24 | Tararua: Kiwi Lumber Holdings REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Quality Kiwi timber products Kiwi Lumber staff with product heading to Australia. ONLY THE BEST FOR YOUR FORESTRY MANAGEMENT Proudly independent and backed by over 30 years experience in all areas of forest advisory work and management. . 0800 366 700 www.forest360.nz Purchasing, Harvesting & Replanting our own forests. Please call us for a free, no obliga�on assessment of your trees. We will maximise the return on your Forest Office: 06 327 5263 | John Turkington: 0274 458 410 | Email: john.turkington@xtra.co.nz John Turkington Forestry | 252-254 Broadway | P.O Box 98 | Marton • Harvesting • Log Marketing • Forest Management • Carbon Forestry • Forest Valuation • Establishment • Silviculture • Earthworks • Resource Consents businesscentral Each edition priority delivered to your door. . Stay informed; we work with business owners and decision-makers across all economic sectors, pro iling their success. i ; i i i i - ll i , ili i . www.waterfordpress.co.nz/subscriptions . . . i i 03 983 5525 0 Your Business, Your Industry, Your News. Volume 6 | Issue 2 | April 2021 www.waterfordpress.co.nz ‘Excellence in Energy’ Taranaki’s Todd Energy will have a key role to play as New Zealand moves toward a low emissions economy. Page 8 Waikato farmers Dean & Ang Finnerty have expanded their dairy cow operation into a successful goat milking enterprise as well PAGE 10 Turning challenge into opportunity AUTUMN 2022 www.waterfordpress.co.nz Volume 6 | Issue 3 | July 2021 www.waterfordpress.co.nz Making waves Back on track New Zealand hydrofoil maker Armstrong is generating interest around the world with its high performance products. Work on the ambitious NZCIS facility in Upper Hutt is progressing well after Covid disruptions. PAGE 70 PAGE 10 Healthy delivery A new elective surgery facility in Hastings will provide a big boost to the region’s operating capacity. PAGE 52 Volume 6 | Issue 5 | December 2021 www.waterfordpress.co.nz Cheers Boys! YoungWellington irm3Māori Boys is creating a buzz with it’s ground-breakingWai Manuka natural beverage. PAGE 45 Passion and pride New Plymouth’s Energyworks has forged a strong reputation in 50 years of business. PAGE 64 Seaview upgrade CentrePort’s SeaviewWharf facility is set for a major upgrade to bring it up to international standards. PAGE 14 Sue Russell Site manager at Kiwi Lumber’s Dannevirke sawmill site, Blair Watson, says one of the things that attracted him to the business was that it is an extremely efficient privately owned business. The Dannevirke sawmill is one of a collection of four production facilities owned by Kiwi Lumber. The other three are located in Putaruru, Gisborne and Masterton. Collectively these mills produce close to 300,000 m3 of sawn timber per annum. All timber is kiln dried and planer finished, without needing to be outsourced for processing. “We cut high grade radiata and annually our Dannevirke sawmill cuts and processes 75,000 tonne of log each year, the equivalent of 2,500 truck and trailer loads,” says Blair. Timber processed at Dannevirke is sourced from sustainably grown forests stretching west to Whanganui, east to Waipukurau and to Southern Wairarapa. When logs first arrive at the plant they go through a debarking process before being broken down at the primary headrig and carriage before being processed into finished sawed lumber using a gang edger and a twin resaw. Lumber is then visually graded and trimmed for length. Logs are scanned to ensure each one is processed in such a way as to provide the greatest quantity of high-grade timber possible. “The guys who are cutting the wood are highly skilled. They’re looking at every piece processed. Per day we average 300 tonne through our mill.” Downstream processing includes three Windsor medium temperature kilns which traditionally operate 24/7 and feed a Weinig H2000 planer which is set to be replaced with a state of the art Weinig H3000 planer in January next year. This represents a significant investment in the site of over $1 million dollars and shows that KLD is set for the future. Product is then sent to the despatch team for final packaging and shipping to customers. The Dannevirke sawmill site employs close to 60 staff and runs a single shift through Monday – Friday with staff working an average of 50 hours per week. Blair says the company is a major contributor and employer in the town and takes responsibilities to train and support staff very seriously. “We have invested heavily in professional development. We’ve also undertaken a serious review of our production efficiency including how we reduce our environmental footprint. Our boilers are heated by the Residues that come from our processors, so we are self-sufficient in terms of heat requirements.” Blair says driving the way the sawmill operates is a strong desire to contribute positively to the local community. The company has steadfastly built strong relationships with local iwi. “We’ve also contributed a significant supply of tools to the woodwork department of the local High School; a year’s worth of hand tools. We also employ apprentices across all the trades. We’re big on enabling staff to transition through various roles as they grow their skills.” COVID presented with significant challenges, Blair says, with over 75% of staff on the ground needing time off work to recover sufficiently to return to work. “It put a burden on the staff that weren’t sick. We’re really aware that some guys worked all the way through undertaking more work for extended periods of time to get us through and we’re very grateful to them, appreciating their capabilities and willingness to help at some pretty tough times.” Kiwi Lumber products are wholesaled through timber merchants in New Zealand and exported to markets in North America, Europe, Australia, Asia and the Pacific Islands. “I think because it is such a well-run company, with a strong culture to consistently produce the very best timber products, this is why Kiwi Lumber has gained the reputation it has, in a very competitive market.”
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