Australasian Timber June 2022

JUNE 2022

MANUFACTURE • TECHNOLOGY • DESIGN • CONSTRUCTION

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Tall timber builds are growing in acceptance, says Ezard A LOT has changed in

the building of tall timber buildings since the last Timber Offsite Construction conference in 2019.

At that conference tall timber buildings were being presented as something of a “novelty”.

Three years – and a pandemic – later they are almost, if not already, considered mainstream.

And they will be the principal subject of this year’s Timber Offsite Construction 2022 Conference & Exhibition in Melbourne on June 21 and 22.

“That is one of the one of the significant changes that has occurred in that timeframe from where we were in 2019,” conference director Kevin Ezard said.

“And where we are now is that the tall buildings are really going up quite rapidly.

“And so that’s really a realization of how timber building can be constructed to height.

“If you go back five years, and somebody said, we’re going to build a 50 story building in Perth, we’d say you are mad.”

KEVIN EZARD. Timber Offsite Construction director

He said that the tall timber buildings differentiator had emerged really only in the past four years.

And while once it was only involved some “curiosity buildings” in Europe, particularly in northern parts in Finland, now they are becoming common in the United States,

Canada, and in Australia.

“That’s probably the biggest single change that has occurred is those tall buildings.”

Mr Ezard said there had been some resistance to using timber.

“From my observation, the resistance was from the change that was required from building a conventional steel and concrete building to a timber building,” he said.

“The process is so different, that a lot of builders made sure that the pricing of the timber was higher than concrete, and it was therefore too expensive.

“The client was told, if you want to spend all this extra money, that’s up to you, but you know, blah, blah, blah.”

The client often responded by thinking he wasn’t going to pay more and told the builder to just go ahead with what they were going to do.

“So there was that ability for the construction companies to make sure that concrete was the chosen method,” Mr Ezard said.

“But now, there are examples out there of buildings that are timber, and are suc-

The 50-storey hybrid timber C6 project planned for Perth.

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AUSTRALASIAN TIMBER June 2022

cessful.

“And they were marginally more expensive, but in some cases, breakeven.”

But building with timber often turned out quicker and the client had the possibility of making even more money because they got the building sooner.

“I think what we are seeing now is developers who are developer-builders. They are really taking charge of the process, and that in itself is then allowing timber to be favoured.

“And we are now getting more resource within the design fraternity.

“The timber construction industry is growing, in its capacity to perform, to supply and do what needs to be done.”

Mr Ezard said this year’s conference would differ very little from the conference planned for 2020.

“I suppose that the projects would be where the changes are, the projects that are close to completion.

And there some new ones,” he said.

Conference preview see Page 6/7.

NEWS Sumitomo Forestry buys into landscaping

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Forestry will enter the landscaping business in Australia after it acquired 51% of shares in Regal Innovations, which operates in the landscaping business locally.

This is the first time that Sumitomo Forestry has made a foray into the landscaping business in public spaces in overseas. Regal is a major landscaping company that designs and constructs commercial and public external spaces, green zones and parks, predominantly in Sydney, New South Wales.

Regal has been constructing for Sumitomo Forestry in multiple residential land development projects for several years and has undertaken landscaping projects in the central Sydney’s Barangaroo and Darling Harbour precincts, that are currently undergoing redevelopment, and among others has been involved in leading urban development and construction projects for the University of Technology Sydney, the National Museum of Australia in Canberra and a number of these development projects have received awards from international external evaluation agencies.

It also aims to participate in large scale infrastructure investments, including Australia’s Western Sydney Airport, which is scheduled to begin operations in 2026, and in Brisbane, which will host the2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games in a wide range of fields, including the development of green zones and parks, and the greening of wall faces and rooftops.

Sumitomo Forestry has expanded its housing business in Australia’s major cities since 2009, with annual sales of 3,169 homes in the fiscal year ending December 2021, ranking third Australia-wide.

In recent years, it has also undertaken residential land development and development of a 15-story wooden office building in Melbourne.

Sumitomo Forestry will establish a business model that leverages the design and construction capabilities of Regal, a company that demonstrates a high level of affinity with its existing business and drive environmentally friendly development.

UMITOMO

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NEWS

australasian

JUNE 2022

Issue 4 – Volume 30 Incorporating Australian and New Zealand Timberman.

Established 1977.

3-12

News Australian Timber Design Awards Milestones Associations

5 14 15-18

FRONT Cover: An artist’s drawing of the proposed C6 building planned for South Perth.

The 50-storey hybrid timber project, which will include 245 apartments, will be examined in detail at this year's Timber Offsite Construction 2022 Conference & Exhibition in Melbourne, June 21-22.

PUBLISHER and Chief Executive: Hartley Higgins General Manager: Robyn Haworth Editor: Bruce Mitchell b.mitchelll@ryanmediapl.com.au Adelaide Office (08) 8369 9512 Advertising: Gavin de Almeida g.dealmeida@ryanmediapl.com.au Adelaide Office (08) 8369 9517 Creative Services: Tim Coleman Publication Design: Tim Coleman Timber classifieds: g.dealmeida@ryanmediapl.com.au Adelaide Office (08) 8369 9517 Subscriptions: subs@forestsandtimber.com.au Adelaide Office (08) 8369 9522 Subcription rates One-year (8 editions) $55 Two-years (16 editions) $95 Accounts: Adelaide Office (08) 8369 9514 Postal Address: 630 Regency Road, Broadview South Australia 5083 Phone: (08) 8369 9555 Fax: (08) 8369 9501 Melbourne Office: Suite 2262, 442 Auburn Rd, Hawthorn VIC 3122 Phone: (03) 9810 3262 Find us on Facebook @AustralasianTimber Website www.timberbiz.com.au Printed by Lane Print, Adelaide, SA

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4

We need to care exactly where timber comes from DEB KERR, CEO, VICTORIAN FOREST PRODUCTS ASSOCIATION

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does our timber come from? Many of us don’t care and, to be honest, have probably never thought about this.

What was the last timber, paper, or cardboard product that you bought, and did you check where it came from?

Was it imported from deforested land or grown in sustainable, regenerated working forests?

It’s an uncomfortable question that we need to ask ourselves – and our retailers.

Addressing climate change is dependent on stopping deforestation and reducing emissions.

The clear message from the Paris Agreement and the United Nations IPCC report is that carbon neutrality isn’t enough – we must achieve carbon negativity. In addition, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UN has released its 2022 State of the World’s Forests Report, calling for: Halting deforestation where forests are converted to other land uses Restoring degraded land and expanding working forests and Sustainably using working forests to build ‘green’ value chains.

Yet the climate benefits of our working forests are inHER E

creasingly being challenged and used as a weapon by some in the environmental movement, leading to confusion and doubt about the place of forestry in climate change mitigation.

In addition, Victoria needs to improve its timber security. The current shortages in the building industry have taught us that, but it goes much further than that.

We have a responsibility to grow our forests and its resources. All countries that can manage sustainable forests share this responsibility.

It’s not acceptable that we would push this task to coun-

tries where deforestation is rife. Not to mention the carbon miles those imports stack up!

Timber shortages are a global issue and the future competition for timber will be fierce. We have a responsibility to grow and harvest our fair share of timber to produce enough for our domestic needs, if not more.

Some prefer living in denial about the impact our wood demands have on the forests of Borneo or the Amazon.

The inconvenient truth is that shortages create demand and demand creates high prices.

But high demand can result

in poor practices and illegal timber harvesting – which goes against all the principles of climate change mitigation.

We need to question from where our timber products came. And we need to care about the answer.

We all love wood, so let’s start recognising the responsible and renewable forestry that we have here in our state. Victorian forestry gives you the wood and wood products that our industry is proud of – from our forests to your home.

Thanks goodness conferences are back

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HE Timber Offsite Construction – last seen in 2019 because of the world-wide Covid lockdowns and ensuing travel restrictions – is on again in Melbourne this month.

Speakers from Australia and overseas will meet in this global ‘hybrid’ event for design & construction of timber and mass wood buildings.

For the past 23 years the Frame Australia conference has been the number one event in Australia attracting professionals in offsite timber and mass wood building design and construction.

Now called Timber Offsite

australasian

Construction, the conference program theme will focus on current trends that are fast changing the way we build our homes and cities for a more sustainable future world.

