FEBRUARY 2022
MANUFACTURE • TECHNOLOGY • DESIGN • CONSTRUCTION
'Re-built' timber home inspired by nature TASMANIA INVESTING IN HIGHER RETURNS FROM TIMBER
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Tasmania investing in higher returns from its forestry T HE Tasmanian Govern-
ment is investing in its $1.2 billion timber and forestry industry to gain higher returns by increasing value-added production and supporting more jobs in regional Tasmania. Seven projects around Tasmania will share in a $6 million investment through the State Government’s Forestry On-Island Processing Program to help the sector turn existing wood supplies, as well as wood residues, into higher-value products. This injection of funds will lead to a direct $23 million investment in modern processing and production processes in facilities located around the State, from Smithton to Bell Bay to Glenorchy. “This important program recognises and supports Tasmanian businesses to continue to transform and develop into world leading producers of the world’s most sustainable and carbon friendly building product, wood,” Tasmanian Forest Products Association CEO Nick Steel said. Resources Minister Guy Barnett said that the successful projects would add value to the current timber harvest, better utilise wood waste, help insulate the industry from international commodity markets, reduce the need for imported wood products and support the construction industry locally. “It will also help secure scores of jobs across Tasmania and lead to at least 30 new direct and indirect posi-
tions,” he said. The projects receiving funding include upgrades to processing facilities that will see more value coming from Tasmanian’s renewable forest supply by converting lowgrade plantation timber into high value boards and also construction of wall and roof trusses to be sold across Tasmania and Australia. The program is also helping to improve timber recovery processes that will see more local wood replacing imported timber, increased output of treated pine products and an expansion of the amount of sawn timber and by-products generated from lower grade logs. The successful projects are: Timberlink Australia Pty Ltd - $1,063,304 to create a finger-jointing and priming line to convert low-grade and short length plantation pine into high value boards, fascia and posts, CMTP Pty Ltd - $2,500,000 to upgrade their Branxholm Sawmill facility to a world class standard, significantly increasing processing volumes of sawn log at increased lengths, with an improvement in timber recovery. The additional sawn timber volumes will replace imported timber, McKay Investments Pty Ltd - $1,049,235 to upgrade truss plant facilities for the manufacture of wall and roof trusses and install an upgraded finger jointing and laminating plant, Britton Brothers Pty Ltd
NEWS
• Timberlink’s Tasmanian operations at Bell Bay have received $1,063,304 to create a
finger-jointing and priming line to convert low-grade and short length plantation pine into high value boards, fascia and posts. - $689,000 towards a specialised timber recovery line that will join short lengths of timber into useable long sections, GL & VN Barber Pty Ltd $250,000 to upgrade the existing kiln drying facility and install timber moulding capa-
bility to produce sawn timber and by-products from lower grade logs, Koppers Wood Products - $250,000 to upgrade their Longford pine processing facility to reduce waste and significantly increase the efficiency and output of treated pine
post-production processing, Bakes Sawmill Pty Ltd $147,668 for the purchase, installation and commissioning of wood treatment equipment to produce treated timber for a range of products - adding value to what is currently chipped residue wood.
Norske Skog chief to head FWPA
F
ORMER Norske Skog Australasia managing director Andrew Leighton is Forest and Wood Products Australia’s new chief executive officer. He replaces Ric Sinclair who retired as managing director late last year after 13 years in the role. Mr Leighton started in his new role on February 1. Mr Leighton has spent seven years as managing director of Norske Skog Australasia, time as Vice-Chair of the Australian Forest Products Association and a diversity of other positions that relate to the many areas in which FWPA is active. “I see huge potential for increasing the applications for, and use of, forest and wood products as the world adapts to a carbon-constrained econwww.timberbiz.com.au
omy,” said Mr Leighton. “I have a l o n g sta n d i n g passion for the forest products industry and a strong belief in its ability to play an important part in supporting environmental sustainability and driving the bioeconomy. “As an observer I have been impressed with the range and quality of FWPA’s achievements throughout the supply chain and I look forward to building on that solid foundation.” AUSTRALASIAN TIMBER February 2022
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NEWS
australasian
FEBRUARY 2022 Issue 1 – Volume 30
Incorporating Australian and New Zealand Timberman. Established 1977.
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News Australian Timber Design Awards Veneers Flooring Associations
5 8 14 15-18
Record high for detached homes in September House vs ‘Other’ New Dwelling Commencements - Australia Source: ABS 8752 Qtr
FRONT Cover: The interior of the Timber Design Award-winning Royd Clan's House near Geelong in Victoria. 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: Jarren Gallway Luke Fernandez Publication Design: Jarren Gallway 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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The opinions expressed in Australasian Timber Magazine are not necessarily the opinions of or endorsed by the editor or publisher unless otherwise stated. All articles submitted for publication become the property of the publisher. All material in Australasian Timber Magazine copyright 2022 © Ryan Media. All rights reserved. No part may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means (graphic, electronic, or mechanical including information and retrieval systems) without written permission of the publisher. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information, the publisher will not accept responsibility for errors or omissions, or for any consequences arising from reliance on information published.
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OCKDOWNS in Sydney and Melbourne resulted in a sharp contraction in new detached home starts in the September quarter, with a 16.5 per cent contraction compared to the record high of the previous quarter. “The decline in new home commencements in the September quarter was not a reflection of a slowing market, with other indicators, such as building approvals, showing a continued strong pipeline,” HIA Economist Tom Devitt said. “There were almost 36,000 new house commencements in the September quarter. Despite the decline, this is still stronger than any quarter before the mid-2020 introduction of the HomeBuilder grant. “This puts detached house commencements over the last 12 months at 149,345, a new record high and 12.8 per
cent above the pre-HomeBuilder record of 132,377 in 1988/89,” he said. There were also more than 20,500 new multi-unit commencements in the September quarter. This was down by 15.8 per cent on the previous quarter. “Despite this September quarter contraction, multiunit commencements were also still up by 11.7 per cent for the year,” Mr Devitt said. “The current boom is expected to continue support-
ing strong levels of employment into 2023, aided further by record low interest rates and the pandemic pushing households towards lower density living. “Strong employment conditions, rising house prices and consumer confidence are also continuing to support housing demand,” he said. “The constraint on home building is not demand but the availability of land, labour and materials. The shortage of labour and materials has led to construction timeframes increasing significantly. Under normal circumstances, the surge of HomeBuilder projects would have translated into an increase in completions from the June 2021 quarter. However, completions have been slower to respond. As a result, the volume of approved-but-not-yet-commenced work is at its highest level in over a decade.”
All states and territories saw declines in the September 2021 quarter in new house commencements, led by the Northern Territory (-65.5 per cent), Western Australia (-28.0 per cent), Queensland (-24.6 per cent), Tasmania (-24.2 per cent), the Australian Capital Territory (-11.9 per cent), and New South Wales (-11.3 per cent), Victoria (-11.0 per cent) and South Australia (-8.6 per cent). A few states saw increases in multi-unit commencements in the quarter, led by Tasmania (+240.4 per cent), Western Australia (+37.2 per cent) and Victoria (+17.0 per cent). The other jurisdictions saw declines, led by the Northern Territory (-46.7 per cent), the Australian Capital Territory (-42.4 per cent), Queensland (-35.2 per cent), South Australia (-33.4 per cent) and New South Wales (-32.6 per cent).
