Fraser Coast Mayor Gerard O'Connell accompanied by a number of
Councillors recently visited Hyne Timber Tuan Mill near Maryborough. The
biennial visit provides an opportunity to better understand the business of one
of Maryborough’s largest employers while gaining insight into the local timber
industry.
Welcoming the opportunity to showcase the Tuan Mill to the region’s
leaders, Hyne Timber CEO Jon Kleinschmidt said that the timber mill processes
over 750,000m³ of plantation softwood each year; he commented that a single day’s
worth of timber framing, if laid out would stretch from Hervey Bay to the Gold
Coast.
Hyne Timber has invested almost $124 million since it established the
Tuan Mill in 1985.
According to Mr Kleinschmidt, no timber is wasted at the mill with the bark
going into potting mix, the chips from the sawing process sold as fibre for
chipboard, and the sawdust used as a fuel source in Hyne Timber’s own kilns to
provide energy for drying the timber.
Impressed by the scale of the mill and its operations, Fraser Coast
Mayor Gerard O'Connell observed that hundreds of local people were employed in
this industry one way or another.
During the visit, the Councillors were also apprised about the Hyne
Timber apprenticeship program and staff training program. Mayor O’Connell noted
the strong emphasis on training and developing employees at the timber mill,
which was recently recognised at the Queensland Training Awards where Hyne
Timber was announced as a finalist.
Tuan Mill’s recent win of the Queensland ‘Best Sawmilling Operation
Award 2014’ was also well deserved, according to the Mayor.
Employing more than 500 people, the Hyne Timber
footprint reaches from Cairns to Melbourne with over 300 located across the six
Queensland sites. Tuan Mill is one of Hyne’s largest operations employing 165
people.