And in particular, it will focus on tall commercial timber buildings.

Australia currently leads the world in tall mass timber buildings.

And event director Kevin Ezard believes timber is now AUSTRALASIAN TIMBER June 2022

becoming a more acceptable material for big builds.

But anyone in the housing industry looking for some relief from the recent Reserve Bank of Australia’s 0.25% increase in the cash rate were sadly disappointed.

The idea that just maybe an increase in home loan interest rates may take some of the heat out of the housing market by slowing loan application was quickly dashed by the Housing Industry Association.

The HIA agreed that home building activity was expected to ease modestly from its current elevated levels, part-

ly in response to the interest rate call.

But the HIA quite rightly pointed that it would not ease the constraints on global supply chains, increase the supply of skilled labour or improve productivity.

The HIA also points out that the impact of the rise in the cash rate on building approvals could take more than six months to emerge.

It seems the existing pipeline of work will keep builders busy this year and well into next year, limited by the availability of land, labour and materials. www.timberbiz.com.au

AUSTRALIAN TIMBER DESIGN AWARDS

Journalism hub rebuild shines with veneers T HE Judith Neilson In-

stitute for Journalism and Ideas won the Veneer Award for Tzannes Architecture at the 2021 Australian Timber Design Awards – a contextual building adapting reuse of two heritage-listed warehouse buildings and a new addition.

Timber veneer has been used on the joinery throughout the first and second floors, including individual offices, general offices and kitchens. In addition, there is extensive veneer joinery to the board room and reception space.

The multipurpose and activity spaces on the second floor have extensive veneer joinery housing media and concealing services.

On the ground floor, a timber veneer wall forms the front entry and security screen. Straight-grained American oak was specified because of its warm honey tones to match the oak flooring.

The use of the veneer tied the solid timber elements

www.timberbiz.com.au

in the joinery on the ground floor to the veneer elements on the first and second floors.

An oil coating was used to allow maintenance to occur via touch-ups without requiring sanding and resurfacing to the entire unit.

The site contained two buildings; one heritage terrace styled building and a more contemporary corner building. The heritage building was retained and restored whilst the contemporary building was demolished for a new building, which is sympathetic to the conservation and historical streetscape.

The new arrangement of the buildings boasts a formal lecture theatre, entertaining and presentation spaces, open plan office areas, creative spaces and several meeting facilities. A dramatic central stair connects all levels and a custom lift provides an alternative vertical access way.

Structurally, the project presented multiple challenges from a design and construction perspective. Many off

form finishes were desired by the client and designers and custom formwork was developed to achieve these finishes. The site was very restricted from a spatial perspective and this required careful planning to ensure that quality was maintained for the exposed structural elements.

The new roof to the contemporary building has a compounding curve and feature transition to the façade junction. The soffit is exposed class 1 concrete and all thermal performance occurs on top of the concrete form.

The completed project showcases the beautiful, restored heritage features of the existing building. Original elements such as the lift motor assembly, timber trusses and beams are exposed, the original building signage and historical fabric were all restored and now provide the feature of the heritage building. The old and new meet seamlessly and complement each other in this amazing, inspiring and unique development.

AUSTRALASIAN TIMBER June 2022

EXCELLENCE IN TIMBER DESIGN Timber Veneers Architects: Tzannes Builder: Infinity Constructions Fabricator: Nicom Interiors and Top Knot Carpentry and Joinery Photographer: Ben Guthrie and Martin Mischkulnig Location: Sydney, New South Wales

LVL choice for wind turbine towers Stora Enso and wood technology company Modvion are partnering to establish wood as the material of choice for wind turbine towers.

The collaboration’s purpose is to demonstrate the vast possibilities in using wood in demanding constructions.

Modvion builds wind turbine towers with laminated veneer lumber (LVL), which proportionate to its weight is stronger than steel.

Stora Enso is a leading supplier of mass timber products, including LVL. The towers are built in lightweight modules, enabling taller towers and easy transportation on public roads without permits or road reconstructions.

Taller towers reach stronger winds, leading to more costefficient energy production.

“We are proud to enter into partnership with Modvion who, like us, strive to push boundaries and demonstrate the possibilities with wood.” said Lars Völkel, Executive Vice President, Division Wood Products, Stora Enso.

“As one of the largest sawn wood producers and private forest owners in the world we play an important role in the transformation to a greener society. By contributing our expertise to Modvion we can further help make a difference in mitigating climate change and supporting the EU’s drive to increase renewable energy production.”

Using wood, a renewable resource, can reduce the CO2 emissions for the tower by 90% while also storing carbon dioxide that has been taken up by trees during their growth. The wood used for advanced constructions such as wind turbine towers can be reused in new woodbased products which provides further long-term climate benefits.

“The commitment of Stora Enso to replace fossil-based materials with renewables is a perfect match for Modvion,” said Otto Lundman, CEO of Modvion.

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TIMBER OFFSITE CONSTRUCTION CONFERENCE

Builders, developers increasingly embracing modern construction methods ence & Exhibition in Melbourne, June 21-22, Jo Lees, Construction Manager from Hine’s Australia will be presenting 36 Wellington St (Tall Building 1), and Ninotschka Titchkosky, co-CEO, BVN Architects will be presenting the Atlassian building (Tall Building 2).

NINOTSCHKA TITCHKOSKY BVN Architects

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T’S suggested the ar-

gument for offsite construction will be won on a case-by-case basis, but innovative builders and developers are increasingly embracing modern methods of construction that’s redefining and, advancing the case for tall timber (mass timber) buildings in Australia.

From high strength to a lighter environmental footprint than concrete or steel, the benefits of mass timber buildings are proven with their ability to create unique, visionary and carbon-neutral outcomes. It’s a message that’s further underscored by the public’s clear appetite for change with quantifiable environmental benefits.

At this year’s Timber Offsite Construction 2022 Confer-

TALL TIMBER BUILDING 1 36 WELLINGTON ST, COLLINGWOOD, MELBOURNE Global investment manager Hines have begun construction of a $200 million, 14 level prefabricated timber office tower in Collingwood. It acquired the 2,120 square metre corner site in 2019, and is set to become the tallest of its kind in Melbourne.

It will be built in accordance with their ‘Timber Transit & Technology’ (T3) strategy.

The strategy is a unique and highly successful global program where their construction methodology replaces traditional systems such as concrete and steel with prefabricated solid wood systems to create best in class projects in a fast, clean and sustainable manner Designed by Jackson Clements Burrows Architects, the

TALL TIMBER BUILDING 2

tower will offer 18,200 square metres of net lettable area and floor plates ranging from 900 to 1500 square metres.

Hines expects to complete the prefabricated timber building by the third quarter of 2023, and is targeting five-star NABERS and 5.5-star Green Star ratings as a minimum.

Interestingly, a key consideration for the development is to create a ‘biophilic environment’, which according to studies found that employees in offices featuring natural wooden surfaces reported higher personal productivity, mood, concentration, clarity, confidence and optimism.

What’s more, over 80 per cent of workers exposed to eight or more wooden surfaces in their workplaces reported being ‘satisfied or very satisfied’ with their work.

According to company sources, Porche have signed as a foundation tenant.

An artists view of the inside of the interior 6

ATLASSIAN, 8-10 LEE STREET, SYDNEY When the development was announced in June 2021, Atlassian co-founder and co-CEO Scott Farquhar said if you want to work in tech, “this is the place you will want to be”.

“Technology can turbocharge Australia’s recovery.

That’s why we’re building this precinct. We want to create jobs, ideas and innovation,” Farquhar said at the time.

The building was designed by the same New York-based architects that designed Uber’s headquarters – SHoP – with Australian practice BVN as the design team.

“It’s an amazing design.

We’ve searched the world to find the best architects and engineers to put it together,” Farquhar said last year.

It will be built using mass timber construction, and the tower is scheduled to be the tallest hybrid timber structure in the world at 40 storeys tall, and will target a 50 percent reduction in embodied carbon and energy compared to conventional construction.

They’ve also committed to operating on 100 percent renewable energy with

JO LEES Hines

zero emissions, by using energy efficient design, such as natural ventilation and planted terraces throughout the building, as well as generating green power on site through solar panels integrated into the building’s facades, which will be a glass and steel exoskeleton tied to the structure.