Timber shortage pain goes deeper than bushfires
T
HE problem of timber
shortages just won’t go away. In a recent information brochure, Tasmania’s Consumer, Building and Occupational Services Department of Justice explained that: ‘Some of the shortages have … been attributed to the 2019/20 bushfires which destroyed tens of thousands of hectares of softwood plantation…’ But of course it goes further than that. As the Australian Timber Flooring Association CEO
australasian
Randy Flierman points out, New Zealand mill closures, COVID, international factory fires, extreme weather conditions, shipping shortages and high container charges all come in to play. Most of that is understandable, but it’s the shipping situation that may be, to some, puzzling. But it’s quite simple. As Mr
Flierman writes, it’s something of a domino situation. He writes that COVID meant many shipping companies downsized or sent vessels off to dry dock for maintenance which created a bottleneck. Then containers on a ship became a commodity increasing prices, wharf charges doubled in many countries, loading costs rose due to labour shortages and shipping insurances increased. According to the Capital Training Institute, building material shortages have
AUSTRALASIAN TIMBER February 2022
caused supply chain delays of approximately 22-26 weeks for some products. As a result, anyone looking to build a new home is facing a construction backlog that will likely last 12-18 months. Until then, state departments are recommending that homeowners and builders discuss and potentially change contract details. That way, building projects can still be achievable in the middle of this shortage. There is, it must be feared, still a lot of pain to be endured. www.timberbiz.com.au
AUSTRALIAN TIMBER DESIGN AWARDS
‘Radical’ re-built timber home inspired by nature
Australian Certified Timber Category – Winner Entrant: Royd Clan House Architect: Level Architekture Engineer: Vistek Structural Engineers Photographers: Nadine Samaha Interior Fitout – Residential Category – Winner Entrant: Divided House Architect: Jackson Clemens Burrows Architects Photographers: John Gollings Photography
A
N award-winning architect inspired by nature has used crosslaminated timber and glulam in a Victorian re-build project that blends with its surrounding rocky landscape. From the remnants of an old property outside Geelong, Melbourne-based Level Architekture, together with Vistek Structural Engineers, Responsible Wood-certified Hyne Timber and XLam, ticked all the boxes on the client’s brief for Royd Clan’s House – durable structure, environmental integrity, and the ability to sequester carbon. Indeed Royd Clan House was a worthy winner of the coveted Australian Certified Timber category for 2021, supported by Responsible Wood, Australia’s largest forest certification scheme. Level Architekture’s Nadine Samaha – the recipient of many design prizes including the Australian Timber Design Award sponsored by Responsible Wood – had a clear vision: to create a structure that emulated the surrounding boulders while fragmenting the house into pavilion clusters to reduce wind turbulence. “Scattered stones from www.timberbiz.com.au
the remains of the previous house were brought into the existing structure to support the internal stairs,” Nadine said. On the client’s concept approval, Nadine contacted Robert Mansell, XLam’s business development manager. CLT was specified for the floor and roof diaphragm and inclined walls of each pavilion (to create a shear wall perpendicular to the portal frames) and glulam portal frames were arranged as one of the primary axes of each pavilion. Responsible Wood-certified XLam was able to assist with material assessment, logistical considerations, and structural analysis to capture the architect’s vision. “Working with Hyne, XLam and Vistek was a decisive move in delivering that vision,” Nadine said. “We enjoyed a great working partnership.” At the start of the project, Robbie Svars, General Manager of Vistek remarked: “From the outset, it was evident that the project was going to be challenging. The structural design would need to achieve a complex geometric intent whilst also providing a robust structural
system addressing vertical loads, lateral stability, deflections, vibrations, and constructability. But we saw this as the perfect showcase to demonstrate how mass timber systems can create structures that would not be achievable using conventional construction methods.” The central living pavilion was a distinct challenge with long spans, large voids, and a butterfly roof. The Vistek team was up for the challenge, knuckling down to come up with innovative solutions that resulted in a showcase of timber and a fusion of structure and architecture. Once the general schematic arrangement was determined, Visek worked with Hyne and XLam to make sure the member/panel sizes and connection detailing were achievable with its standard manufacturing capabilities. Nadine explained the challenging structural demands. “The dialogue was focused more on the connections, the thickness of the timber elements, and how they would work with other materials,” she said. “Due to transport logistics, the CLT panel lengths and widths were given spe-
cial consideration, with no change to the architectural design.” A recurring theme in the success of the project was the importance of DfMA (Design for Manufacture and Assembly). The culmination of this collaborative building methodology became highly visible on-site with the arrival of three trucks of GLT from Hyne and six trucks of CLT panels from XLam. In total, there were 15 lifting days for GLT erection and 10 lifting days for CLT. The total volumes of certified pine plantation timber in the project included 40m3of glulam and 180 m3of CLT, which, Robert Mansell says, will be re-grown in Australian softwood plantations
AUSTRALASIAN TIMBER February 2022
in just 17 minutes! “To the untrained eye it may not look like this project applies many DfMA principles, but it certainly does,” Robert said. “The key to the project was the tightly-knit, early collaboration among all stakeholders on the design, shop drawings, and manufacturing phases,” Robbie Svars added. On working with engineered timber, Nadine remarked: “Timber is a beautiful material to work with, particularly when it comes from a renewable resource. It’s a live material that reconnects with nature, while CLT’s insulation and thermal mass index properties add value to any structure.” 5
ENGINEERED WOOD
The benefits of designing with mass timber CLAIRE BENNETT
M
ASS timber has become well known as a construction material for commercial buildings but is now piquing interest as a building material in residential projects – and for good reason. Despite the significant benefits of storing carbon, offsetting carbon-intensive materials and being a natural renewable product, mass timber has a whole host of other benefits that are hard to overlook for the built environment – for both commercial and residential projects. One of the major advantages of using mass timber building solutions is the ability to build the timber structure with speed and absolute precision. Mass timber elements are manufactured off-site to defined tolerances at the highest quality with all service penetrations and detail being able to be pre-cut in the factory. By optimising the design in this way, buildings can be manufactured with maximum efficiency. The resulting building is constructed with speed and minimal waste (of time or materials). This saves enormous time (and money) on the construction site. A residential house could theoretically be to lock-up in just two days. This is an enormous cost saving for the homeowner who not only pays less for trades but can be living in the space sooner.
MINIMAL WASTE AND MAXIMUM RECOVERY A well-designed building,
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designed for manufacture, will achieve its purpose with the least amount of waste possible. The efficiency of manufacturing in a factory at millimetre precision ensures minimal waste less cost to both the client and the environment. In addition, the very nature of glue and cross laminating means that smaller pieces of wood, that would traditionally have been waste, can now be turned into a high-value product. The leaner structures made possible by using plantation hardwood, mean more usable area inside the building for the same footprint.
