Melanie Riley
THE recently upgraded OneFortyOne Glencoe nursery has been officially unveiled.
The $8 million, three-year investment into the redevelopment project included undercover automated handling lines, new irrigation and ergonomic systems and major infrastructure upgrades.
The aim of the upgrades was to improve employee safety and wellbeing at the site and increase capacity to grow an additional four million seedlings per year for OneFortyOne forests as well as for other forest growers in the Green Triangle.
South Australian minister for forest industries Clare Scriven, OneFortyOne board director Angie Davis and chief executive officer Wendy Norris were in attendance, and nursery manager Craig Torney conducted the official opening.
Member for Mount Gambier Troy Bell, member for MacKillop Nick McBride, director of forest industries Rob Robinson, member of the South Australia Legislative Council Ben Hood and Green Triangle Forest Industries Hub executive general manager Tony Wright also attended the event, along with South Australian Forest Products Association chief executive officer Nathan Paine and the Australian Forest Products Association chief executive officer Di Hallam.
Minister for Forest Industries Clare Scriven spoke of the upgrades as “significant for the future of the Green Triangle forestry sector.”
“As we all know, forestry is the ultimate renewable, and in the future, the trees growing here will contribute to 22 billion tonnes of carbon sequestered plantations around Australia.”
“I congratulate everyone involved in bringing the project to its operational state and OneFortyOne on their investment,” she said.
“It demonstrates the depth of confidence in the forestry industry here in South Australia, and the future of that industry.”
She said the state government shares the same confidence, saying the forestry industry is “critical” for its environmental benefits, employment, decarbonising opportunities it presents and social and economic returns.
OneFortyOne board director Angie Davis said the redevelopment demonstrates OneFortyOne’s “commitment to innovation, sustainability, and the future of forestry in the Green Triangle”.
Ms Davis spoke about the 40 years of operations of the Glencoe nursery, and the 7.5 million trees that are grown annually.
“Glencoe nursery’s significance extends beyond the seedlings. These trees you will see today are the backbone of a robust supply chain that sustains various industries from plantations, to logistics to construction,” she said.
“Innovation and safety are the key drivers of this redevelopment with a new state of the art undercover handling system that enhances seedling growth whilst reducing chemical and water use.
“We can now grow an additional four million seedlings per season, significantly bolstering our capacity to meet the demand for timber resources in South Australia and beyond.”
Ms Davis outlined the importance of the safety and wellbeing of the nursery’s workforce, saying that was a major factor in the decision for the upgrade.
“The upgrade helps enhance the safety of people, making it a better place to work,” Ms Davis said.
“The infrastructure upgrades are not a replacement for workers but are designed to complement our existing nursery workforce.”
Ms Davis extended her gratitude to those that have worked at the nursery over the past four decades, with a special mention to nursery manager Craig Torney, for his long-term vision for the site and for leading the project over the last three years.
Mr Torney thanked everyone in attendance on behalf of himself and the nursery staff.
“I’m very proud of the group here, and I’m very proud of the fact that the OneFortyOne has been able to supply employment to people right across those four generations,” Mr Torney said.
“More recently, in the last 10 or 15 years, it’s been a cornerstone in allowing people of Myanmar to establish themselves in Mount Gambier, knowing that they have significant amounts of work here, so I’d like to pay special note to those guys.”
There was also a special mention to nursery employees Vicki and Merv, who have been at the nursery for a collective 55 years.
“There’s no greater pleasure that brings me than to see these guys for six or seven weeks under this roof, and not out in the muddy slush,” he said.
He thanked OneFortyOne for the faith put in him to make the changes in the nursery.
“It’s something I’ve gotten enormous satisfaction out of and I’m very excited to now enjoy it going forward.”