In March this year, Australian-based real estate group Dexus announced it will fund 100 per cent of the project, oversee development, and will retain a long-term equity interest in the asset.

The total project costs are expected to be $1.4 billion, and it’s due for completion in 2026.

The outside of the proposed C6, South Perth.

AUSTRALASIAN TIMBER June 2022

www.timberbiz.com.au

TIMBER OFFSITE CONSTRUCTION CONFERENCE TALL TIMBER BUILDING 3 C6, SOUTH PERTH Grange Developments, a Melbourne-based property developer clearly isn’t shy about pushing the boundaries of their developments.

With their mission statement, “We believe in creating landmark projects in a way that adds value to both the environment and humanity,” this development,

called C6 (named after atomic number 6, Carbon, on the periodic table), if approved, will catapult the building into the numero uno position of tall mass timber buildings.

They’ve submitted plans with the City of South Perth for the 50-storey hybrid timber building which will include 245 apartments.

If they’re successful with their planning application,

the building will be Australia’s second carbon-negative building after the Atlassian tower. It will achieve this through an embedded power network with wind and solar power, and a biophilic design featuring 3500 square metres of floral, edible and native gardens.

And, standing at 183 metres, the $350 million development, will assume the mantle of tallest mass tim-

ber building by a mere three metres over Atlassian’s approved tall building.

Designed by architecture firm Elenberg Fraser, with timber structural engineering by Melbourne-based mass-timber specialists, Vistek Engineers, the mass timber building will be built from cross-laminated timber (CLT) and glue-laminated timber (GLT).

According to company

sources, construction of the mass timber building’s core will sequester over 10.5 million kilograms of carbon dioxide compared to a traditional concrete structure of similar scale. All the necessary timber, 7400 cubic metres, required to build the apartment floors, columns and beams will be able to be regrown from just 580 seeds.

Timber Offsite Construction 2022 Itinerary DAY 1 BUILDING DESIGN INFLUENCES BUILDING PROJECT PANEL Andrew Waugh, Founding Direc- SESSIONS (1)

tor, Waugh Thistleton Architects, London (UK) GALKANGU BENDIGO GOVHUB VIC Project Panel presenters: TIMBER IN ARCHITECTURE 2 – THE Adam Pustola, Principal, Lyons NEXT GENERATION. Mark Ayers, Associate Structural EnJames Fitzpatrick, Partner, gineer, Arup fitzpatrick+partners.

Matt Ginnivan, Project Manager, Icon Fairbrother JV Danny Watson, Structural Engineer, Australian Sustainable Hardwoods (ASH)

CONSTRUCTION PRODUCTIVITY BUILDING PROJECT PANEL SESSIONS (2) INNOVATIVE PROJECT CONCEPTS UTILISING DFMA AND HYBRID BUILDING SYSTEMS. Nick Hewson, Chief Design Officer and Head of Product Development, Viridi Group

THE GLOBAL ENGINEERED TIMBER ECOSYSTEM AND ‘BEST FOR PROJECT’ PROCUREMENT. Phillip Tondl, Group Manager - Design & Innovation, Lipman Mass timber construction – buildTHE BOND NORWEST, SYDNEY ability and installation.

NSW Mario Savva, Managing Director Project Panel presenters: James Fitzpatrick, Partner, Savcon fitzpatrick+partners architects Barry Young, Director, Taylor Thomson Whitting (TTW)

GEELONG CIVIC PRECINCT VIC Project Panel presenters: Tom Watts, Principal Structural Engineer, XLam Australia Tyson Infanti, Business Development & Projects Manager, HASSLACHER group/HESS TIMBER Shane O’Connor, Project Manager, Besix Watpac ADELAIDE OVAL HOTEL, ADELAIDE SA Project Panel presenters: Nick Lane, Senior Structural Engineer, Mott MacDonald Adam Jones, Technical Manager Engineering & DfMA, XLam Australia Jason Skinner, Design Manager, Built Environs.

DAY 2 MANUFACTURING & TECHNOLOGY

BUILDING PROJECT PANEL SESSIONS (3)

THE FUTURE IS OFF-SITE Gerry McCaughey, Chief Executive and Chairman, Entekra (USA) available from a fully integrated off-site solution for both residential and commercial construction.

Robotic digital processing and assembly for timber building construction.

Ola Skoglund, Chief Operating Officer, Randek Robotics (Sweden)

OFFSITE HOUSING CONSTRUCTION OF THE FUTURE Project Panel presenters: Tim Newman, General Manager, Timber Building Systems Ben Griffiths, National General Manager, Henley Ready Built Properties.

GLOBAL WOOD BUILDING PROJECTS

SPEAKERS SESSION & FORUM DISCUSSION

Danielle Savio, Project Manager, Multiplex Australasia ATLASSIAN PROJECT SYDNEY – THE TALLEST MASS WOOD GLOBAL TRENDS AND THE FUTURE BUILDING IN THE WORLD. FOR MASS TIMBER IN AUSTRALIA Ninotschka Titchkosky, co-CEO, Tyson Infanti, Business Develop- BVN Architects ment & Projects Manager, Hasslacher/HESS Timber Aust ASIA’S LARGEST CLT BUILDING PROJECT UPDATE AND 36 WELLINGTON ST: NEXT OAKHILL COLLEGE INNOVATION CURRENT TRENDS IN HYBRID GENERATION TIMBER OFFICE. HUB SYDNEY NSW CONSTRUCTION. Jo Lees, Construction Manager, Nick Milestone, Director of Projects, Project Panel presenters: Russell Garnett, Managing Director, Hines Mercer Mass Timber (USA), Project TIMBER FRAME PRODUCTION urban revolutions Consultant to NTU Singapore.

VALUE-ADDING CAPABILITIES TO Justin Lo, Architect, BVN Architects David Kingham, Technical Manager, IMPROVE BUILDING EFFICIENCY. Nick Hewson, Chief Design Officer Mass Timber, NTU ABS Singapore John Bowen, Managing Director, & Head of Product Development, Bowens / Timbertruss Viridi Group.

FORUM DISCUSSION. Tyson Infanti, Business Development & Projects Manager, HASSLACHER group/HESS TIMBER Jo Lees, Construction Manager, Hines Nick Milestone, Director of Projects, Mercer Mass Timber (USA) David Kingham, Technical Manager, Mass Timber, NTU ABS Singapore www.timberbiz.com.au

AUSTRALASIAN TIMBER June 2022

7

NEWS

Robots tap into WA construction site R

O BOTIC technology has been trialled on a Western Australian construction site in a worldfirst project at Murdoch University, in conjunction with major partners Aurecon and the University of Technology Sydney.

The robots have been uniquely designed by UTS researchers to deliver cumbersome screw fixings. This task can cause fatigue and injury in workers given the repetitive and labour-intensive nature of this work, especially on Mass Engineered Timber construction projects.

The catalyst for the trial is the construction of Building 360 at Murdoch’s South Street campus – a technology-rich, MET building which will accommodate up to 60% of the university’s teaching requirements. Building 360 will be the largest MET building in Western Australia and a

demonstration of Murdoch’s commitment to sustainability, aiming for a 6 Star Green Star rating once complete.

Murdoch University’s Vice Chancellor Professor Andrew Deeks said Building 360 would transform the student and staff experience through offering new, digitally enabled teaching and learning spaces in an environmentally friendly design.

“MET is a completely renewable resource and a more sustainable construction material than conventional steel or concrete, which is a huge contributor of greenhouse gas emissions globally. The building will also have a large array of photovoltaic cells to supply its power needs,” Professor Deeks said.

“Working with our design, engineering and advisory partner Aurecon, we set out to determine where technology would add value to the

construction process – an opportunity to modernise an industry that, by and large, is yet to take a significant leap in innovation.

“The concept was developed to trial robots installing screw fixings – an important, but labour intensive task, that’s essential on MET construction sites.”

Aurecon’s Managing Director, Built Environment Australia, Tim Spies, said the pilot project showed that by thinking more innovatively, the timber industry could lead the way in improving construction project outcomes.

“The project’s immediate objective is focused on a proof of concept, to demonstrate the robot’s capability of installing screw fixings in an accurate manner,” Mr Spies said.