This means more space for living and a higher value property. Our mass timber floor structures are far leaner than other species, with similar strength properties. WELLNESS Buildings made of solid timber have positive effects on health. According to Planet Ark, wood has significant physiological and psychological benefits, including improvements to a person’s emotional state and level of self-expression; reduced blood pressure, heart rate and stress levels; and improved air quality through humidity moderation. According to Bently & Baker (2020), our homes impact on our health is so substantial that “housing should be embedded in our National
Preventative Health Strategy”. Household mould, noise, cold and damp, amongst other things, are key factors identified as contributing to poor health outcomes. Choosing permeable building fabrics such as timber, allows water vapour to passively flow into and out of buildings, reducing condensation. For this reason, wood contributes to a pleasant room climate with improvements in comfort and air quality. Using mass timber can improve the energy efficiency of the home, resulting in substantial cost savings for the client over the life of the property. RECYCLABLE AT THE END OF ITS TENURE Mass Timber can be recycled in a whole lifecycle approach and reused in alternative projects in the future – keeping the stored carbon out of the atmosphere indefinitely. The key to obtaining the numerous benefits of mass timber in either a commercial or residential setting is to engage with a mass timber engineer early in the design process. Their expertise will ensure that all aspects of the design can be considered and optimised at the beginning to maximise cost savings and the constructability of the project.
AUSTRALASIAN TIMBER February 2022
BRIEFS REDUCING THE FOOTPRINT Bowens, a fourthgeneration, family-owned Australian business and market leader in supplying timber and building supplies in Australia, is investing over more than $1.2M to reduce their carbon footprint with newly installed Power Factor Correction Units and Solar Modules across their operations. The mammoth project at Timbertruss includes 1386 Trina Solar Modules in an almost $1 million investment in a cleaner energy future for Bowens and their subsidiaries. HUB AWARDED The architect of Scion’s new Innovation hub in Rotorua, Te Whare Nui o Tuteata, RTA Studio + Irving Smith has been awarded the Best Use of Certified Timber supported by PEFC at the World Architecture Festival. Scion’s Innovation hub, Te Whare Nui o Tuteata, has won 14 domestic and international awards in 2021 making it an international timber architectural icon. IMPORTS FALL In 2021, China’s imports of softwood lumber fell 26.2% year-on-year to 18,5 thousand m3. According to Lesprom Analytics, the value of imports contracted 6.2% to $4,1 billion. Average price of softwood lumber increased 27% to $222 per m3. Only Brazil was able to increase the supply of softwood lumber to China in 2021 (+33.2%). The largest reduction was in supplies from Canada (-57%), Germany (-50%) and Finland (-32%). Shipments from Russia decreased by 17.7%, but the country’s share in the Chinese softwood lumber market increased by 6.8 pp. ILLEGAL TEAK Companies in the United States have imported nearly 1600 tonnes of teak from military-ruled Myanmar. Following the coup attempt, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed sanctions with the aim to block trade with Myanmar that benefits the illegal military junta. www.timberbiz.com.au
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VENEERS
Veneer the best way to showcase the beauty of timber PHILIP HOPKINS
V
ENE E RS are a bit like diamonds,” says Terry Franklin, who has spent his whole life in the veneer business. “There are so many different grades; colour plays a part, the structure of the grain, the type of defect in the wood…” Terry is adamant that veneer, which has the look of the native forest product, is the best way to showcase wood’s beauty, especially when there is increasingly less native forest available. “One cubic metre of solid timber will make 1000 square metres of veneer. It is absolutely the highest form of value-adding of timber-products,” said Terry, co-owner with Chris Johnstone of Ventech, based at Campbellfield in Melbourne’s north. All veneer is sliced from a veneer flitch – a section of timber that is sawn from a log that veneer is produced from. It’s a complex process; the rectangular block of wood is placed on a machine that has a very long, very sharp guillotine knife that is passed across the face of the flitch at a 30 degree cutting angle – “roughly, at 70 strokes a minute”, said Terry. “The veneer falls off the knife.” The veneer flitch has previously been heated in a pit to soften the fibres. “Get it wrong and the cells collapse,” he said. These leaves come off in sets of 24 or 32, called bundles, which are numbered in sequence. “Every veneer flitch has a value,” said Terry, depending on qualities such
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as its length and how free of defect it is. “Once we have the veneer in bundle form, that’s the first process,” he said, which is followed by machining to make the veneer sheet. The veneer bundles are guillotined perfectly parallel and assembled as veneer sheets (layons) via a veneer splicing machine and can then be pressed to a variety of substrates. “That is the most important part of what we do - putting those veneers together in a way that makes sure the project/job matches in colour and grain and is consistent. That is the biggest challenge for us,” said Terry. When Ventech was formed, it expanded into sub-strates and fire-rated board products. “This is a very important part of the industry at the moment. We developed an engineered veneer range reconstituted veneer range, man-made veneers with dyes in them from Italy,” he said. “We also strengthened offers to architects and designers.” Generally, the big veneer producers are overseas. “The only veneer produced in Australia now is coming out of Tasmania,” he said due to cost pressures and the diminishing timber resource. Terry and Chris go on buying sprees overseas, chiefly to the US, Spain and Italy. “We try and buy the grade of veneer that the market here wants in quality and try
American Oak is a huge veneer in the market - a wonderful veneer for grain structure. and get to the price point we need to make it profitable,” he said. However, the domestic market for Australian timber veneer is huge. Terry estimated the timber for Ventech’s veneers was sourced about half locally and half from overseas. “Tasmanian Oak is still well up there, but also spotted gum blackbutt, ironbark, blackwood and the
Queensland species are still popular - silver ash and silky oak,” he said. “American Oak is a huge veneer in the market - a wonderful veneer for grain structure.” Terry estimated Ventech uses about 80-100 different timber species, and another 40-50 reconstituted engineered veneers. Ventech’s chief veneer supplier is Matilda Veneer, based on the Gold Coast. Matilda
AUSTRALASIAN TIMBER February 2022
has to send Australian veneer flitch overseas to produce veneer. “It’s still cheaper to do that. The volumes aren’t there to sustain a veneer knife locally - on the mainland anyway,” said Terry. “It’s the old story of Australian manufacturing – a lack of scale.” A dwindling timber resource, the impact of bushfires and wet weather which delays timber harvesting for six months are key factors. “A facility relying on regular input of raw material can sometimes go for months with little or no material produced,” he said, so Matilda will secure six months’ supply of spotted gum and send it overseas and bring it back. Adding insult to injury, Spain produces veneer from Australian eucalypts that were planted 200 years ago. With volumes and economies of scale, Spain exports veneer so cheaply it competes with Tasmanian product. Terry said sub-strates used by Ventech were MDF, with the most popular moisture resistant MDF, along with firerated MDF and coloured-MDF. One of the great things was that architects had embraced veneer with more feature, such as the fiddleback veneer that Ventech provided for Bunjil Place in outer Melbourne. Terry estimated that Ventech generally had about 100 different projects at any one time, ranging from a vanity basin cabinet to larger commercial-scale projects. “That’s all in the planning stage with architects, or the commencement stage,” he said.
