Spring Bay Mill chips in for innovative technology investment

AUSTRALIA – 6 March 2014: Following the re-zoning of the former wood chip site by the Glamorgan Spring Bay Council, entrepreneur and founder of Wotif.com, Graeme Wood, will today unveil the next step in transforming the Triabunna site, Spring Bay Mill, with new innovative business opportunities.

“Successful business innovations are all about finding a cost effective way to do things better and change the paradigm in which we use a particular product or service. I’m excited today to be unveiling not only a new technology but a way for this industry to be established in Tasmania,” said Graeme Wood.

Supported by Wood, Spring Bay Mill Innovations is developed in line with the guiding principles for Spring Bay Mill: environmental sustainability, collaboration with Tasmanian businesses, and employment for local people.

Wood has a wealth of experience and success in supporting start-ups and identifying emerging businesses, with plans for Spring Bay Mill Innovations to be a hub for designers and innovative ideas. “One thing I’ve learnt over the years is the next big idea can come from anywhere in the world – this time from Tassie.”

First up on the slate is a novel and sophisticated technology that offers clean solid-wood bending without the use of steam, allowing plantation timber to be transformed into a range of products from high-value designer furniture to structural beams for architecture.

“By taking cheap, abundant plantation timber we can apply a new technology to form and shape high end furniture for an international market,” said Graeme Wood.

“This technology achieves what many thought was impossible. We can take abundant Eucalyptus nitens plantation timber and turn it into a high-end hardwood product. Already a designer table and chairs have been produced from plantation timber simply to demonstrate the capability of this new technology. Commercialising this technology on a large scale will require identifying a scalable product.”

“We are engaging the brightest designers in Australia to exploit the trifecta: the technology, the resource and emerging market opportunities. International markets are demanding carbon neutral products that are of top engineering, design and architectural standards.”

“With the first step in re-zoning the Spring Bay Mill unanimously passed by the Glamorgan Spring Bay Council the project is proceeding well and I’m excited about what’s ahead,” said Wood.

info@springbaymill.com | www.springbaymill.com

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• Kim Booth, in Comments: #22 Spot on Steve. Change the sawing technology to radial sawing and get much better recovery rates of quality boards. But even so, as you say, bury the defects in CLT and use the best for high class innovative furniture as proposed at Triabunna. Good on Graeme Wood for taking up the challenge and creating real work funded privately! Now thats an industry we could all support!

• john lawrence, in Comments: Further on the matter of reality checks, I’ve harvested a 22 year old crop of plantations eucs, unpruned and unthinned @ 400 tonnes per hectare, 50% nitens, 25% regnans and 25% deligatensis, planted pursuant to an FT grant and 70% ended up at Ta Ann Smithton, having satisfied the minimum specs of 220mm diameter.