Australian timber giant Gunns has applied to build a rotary veneer mill at its sawmill site in Western Junction, Tasmania.
The company has not revealed the size of its proposed investment but it is anticipated to run into millions of dollars. The plant is anticipated to have an annual production of 67,500m2.
Last year Gunns closed its sliced veneer mill in Boyer because of a shortage of high quality logs following harvesting restrictions in Tasmania’s old-growth tropical forest.
Terry Edwards of the Forest Industry Association of Tasmania said that Gunns’ new venture, which will be able to use lower grade raw material, tied in with the industry’s strategic aim to “add value to the lower quality product now available to the industry”.