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INDUSTRY AWARDS
Industry awards for Combilift H OLZKURIER, the leading Austrian publication for the timber sector, has named Combilift as its Timber Trade Supplier of the Year for 2022. The company’s continual product development, its impressive growth in the Austrian market and a policy of always putting the customer centre stage were just some of the reasons cited by the editorial panel for choosing Combilift. Combilift delivered its first truck to Austria in 2003, when one of the original CSeries multidirectional models was bought by a customer from the timber sector. Since 2018, Gregor Kramar has held the position of Combilift’s Austrian Country Manager and has overseen the steady growth of the dealer network and the expansion of the customer base. For the last few years Combilift’s incoming orders have recorded double-digit growth rates in German-speaking countries and sales of more
Safety Storage than €4 million were generated in Austria last year. Efficiency “Although the major-
Manage more safely and ity of your ourtimber customers come more productively using less space with from the timber sector, we Combilift materials handling solutions are also seeing significant • Safer product handling growth in production other markets, for • Optimised space • Improved in storage example thecapacity steel industry • Increased productivity & output and in aluminum, modular • Enhanced profits and window construction,” said Kramar. “Austria is a combilift.com/?at demanding market and customers have very high expectations when it comes to product quality and service, which we can fulfil thanks to our wide, ever growing range and our reputation for putting the customer first.” “We are delighted with this award, which recognises the position that Combilift now enjoys in this region, which is home to some of the world’s leading companies in the timber industry,” said
Australasian Timber May Chris 210 x145 rev 1.0.indd 1
• Gregor Kramar,
Country Manager Austria for Combilift with Gerd Ebner, chief editor of Holzkurier.com Kramar. “So, many thanks go to the editors of Holzkurier and of course our ever growing band of satisfied customers!” Meanwhile Combilift has also been has received the Excellence in Business Award by Ireland’s Public Sector Magazine. The nomination to the shortlist was in recognition of his achievements in 2020 to address the requirements of medical professionals re-
garding the lack or shortage of ventilators during the Covid-19 emergency. Martin McVicar, CEO and co-founder of specialist materials handling manufacturer Combilift, got together a team of mechatronic and software engineers in a nonprofit endeavour to develop the Combi-Ventilate. This is an attachment which can be added to any brand of ventilator which costs a fraction of a standard ventilator and can 25/05/2021 11:11:08
be installed very easily into an ICU unit environment. “This is an award for the team who pulled out all the stops so quickly last year to come to the aid of the medical teams, and I’d like to thank Public Sector Magazine and all those who voted for us,” Mr McVicar said. “The medical device sector is not our core business but making equipment which keeps people safe has always been our focus and this project.
Safety Storage Safety Efficiency Storage
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AUSTRALASIAN TIMBER February 2022
17/12/2021 14:51:47
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PLANING
HeliPlan Planing Cutterhead – the robust pre-planing system W HE N pre-planing, large chip removal can result in surfaces requiring costly rework when the desired quality is not reached. The Leitz HeliPlan planing cutter provides fast milling for excellent finishes in solid woods. HeliPlan is designed for pre-planing tear-free planed surfaces and is suitable for finish machining, producing perfect planing results with a long tool lifetime. Leitz HeliPlan planing cutter also offers a Hydro-clamp option. As the interface between tool and machine, clamping systems play a decisive role in all machining processes. Inaccurate clamping systems can quickly lead to an unacceptable machining quality. With Leitz Hydro-clamping elements, tools can be mounted on the spindle accurately centred. Subsequently, perfect machining results and longer tool life is possible with the high concentricity and balancing quality. The optimal balancing quality of the clamp also protects the machine spindle and bearings. Leitz Hydro Heliplan allows for even faster feed speeds thanks to greater knife accuracy, resulting in increased production and higher finish quality, and can be clamped up to 2500 times without loss of accuracy or requiring any maintenance.
INCREASE EFFICIENCY With the help of unique cutting edge geometry, Leitz HeliPlan Planing Cutterhead features unique cutting edge geometry, ensuring particularly smooth finishes. The optimized gullet design allows planing with a noticeable better large chip removal, reflected in the feed speed and the cleanliness of the machined plates and workpieces. Turnblade knives can be changed quickly thanks to precision wedge-free knife mounting. Designed for pre-planing, Leitz Heli-
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Plan cutterheads can also be used to reach a fine finish quality, thanks to the curved cutting edges, higher shear angles and precise knife seating. INCREASE SUSTAINABILITY The use of exchangeable tungsten carbide turnblade knives enables the tool life of each cutting edge to be increased fourfold, and in combination with the reusable tool body, results in a resource-saving and cost-efficient tool solution. Noise and power consumption is also reduced due to the unique cutting edge arrangement, with up to minus 10dB(A) noise reduction compared to standard planer knives. The cutters offer 5 times longer tool life from HW cutting edges, compared to HS planer knives. Opting for the Hydroclamping element increases the tool life again by up to 30% in comparison to conventional clamping. With the development of the HeliPlan system, Leitz has reinforced its position as the world leader in the customer-oriented development of tool systems. With more than 120 Leitz Service Centres around the globe, users can easily have their tools serviced and resharpened perfectly to manufacturer quality conveniently. Leitz Tooling stand by their motto ‘Solutions in New Dimensions’ and the HeliPlan and Hydro-Clamp are examples of new dimensions in planing solutions. Leitz simply offers more in quality, efficiency and productivity. www.leitz.com.au
www.weinig.com.au sales@weinig.com.au 1800 736 460 AUSTRALASIAN TIMBER February 2022
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High quality cutting with Leitz MC33 Planing Knives
MC33 Planing Knives from Leitz offer longer tool life and reduced sharpening cycles thanks to our exclusive Marathon coating technology. Our long tool life is proven to reduce machine downtime and the number of times the machine is required to be set-up, ensuring consistent and optimum productivity, compared to conventional planing knives. The Marathon coated MC33 Planing Knives are applicable for both hard and soft woods, and suitable for all conventional planing machines with precision spindles. They are able to be resharpened multiple times and offer high quality planing results.
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Suitable for the use in all conventional wedge-type planer-heads designed for 3mm thick planing knives
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Sustainability Perfect use of cutting material through Marathon coating Up to 6-fold tool life in comparison to uncoated HS-planing knives Protects the machine bearings due to increased balance and precise weight tolerance
ENGINEERED WOOD
Hyne meeting demand for engineered wood products W ITH Australia’s
demand for structural pine framing and engineered wood products at an all-time high, pressure has been on the timber industry to ramp up production to make products more available to the market. But what happens when the log resources required isn’t available to produce the glulam beams the market is crying out for? This is exactly what happened to Hyne Timber’s Glue Laminated Timber (GLT) products. “We were in the same place as many other Australian timber businesses in 2021,” says Stefan Gerber, Engineering and Sales Manager GLT at Hyne Timber. “Increasing production capacity with a new manufacturing plant was our original response to supply more glulam to the market, but we ran into issues stemming
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from the changing nature of our log resources. As a natural resource, wood fibre is subject to the forces of nature and despite improvements to genetics and silvicultural treatment, the high-grade feedstock recovered from the sawmilling operations for GL17 beams has been steadily declining for the past 18-months or more. While feedstock was on the decline, market demand was growing to unprecedented levels in response to the hugely successful ‘HomeBuilder’ stimulus. And with Southern Pines taking a minimum of 28-years to mature before harvesting, waiting for new feedstock was not an option.
