5 The wood processing industry
Log flow in the Nelson/Marlborough region
Figure 5.1 shows the percentages of the harvest in Nelson/Marlborough which are used to derive the range of export and domestic products. Of the total 2005 harvest, 56 percent is processed into sawn timber, MDF, LVL, and posts and poles, while 44 percent is exported as logs. Sixty-seven percent of the harvest is used to produce export products and 33 percent of the harvest is used for the production of domestically consumed products. Residues are used for MDF production, garden landscaping material, and firewood. Residues also contribute significantly, as fuel, to the energy requirements of many processing plants.
Figure 5.1: Log flow in the Nelson/Marlborough forest industry for the year ended 31 December 2005 (provisional)
Note
The estimated harvest is derived from export data and forest processing data in
Nelson and Marlborough. It does not include logs harvested in Nelson or
Marlborough and processed on the West Coast, which are estimated to be about 50
000 cubic metres.
Production data, 1996 to 2005
Sawn timber production
Sawn timber production between 1996 and 2005 has increased by 124 percent in Marlborough and 44 percent in Nelson. This reflects the upgrading and expansion of sawmill capacity over this 10-year period.
Detailed data on sawn timber production and exports are available at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Statistics website (see Section 8 for website addresses).
Sawn timber exports
Export volumes of sawn timber from the Nelson/Marlborough region have increased 47 percent over the 10-year period 1996 to 2005.
Log exports
Log exports in the Nelson/Marlborough region have increased 68 percent over the last 10 years with a major increase in volume through Port Marlborough.
Table 5.1: Sawn timber production from planted production forests in Nelson/Marlborough
| Year ended 31 March |
Nelson (m3) |
Marlborough (m3) |
Total (m3) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 239 350 | 34 180 | 273 530 |
| 1997 | 255 210 | 35 210 | 290 420 |
| 1998 | 291 390 | 39 760 | 331 150 |
| 1999 | 286 620 | 43 680 | 330 300 |
| 2000 | 318 640 | 44 680 | 363 320 |
| 2001 | 301 370 | 51 530 | 352 900 |
| 2002 | 299 530 | 56 780 | 356 310 |
| 2003 | 340 700 | 67 690 | 408 390 |
| 2004 | 348 090 | 83 800 | 431 890 |
| 2005 | 345 830 | 76 600 | 422 430 |
Source
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.
Table 5.2: Sawn timber exports from Nelson and Marlborough ports
| Year ended 31 December |
Port Marlborough (m3) |
Port Nelson (m3) |
Total (m3) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 4 600 | 88 500 | 93 100 |
| 1997 | 3 800 | 96 200 | 100 000 |
| 1998 | - | 112 400 | 112 400 |
| 1999 | - | 78 900 | 78 900 |
| 2000 | - | 107 200 | 107 200 |
| 2001 | - | 114 900 | 114 900 |
| 2002 | - | 123 300 | 123 300 |
| 2003 | - | 113 500 | 113 500 |
| 2004 | - | 119 700 | 119 700 |
| 2005 | - | 136 900 | 136 900 |
Source
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.
Table 5.3: Log exports from Nelson and Marlborough ports
| Year ended 31 December |
Port Marlborough (m3) |
Port Nelson (m3) |
Total (m3) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 82 700 | 519 500 | 602 200 |
| 1997 | 36 700 | 544 300 | 581 000 |
| 1998 | 47 100 | 336 100 | 383 200 |
| 1999 | 69 300 | 517 600 | 586 900 |
| 2000 | 95 500 | 684 100 | 779 600 |
| 2001 | 171 800 | 800 700 | 972 500 |
| 2002 | 279 400 | 646 300 | 925 700 |
| 2003 | 303 700 | 619 800 | 923 500 |
| 2004 | 388 800 | 561 400 | 950 200 |
| 2005 | 356 300 | 656 500 | 1 012 800 |
Source
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.
Detailed data on log exports is available on the Statistics page of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry website (see Section 8 for website addresses).
Sawmills and wood processors
The sawmilling industry is dominated by the Carter Holt Harvey Ltd mill at Eves Valley (owned by Rank Group Investments Ltd). There are many small mills in the region, including portable sawmills. Those with production levels above 500 cubic metres of sawn timber are listed in Table 5.4.
The total installed sawmill capacity in Nelson and Marlborough is in the order of 475 400 cubic metres of sawn timber production a year (December 2005), based on the existing shift utilisation.
Table 5.4: Sawmills operating in Nelson and Marlborough -year ended December 2005
| Sawmill | Location |
|---|---|
| A. Production level: greater than 100 000 m3 sawn timber per annum | |
| Carter Holt Harvey Ltd | Eves Valley |
| B. Production level: 15 001 m3 to 100 000 m3 sawn timber per annum | |
| Flight Timbers Ltd | Blenheim |
| Weyerhaeuser NZ Ltd | Kaituna |
| South Pine (Nelson) Ltd | Stoke |
| Waimea Sawmillers Ltd | Tahunanui |
| C. Production level: 4001 m3 to 15 000 m3 sawn timber per annum | |
| Moutere Timbers Ltd | Harakeke |
| Prime Pine Ltd | Riwaka |
| Prime Pine Kaikoura Ltd | Kaikoura |
| Southwood Milling | Motueka |
| D. Production level: 500 m3 to 4000 m3 sawn timber per annum | |
| Gibson B R Ltd | Nelson |
| Hunter Laminates | Richmond |
| Rapaura Timber Ltd | Blenheim |
| Russ Sawmilling | Appleby |
| Sixtus R | Golden Bay |
| Taylor Timbers | Hope |
Carter Holt Harvey
The Eves Valley mill started up as a greenfield site in October 1985. The mill is an integrated solid wood processing unit which processes approximately 300 000 cubic metres of radiata pine sawlogs per annum and employs about 270 people.
