RIBBON CUTTING AT SAWMILL EXTENSION

HYNE ‘S NEW SAWMILL COMPLETED

Officials open the Tumbarumba Sawmill extension and storage facility.

For over 20 years, Hyne has been a major employer in Tumbarumba, southern NSW, with its large sawmill also delivering hundred of related jobs and community support from direct donations to local groups.

During the encircling fires of Black Summer, the mill was saved, but many employees’ homes and much of the timber resource Hyne relied on were lost and damaged.

For 18 months, the Hyne team kept work going with salvage timber – trees that had been burned too badly to survive but which still contained usable material. This involved careful planning in both logistics and cutting to extract the best value from the burned logs, as well as lowering the risk of burned trees falling onto roads.

The whole time the Hyne management team was planning ahead. They worked quickly to secure contracts that would guarantee sustainable log supply, and then plans were put in place for a new storage facility that would protect those logs from adverse weather and guarantee the maximum value from each when sawn.

In October, during construction of the new facility, Hyne national projects and reliability manager, Darren Wright, described the construction project as critical investment and part of the ongoing bushfire recovery challenges.

“With the reduction in log volume as a direct result of the 2019/20 bushfires, it is imperative we protect our products from adverse weather exposure in order to extract the maximum value. This storage facility will assist in achieving this,” Wright said.

“Being able to utilise both NSW Government and Australian Government bushfire recovery funding to help us meet the construction costs, this has made this critical infrastructure investment possible.”

This week, Hyne Timber has officially marked the completion of the new 4700m2 storage facility with a ribbon cutting celebration held at the Tumbarumba Sawmill.

Joined by the Hon. Michael McCormack MP, the new Mayor of the Snowy Valleys Council, Councillor Julia Ham and several other key stakeholders, the event celebrated the company’s new ability to protect huge quantities of timber from the weather while also reflecting on the devastating impact of the 2019/20 bushfires.

Jim Bindon, CEO of the Hyne Group, addressed the gathering, congratulating those involved on this successful milestone, saying “Many team members and contractors have been involved in the delivery of this storage facility including local companies, Joss Constructions and Wagga Fire. You should all be proud of the smooth project management and successful completion.

“This facility is a critical asset to protect our products from adverse weather exposure to extract the maximum value from our pine log feedstock since the bushfires.”

Bindon confirmed that government grants had played an important role in the delivery of the facility.

“Operational efficiency for this Mill has never been more important and I thank both the Australian Government and NSW Government for their support with bushfire recovery funding which contributed towards the delivery costs. This support made our investment viable,” he said.

“I also thank the Snowy Valleys Council for expediating the development approval at the start of the year and the Tumbarumba community for their ongoing support.”

Minister for Agriculture, Regional NSW and Western NSW Tara Moriarty said the Tumbarumba Mill Optimisation project is an example of the Australian and NSW Government’s commitment to building stronger, more resilient regional economies.

“The increased storage capacity at Tumbarumba Mill will ensure this important timber processor can maintain its production of timber supplies for the building sector while securing those local jobs the community relies on,” Moriarty said.

“The Australian and NSW Governments are backing projects in the Snowy Valleys region that will boost preparedness for future disasters, encourage economic recovery, aid tourism and bring people together.”

Now complete, the new storage facility can store 4000m3 of timber known in the process as ‘Rough Sawn, Kiln Dried’ (RSKD) material.

Albury based Joss Construction was appointed to undertake the build with official occupancy granted 
in October 2024.
The project prioritised utilising local trades and suppliers and injected over $5m directly into the regional economy. It was jointly funded through the Australian and NSW Government’s Bushfire Local Economic Recovery Fund and the Australian Government Forestry Recovery Development Fund.

While the Hon. Kristy McBain MP, Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories was unable to attend the celebration, she sent a message of support which was read out: “I would like to apologise for not being here with you in person to mark this wonderful occasion.

“Thank you to Hyne Timber for the invitation to attend today – this new storage facility will prove critical in assisting Hyne to protect its products from weather exposure.

“I’m proud that it was jointly funded by the Australian and NSW Governments as part of the Bushfire Local Economic Recovery Fund and the Australian Government Forestry Recovery Development Fund – it’s build alone creating 30 additional local jobs during the construction.

“Well done to Hyne on its successful completion, to all the local tradies, and to the dedicated workforce here. This facility will be of huge benefit to Hyne and the broader Tumbarumba community.”