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Auswest sees delay in reopening Deanmill

Auswest Timbers has said that there has been a delay in getting its timber mill near
Manjimup back into operation after it was badly damaged by fire. The Deanmill facility was closed after it was damaged in August. Source: ABC News

The company’s Pemberton facility, which has taken on most of the mill’s employees while it is rebuilt, has been processing extra timber to keep up with the demand.

Auswest managing director Gary Addison said there have been compliance issues with the repairs.

“So we’ve got to go through a whole range of planning requirements and so forth, so that’s one part,” he said. “The other part was there was some delay in getting some machinery that was required but that is underway now, but we can’t put the machinery in until such time as the building is repaired.”

Addison says more modern equipment is being installed at Deanmill to replace older machinery.

“We’re not actually replacing the damaged equipment as it was because it wasn’t necessarily efficient for the type of operation that we’re running at this point in time, so we’re looking at putting in something a bit more efficient,” he said.

The mill should be ready to reopen by the end of January next year.