Leading Australasian timber products manufacturing company will invest $63 million in its manufacturing facility in Bell Bay Tasmania.
The undertaking will begin in 2022, with completion scheduled for the end of 2025.
The expansion project will be completed in two stages beginning in 2022, with full output expected by the end of 2025, including:
- Log Debarking and Sorting Offline
- Expansion of the sawmill
- Optimisation of residues and energy
- Addition of a continuous kiln for timber drying
- Infeed systems for planers
- Improvements to the site infrastructure
“At the completion of this project, the combined output of Timberlink’s Bell Bay Tasmania and Tarpeena South Australia manufacturing facilities will position Timberlink to increase supply of manufacture of structural timber for use in the construction of homes in Australia. The project has been brought forward by over two years in order to support additional supply into the Australian market,” said Timberlink Chief Executive Officer Ian Tyson in a media release.
“As an elected representative, I’ve had a long-standing relationship with Timberlink since they began production in Bell Bay in 2008 and I appreciate the ongoing economic and social benefits the company provides to our local area,” added Federal Member for Bass Bridget Archer.
The improvement will enhance the volume of renewable plantation pine logs that can be processed as well as the yield per log, resulting in a future workplace with improved precision, safety, and job security thanks to high-tech machinery.
The anticipated investment comes on top of extensive modifications undertaken two years ago and the announcement earlier this year of the establishment of Tasmania’s first Wood Plastic Composites manufacturing facility at the Bell Bay location.
Timberlink expects this project to create 18 new permanent full-time jobs at the site for the next generation, in addition to 25 contractor jobs during the capital renovations and expansion.
The Timberlink Bell Bay manufacturing complex is anticipated to sustain roughly 600 direct and indirect jobs in the area.
