Flight plans take off in export pine sales

Rising demand in Asia forces a Marlborough timber firm to move and expand its sawmilling operations.

One of Marlborough's largest timber companies, Flight Timbers, plans to triple production over the next five years and increase its 50-strong workforce by 80 to 100 per cent.

The move is to meet increased demand for pinus radiata products from diverse new export markets in Australia, Asia and the Pacific.

Flight processes about 40,000 cu m of logs a year, with 65 per cent of that exported - mainly to Asia.

All the planned increase in production would be sold overseas, raising the company's exports to 90 per cent of total output.

The company's products range from packing timber to high quality, finger-jointed, moulded woods.

Managing director Rich Osborne said the company had been planning the move for a while and it was not in response to the lower dollar "although that helps."

He said the company had been unable to keep up with demand from Malaysia, Thailand and China in particular.

Flight's recent merging of its retail operations with local firm Musgrove Timbers had freed up land for the expansion, said Mr Osborne.

Flight planned to relocate and expand its sawmill plant and equipment building in a new purpose-built mill building.

The purchase of a second-hand Canadian timber bin sorter from Romania had aided expansion plans. The machine allowed simple but labour-intensive operations to be done at a low capital cost, said Mr Osborne.

Flight planned to install additional drying kilns to produce higher-value timbers and shorter delivery times.

The expansion will help absorb timber from Marlborough's rapidly maturing forestry industry, which expects harvest volumes to triple to 900,000 tonnes a year by 2005.

Mr Osborne said there was great potential for growth in pine exports as supplies of unsustainably managed hardwoods dried up.

"Radiata pine when properly processed and presented can fill many high-value market niches," he said.

Flight's expansion and redevelopment is scheduled for completion in early 2002.

- NZPA