15 months of burnt log salvage operations come to an end

07 May 2021

David Rowlinson

Hyne Timber’s CEO, Jon Kleinschmidt said this last log truck marks the end of a historic event of collaboration and incredibly hard work. “To still be accepting burnt log 15 months after the fires has completely exceeded industry expectations of 3 to 6 months,” he said.

"We have been able to maintain the Mills capacity and supply of locally grown timber throughout the high demand we have experienced for which we thank the Morrison Government’s Home Builder stimulus. The efforts of all involved from the growers, the harvesting crews, the haulers, the staff here at the Tumbarumba Mill and our by-product customers has been remarkable and deserves to be celebrated.”

"I know for our team here on site, it has been hard, coupled with the uncertainty of the future. Not only do we celebrate this unprecedented achievement, but we have been able to work with suppliers to source some logs from further afield, securing jobs here on site which is welcome news for our team and the community of Tumbarumba.”

"I thank all those who have worked collaboratively with us to reach this milestone and with ongoing support, the positive future ahead,” Mr Kleinschmidt said. A number of the growers were represented at the Tumbarumba Mill to mark the occasion and enjoy a site BBQ with employees.

Dean Anderson, Regional Manager of Forestry Corporation of NSW said it was good to see that, despite the devastation of the bushfires, much of the damaged pine plantation could be salvaged. “Just the Dunn’s Road fire was one and half times the ACT, covering an area of 3,500 square kilometres,” he said.

"Over 45,000 hectares of pine plantations were impacted by fires in the local area, which is just under 40 per cent of the area planted. More than half of the area affected by fire was too young to salvage and our focus has been on getting all the trees older than 19 years old and as much as possible of those older than 12.

"Thanks to the significant cooperation of our customers and contractors we have managed to just about achieve this, except for a few steep areas, salvaging over 2.7 million tonnes in the Tumut and Tumbarumba region. This makes this operation one of the longest and the largest salvage operations in history, a testament to the resilience of the local forest industry.”

Source: Hyne Timber

David Rowlinson

David hails from Lancashire, England and has lived in Australia since 1994. He studied Architecture at Sheffield University and also has an MBA from Macquarie University and a Master of Marketing from UNSW. Prior to joining Planet Ark in 2016 David was Marketing Manager then CEO of a major Sydney-based manufacturer of modular carpets used in all commercial building applications. His proudest achievement was the development of an industry-leading environmental sustainability agenda, including the unique Earthplus product reuse program.