The Branxholm sawmill in Tasmania’s north east is creating jobs, as other mills close their doors.

General manager Dale Jessup says CMTP Branxholm has added a drying kiln to its sawmill and box and pallet making business, to add value to green-sawn pine.

The kiln and its installation cost $300,000 and it is being used to either kiln dry timber or to heat-treat pallets so they can be used in international shipping.

Dale Jessup says heating wood to 56 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes eliminates the need to fumigate wood to destroy pathogens.

“We used to always have a contractor come on to chemically fumigate the timber and now we can eliminate that and just heat treat,” he said

“It means that we’ll be able to supply a better quality product that hasn’t been chemically fumigated.

“But we’ll be able to turn around the product a lot quicker as well.

“The wood-drying basically is to be able to be able to kiln dry the timber down to a moisture content of 10 to 15 per cent, so then it can be further value-added.

“So things such as turning it into mouldings and deckings and architraves and things like that.

“It’s certainly diversifying the business.”

Dale Jessup says the kiln has just achieved an ISPM15 stamp under the Australian Wood packaging certification scheme.

He says the wood from the CMTP Branxholm kiln is stamped with a unique identification number that can be traced from anywhere in the world.

Dale Jessup says that’s important for market access, as is the Tasmanian Freight Equalisation Scheme payments for timber products sent from Branxholm to Melbourne.