Australasia's home for timber news and information

Timberlink granted $7.8 million

Timberlink Australia Pty Ltd (“Timberlink”) and New Forests Pty Ltd (“New Forests”) welcomed a $7.8 million grant to Timberlink by the South Australia Minister for Manufacturing, Innovation and Trade, Tom Kenyon. Sources: Timberbiz, ABC News

The grant, financed by the South East Forest Partnership Program, a South Australia State Government program is designed to encourage a viable and competitive timber sawmilling industry.

It will be matched dollar-for-dollar by capital investment from Timberlink in a strategic upgrade of the company’s Tarpeena sawmill.

The new investment is expected to increase sawlog processing volume from 460,000 to 575,000 cubic metres annually, improve productivity, and lower manufacturing costs.

“The Tarpeena sawmill has been a key part of the regional softwood timber industry for over 50 years,” said Timberlink CEO, Ian Tyson.

“This investment program will assist to increase our international competitiveness, protect Australian jobs in manufacturing, and position us for a recovery in the Australian housing market.”

The Tarpeena sawmill upgrade includes environmental benefits such as improving timber recovery and energy efficiency and will likely result in improved business sustainability through a reduction in manufacturing costs.

The grant and co-financing will increase capacity and implement a range of new technologies in the greenmill, drying kilns, and drymill.

Timberlink is owned by investment funds managed by New Forests, a Sydney-based institutional investment manager specialising in sustainable forestry.

“The Government’s support of capital investment into the Timberlink business is an important step in stabilising the Green Triangle’s softwood plantation forest industry and underpinning local employment,” said James Davies, head of funds management for New Forests and Chairman of Timberlink.

“The project supports local plantations by enabling long-term supply contracts to underpin the investment and also provides an opportunity to expand other potential industries around the volume of biomass being generated on one site.

“For example, Timberlink and New Forests believe co-generation in the region presents multiple business, environmental, and social benefits, all of which come from world-class utilisation of plantation-based biomass resources.”

The South East Forest Partnership Program targets strategic capital investment opportunities in the South East’s forest and forest products sector. The program’s evaluation criteria include strategic importance for the region, positive and sustainable economic impact, employment, and innovation.

Timberlink has two sawmills at Bell Bay (Tasmania) and Tarpeena (South Australia) that manufacture Australian grown plantation pine. Aligning the Timberlink business with the forest resources enables the company to have a long-term committed approach to its business and customers.