AKD’s Caboolture Sawmill has resumed operations.
Back in June the AKD team watched in horror as fire ripped through parts of its Caboolture Sawmill. After everything else this year has brought, it was very much lemon juice on a scraped knee.
In good news, no one was injured and the damage to the facility was less than the size of the fire had suggested, and so the mill has already re-opened, with operations recommencing on 14 September.
AKD has turned a negative into a positive, taking advantage of the need for structural repairs to rebuild the sawmill’s fuel handling system, which will make for a safer and more sustainable business in the long term. The company is also investing in additional processing capacity and staff, with the aim of at least doubling the mill’s log intake.
“AKD is incredibly proud of the team that has worked hard together to get us to this point, and who will now lead us through this period of growth”, says Shane Vicary, CEO.
The rise in intake, managed in collaboration with AKD’s log supplier HQ Plantations, will be supported by the purchase and installation of a new Continuous Drying Kiln to lift drying capacity. A similar kiln is already in place at AKD’s Colac mill, where it produces a stable and consistent product for the market.
“AKD would like to thank our loyal Queensland customers for their ongoing support during the fire-related closure, and we are very proud that we were able to maintain consistent supply from our southern mills,” says Vicary.
The coming lift in supply availability ties in with an increase in production from AKD’s southern sawmills, designed to guarantee supply security to customers and to meet responsible market growth in coming years. It’s also part of the company’s Buy Local push, which operates within the wider industry’s Buy Aussie Timber First campaign.
The Caboolture team is now back in action after a difficult few months and the workers there have won praise from Vicary for their resilience in the face of uncertainty. The projected growth of the site is keenly anticipated as part of a movement towards ensuring increased local supply of structural softwood timbers.
Image caption: Don and David at the AKD Caboolture sawmill.
