Sawmill undergoes final stage of $26m upgrade

OPTIMISTIC: Kiwi Lumber Gisborne site manager Peter Sutton (left) and managing director Adam Gresham demonstrate the sawmill's new Optimiser 3D grading scanner. Picture by Liam Clayton

The Kiwi Lumber Sawmill at Matawhero is undergoing the final stage of a $26 million redevelopment, bringing in state-of-the-art equipment from overseas.

Two years after first taking over the 10ha site, Kiwi Lumber is increasing its investment in the sawmill and expects to have finished the latest upgrades in 16 months.

Kiwi Lumber managing director Adam Gresham said while automation would improve safety and efficiency, more staff would be needed, with 15 new jobs becoming available on top of the existing 60 staff already employed.

“We've finished about two-thirds of our stage one capital expansion plan and we have just confirmed now we will go ahead and finish stage two.”

Mr Gresham said confirmation of the remaining expansion plan, funded in part by a $12.1 million from a Provincial Growth Fund loan from Kānoa – Regional Economic Development & Investment Unit (RDU), was a vote of confidence in the sector, which was experiencing solid demand.

That included a contract to supply 200 Home Depot stores across the US.

A new bin sorter, which would automate the sorting and stacking of timber, had already arrived on site.

Other projects to be completed were to increase dry-storage capacity and upgrades to the edger, to enable it to run faster with the help of automated 3D Vision scanning equipment from the US.

Mr Gresham said automation would allow the mill to run more hours and increase productivity.

“We're planning on increasing the hours in about March next year. We have the markets for it.

“Gisborne is part of a wider group.This is our fourth site alongside our sites in Masterton, Dannevirke and Putaruru. The main markets for here are Europe, the United States, Australia and New Zealand.

“We've been sawmilling since 1991, so we know what we're doing. This is the same equipment we have put in our other mills. So we know what we need to do to make it work.”

The upgrade would give the mill the capacity to fill 120 truckloads of lumber a month.