Neither was undersupplying a market hungry for a highgrade product. Over the course of 2020-21, Hyne Timber’s answer was to develop Beam 15 – a highperformance product that’s engineered to handle long spans and critical loads. It is an entirely new grade of GLT that’s more readily available for a record-breaking market. “Beam 15 means we have increased availability, which is obviously important in a market with very high demand,” says Gerber. “It’s a high-performing product at a slightly lower MOE - the stiffness which governs most designs. The same sized beams can be used in many applications, yet we have much more feedstock fibre available so that we can better supply our customers.” Langs Building Supplies Design Hub Operations Manager, Ashley Henkel, echoes
the same sentiment, “The introduction of GL15 beams has increased availability and reduced lead times for our customers, allowing them to keep to their building schedule.” Made using high-strength, custom graded laminates, each individual laminate undergoes thorough testing before bonding. This means that Hyne’s new Beam 15
AUSTRALASIAN TIMBER February 2022
not only looks identical, but it also performs closely to GL17 and can be used in almost all applications where GL17 is specified. “The good news is Beam 15 performs very, very closely to a GL17,” Gerber says, “so in a high percentage of cases, it will do the same job. We received a lot of feedback on this from the design community. The difference is so
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ENGINEERED WOOD
minimal, yet it makes a huge difference in the availability of the timber we can use.” Engineer and Optimum Structures’ Director, Enda Lyons, agrees stating that “with the new GL15 grade beam we are confident that what we are specifying is actually available for the builder to buy. Even better because this new beam can be used in most applications where we traditionally specified a GL17 beam.” “To achieve a GL17 grade beam, we’ve always custom graded our laminates, as simply gluing standard MGP15 grade boards won’t achieve the properties required,” says Gerber, “and we’re doing the same thing with Beam 15.” As Australia’s largest GLT manufacturer Hyne have built a 500m2 inhouse R&D facility containing stateof-the-art equipment. Being a propriety product, it was necessary for Hyne Timber to place Beam 15 through a myriad of tests to ensure consistency in performance and compliance with the building code. The engineering team worked to create a recipe for a product that could reliably meet the needs and strength rating of a Beam 15. The inhouse testing facility allows them to determine the effectiveness of each beam – from the glue bond strength to the treatment efficacy levels, through to the strategic use of laminates in each beam. During the creation of what would become Beam 15, they tested each possible combination for delamination, finger joint strength, stiffness, and sheer strength. Through these tests they were able to create a reliable method for consistent highquality. Once the team was confident in the repeatability of the beam properties, it was then assessed by an independent third-party accredited program www.timberbiz.com.au
completed by the Engineered Wood Products Association of Australasia (EWPAA) with the assistance of Griffith University. Twenty-one unique sample types and a staggering 312 individual beam samples were tested by the EWPAA team. Through vigorous testing and assessment, the EWPAA verified that Hyne Timber’s Beam 15 complies with the National Construction Code (NCC) and met the Australian standards in manufacturing and design – AS1328.1 and AS1720.1. A full product technical statement is now available on their website, with Hyne Timber also offering their design software, Hyne Design, for free to customers looking for engineering solutions. With the building industry demanding product and ongoing material shortages affecting build times, Beam 15’s presence in the market could not come soon enough. But it was by no means an easy feat to accomplish. From conception through to launch, Hyne Timber invested significant resources to make Beam 15 a reality. “It’s stretched everyone,” says Gerber. “With the launch plan for Beam 15, we’re in a good place, but it’s taken time. We can’t jump manufacturing capacity from one day to the next. We’ve had to build the new GLT manufacturing facility, we’ve moved into a large-scale warehouse at the Port of Brisbane to service southeast Queensland in a timely manner and tweak our New South Wales supply out of Newcastle and our Victorian distributors.” With the supply challenges for building materials continuing in 2022 and the need for engineered wood products yet to reach its peak, Hyne Timber has endeavoured to safeguard their customers’ GLT supply requirements, without compromising on their renowned product quality.
Skills, Knowledge, Performance
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for course Programs
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FLOORING australasian
Looking back 2019 The Hermal Group continues to tick all the boxes in its bid to build a new multimillion-dollar facility, as part of its $190 million-dollar investment in Tasmania’s plantation-based hardwood timber products. Currently, the group’s Development Application us being processed, then the final step is approval by the Burnie Council. At full capacity the mill will process in excess of 300,000 cubic meters of plantation hardwood per year, and waste produced will be converted into direct injection bio fuel, for dispatchable renewable electricity generation. 2016 MASS TIMBER construction is gathering momentum in Australia with an announcement by Lendlease that it would launch a prefabricated building materials factory in Western Sydney. Then the ante was raised when StrongBuild said it was CLT and offsite prefabrication capacity with a new 15,000 square metre facility at Baulkham Hills coming online early 2016, according to The Fifth Estate StrongBuild has several multi-storey residential developments that will use CLT ready to break ground in the new year, and according to architect Rod Pindar, a principal at Fitzpatrick+Partners, the company’s new headquarters will also be constructed 100% from CLT and engineered timber products. 2011 THE AUSTRALIAN Carbon Trust intends to invest up to $23.7 million over the next three years through innovative energy efficiency financing programs with NAB and Eureka Funds Management, Alleasing, Origin Energy, Australia Post and Melbourne City Council. Fully implemented, these programs will leverage private sector funding to make available over $300 million in new financing for Australian businesses, large and small to improve energy efficiency in commercial buildings. 14
Supply issues and price rises... what’s happening RANDY FLIERMAN AUSTRALIAN TIMBER FLOORING ASSOCIATION CEO
A
USTRALIAN bushfires, New Zealand mill closures, COVID, international factory fires, extreme weather conditions, shipping shortages and high container charges – these are just some of the reasons why contractors at the end of the supply chain, are currently experiencing increased costs from manufacturers and suppliers. The November and December 2019 bushfires reportedly burned 11 million hectares of land, including high levels of hardwood and softwood forests. Much of Australia’s native timbers used for flooring emanates from NSW. To put this in perspective, approximately and reportedly, 80% of native hardwood forest was burned on the NSW South Coast, approximately 40% of the North Coast and approximately 70% on the NSW Central Coast. While NSW Forestry has worked well with our sawmillers, EPA on the other hand has closed down other accessible not-burned forest areas in the interest of native fauna. Naturally, we love the furry guys; however, this accentuates the difficulties associated with supply of Australian hardwoods. Some species such as Spotted Gum are almost impossible to get hold of right now. Then there is the issue with softwood – before you scream ‘we don’t install softwood flooring’, this is more about the construction chain and subsequent impact on timber flooring installers. Softwood for framing and general construction is in major shortage; plantations of softwood were also burned in the late 2019 fires. In New Zealand, where it’s commonly referred to as Radiata, export demands from China and mid-size mill closures due to COVID have added to the pain. Likewise, a large percentage is also imported, in turn heavily affected by COVID-derived shortages in shipping. Domestic building projects in particular, are being held up due to the lack of standard building materials. Accordingly, that’s creating