“The long-term objective is to prove that the modular

nature of timber construction will benefit from the automation of some on-site construction activities, helping to increase productivity, reduce cost, improve workers’ OH&S, and advance innovation in the construction industry.”

Distinguished Professor of the UTS Robotics Institute and the project leader, Dikai Liu, said intelligent robots were changing construction.

“Construction sites are varied, complex and changing – and that can be a real chal-

lenge for a robot to navigate and conduct operations such as drilling a screw into the right position,” Professor Liu said.

“What we have been able to design is an intelligent robot that can focus on an important task even amidst this disruptive environment.”

There are around 200,000 to 300,000 screw fixings on the Building 360 construction site and the robots was trialled installing approximately 50 to 100 fixings as part of the proof of concept.

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AUSTRALASIAN TIMBER June 2022

17/12/2021 14:51:47 www.timberbiz.com.au

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NEWS

Briefs

Carpentry trade facility Victoria’s State Government has delivered a new carpentry trade facility at Kangan TAFE – the final piece in the TAFE’s multi-million dollar Trades and Skills Centre for Broadmeadows jobseekers.

Minister for Training and Skills Gayle Tierney launched the $1.2 million investment for the carpentry facility as part of the $6.8 million Trades and Skills Centre at the Broadmeadows campus.

The new facility is within a repurposed building, with equipment and training areas for up to 400 apprentices as well as an indoor simulated work site where trades teachers can assess students from a mezzanine level.

Waste project funded

The Maryvale Energy from Waste project at Opal Australian Paper’s Maryvale Mill, in Victoria, has been given $48.2m in grant funding helping to power Opal’s pulp and paper mill while driving down emissions.

By diverting about 325,000 tonnes a year of non-recyclable waste from landfill and reusing it to generate electricity, this project will drive down emissions and help improve energy security while at the same time decarbonising the Maryvale Mill, Australia’s leading manufacturer of pulp and paper.

Protecting New Zealand’s tall timber buildings L OOK at the justopened Auckland City Mission–Te Tāpui Atawhai building on Hobson Street and you can’t help but admire its handsome geometric exterior. What’s less obvious, but equally as striking in its own special way, is the building’s top-notch fire design.

Specialist engineers from WSP were commissioned to design the fire safety system for what is now Auckland’s tallest timber construction.

Led by Auckland-based fire and life safety manager Biswadeep Ghosh, fire work on the Mission building involved design assessments, fire severity calculations, independent peer reviews and plenty of inspections.

While the two lowest levels are constructed with stand-

ard concrete and steel, the rest of the 10-storey building uses the latest in cross laminated timber – including all floors, walls and ceilings.

Biswadeep says this posed a challenge in calculating the building’s fire severity rating.

“These calculations tell us how long a fire will last in a building until everything burns out. Calculations developed for steel and concrete structures can’t be used with accuracy for timber structures, so we spent two weeks calculating based on the all-timber design of the building.

“The risk of a timber building catching fire is the same as for a steel or concrete building. But timber buildings will burn for longer if the worst was to happen. That’s why getting the numbers right was so important.”

Other challenges in the fire design included the tight site–sandwiched between other buildings and next to two main roads. Plus, with parts of the building designed as wellbeing and detox spaces, the design had to be sensitive to the Mission’s security requirements and open architectural vision.

The new building has all the latest in fire safety features, including passive fire protection – barriers designed to stop the spread of fire from one area to another. Designed to the letter of the Building

Code, it’s fully sprinklered, alarmed and has dynamic exit signs, which change colour depending on the location of a fire. All stairwells and corridors with exposed timber have been coated with fire retardant paint.

“There weren’t many passive fire design solutions available for cross laminated timber when we started – meaning this project was a real learning and research experience,” says Biswadeep.

With much of the focus in the construction industry now shifting to lower carbon building materials, he expects WSP will be involved in more timber-only fire designs. The learnings from the Mission building have shown how well it can work and just what’s possible.

New scanning system

Timberlink has unveiled its new world-class Green Mill Vision Scanning System at its manufacturing facility at Bell Bay in Tasmania.

The $5.5m co-investment in the continuing upgrade and modernisation of Tasmania’s largest softwood timber manufacturing plant is supported by $3.5 million from the Federal Government’s Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development Community Development Grants Programme. The Vision Scanning System will optimise every piece of timber to maximise the production of outdoor treated timber for the construction of decks and pergolas.

10

AUSTRALASIAN TIMBER June 2022

www.timberbiz.com.au

Love of timber fostered by a move to Australia PHILIP HOPKINS

C

ARL Karacsay draws

on several generations of wood culture from his father’s native Austria in his profession as a furniture craftsman.

George Karacsay, a cabinet maker and furniture maker, migrated from Austria after World War II, but added carpentry and house building to his skills after arriving in Geelong.

“My brother Ernie and myself started an apprenticeship with our father as builder and joiner and in furniture making. We were very lucky to learn how to build houses, how to build kitchens, as well as dining tables and chairs – a very unique situation. We learnt three trades,” said Carl, whose company, Karacsay Furnishings, operates in Colac, 150 kilometres west of Melbourne, just past Geelong.

The family’s building business, now run by Ernie, operates from the same site.

• Carl Karacsay with his

father George at their Colac workshop in Western Victoria.

George, now 87, still works in the manufacturing operation. Austria’s long tradition of wood culture was “always there”,” said Carl, who marvelled at the unique carvings on the wooden houses during a visit a few years ago to his father’s home area around Innsbruck.

The apprenticeship began in 1978 and a year later Carl, aged 19, bought his first pack of Blackwood timber. “I saw its potential. Back then, it had the same price as hardwood scantling timber. We’ve been collecting ever since, from 1979 until recently. It becomes so addictive, I don’t need to source Blackwood anymore,” he said.

Blackwood is now the backbone of his furniture business. The timber was collected from different sources – sawmillers when timber harvesting was permitted in the neighbouring Otways Ranges or from local farmers who wanted to clear out spare timber stored in their sheds.

The business now has 40 cubic metres of sawn Blackwood timber in storage ready for use. “That’s our lifetime – all sawn timber, not logs, air-dried and machined ourselves. You don’t get good recovery from a log, it’s pretty bad. After you’ve dried it, there’s more wastage from twists and splits,” he said.

The family business’s main income was always building and joinery; houses were custom designed with pine framing but with some hardwood, such as hardwood lin-

ing boards and even exposed Blackwood beams in three or four houses.

“Furniture was never promoted, except when a client wanted us to build some furniture for them,” Carl said. “It was a pleasure to build the house, build the kitchen and build the furniture that goes into the house. When that happens, it’s a real buzz.”

Now, in the past 10-15 years, Carl has concentrated on furniture. He took last year off to reassess his life. “I needed a break, to get some direction in my life. Timber is my passion, no doubt about it,” he said.

Customers are mainly locals. “Word of mouth is how we have existed,” he said. He has no retail outlet, but now has a website.

While Blackwood is his mainstay, Carl works with all sorts of timbers–Huon pine, Victorian Ash, myrtle, red gum, even American Oak. Working with various timbers can be difficult, particularly Blackwood, whose grain can have many swirls, making it tricky to cut.

Carl makes tables, chairs, general furniture – TV units, book shelving, buffets, cabinet, blanket box, ornate mirror surrounds, beds– “anything that people come up, I’ll help create it”. “I’ve done a whole ceiling to floor shelving systems in Blackwood,” he said. A red gum tale is 3.3metres long and 1.1m wide and weighs about 200 kg.! It’s waiting for a buyer with deep pockets. In general, everything is custom-

NEWS

Carl Karacsay with his Blackwood dining table for Cooinda Lodge at Kakadu in the Northern Territory. made. “I get an order, make it and people collect it – and it’s gone,” he said.

Dark timbers like the Otways Blackwood that he is promoting have been unfashionable for a while; light timbers like Ash and American Oak are dominating the scene.

Custom-made furniture is not cheap, but people are prepared to pay. “Previously, I could not raise a family on custom-built furniture,” Carl said, but now that he is on his own – his adult daughters have left home – “I can afford to be full-time custom furniture maker”.

The average dining table probably take three days to complete, depending on the complexity of the design.

“The more intricate the design, the longer it takes and the dearer it gets,” he said.

