The Accelerate Adoption of Wood Processing Innovation Program was announced as an election commitment under A Future Grown in Australia: A Better plan for forestry and forest products, released on 2 May 2022.
The Australian Government committed to continue this measure in the 2022-23 Budget by providing grant funding of $110 million over five years from 2022-23, to co-invest with privately-owned wood processors to adopt new and upgraded wood processing facilities.
The program aims to enhance the forestry sectors’ ability to supply more of Australia’s wood demands into the future.
The grants will support the medium to long-term sustainability of wood processers to:
- adopt innovative practices to improve their use of available wood supplies
- increase their production facilities
- add value to existing and new product lines
- reduce the industry’s carbon footprint.
The program offers co-funding of up to 40 per cent of total project costs, with the remaining 60 per cent to be met by the applicant.
Grant applications opened from 22 December 2022 until 28 February 2023 and a total of 84 applications were received.
A total of $108.7 million was awarded to 34 projects across Australia ranging between $1 million to $5 million, from 2022-23 to 2025-26.
| Funding Recipient | Project | Funding | Region |
|---|---|---|---|
| AKD NSW Pty Limited | AKD Tumut Log Positioning Infeed and Optimisation To automate the log loading and positioning of sawlog through the main breakdown line by utilising scanning and optimisation technology. |
$5,000,000.00 | NSW |
| Highland Pine Products Pty Limited | Greenmill Infeed Upgrade To install a helix screw type log feeder, log scanning systems, extended length infeed, vee-rail canter, vertical feed rolls and optimisation software. |
$4,019,325.00 | NSW |
| Duncan's Holdings Ltd | Dry Mill Upgrade and Firewood Automation Project To construct and install a linear scanner and docker to replace the manually graded end trim system at Pentarch’s Herons Creek site. |
$3,253,890.00 | NSW |
| Weathertex Pty Ltd | Weathertex Capacity Upgrade To install several items of new equipment and modify existing equipment to increase the overall capacity, capability, delivery, and energy efficiency of the Weathertex Raymond Terrace manufacturing facility. |
$2,400,000.00 | NSW |
| Albert Johnson Pty Ltd | Advanced Manufacturing Plant To establish new premises, with new machinery and electrical infrastructure that will increase timber processing capacity and allow diversification of production capabilities. |
$1,994,544.00 | NSW |
| XLAM Australia Pty Ltd | New Product and Reduced Carbon Footprint Project To purchase and install a Multi-Axis Next Generation Computer Numerical Control wood processing and finishing machine. |
$5,000,000.00 | Vic |
| AKD Victoria Pty Ltd | Project Log Positioner To upgrade the main saw line with the latest technology in sawmilling equipment to ensure that the mill can maximise recovery of sawn timber from the available log resource. |
$2,556,000.00 | Vic |
| Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation (trading as DJAARA) | Galk-galk by DJAARA - a Dja Dja Wurrung sustainable timber business To purchase innovative technology, machinery, and equipment to test and find the highest value use for sustainably harvested DJAARA timber products and heal Country. |
$1,441,915.00 | Vic |
| AKD Queensland Pty Ltd | Project Straighten Up To improve timber recovery in the Caboolture Green Mill, increase capacity of the mill and improve the quality of the product presented to the downstream processes and finished goods. |
$5,000,000.00 | QLD |
| Hyne & Son Pty. Limited | Hyne Timber Efficiency, Diversification and Emission Reduction Project To install a power generating heat plant and bark processing facility at the Tuan Mill, and finger jointing equipment and rooftop solar on the Glue Laminated Timber plant. |
$5,000,000.00 | QLD |
| Superior Wood Pty Ltd | A comprehensive fibre utilisation advancement To undertake a comprehensive upgrade, investing in state-of-the-art technologies and equipment in scanning, sorting, debarking, and drying, improving fibre recovery. |
$4,200,000.00 | QLD |
| Parkside Building Supplies Pty. Ltd. | Parkside Glue Laminated Timber Project To install 10 large machines to finger joint and glue short pieces of timber together for potential use in the manufacture of decking products, solid post or beams for construction purposes, or laminated timber bench tops. |
$3,480,000.00 | QLD |
| Gidarjil Development Corporation Limited | Zero net energy natural seasoning of Australian Cypress Pine To improve processes for seasoning Australian Cypress Pine in order to produce a better product, in a shorter timeframe and to increase production through joint venture operations in Cairns, Gladstone and Bundaberg. |
$3,217,000.00 | QLD |
| Mareeba Sawmills Pty Ltd | Mareeba Sawmills Technological Investment Project To replace existing sawmill equipment with technologically advanced machinery that will deliver increased sawmill processing capacity, increased sawn timber recovery, timber drying stability and increased processing efficiency. |
$1,793,640.00 | QLD |
