OneFortyOne to invest $11 million in Jubilee Sawmill

20 Dec 21

News

OneFortyOne, Mount Gambier’s largest private employer, has committed to investing over $11 million in its Jubilee Sawmill over the next two years.

Jubilee Sawmill General Manager Paul Hartung said the modern manufacturing investment was a continuation of the re-investment program that started in 2016.

“OneFortyOne has invested close to $40 million since purchasing the mill in 2018, on state-of-the-art technology projects such as Sorter Bins, a Lucidyne Scanning System, reducing boiler emissions and upgrading to Continuous Drying Kilns,” Paul said.

“This most recent commitment will extend to an equipment and technology upgrade for Drymill A, replacing and modernising equipment as it reaches end of life.”

The $11 million investment is a continuation of a modernisation program that started in 2016.

Paul said the new equipment will be manufactured in New South Wales under a licensing agreement, a first for Australia.

 “We are really pleased we can be part of this initiative.”

“OneFortyOne is committed to ensuring we remain one of the most progressive and efficient mills in Australasia. By investing in new technology, we are continuing towards our objective of valuing every strand of wood fibre that we process.”

OneFortyOne estimates that through this upgrade Jubilee Sawmill will reduce its emissions by approximately 268 tonnes of CO2 equivalent annually. These savings will be generated by reduced electricity consumption.

“It’s an exciting project for our team here at Jubilee,” Paul said.

“The innovative technology that will be installed at the mill presents an amazing opportunity to train and upskill our people in robotics and automation.”

“One of the motivating factors for this project was the chance it provided to shift the Drymill team to a 4-day week. This development means that both Drymill A and the Greenmill will operate on 4-day weeks.”

“We know this has been an important issue for our Drymill team and we are really pleased to support their wellbeing in this way.”

The project is scheduled to begin in 2022 and will take 2 years to complete.

Fast Facts

  • OneFortyOne has invested $40 million since purchasing the Jubilee Sawmill in 2018.
  • OneFortyOne estimates that this investment will result in approximately 268 tonnes of CO2 equivalent savings annually will be generated due to reduced electricity consumption.
  • Drymill team will transition to a 4-day work week after consultation has been completed.
  • Jubilee Sawmill boilers run on biofuel. In FY2020, 78,000 tonnes of dry wood waste fuel was processed through two boilers, producing energy to dry every stick of timber that went through the kilns.

OneFortyOne acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their deep connections to land, water, and community. We pay our respect to Elders past and present and extend that respect to all First Nations people today.

In Aotearoa New Zealand, Māori communities have a strong spiritual connection between people and the land – the wellbeing of one sustains the wellbeing of the other. We strive to build meaningful relationships with iwi as tangata whenua (people of the land/region), to be responsible intergenerational kaitiaki (stewards/guardians) of the land where our forests grow.