Gaining new skills is always important; Carl enrolled in a woodwork class in Melbourne to improve his ability to make hand-made furniture – hand carving and steam bending

of wood – to supplement the use of machines.

Carl said it was important to know exactly what a client wants. “The client knows what he or she wants built. I go over it over and over until I understand it. I don’t want to the client to say, ‘That’s not what I wanted!’”

While most projects are local, Carl recently won a big order for the luxury Cooinda Lodge at Kakadu National Park. It includes a magnificent large Blackwood dining table – 3.6 metres x 1.2m, weighing in at about 150 kg– but also small dining tables, bedside boxes inlaid with leather and bedheads for each of five accommodation ‘tents’.

The passionate timber man, who has always had a creative side to his personality, even built his own house, with lots of timber and stone, in the design of a gum leaf.

With much natural light, “the whole living area looks over the Gellibrand River valley towards Beech Forest”, he said.

Australia's consumption of overseas timber is high and at risk

A

USTRALIA’S consumption of sawn timber for housing and other uses lifted to an alltime high year-ended March 2022. Data released and loaded to IndustryEdge’s Wood Market Edge online platform shows supply of timber continues to work to meet Australia’s huge demand for new houses.

Consumption of sawn softwood timber rose 9.2% compared with the year prior and lifted to 3.85 million m3.

Locally produced sawn softwood appears to be at its www.timberbiz.com.au

peak right now, hovering around 3.05 million m3 per annum over the last several months.

All of the growth has come from imported supply which has exploded over the last year, increasing 53% to a little more than 0.80 million m3. On an annualised basis, imports accounted for 21% of total supply, around 1% higher than the long-term average.

The chart shows Australian consumption of sawn softwood for the last decade, for years ending March.

Demonstrating the strength of demand, imports in March recorded the second highest ever monthly total, with supply mainly from Europe and almost entirely of structural grades to construct houses and other buildings.

The peak of housing approvals may be over, but the long pipeline of work requires a record level of sawn timber now and into the future. IndustryEdge’s demand

AUSTRALASIAN TIMBER June 2022

forecast for sawn softwood was introduced to Wood Market Edge online in late 2021. Since its inception, it calculated March 2022 would be the peak of demand, with 2Q22 being the peak quarter.

It was assessed that supply was effectively being rushed to Australia from Europe to meet the largest ever surge in demand.

The lift in monthly imports comes with an important caveat. Shipments have been delayed in trans-shipment ports like Singapore and Hong Kong. With shipping

schedules completely unreliable, supply to smaller and distant destinations like Australia has involved ‘batching’ of shipments of goods like timber, with low deliveries one month supplemented by a big shipment in a later month.

Anecdotally, we hear multiple reports from importers, agents and wholesalers that exports from Europe to Australia are slowing quickly.

For more information visit www.industryedge.com.au 11

MILESTONE

Building on a solid foundation for twenty years W

H E N Alpine Truss opened in Wangaratta in Victoria in March 2002, it did so with only a handful of staff.

The company, which is celebrating its 20th year in business, now employs 130 people and is one of the biggest employers in Wangaratta.

Managing director George Prothero said the key to Alpine Truss’ enduring success lies in the high quality of the products, the loyalty of the customers and the hard work and dedication of its people.

Prior to establishing Alpine Truss, director Chris Vafiadis and Mr Prothero were employees at one of the largest frame and truss manufacturers in Australia.

The pair were with the company for approximately 25 years, with Chris based in Melbourne and George in Benalla as the Victorian state manager.

“We were extremely lucky that when we decided to start

Alpine Truss we were able to source the site we have now in Tone Road,” Mr Prothero said.

“Originally on five acres, we have since purchased the two acre adjoining property to enable the business to grow and a further 18 acres, which we have built a warehouse on for storage of raw materials.”

The Wangaratta office, located at the manufacturing facility, services regional clients while also supporting major project builders in Melbourne and southern New South Wales.

As well as steadily expanding the size of its premises in Wangaratta, Alpine Truss has a sales and technical office in the Melbourne suburb of Epping to provide assistance to their metropolitan clients.

“When we decided to take the gamble and start our own business, which my wife Belinda was an integral part of its growth and success, we were also lucky enough that

some of my key design and production staff from the Benalla operation took a major gamble and joined Alpine Truss,” Mr Prothero said.

He said he was extremely grateful for all the support that customers have placed in the company over the years, particularly in the beginning.

“We’re very grateful for the local businesses, including North East Fasteners, Wang bearings, STY and Merriwa Industries, that backed us 20 years ago,” he said.

The timber shortage last year halted a planned expansion but Mr Prothero said that they still have plans to expand.

“Our biggest issue is timber supply, but more so lack of staff and the rental crisis is not helping us in being able to employ people who need to relocate,” he said.

Mr Prothero said future plans for the business were simply to expand facilities

and upgrade equipment as needed in order to keep providing the best possible service and products to their customers.

The company is a licensed Mitek manufacturer of pre-

fabricated timber roof trusses, wall frames and Posi-Strut fl ooring systems.

For more information on Alpine Truss and its products, visit www.alpinetruss.com.au.

• GROWING TOGETHER: Alpine Truss managing director

George Prothero (front, fifth from right) with company staff.

PHOTO: Kurt Hickling

Domestic or commercial building projects A L PINE Truss supply a range of roof trusses, wall frames and flooring systems to major project builders, small builders and owner builders throughout Victoria and Southern NSW. Having been involved in the local area for two decades means they have seen a wide range of weather events and building fads.

Some stay and some go, but through it all, Alpine Truss can provide you with what you need to make your dream a reality.

Roof trusses are manufactured to cater for a wide range of roofing shapes, from simple and traditional to the more complicated designs, and each truss is custom completed to order.

Alpine Truss utilises the latest technologies from computer designed frames and trusses to digitally-controlled sawing and nailing equipment.

Prefabricated trusses allow 12

for faster building erection compared to that of a conventionally pitched roof, and uses up to 40 per cent less timber.

Wall frames, which can also speed up the building process considerably, are engineered by in-house experienced designers, and manufactured in accordance with all the relevant Australian Standards using the latest Mitek 20/20 software.

The flooring systems utilise Posi-Strut joists, parallel chord trusses using timber chords ‘on flat’ and unique Posi-Strut metal webs.

They are designed and manufactured in house under license from Mitek Australia Ltd, and are available in three depth sizes, 248mm, 302mm and 412mm, with 90 x 45mm timber.

Being manufactured to size eliminates wastage and the need to trim on site, and also saves labour on site.

Alpine Truss also supplies particle board flooring, which

can be delivered at the same time as the floor systems.

Alpine Truss managing director George Prothero said the business’ products are designed in accordance with the relevant Australian Standards and manufactured from renewable sources of structural graded pine, and all products can incorporate H2F termite resistant pine that comes with a 25 year guarantee.

“Products made by Alpine Truss have been used in countless buildings locally, through Victoria and Southern NSW, in both domestic and commercial settings and we are very proud of that,” he said.

“If you drive around the residential area of Wangaratta, the majority of those houses have been built from products supplied by Alpine Truss.”

Mr Prothero said Alpine Truss is customer-orientated and 100 per cent Australian owned and operated.

AUSTRALASIAN TIMBER June 2022

All products are delivered

by Alpine Truss’ fleet of modern crane trucks, allowing

them flexibility to meet the delivery requirements of each customer. www.timberbiz.com.au

Vic Govt support for specialist timber harvesting PHILIP HOPKINS

T

State Government in Victoria has indicated its continued support for harvesting specialist timbers from Victoria’s native forests despite the looming closure of the industry by 2030 under the Government’s forest plan.

Data from VicForests shows that 20,000 cubic metres of specialist timbers – Red Gum, Box ironbark and Blackwood mainly from western Victoria–are licensed for harvest each year for 10 customers.

Indication of the Government’s policy follows letters of inquiry from the Australian Music Association and Mr James Kidman, whose company, Otway Tonewoods, harvests Blackwood timber for the manufacture of guitars.

The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning told Mr Kidman in a letter last December that the Government backed identifying ongoing opportunities to support high value add specialty timbers.

