Otago-based ForestPlus Oils has received accolades at the New Zealand Wood Resene Timber Design Awards for its essential oil distilled from Douglas fir trees.
The company was the winner of the Scion-sponsored novel application of (wood) fibre category at the awards, held in Auckland.
Since July 2015, it has removed and processed more than 1.3 million kg of biomass from road edges and wildings. The tree material would otherwise be considered a waste product.
Vacuum distillation technology, developed by ForestPlus Oils, was then used to produce more than 3300kg of oil, which was sent to Utah-based DoTerra, where it was used for aromatherapy, skincare and massage. DoTerra is the world's largest essential oil reseller.
One of the judges, Doug Gaunt, from Scion, described it as ''another Kiwi can-do story'' - solving a waste problem, designing and building a plant, securing a market and making it all work.