Second engineered lumber plant being built

UNDER CONSTRUCTION: Wood Engineering Technology chief executive Shaun Bosson at the construction site for 'G1.2', the company's second Optimised Engineered Lumber production line at Matawhero. Picture by Rebecca Grunwell

Work to build a second production line at the state-of-the-art Wood Engineering Technology (WET) mill at Matawhero is well under way.

WET's second Optimised Engineered Lumber (OEL) production line was announced in June last year and chief executive Shaun Bosson said despite “a few unavoidable delays”, the plant would be fully operational by the final quarter of 2023.

“Implementation of our new plant, named G1.2, is in full swing.

“The building to house all the production equipment is 40 percent complete and we are starting the installation of the plant equipment over the coming few weeks.”

The first plant, already in operation at the former Prime sawmill site, is the only one of its type in the world. It produces WET's “breakthrough” product OEL, which is one of only seven engineered lumber products ever commercialised.

Last year, the company raised $30 million through a combination of the Provincial Growth Fund ($13.9m) and private investors to build a second line, which will need about 20 technically qualified, highly-paid people working there.

Two more plants, each with two production lines, are also planned for Gisborne through a larger $200m expansion plan.

When completed, the Gisborne location will have six production lines producing up to 140,000 cubic metres of OEL a year — enough for more than 11,000 houses — and employing more than 130 people.

The Gisborne operation is run by WET Gisborne Ltd, a joint venture between WET and regional economic development agency Trust Tairawhiti, which owns the Dunstan Road site where the adjoining former Prime sawmill is now operated by Kiwi Lumber.

“This second (WET) plant has been a long time coming and we're looking forward to seeing it become operational,” Trust Tairawhiti economic development general manager Richard Searle said.

“It's an exciting development for the region as it will increase our capacity for local wood processing and, in the longer term, lead to increased supply of materials for the local construction sector.”