Timberlink Australia has unveiled a new brand of Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) and Glue Laminated Timber (GLT) products for their forthcoming engineered wood building solutions range.
NeXTimber by Timberlink will manufacture CLT and GLT products, providing an Australian-made renewable and carbon positive timber building solution for commercial, residential and public projects.
Backed by a $63 million capital investment, the NeXTimber range will be manufactured on Australia’s first combined world-scale softwood CLT and GLT manufacturing line, within a purpose-built manufacturing plant being constructed adjacent to Timberlink’s state-of-the-art timber manufacturing facility in Tarpeena, South Australia. Production is scheduled to begin in 2023.
Timberlink chief executive officer Ian Tyson said, “NeXTimber by Timberlink places us at the forefront of integrated forestry and softwood processing in Australia. The NeXTimber range will be manufactured on Timberlink’s Tarpeena site from Timberlink timber, sourced from local certified pine plantations. The plantations, like Timberlink, are under the ownership of funds managed by New Forests. This connection from seed to structure will give NeXTimber customers a unique level of supply certainty.”
“Currently around half of all of Australia’s engineered timber is being imported and the demand for this is expected to rapidly grow in the next decade, so building the sovereign capacity of locally made CLT and GLT is great news for Australian manufacturing and local regional employment,” he added.
The new plant will create a total of 27 full-time permanent jobs when it opens in 2023, rising to 50 at full output. The construction phase will also generate a significant number of additional jobs.
Engineered timber products are increasingly being used in Australia and globally, particularly in mid-rise buildings; these products are preferred for their cost-effectiveness, liveability, and ease and efficiency of construction. Engineered timber also addresses the increasing demand for energy efficient, sustainable, and carbon positive building materials.
“Timberlink is looking forward to growing the NeXTimber brand and supporting more specifiers and builders in using Australian-made mass timber that stores carbon because as our brand says, NeXTimber: It’s what better tomorrows are built on,” Tyson concluded.
To support the launch of the NeXTimber brand, Timberlink has released a new video.
Images: Artist’s impression of NeXTimber CLT and GLT products