DELWP’s acting executive director of policy and planning, Lindsay Rayner, said during the transition from native forest harvesting, DELWP would work with Victorian communities to understand how they wanted to use forests, including for specialty timbers.

“Victoria’s modernised Regional Forest Agreements (RFAs) agreed in March 2020 HE

do not prevent special timber being harvested selectively,” he said.

A similar earlier message from DELWP went to Robert Walker, executive director of the Australian Music Association. DELWP’s then executive director of policy and planning, Georgie Foster, noted the association’s concern about the availability of timber for guitar making after the industry was closed in 2030.

“The cessation is focussed on large scale commercial timber harvesting. The supply of specialist timber is managed through a forest produce licence system which supports smaller scale, selective utilisation of forest produce,” she said. Ms Foster also emphasised support for using high value add specialty timbers.

Mr Kidman selectively harvests about half a hectare of forest, under supervision by VicForests, to produce about 60 cubic metres of Blackwood timber.

The timber is used to produce material for more than 6000 guitars from local and international luthiers. Australian musicians using these guitars include Paul Kelly, Archie Roach, John Butler, Shane Howard and John Williamson.

The Government’s ruling also applies to Arbuthnot Sawmills, founded in 1889 at Koondrook on the Murray River. Arbuthnot processes specialty timbers–about

NEWS

Mr James Kidman, whose company Otway Tonewoods, harvests Blackwood timber for the manufacture of guitars.

7000-8000 cubic metres of high-quality red gum sourced from state forests in both New South Wales and Victoria.

About 30 per cent of this from Victoria. The mill also has a thinning licence for firewood, which is sold in Melbourne.

About 85 per cent of the red gum forests in both states are

locked up in national parks and reserves, with the remaining 15 per cent on both sides of the river managed sustainably. There is only enough quota grade quality timber for one main sawmill operation.

Arbuthnot is licensed in Victoria to process timber until

June 30, 2024 from what is regarded as a ‘community forest’ – selective operations on a smaller scale than those in the state’s east – that largely supply local markets.

Information on other customers of specialty timbers is commercial in confidence.

BeA delivers high quality and performance tools and fasteners that simply work.

BeA staplers and automatic nailers are handy, robust, and work reliably even in multi-shift operation, in factories or on construction sites and many other operational areas.

P: W: E:

1300 232 287 www.bea-group.com sales-au@bea-group.com

www.timberbiz.com.au

AUSTRALASIAN TIMBER June 2022

13

NEWS New design centre director New Zealand’s Timber Design Centre has appointed Dr Robert Finch as its director.

Dr Finch was formerly director of the Quake Centre, hosted at the University of Canterbury. Prior to this, he was the chief executive for the Structural Timber Innovation Company.

The Timber Design Centre was launched in March 2022 to provide expert advice, research, information and educational resources for key stakeholders involved in building design and construction.

The Centre is an initiative between Te Uru Rākau – New Zealand Forest Service and a consortium comprising Scion (Crown Research Institute), the Wood Processors and Manufacturers Association (WPMA), New Zealand Timber Design Society and BRANZ.

Promoting timber An agreement to create an industry advisory service for building designers will promote and facilitate greater use of timber in New Zealand buildings, says Te Uru Rākau – New Zealand Forest Service deputy director general Jason Wilson.

“This advisory service, called the Timber Design Centre, is a milestone for increasing the use of timber in the design and construction of building projects, particularly in non-residential structures such as offices, hotels and multi-storey apartments.”

The Centre is an initiative between Te Uru Rākau – New Zealand Forest Service and a consortium comprising Scion (Crown Research Institute), the Wood Processors and Manufacturers Association, New Zealand Timber Design Society and BRANZ.

Stanton Award Responsible Wood is calling for nominations in this year’s coveted Richard Stanton Memorial Award for Excellence in Forest Management or Chain of Custody.

Nominations for the award close at 5pm (AEST) Friday September 2 2022. Nominations can be forwarded to: Responsible Wood, PO Box 786, New Farm, Qld 4005.

Email sdorries@responsiblewood.org.au 14

Leitz Powerpack –

Performance improving machining processes and technologies for woodworking

L

EITZ market leading

tooling solutions make production processes faster, more flexible and costeffective, while maintaining the best machining quality.

The following tool and technology modules within our service package can be individually combined for optimum results tailored for specific requirements, depending on your project goals.

Profile processing ranges from simple profiles, such as chamfers or radii, to a wide variety of decorative profiles and highly complex connecting profiles, such as fingerjoint, tongue and groove or counter profiles.

The Leitz ProfilCut Q and HeliCut Systems provide shortened machining times, long tool life and minimise set-up and handling times.

The Leitz range of shank tools provide efficient, reliable and adaptable systems from our spiral marathon roughing and finishing routers, to ProfilCut Q and ProfilCut Q Premium profiling systems.

Leitz has set the industry benchmark in boring with our high-performance Marathon drills, providing depths up to 80mm. Leitz’s range of spiral boring bits are especially designed for joinery systems, ensuring that exacting holes can be produced cleanly and quickly with 50% faster feed rate.

HIGH PERFORMANCE COATING The Leitz Marathon highperformance coating for profiled cutters, routers and drills extends the tool life by at least 30 percent and ensures a consistently excellent cutting quality; saving resources, money and time.

Marathon coating comes standard for all ProfilCut Q tools.

RIPTEC In the end grain machining and pre-cutting during planning with Leitz RipTec pre-cutting reduces the reject rate to almost zero, providing the optimum surface finish.

This technology significantly increases the feed rate and decisively improves the productivity of every system.

Compared to smooth profiling, the small glue lines created by the corrugated profile provide increased joint tightness and considerably more stable corner joints.

INTEGRAL TECHNOLOGY Integral technology is the combination of a RipTec cutting edge for pre-cutting and a finishing cutting edge in one tool. The unique feature is the specialized arrangement of both knives: the finish knife, positioned directly behind the pre-cutting knife, takes on the role of finish processing. This optimum division of work extends the tool life of the finish cutting edges by 20 to 30 percent.

HIGH SPEED CUTTING Leitz provides the fastest profile tool system in the industry with ProfilCut Q Premium. It is the ultimate solution for companies wanting AUSTRALASIAN TIMBER June 2022

to get more out of their production with cutting speeds of up to 120m/s. In addition, ShrinkFit clamping technology overcomes the limits of conventional tool clamping.

The tool is connected to the shrink clamping arbor or the ThermoGrip shrink chuck as if they were cast in one piece, allowing for maximum speeds, longer tool life and precise cuts.

HYBRID TECHNOLOGY Leitz hybrid technology combines two cutting materials and reduces costs significantly when machining composites, glue joints and abrasive coatings. This is achieved through the combination of carbide tool systems with diamond cutting edges.

The diamond cutting edge acts as a protective edge for the carbide blade, extend-

ing the tool life and providing consistently high quality.

A reduction in rework and scrap rates and reduced setup times further reduce production costs.

SMART TOOLS FOR DEFINITE TOOL RECOGNITION A serial number that can be read automatically via RFID transponders or Data Matrix codes allows each individual tool to be identified. This definite serial number is the key to tool-specific information and additional tool management functions.

Integrated memory chips contain important geometrical and technological data such as length, diameter, speed and direction of rotation of the tools. The data is loaded automatically, reducing errors that can be caused by manual input. www.timberbiz.com.au

ASSOCIATIONS

Board finally gets together for first time since 2020 A

T the time of writing this we are a few weeks out from our 2022 FTMA National Conference, which is our first weekend retreat, at RACV Royal Pines on the Gold Coast.

Last week, as we made our final preparations, the FTMA Australia board flew into Queensland and toured fellow board member, Aaron Hillman’s business, Trusscorp, who had just won TABMA’s 2022 Award for Best QLD F&T Plant.

This was the first time the board has been together face to face since February 2020 and I can’t believe how good it was to be together.

To network at Top Golf with members, to attend the TABMA Awards and to just laugh again with people and talk about everyday stuff, without COVID ruling our lives was absolutely brilliant.

It was also a great opportunity to give the FTMA Board their Carbon Warrior t-shirts to wear at the FTMA National Conference. It was fantastic seeing the response from total strangers, who often asked what it meant, which gave us the opportunity of explaining that timber stores carbon for life.

