here is that the good news re investment in new plant and operations has outweighed the negative. It’s been a while since we’ve said that in 2020.

In New Zealand, a trial of a Gisborne sawmill looks to have been successful and the company behind the operation, Kiwi Lumber, said that they’re confident that the mill, their fourth in the North Island, is going to continue with a further NZ$15 million of capital investment being earmarked over the next three years. The major NZ wood manufacturing company, the Claymark Group, that went into receivership late last year has also been sold as a going concern to a consortium led by Paul Pedersen.

From Australia, AKD’s Queensland sawmill at Caboolture is now back up and running after a brief closure and they’ve also announced that they’re investing in a new plant to at least double their current log input. Their Irrewarra sawmilling operation in Colac, Victoria is also being restarted early this month on the back of much better market conditions for their timber products across Australia.

On the downside, Timberlink New Zealand announced on 8 September that it’s going to close its Blenheim sawmill before the end of this year. We’ve also featured two stories, with lessons, on a couple of unfortunate accidents in local sawmills. The message here is that the more human interaction needed around machinery, the more vital it is there is adequate guarding in place.

Read all the above stories and more in this month’s issue. Remember, you can also send through any contributions, stories or links that we can pass onto the wider community.

Check out all the articles below and enjoy this month’s issue.