delays and setting back timelines for timber flooring contractors on some projects. And why is shipping such a problem? In light of COVID, many shipping companies downsized or sent vessels off to dry dock for long overdue maintenance – and many just sent vessels to ship graveyards for recycling. This then created the ultimate bottleneck – with containers on a ship becoming a commodity, increasing prices exponentially, not to mention additional container surcharges being applied. Wharf charges have doubled in Australia, New Zealand, throughout Asia and the Middle East; loading costs at docks in the USA have increased due to stevedoring labour shortages and shipping insurances have likewise been increased. Reduced international flights have also seen airfreight costs increase dramatically. Regardless, whether Australian or New Zealand produced flooring or imported flooring products, all these elements affect and increase prices. Will this change? It’s speculative, though some report that prices may ease in six months’ time as access to forests and more available shipping improve. It is not just timber that is affected by supply issues and rising prices; coatings and adhesives are also affected. In particular, resin binders; pigments and fillers; additives and solvents used to produce coatings; as well as elastomers for adhesive production, are also in short supply. Mainly produced in Western Europe, where factory fires (Bayer for example) and extreme weather conditions have heavily affected production. Manufacturers are reticent to go outside reliable chemical producers, hence slowing production and increasing demand – thus heightened pricing. Likewise, due to COVID still being very active in Europe, manufacturing at full capacity is still some way off. There may still be a little
Some species such as Spotted Gum are almost impossible to get hold of right now. price pain to come in this area. Equipment production is not exempt either, a reported 50% increase in steel prices has seen equipment costs go up. Availability of copper for engine parts is slowing production of sanding machines. What can contractors do? Negotiate a supply deal with your supplier – they will reward loyalty. If you have builders as regular customers, keep them informed as they can be less forgiving if you are flagging increases (show them this article at least). While we understand that undercutting is always an issue, everyone needs to pass on the costs to the end con-
AUSTRALASIAN TIMBER February 2022
sumer – that means you need to increase prices as well. It’s hard to do, we understand; however, your livelihood needs to come first! At the moment, the COVIDinspired renovation boom is making the most of Australians and New Zealanders not travelling overseas. PreCOVID $65 billion was being spent by Australians on international travel annually (Financial Review) and $6.2 billion by New Zealanders annually (Infometrics). While this money is being redirected to spending in a number of ways – new cars, big screen TVs, electronics, etc. – building and renovation is capturing more than its share. The point here, consumers can afford a small increase... www.timberbiz.com.au
ASSOCIATIONS
Incapacity – when an employee is unable to do the job ment to work for which they are fit • if an employer dismisses an injured employee, they have a duty to inform replacement employees that the dismissed employee is entitled to seek reinstatement if their fitness for work improves] • penalties apply for noncompliance with any of the above. Prior to taking action, employers are recommended to contact their insurers to assess the impact to premiums associated with dismissing an employee on workers compensation.
T
TIA is often asked by
Members how to manage employees with long term incapacity issues. In our experience, if an employee becomes unable to perform their role due to illness or injury (either permanently or indefinitely), it may not be viable for the employment relationship to continue. This is a complex area, and it is highly recommended that employers obtain professional advice prior to making any decisions affecting the person’s employment. WHY IS THIS A COMPLEX ISSUE? There are various legal protections for employees in these circumstances, which employers should take into consideration prior to making a decision about whether to dismiss on incapacity grounds. These include for example: • Protection against unfair dismissal • Temporary absence protections • Protection against discrimination • Protections under workers compensation laws; and • Protection against adverse action for exercising a right to personal/carer’s leave (or other relevant workplace rights) The lawfulness of a deci-
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sion to dismiss an employee due to illness, injury, disease or other disability, will often hinge on the employee’s capacity to perform the substantive (or inherent) requirements of their position. Unfortunately, employers generally will not have the medical expertise to reach a defensible conclusion about a person’s capacity. In fact, an employer is usually required to have regard to an expert opinion (such as a medical specialist) in order for an employee’s incapacity to be a valid reason for dismissal. ARE EMPLOYERS REQUIRED TO PROVIDE ALTERNATIVE DUTIES? The answer to this question depends on whether the illness or injury is (or is potentially) related to a workers’ compensation claim against the employer. If it does, please click here for more information about workers compensation. If the incapacity is unrelated to any workers compensation claims, there is no legal obligation to provide the employee with a position that is fundamentally different to the role they were hired to perform. In unfair dismissal and discrimination laws, the primary focus is on whether
the employee is fit to perform the inherent requirements of the position; not whether the employee is fit to perform some modified, restricted duties or temporary alternative position. WHAT SHOULD THE EMPLOYER DO WHEN AN EMPLOYEE CAN’T PERFORM THE INHERENT REQUIREMENTS? Prior to considering dismissal of an employee due to concerns about their capacity to perform the role as a result of illness/injury/disease or other disability, the following should be addressed by the employer: 1. Check whether the absence is due to a workers’ compensation illness/injury If so, consideration should first be given to applicable State and Territory Workers Compensation Laws which may restrict actions that can be taken by an employer when dealing with an employee that is unfit for work. According to NSW Workers Compensation laws: • an employee with a compensable illness or injury must not be dismissed due to incapacity for a period of at least 6 months from when they first became unfit • if you dismiss an injured employee after 6 months because of their injury or illness they can apply within 2 years of dismissal for reinstate-
2. Calculate how long has the employee been absent from work as a result of incapacity It is unlawful to dismiss an employee because they have been temporarily absent from work due to illness/injury. A person has been ‘temporarily absent’ if they are still taking paid personal leave and/or if their absence is less than 3 months in a 12 month period. Evidence and notice requirements apply to this protection. 3. Check whether the employee has fulfilled notice and evidence requirements for their absences Employees must comply with any notice and evidence requirements for absences. These include: Notice: An employee can be required to notify the employer of their absences as soon as reasonably practicable, including providing details of when the employee is expected to return to work. Evidence: An employee can be required to substantiate the reason for their absence with reasonable evidence provided to the employer. If an employee fails to comply with notice and evidence requirements, this may be a disciplinary issue and may impact the employee’s other protections. In order to be protected from dismissal due to temporary absence, the employee must provide a medical certificate or statutory declaration within 24 hours after the commencement of the
AUSTRALASIAN TIMBER February 2022
absence (or such longer period as is reasonable in the circumstances). If it is possible that the employee may be unaware of notice and evidence requirements, it is highly recommended that information about these requirements is provided to the employee. 4. Obtain professional medical advice In determining whether there is a valid reason to dismiss an employee on capacity grounds, the relevant Courts and Tribunals will give consideration to medical opinions at the time the decision was made to dismiss. In order to validly dismiss an employee for reasons relating to the employee’s incapacity, the employer is usually required to have regard to an expert opinion (such as a medical specialist). It is therefore generally worthwhile for an employer to arrange for an independent medical assessment of the employee’s capacity, particularly where insufficient information has been provided by the employee’s general practitioner, or where the employee’s practitioner is not a specialist in the field relating to the employee’s illness or injury. The focus of medical opinions (and the employer’s decision) should be whether or not the employee is fit to perform the inherent requirements of the position; not whether the employee is fit to perform some modified, restricted duties or temporary alternative position. Medical opinions should address: • the employee’s capacity to perform the full duties of the position • the employee’s capacity to perform the inherent requirements of the position • whether reasonable adjustments may be made to the employee’s role that would enable the employee to perform the inherent requirements of the role • whether the employee will be able to perform the inherent requirements of the position in the foreseeable future continued page 16 15
