ONE of Australia’s largest sawmill operators has foreshadowed rolling improvements at the Jubilee sawmill in Mount Gambier to ensure it remains at the cutting edge of global technology and efficiency.
Celebrating the commissioning of its $14m sorter stacker project at a public event this week, OneFortyOne (OFO) also detailed the $19m capital investments also in the pipeline.
It is the first time OFO has held an event at the sprawling sawmill operation – which employs more than 300 people – since its took ownership of the site early last year.
For many at the event, it was their first glimpse into the running of 65ha mill given former owners Carter Holt Harvey had a media lock-out policy and harboured secrecy over its operations.
More than 60 people – including politicians, timber industry delegates, contractors and local government leaders – attended the event to celebrate the current and future developments at the site.
OFO Jubilee site general manager Paul Hartung said the company had shown its commitment to domestic processing by purchasing the mill and had met its environmental responsibilities.
“More importantly, it has shown a commitment to the community in which it operates in,” Mr Hartung said.
As part of nearly $40m in capital expenditure, the first project was the $4.2m boiler emissions improvement.
This has slashed air emissions by 60pc to make the site EPA compliant.
The project involved the installation of advanced cyclonic technology to ensure compliance with environmental air quality licence conditions.
The second investment was the sorter stacker project, which was crucial to drive efficiency.
“The $14m project was approved very early on in the purchase when it went through and this decision epitomised what OFO was all about,” Mr Hartung said.
“With a 100 year lease in the region, OFO is investing in the region for the long term in the Green Triangle and clearly define its commitment to domestic processing.”
Meanwhile, Mr Hartung said the $19m investment program would be rolled out next, which would see the construction of two continuous drying kilns.
“These kilns will reduce our energy demand by close to 30pc while increasing our throughput by over 25pc,” he said.
“This will cost $16m and again we will use local contractors during the construction and commissioning.”
The first drying kiln is foreshadowed to be operational by July 2020.
The other project is the installation of state-of-the-art grading system, which will significantly increase the detection of defects in the timber.
“This will ensure our customers will get consistently graded product and we extract the most value from every stick of timber from our most precious resource – our forests,” Mr Hartung added.
The scanning system will be installed during the Christmas shut-down this year.
“OFO is committed to ensuring our assets remain at the forefront of technology and efficiency,” Mr Hartung said.
OFO chief executive officer Linda Sewell said three years ago the forestry company had not contemplated purchasing the sawmill.
“We were a forestry company in the process of trying to work out how to build a particleboard plant and then we get a phone call whether we would consider buying a sawmill,” Ms Sewell said.
At this time, the company chief said no-one from OFO had even been through the Jubilee site.
“The celebration here is for a reason because the site has been closed for such a long time under the CHH ownership,” Ms Sewell said.
“When we do these massive investments, we want to be able to celebrate it and share what we have done – we are very, very proud.”
Ms Sewell said the company was committed “long term” to the region, including domestic processing.