I’d like to congratulate Alicia Oelkers and her QLD team for the TABMA Queensland Timber Awards which they held on election night, 21st May. This is the 2nd event, following their successful National Conference held in June

KERSTEN GENTLE Executive Officer FTMA Australia

“We support you!”

2021, which gives me some reassurance for our events.

A huge congratulations to all the winners on the night.

I can only imagine how good it will be with 200 delegates on the Gold Coast. I’ll share photos next edition.

FTMA’S INSPIRATIONAL BOOK OF THE YEAR! For the past few years, FTMA has given our members an ‘inspirational’ book to help guide them through the tough times. Not everyone is into the self-help books, but we have been pleased with the feedback, that there is enough of you that do, so we are going to continue.

The first was Who Moved My Cheese which focussed on surviving change and let’s face is in July 2020, we all needed help with that. In 2021, it was Fish! Which focused on helping the team come together and enjoy being at work, and after lockdowns and so much disruption in our lives, we thought it what we needed.

The book chosen for 2022 is called Stress Teflon by Luke

Mathers, who just so happens to be our guest speaker at our National Conference. I received the boxes of books a few weeks away and read the book on my recent trip to QLD. If there way ever a time to learn some tips on reducing stress and living a less stressed life, it’s now and I loved the booked. It was a bit hard getting in to as it was all about our ‘old brain’ and our ‘new brain’, but by the end of the book, which is another short read, I was sold. I’ve since implemented a few of the techniques to help me get through these next few stressful weeks in the lead up to the conference and I’m stoked I read it and can’t wait to see Luke in action at the conference.

FTMA FAMILY GROWS FTMA is delighted to welcome our latest Bronze Sponsors, McCormacks Australia and Bliss & Reels. Both businesses have been long time members of the Association with Phil having served on the FTMA Board for over a decade.

We look forward to both our new Bronze Sponsors setting up at the National Conference in our Trade Exhibit.

We would also like to welcome our new members, Coral Coast Homes (WA), Trussmasters (QLD & NSW) and East Coast Frames & Trusses (QLD).

FRAME & TRUSS MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA

FTMA Australia is an independent, national organisation representing fabricators of and suppliers to the timber prefabricated truss and wall frame industry in all Australian states & territories providing a unified voice, to protect and advance our multi-billion dollar industry.

FTMA Australia thanks our dedicated supporters and encourages you to support those who support your industry GOLD SPONSORS

SILVER SPONSORS

BRONZE SPONSORS

For a full list of the conditions of membership and a downloadable

• FTMA Board full of Carbon Warriors: Mark Hull, Brendan Schneider,

Andrew Nguyen, Aaron Hillman, Nikita Bourke, Christine Flanagan, Jamie Dahlsen and Kersten Gentle www.timberbiz.com.au

AUSTRALASIAN TIMBER June 2022

application form visit: www.ftmanews.com.au 15

ASSOCIATIONS

Employing staff with a disability Construction appears unreachable to someone in a wheelchair since it entails scaling ladders and working in restricted places. However, this is not always the case.

In 2018, approximately 1,130,200 persons worked in the construction business, with just 91,600 disabled.

Current statistics do not provide a more detailed picture of employment, but keep in mind that disability is not black and white. This figure would include sensory, intellectual, mental, and physical disability.

The fact that persons with disabilities are underrepresented in the Australian construction sector shows space for improvement.

Although an employee with a handicap is not required to inform their employer of their impairment, if they do, they are protected by the Disability Discrimination Act of 1992.

This is because it makes it illegal for an employer to treat them less favorably than other employees for any reason related to their impairment unless such conduct is justified.

It’s also important to note that if an employer isn’t aware of a handicap, they won’t be able to make reasonable changes to guarantee disabled workers aren’t significantly disadvantaged while doing their duties.

Plan management is a disability service the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) finances. Plan management’s overall role is to help and support NDIS participants in managing their NDIS plan funds.

Participants can also get assistance from NDIS plan management providers on effectively using their NDIS funds, which can help them increase their financial knowledge and ability.

Australian Disability Enterprises, or ADEs, is one of several job options for persons with moderate to high assistance requirements. Some individuals will have job support requirements, which means they will require a little extra assistance on the job to engage fully. https://myintegra.com.au/ plan-management/ 16

Keeping appropriate time records M

•

GA TMA has been

communicating with members about their requirements to comply with record-keeping obligations provided in the Fair Work Regulations 2009 and in any applicable modern award or enterprise agreement.

WHAT ARE TIME RECORDKEEPING OBLIGATIONS UNDER THE REGULATIONS? Overtime Where an employee is entitled to receive a penalty rate, loading or overtime pay in respect of overtime hours worked by the employee, employers are required to make and keep records specifying the number of overtime hours worked on each day and the time that the employee started and ceased working those overtime hours.

Overtime hours are those hours of work that are not ordinary hours of work. You should refer to the applicable modern award or enterprise agreement to determine what hours are considered overtime work hours.

Examples of record-keeping that satisfies these obligations in the Regulations include: • Making and maintaining records of rosters that state the specific number of overtime hours worked each shift, including the start and finish times that the overtime hours were worked; • Requiring employees to complete timesheets

•

•

that specify the specific number of overtime hours worked each shift, including the start and finish times that the overtime hours were worked, then keeping these timesheets as a record; and Maintaining a logbook of each employee’s hours of work which notes the specific number of overtime hours worked each shift, including the start and finish times that the overtime hours were worked.

AVERAGING OF HOURS For particular full-time and casual employees covered by the General Retail Industry Award (the GRIA), provisions in respect of averaging of hours can be applied. If an employer and an employee covered by the GRIA agree in writing to an averaging of the employee’s hours of work, the employer is required to make and keep a copy of this agreement.

Please note that provisions in respect of averaging of hours do not apply for employees covered by the Timber Industry Award.

Payslips All employees must be provided with a payslip within one working day of paying an amount to the employee in

AUSTRALASIAN TIMBER June 2022

relation to the performance of work. Amongst other things, payslips must specify any separately identifiable amount paid to the employee that is overtime pay, a loading or penalty rate. This means that you must be able to identify and record overtime hours, ordinary hours, or hours attracting penalty rates in order to note in payslips any amounts payable in respect of overtime pay, loading or penalty rate.

HOW LONG SHOULD TIME RECORDS BE KEPT? Employee records in respect of each employee, as noted in the Regulations, must be kept for at least 7 years.

WHAT ARE TIME RECORDKEEPING OBLIGATIONS UNDER THE GRIA? Under the GRIA, there are certain agreements between a member and an employee that must be kept as a time record. These agreements are as follows: • • • •

Individual flexibility arrangements; Length of work cycle (full-time employees only); Number of days in the work cycle (full-time employees only); Maximum length of shifts (full-time employees only);

• • • • • • •

Substituting rostered days off (full-time employees only); Banking rostered day off (full-time employees only); Minimum consecutive days off; Regular work on Sundays; Breaks between work periods on consecutive days; Substitution of public holiday shift (shift workers only); Annual leave in advance; Substitution of public holidays; and Agreement to increase guaranteed hours of work (part-time employees only).

ARE THERE CONSEQUENCES CONTRAVENING RECORDKEEPING OBLIGATIONS? Employers who do not comply with their record-keeping and payslip obligations are in breach of the Fair Work Act 2009, Regulations, and the relevant modern award or enterprise agreement. If a breach is established, civil penalties may apply.

If you require further advice in respect of record keeping, please contact the MGA TMA Employment Law Team on 1800 888 479.

If you are interested in learning about the benefits of MGA TMA membership, please contact us on (03) 9824 4111 to discuss.

www.timberbiz.com.au

ASSOCIATIONS

Mixing and matching needs care S

PETER LLEWELLYN Technical representative, Timber Veneer Association of Australia PE CIF YING timber veneers

needs care to ensure a satisfactory outcome.

Veneers are held in the supplier’s store in the form of a ‘flitch’ or bundle, ie. all the veneers sliced from the original log are kept together to ensure consistency of colour and grain.

Veneers from another log will not necessarily have the same appearance, even though they might be the same species.

Specifiers sometimes become unstuck when they call up wall panels made with veneers from one log, but items set into the wall, such as doors and cupboards, are supplied from a different log.

