Forest industries welcome mill investment in Tasmania’s north
13 March 2018The Forest Industries Association of Tasmania (FIAT) and the Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA) have welcomed a A$190m investment in what will be Australia’s largest plantation hardwood mill and timber product manufacturing facility. The facility is to be located in Tasmania’s north-west.
“The Hermal Group’s decision to build the Tasmanian Amalgamated Renewable Timbers (Start) Mill and Cross-Laminated Timber Panel (CLPT) facility in Burnie is terrific. It will mean a major boost for our sustainable forest industries, not just in the north-west, but for the whole of Tasmania,” CEO of FIAT, Terry Edwards said.
“We commend the Tasmanian Government for its commitment to provide A$13m in grant and training support funding for the project. We understand it to have been critical in the final investment decision being made and I encourage political consensus on the funding in the interests of investment and jobs for Tasmania,” said CEO of AFPA, Ross Hampton.
Once complete, the facility will employ around 200 staff and will process more than 300,000m3 of sustainable plantation hardwood logs each year.
“It is a welcome development that the project will provide for value-adding to the plantation resource within Tasmania, rather than exporting that resource to create wealth and jobs in other countries,” Mr Edwards said.