ASSOCIATIONS
Veneered boards tested to meet fire performance regulations T HE National Construction
Code NCC 2019, Building Code of Australia, has specific requirements for wall and ceiling linings in various parts of commercial buildings. Materials are placed in one of four Groups as follows: • Group 1 – Material that does not reach flashover when exposed to 100 kW for 10 minutes followed by exposure to 300 kW for a further 10 minutes. • Group 2 – Material that reaches flashover following exposure to 300 kW within 10 minutes after not reaching flashover having first been exposed to 100 kW for 10 minutes. • Group 3 – Material that reaches flashover between 2 – 10 minutes when exposed to 100 kW. • Group 4 – Material that reaches flashover within 2 minutes when exposed to 100 kW. The group number represents the performance
release rate of a surface lining product when exposed to fire. The room (sized 3.6m × 2.4m PETER × 2.4m) consists of four walls LLEWELLEN at right angles, a doorway Technical and a ceiling. When testing for representative, the purposes of determining Timber Veneer group numbers, the material Association being tested must be affixed of Australia to three walls and the ceiling, leaving the wall with the doorachieved during a standard way opening unlined. Untreated wood products (ie. corner room burn test and is used as a benchmark for the products without fire retardant assessment of internal surface treatment) generally fall into Group 3. However, tests have linings when exposed to fire. It is determined by measur- shown that timber veneers ing ‘time to flashover’ when on fire retardant treated MDF tested in accordance with AS (FRMDF) can achieve Group 2 ISO 9705-2003. The time to status. This makes veneered MDF flashover is defined as the time taken for the total heat release suitable for locations where a higher level of public safety is rate (HRR) to reach 1 MW. According to major fire test- called for, such as lift cars and ing organization Warrington- the public corridors of certain classes of buildings. fire Specifiers looking for such An AS ISO 9705 corner room burn test is a common reac- products can obtain details tion-to-fire test used to inves- from members of the Timber tigate the potential fire spread, Veneer Association of Australia smoke density and the heat who have undertaken indi-
vidual testing to comply with NCC/BCA regulations at laboratories such as CSIRO or Warringtonfire. For more details phone the TVAA Info Line on 1300 303 982, or email info@timberveneer.asn.au
• An AS ISO 9705 corner room burn test in the early test stage. Pictures: CSIRO Infrastructure Technologies
Incapacity – when an employee is unable to do the job continued from page 15
Employers should not request personal health/medical information about an employee from a medical practitioner unless the information requested is directly related to the employee’s capacity to perform their role. 5. Procedural fairness during discussions with the employee If the employee is eligible to
make an unfair dismissal claim, the employer may expect scrutiny over the nature and content of discussions with the employee about whether or not dismissal is an appropriate outcome of the medical assessment. For the purpose of these discussions, employers may be expected to disclose details of independent medical reports to the employee and enable them the opportunity to respond.
6. Don’t dismiss for the wrong reasons If the person’s incapacity is not the only reason for dismissal, take care to ensure that none of the other reasons for dismissal are unlawful. Even if the unlawful reason is not the primary reason for dismissal, an employer can still be liable. It is unlawful for an employer to dismiss an employee because of their age, race, pregnancy, or any physical or
mental disability which does not impact the performance of their role. TERMINATION LETTERS An employee in these circumstances may be entitled to written notice of termination. In a termination letter, it can be worthwhile to include details of the employer’s efforts undertaken to understand and accommodate the employee’s incapacity.
Legal and IR
If the decision to dismiss is later challenged, the termination letter can then be used to dispel any misunderstandings about the reasons for the dismissal and the process undertaken. WHERE CAN YOU GET HELP? In managing any of these incapacity issues, TTIA has a legal and WHS unit that can provide assistance to Members. Please contact us on (02) 9264 0011.
Timber Advisory Service
Serving independent timber and hardware businesses by providing valuable back of house services...
National Support Centre 1800 888 479 (Option 1) www.mgatma.com.au
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AUSTRALASIAN TIMBER February 2022
Member Benefits
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Where are your timber frames coming from W HE N choosing build-
ing materials it is vital to think about where they come from. You can’t replant the ore and rocks extracted from the planet for steel and concrete but with certified wood you can guarantee a tree is replanted. Certified forest plantations plant roughly two to three trees for every tree harvested. Unfortunately, with iron ore, which is used to create steel, you cannot refill the hole in ground that mining has left. As the world attempts to slow down the effects of climate change and reach the targets set out in the Paris Agreement, it is important now more than ever to think about the sustainability of a building and its materials. Concrete and steel each account for around 8 per cent of global GHG emissions, which is more than what any individual country produces except for the US and China. On average 2 tonnes of CO2 are emitted to manufacture one tonne of steel, whereas wood removes more CO2 from the atmosphere than it emits during manufacture. In fact, 1 cubic metre of wood contains just shy of 1 tonne of CO2 (more or less depending on the species of tree). This is because trees absorb CO2 from the atmosphere as they grow and store it as carbon. So essentially, wood’s ability to sequester carbon helps
NIKITA GENTLE
“We support you!”
provide a solution to embodied carbon within the built environment. It should be stated that wood cannot solve all the problems in the built environment and materials like steel and concrete do have a place in construction and certain types of buildings, but if we want to reach the targets set in the Paris Agreement, where we can, we must use timber. We should all be proud Carbon Warriors The timber industry has a great story to tell just like the one above as it is truly a sustainable and renewable industry. It is time for everyone to recognise and be proud of the role they are playing in creating a greener future. A starting point is to follow the Carbon Warrior project on Instagram (@carbonwarrior) and LinkedIn, and share the great statements, statistics and case studies highlighted by Carbon Warrior. It is as easy as letting your customers know that by choosing timber frames and trusses, their house grows back in under 60 seconds! How? Well with certi-
fied wood, more trees are planted than harvested, and with more than one million hectares of Australia softwood farms, approximately 20m3 of timber is grown per minute. Meaning the average house grows back in less than 60 seconds! It’s simple - wood grows back, steel and concrete don’t. Another message emphasising the urgency of wood use in the built environment is billions of people worldwide will need to be house in the next 20 years. If all that house is built with concrete and steel, the climate is stuffed. That’s why building with wood is a necessity if the world wants to successfully tackle climate change. When discussing climate change, ask people where their house frame comes from? Is it renewable? Is it sustainable? Is it made from a low embodied energy material? Well, if their frame is made from certified or recycled wood, then it is all these things. Everyone has a duty in the fight against climate change, and it is simple as choosing the right materials. Let people know that by choosing certified wood they are storing carbon in their buildings, helping put a stop to deforestation and creating a greener future. These are easy and simple messages that anyone who cares for the planet and our future will understand. So, let’s share them and all be proud Carbon Warriors!