This doesn’t apply to reconstructed or reconstituted veneers, which do not have the same variability as natu-

ral veneers, but is an important point when specifying natural veneer.

To help specifiers achieve a satisfactory outcome, the Timber Veneer Association has put together the following list of 11 steps to be addressed in writing a specification for a veneer panelled wall.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

Name the veneer species Define the cut, eg. crown cut, quarter cut etc.

Nominate the veneer supplier and contact details Identify the log or batch number from the supplier Describe the type of matching, eg. book match, random match etc.

State whether sequence matching is required (not applicable to recon veneer) Nominate direction of grain ie. vertical (‘long band’) or horizontal (‘cross band’) Select the substrate eg. MDF, particleboard or plywood Specify the edging – solid wood or veneer

10. Name the polish type and gloss level, and whether rain filling is required 11. Request the contractor to supply indicative finished samples before production Sequence matching refers to the possibility of showing a ‘grain pro-

gression’ as the eye moves from panel to panel. These factors are explained in more detail in the Timber Veneer Association’s booklet titled “Veneer”.

Copies can be downloaded from the TVAA website, or hard copies can be mailed out free of charge on request to info@timberveneer.asn.au.

Supporting industry to adjust to changing job requirements Snowy Valley Skills Development Service (SVSDS) is jointly funded by the Commonwealth and the New South Wales Government under the Bushfire Local Economic Recovery Fund. The project will assist Snowy Valley forest and timber workers adjust to changing job requirements brought about by the bushfires.

Snowy Valley forest and timber industry workers and their employers can access support.

For more information Email svsds@forestworks.com.au or call Local Area Coordinator Chris Carmody on 1800 177 001 forestworks.com.au/services/svsds

Beautiful. Natural. Sustainable. Australian.

You can be assured that wood carrying the Responsible Wood mark has come from certified Australian forests that are sustainably managed to the highest global standards.

The Flinders Residence, Victoria Entrant of the 2021 Australian Timber Design, Australian Certified Timber Category

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AUSTRALASIAN TIMBER June 2022

responsiblewood.org.au 17

ASSOCIATIONS australasian

Looking back 2019 AUSTRALIAN Paper and its partner SUEZ are moving to the development phase of their $600 million energyfrom-waste plant after a twoyear detailed study backed the project at AP’s Latrobe Valley paper mill. The $7.5 million Energy from Waste feasibility study, co-funded by the Victorian and Australian governments, confirmed that the plant would be socially, economically, environmentally and commercially viable.

2016 MAKING a real entrance by building something different is exactly the effect Supaslat MAXI BEAM light weight beams have achieved in the entrance lobby at 157 Walker Street in North Sydney NSW. The brief for upgrading this 1970’s multi-storey building required carefully considered amendments to the building fabric to bring it into the now and ensure its endurance indefinitely. The designers, Welsh + Major Architects, therefore decided to give the façade and common areas exciting new dynamics.

Their imaginative concept for the new entrance lobby involved using an economical chunky light weight timber beam product, which could be fabricated into contoured blades and installed in such a way that they appear to be floating across the ceiling

2011 THERE has been a swing in recent times to finger jointed pine mouldings rather than MDF mouldings, according to one of Victoria’s main suppliers of specialist mouldings.

Period Timber Mouldings (Aust) Pty Ltd, based in Laverton North, has been in the game since 1990 when Weinig machinery was initially used to turn out its early range.

PTM opted, some years ago for a different approach.

Due to large production runs of moulding profiles, all its mouldings are produced alongside sawmills to allow a cost effective means of manufacturing with the raw material being available at the sawmills.

18

Removing the $450 per month threshold for super guarantee eligibility

BRIAN BEECROFT CEO, TTIA

T

HE Australian Government announced it will remove the $450 per month threshold to expand coverage of super guarantee to eligible employees regardless of their monthly pay.

The change is now law by the Treasury Laws Amendment (Enhancing Superannuation Outcomes For Australians and Helping Australian Businesses Invest) Act 2021 with royal assent on 22 February 2022.

From 1 July 2022, employers will be required to make super guarantee contributions to their eligible employee’s super fund regardless of how much the employee is paid.

Employees must still satisfy other super guarantee eligibility requirements.

For instance, the rules for workers under the age of 18 will remain generally the same. They will still only be eligible for SG contributions if they work more than 30 hours per week.

The ATO will work with digital service providers in updating their payroll and accounting software to be ready for this change.

Employers will need to check that their payroll and accounting systems have been updated for super payments made after 1 July 2022 to ensure they correctly calculate their employees’ super guarantee entitlements.

The change will expand the coverage of SG to eligible employees regardless of their monthly pay.

The ATO have advised that

they will update their advice and guidance, including online tools and calculators, on 1 July 2022 to account for this change.

It’s an opportune time to remind timber industry employers that our Federal Timber Industry Award does have some idiosyncrasies in relation to superannuation when an employee is absent due to workers compensation.

In particular, Clause 25.5 Absence from work.

Subject to the governing rules of the relevant superannuation fund, the employer must also make the superannuation contributions provided for in clause 25.2 and pay the amount authorised under clauses 25.3(a) or 25.3(b): (a) Paid leave—while the employee is on any paid leave; (b) Work-related injury or illness—for the period of absence from work (subject to a maximum of 52 weeks) of the employee due to work-related injury or workrelated illness provided that: (i) the employee is receiving workers’ compensation payments or is receiving regular payments directly from the employer in accordance with the statutory requirements; and (ii) the employee remains employed by the employer.

Employers with any queries in relation to how superannuation interacts with our award and/or your employees’ entitlements are invited AUSTRALASIAN TIMBER June 2022

to contact the TTIA National Timber Hotline on (02) 9264 0011.

Readers will be aware that the Fair Work Amendment (Supporting Australia’s Jobs and Economic Recovery) Bill 2021 was passed by the Australian Parliament last year.

These amendments to the Fair Work Act (the Act) commenced on 27 March 2021.

In accordance with these amendments, the Fair Work Ombudsman (‘FWO’) has prepared and published a Casual Employment Information Statement (‘CEIS’).

Employers must provide the gazetted CEIS to both existing and new casual employees.

The FWO also updated the Fair Work Information Statement (‘FWIS’) to reflect these amendments to the Act. For clarity, new casual employees must be provided with both the CEIS and FWIS. CASUAL EMPLOYMENT INFORMATION STATEMENT Employers must provide a copy of the CEIS to: • new casual employees before or as soon as possible after commencing casual employment with the employer; • existing casual employees (small business employers*) as soon as possible after 27 March 2021; • existing casual employees (other employers) as soon as possible after 27 September 2021.

• Fewer than 15 employees

•

• • •

•

•

A copy of the CEIS can be given to a casual employee either in person, by email or post.

The CEIS contains information including: The statutory definition of a casual employee; Right to casual conversion for employees in small businesses and other businesses; Casual conversion requirements including rules about offers and requests for casual conversion; and Dispute resolution methods.

FAIR WORK INFORMATION STATEMENT Employers must provide a copy of the updated FWIS to all new employees before or as soon as possible after commencing their employment.

The updated version of the FWIS reflects the recent amendments to the Act by: • referring to the employer obligation to provide the CEIS to new casual employees upon commencement of employment; and • including a ‘casual conversion’ section in the National Employment Standards summary.

If you have any questions or require a copy of the Information Statements, please contact TTIA on 02 9264 0011 and one of our staff can assist you. www.timberbiz.com.au

Sell your used equipment, advertise your tender, offer your real estate or find your next employee.

For rates and deadlines call Gavin de Almeida on (08) 8369 9517 or email: g.dealmeida@ryanmediapl.com.au

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The Stacker is the per fect solution to continuously stack timber into packs all day long without any super vision. This machine is ideally suited to any moulding, f inger jointing or docking line and will improve productivity and safety. The automated Stacker is a robust, reliable, economical and user friendly solution to stacking timber.

The Vacuum Lif ter can be used to unload and load timber one piece, or a layer, at a time. When unloading a f illet sweeper can be incorporated to automatically clear the f illet s in between the layers.

The vacuum lif ter is an ex tremely versatile piece of equipment that is a must for any high speed, heav y lif ting, long piece, or repetitive applications.

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MPBENGINEERING.COM.AU 19 AUSTRALASIAN TIMBER June 2022