New Ta Ann Mill For Tasmania

The Premier, David Bartlett, today officially opened Ta Ann Tasmania’s new mill at Smithton, the second of its rotary peeled veneer mills to be built in Tasmania.
“Timber mills and the families that rely on them for jobs, have been a part of the landscape up here for generations,” Mr Bartlett said.
“It’s an industry that has helped to build the characteristics of the people here – the resilience, the sense of humour, and the strong sense of community.
“A mill is so much more than an economic entity that churns out timber products. It’s a place that provides jobs for Tasmanians.
“It gives new opportunities for people to stay living in their local area to build a career and provides flow-on economic benefits to shops and restaurants and services right around Circular Head. The mill becomes a part of the community.”
The mill will process 150,000 tonnes of eucalypt logs per year, supplied from regrowth forests and plantations in north west Tasmania. Forestry Tasmania has built on the resource security offered by the Regional Forest Agreement, and has signed a twenty-year agreement for log supply.
The two mills cost $75 million to build and have resulted directly in 138 new jobs. They will produce 145,000 cubic metres a year of dried veneer, worth about $35 million per year.
The Premier said that the State Government would continue to support economic growth and investment in value-adding industries in Tasmania.
“Just yesterday, I was pleased to launch the Tasmanian Skills Strategy – a ten-year plan to make sure that Tasmanians have the skills needed to build a decent future for themselves and their families.
“The forest and timber industry is a great example of where the level of skill needed as an employee has grown enormously.
“The Tasmanian forest industry in 2008 is a sophisticated, technologically advanced place in which to work.
“What the Tasmanian Skills Strategy will do is make sure that young Tasmanians in particular are given the tools that will make them attractive to employers like Ta Ann into the future.
“In times of global economic uncertainty and challenge – it’s more important than ever that we encourage investment in Tasmania.
“I welcome Ta Ann’s further investment in the kind of clever, value-added products that will come to dominate Tasmania’s economic future; the jobs that this mill will support here, and the injection it will provide to Tasmania’s broader economy,” Mr Bartlett said.
Further information:
Tasmanian Government Communications UnitPhone: (03) 6233 6573