| Kennedy's Classic Aged Timbers Pty Ltd | Kennedys Timbers Wood Processing Innovation Project To adopt world class advanced manufacturing technology and use renewable energy to manufacture Australian made innovative timber products from accredited Indigenous sourced forest timber and recycled hardwood in a zero-waste system. |
$1,654,285.00 | QLD |
| Dyna Group Australia Pty Ltd | Modernisation of Milling Machinery To purchase and install a state-of-the-art computer aided Scragg Mill to expand wood milling and processing capabilities. |
$1,194,186.00 | QLD |
| Dindas Australia Pty Ltd | Glue Laminated Beam Manufacturing Plant To install a fully automated glue laminated beam manufacturing plant and a finger jointing plant. |
$1,049,100.00 | QLD |
| Tilling Timber Proprietary Limited | A new Glulam Plant To modernise and extend capability by installing a new cold pressed beam, 2 new Hundegger’s saws, 3 in/out automated feeds and a H3+ treatment vessel that exceeds BAL-29 building standards. |
$4,495,583.00 | NSW Vic QLD |
| McDonnell Industries Pty. Ltd. | McDonnell Industries Remanufacturing Facilities Upgrade To install new innovative timber mill processing equipment to enable the business to better utilise available timber supplies, increase production efficiency, add value to existing products and create new products from an increase and diversification of production capabilities. |
$4,005,687.00 | SA |
| Whiteheads Timber Sales Pty Ltd | Improving small log recovery and best use of timber To install a new log deck, infeed conveyor, log rotator and process changes to improve the accuracy of log rotation and alignment prior to cutting; fit a density grading system to the sorter infeed to minimise downgraded product; and increase efficiency by reducing the log gap between processing. |
$3,947,225.00 | SA |
| Bedford Phoenix Incorporated | Advanced manufacturing facility To install new automated, innovative machinery, upgrade the site layout and access and upgrade important operational amenities and facilities. |
$3,140,000.00 | SA |
| Ashborn Pty Ltd | New Sawmill in South Australia To establish a new small diameter pulp log sawmill on-site to better utilise small diameter log. |
$2,709,941.00 | SA |
| A.J. Forster Pty Ltd | Pine Timber Recovery Optimisation Project - Advanced equipment and software upgrade To enable the purchase and installation of advanced automation and control software and timber handling equipment to grade, trim and sort pine timber for optimal production efficiency and resource recovery. |
$1,421,112.00 | SA |
| KSI Sawmills Pty. Ltd. | Expansion and relocation of KSI SAWMILLS PTY LTD To establish a new mill at Monarto South, SA, which will improve processing capacity and efficiency, as well as increase product diversity and improve workplace safety through automation. |
$1,440,000.00 | SA |
| Wesbeam Pty Ltd | Laminated veneer lumber production capacity inrease To invest in advanced technologies that will enable increased yield from logs delivered to Wesbeam's wood processing plant and increase overall plant output. |
$4,486,478.00 | WA |
| Wespine Industries Pty Ltd | Upgrade of the Edger machine centre. To upgrade of the edger machine centre to enable Wespine to maintain its overall competitiveness. |
$3,509,857.00 | WA |
| Worldwide Truss & Frames Pty Ltd | Installation of advanced automated machinery To install advanced automated machinery to increase the capability and capacity of the business, whilst diversifying product offerings. |
$2,370,157.00 | WA |
| Timberlink Australia Pty Limited | Innovative upgrade to increase timber processing capacity To install a second repurposed edger saw, additional trimmer, stacker and a new safer sorting system consisting of 50 bins. |
$5,000,000.00 | Tas |
| NSFP Southwood Pty Ltd | Southwood Plantation Processing Expansion To upgrade the NSFP Southwood sawmill which will see a range of log processing, sawing and handling equipment installed to significantly increase the capacity of the mill. |
$4,957,570.00 | Tas |
| CLTP Panel Products Pty Ltd | Scaling Cusp Building Solutions To relocate to a larger facility and invest in new technology. |
$2,070,000.00 | Tas |
| Western Junction Sawmill Pty Ltd | Advanced small sawlog processing To purchase and install a new scanning twin band resaw that will enable higher recoveries and better use of the plantation nitens sawlogs. |
$1,984,000.00 | Tas |
| Stronach Industries Group Pty Ltd | Advanced Wood Fibre Value Adding Optimisation System To install a state-of-the-art automated docking and timber material handling systems, along with the latest cutting-edge timber scanning technology. |
$1,000,000.00 | Tas |
| PROJECT.e Pty Ltd | Construction of an activated carbon manufacturing facility To construct and operate a low temperature activation manufacturing facility on the Tiwi Island to produce high value activated carbon using feedstock from the Tiwi Plantation Corporations' 30,000 hectare Acacia mangium plantation. |
$5,000,000.00 | NT |
| Capital Battens Pty Ltd | Capital Battens Primary Sawline Upgrade To install a new high-tech primary sawline and complementary equipment that will increase recovery and utilisation. |
$4,985,250.00 | ACT |