ASSOCIATIONS 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 application form visit: www.ftmanews.com.au www.timberbiz.com.au
AUSTRALASIAN TIMBER February 2022
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ASSOCIATIONS
Dealing with staff's covid demands U N FORTUNATE LY 2022 hasn’t got off to the start that we were all hoping for. As the Omicron wave of COVID-19 spreads across Australia, case numbers are rapidly increasing, and more employees are being exposed to COVID-19. Employees may have to request time off work to isolate, either because they have contracted COVID-19 or because they are waiting for the results of a test. Under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) and the Timber Industry Award 2020, you and your employees may have a number of leave options available during this time. You should also seek independent legal advice, as each business will have unique circumstances.
UNPAID PANDEMIC LEAVE Any employee, whether full-time, part-time, or casual, may access unpaid pandemic leave under the Award for the duration of their isolation (up to 2 weeks, and more by agreement). Employees do not have to accrue this leave, and it is available to them immediately. They are able to request this leave because they have been prevented from working by measures
taken by the government in response to COVID-19 (e.g., being asked to selfisolate). Please note that employees who merely do not want to work due to a fear of COVID-19 will not be able to access unpaid pandemic leave. ANNUAL LEAVE A full-time or part-time employee with accrued annual leave may request to take their annual leave. You may not direct your employees to take this leave, and it must be by agreement. Last year, employees were able to access annual leave at half pay. As of 31 December 2021, this is no longer available. UNPAID LEAVE An employee may also take a period of unpaid leave. This is available to full-time, part-time and casual employees. On unpaid leave, the employee will
From design details to installation. Free sales-building resources.
Introduce your customers to WoodSolutions Technical Design Guides, accessible sources of in-depth information, written by experts in each field. Free copies can be downloaded from woodsolutions.com.au/publications and help to optimise and increase the use of wood in the built environment because wood is The Ultimate Renewable.™ 18
not continue to accrue annual leave or personal/carer’s (sick) leave, and the period will not be counted towards their length of service. An employee may take an unlimited amount of unpaid leave depending on their agreement with their employer. Unpaid leave must also be by agreement.
on their employment type and what leave arrangements they have made with you. It is the employee’s responsibility to check their eligibility for any government payments, and you should avoid promising an employee that they will be eligible for a payment if they accept a certain leave-related arrangement.
PERSONAL/CARER’S (SICK) LEAVE As mentioned above, full-time and part-time employees will not be able to access their personal/carer’s (sick) leave if they are merely isolating after becoming a close contact or taking a test. Personal/sick leave is only available if the employee is not fit for work due to personal illness or injury. If the employee is diagnosed with COVID-19, they may access their sick leave. If the employee is suffering from symptoms of COVID-19, they may access their sick leave. You may request reasonable evidence from the employee, such as a medical certificate, that satisfies you that they are unwell.
KEEP RECORDS OF LEAVE ARRANGEMENTS An agreement with any employee to take a period of leave described above should be recorded in writing and kept for your records.
GOVERNMENT PAYMENTS Employees may be eligible for various government payments depending
SEEK INDEPENDENT LEGAL ADVICE For more information, and in order to get the best results for your business, you should seek independent legal advice. After considering your options, you and your employee may come to an agreement on the most appropriate leave arrangements during this time. MGA TMA members should contact our Legal and IR team on 1800 888 479 for further queries in relation to leave entitlements.
Death of timber industry leader David Efron
D
AVID Efron, a stalwart of the timber industry, passed away on 25 December 2021 at Melbourne’s Cabrini Hospital surrounded by his family. He was 86. David had a long and rich history in the timber industry. In the mid 1960’s, he responded to a newspaper advertisement, which read, “learn to be a manager’’. His application was successful and there began his first role with timber working for a local timber merchant, WK Witt, supplying plywood. David owned a number of timber businesses over the years, including Writron Timber (Cheltenham) in the late 60’s, Lorimer Timber (Port Melbourne) in the 70’s, before moving to Southey Street in Williamstown. This business mainly sold Philippine mahogany and radiata pine. He also had a part ownership of Otago Timber Exports (New Zealand) and a sawmill in Milton (New Zealand) during the late 70’s and early 80’s. David sold Lorimer Timber to Wills Timber in 1981. In 1983, David opened Ascot Timber along Mount Alexander Road in Ascot Vale. This business supplied retail and trade customers. Ascot Timber was sold, and David had a career change and moved into pubs and politics. David became a ministerial advisor in the Cain La-
AUSTRALASIAN TIMBER February 2022
bour government, and travelled to Geneva as a part of Prime Minister Bob Hawke’s party to the International Labour Organisation conference in the 80s. In 1990, he returned to the timber industry when he and his son Maurice, purchased The Fencing Place in Dandenong. This business was re-named Davids Timber, and shortly after, they decided to specialise in treated pine. The company’s first timber treatment plant opened in Dandenong South in 1994. Davids Timber relocated to Noble Park in 1997, and traded there until 2004, when they moved again to their current premises on Princes Highway in Dandenong South. Over the years, David had ownership/part ownership of sawmills in NZ, Wodonga and most recently Broadford Sawmills, for the past 11 years. David Efron was a supporter of TMA for many years and was a passionate committee member during the 1990’s. Obituary prepared by MGA/TMA www.timberbiz.com.au
Classifieds
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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Mill equipment includes: • 6' Gibson Headrig bandsaw with Grey carriage and operators cabin • Kockums board edger with 4 saws (1 fixed & 3 moving) with operators cabin
• Chip hopper (clam shell) 110m3 • All conveyors, transfer decks, chain decks, blowers, ducting, electricals, etc • Spare parts and saws
Price - $185,000 + GST ONO for THE Lot. Will separate.
Contact Maurice Efron 0411887701
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I n c o r p o r a t i n g A U S T R A L A S I A N F O R E S T L O G G E R & S AW M I L L E R
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KH00279AA
DELIVERING PRECISION 30x5 Vekta VETK00
Vekta‘s Interior and Exterior StakPros are designed to increase your production and improve safety.Why have many hands lifting trusses when one operator can do the job by using only a remote control! Vekta‘s Interior StakPro is designed to suit your truss jig system. With heavy duty caster wheels and a guided rail mount you can put the StakPro where you need it! The Exterior StakPro has adjustable feet allowing the machine to adapt to your site and manufacturing processes. With the PRESS of a button the StakPro will LIFT the finished truss out of the jig and STACK it on a trolley. Clever!
info@vekta.com.au I vekta.com.au