The mill specialises in machine stress graded framing, producing both solid wood and finger-jointed products. It also produces a full range of copper chrome arsenate (CCA) treated timber products. Around 95 percent of sawmill production is dried by either high-temperature or conventional kilns. An on-site remanufacturing plant consisting of a cross-cut line and two finger jointers produces mainly framing products.
Source
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.
Most of the mill’s production is sold into the South Island housing market. Lower-grade products are sold predominantly into Asia.
South Pine (Nelson) Ltd
South Pine is a wholly owned subsidiary of the McAlpine group of companies with sawmilling and timber processing interests in Canterbury and Bay of Plenty.
The South Pine sawmill produces 65 000 cubic metres of sawn timber and 35 000 tonnes of chips annually. Recent major upgrades, including scanning, optimising sawing technology, and mechanical sorting and stacking systems, have given the mill the potential to significantly increase production when required.
South Pine’s processing facilities include high-performance planing and dressing machines, CCA and boron treatment, 75 000 cubic metres of kiln drying capacity, and a cut-to-length factory. South Pine produces a diverse range of products from predominantly framing-grade logs, and small volumes of pruned logs are also cut for specific markets.
Fifty percent of product is exported to Australia and throughout Asia. The other half supplies a wide range of New Zealand customers.
Waimea Sawmillers Ltd
Waimea Sawmillers Ltd is a subsidiary of Gibbons Holdings Ltd, a privately owned group of companies which also has interests in construction, property and forestry.
The sawmill and processing complex is situated in Tahunanui, Nelson. It has the capacity to produce 48 000 cubic metres of green-sawn Douglas-fir and radiata pine timber, and 30 000 tonnes of chips per year, from a log input of approximately 100 000 cubic metres. Waimea Sawmillers Ltd is the major producer of Douglas-fir timber in Nelson/Marlborough.
Processing equipment includes four accelerated conventional-temperature (90°C to 110°C) kilns, a preservative treatment plant, an in-line boron treatment plant, high-speed moulding machines, and a remanufacturing plant producing finger-jointed and laminated material.
The company wholesales timber mainly on the domestic market and exports the balance to Australia, Asia and Pacific Rim markets.
Weyerhaeuser NZ Ltd
Production at the Weyerhaeuser mill at Kaituna, near Blenheim, is focused on pruned logs from forests in Nelson and Marlborough. Over the last six years, the mill has doubled log input to 75 000 cubic metres a year, producing 41 500 cubic metres of sawn timber a year.
The mill exports most of its products, including mouldings and shop grade products, to the United States; F7-grade construction products go to Australia, appearance-grade to Asia, and the rest are sold on the domestic market.
Flight Timbers Ltd
The primary business of Flight Timbers Ltd is radiata pine: milling, processing, wholesaling and exporting products. Its new mill in Blenheim started processing in 2005. It can produce 35 000 to 55 000 cubic metres of sawn timber a year on a single-shift basis. Emphasis is on cutting pruned and small-knot logs, complemented by kiln drying, machining, finger jointing, laminating and timber treatment with CCA and light oil solvent preservative (LOSP). Products are exported to Australia, Asia and Europe, and also sold in New Zealand.
Goldpine
Goldpine is a family-owned business specialising in outdoor timber. Goldpine manufactures all of its products from a main production unit located 40 minutes south of Richmond in Golden Downs Forest. It has grown into New Zealand’s largest producer of posts and poles using state of the art equipment and technology. It can produce more than 800 poles per day, from 3.6 metres to 15.4 metres long.
Nelson Pine Industries
Nelson Pine Industries was a joint venture established between Odlins Ltd, Newmans Group Ltd, and Sumitomo Forestry Ltd of Japan, to build an MDF plant at Richmond. Since January 1993, the company has been wholly owned by Sumitomo Forestry Ltd.
The plant began operation in May 1986 using a continuous press that enabled the production of a range of board thicknesses from 2.5 to 32 millimetres. A second line was installed in April 1991 and a third in 1997, making Nelson Pine Industries the world’s largest single-site producer of MDF. About 85 percent of the production is exported; the main markets are Japan, China, the United States and South East Asia.
In 2002, Nelson Pine Industries commissioned its $NZ80 million LVL plant -one of only four LVL plants in New Zealand. LVL is a solid wood substitute used in furniture manufacture and building construction. The plant has the capacity to produce up to 80 000 cubic metres of product a year. Ninety percent is exported, mainly to Australia and the United States.
The Nelson Pine Industries manufacturing plants have a capacity to use about one million cubic metres of radiata pine a year, which includes wood chips purchased from sawmills in Nelson and Marlborough. The total output capacity is about 500 000 cubic metres of MDF and LVL a year.
Contact for Enquiries
Policy Adviser
Pastoral House
MAF Policy
PO Box 2526
Wellington 6140
NEW ZEALAND
Fax: +64 4 894 0741
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