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SEPT 2007 APRIL 2005 • WAPRES Finalist in National Prime Ministers Awards AGAIN! • Nursery Wins State Award JANUARY 2004 JULY
2003 APRIL
2003 JANUARY
2003 NOVEMBER
2002 AUGUST
2002 MAY
2002 A New Home for WAPRES WAPRES is progressing full steam ahead with its new Bunbury office. Construction of the building has commenced and the lease for WAPRES to occupy the entire third floor has been signed. The new office will be located on the corner of Victoria and Eliott Streets (near the Bunbury Tower building). WAPRES hopes to move into the office in late March/early April 2007. The entire complex will house a café/restaurant, shops and other offices which are currently available for lease. The new office is a significant step forward for WAPRES in establishing its long term presence in the City of Bunbury.
Forestry Practices set new standard WA Plantation Resources is the first company in WA to earn formal recognition of the Australian Forestry Standard for its social and environmental practices in the forest industry. The company has gained the world-class Standard certification for its plantation operations. To achieve certification, the company had to demonstrate that it meets economic, social, environmental and cultural standards in its management of forests for wood production. Managing Director Shou Tomita said the certification would enhance WA’s long-term prospects for supplying plantation-grown woodchip to pulp and paper manufacturers worldwide. “The international market is demanding forestry companies demonstrate they are managing their business in a sustainable way,” he said. “Local communities are demanding the same approach.” Mr Tomita said WA Plantation Resources had been working toward certification since the Standard was launched last year and is one of only a handful of Australian companies to achieve it so far. “We are excited to be one of the first forest management companies in Australia to be certified to the Standard,” he said. WAPRES Finalist in National Prime Minister's Awards for Excellence WAPRES was recently named a finalist in the 2004 Prime Minister's Awards for Excellence in Community Business Partnerships for its 13 year sponsorship of the Blackwood Waterwatch Program. The Waterwatch Program works with schools and community groups in the monitoring and restoration of the waterways in the Blackwood River Catchment. The Awards were due to be presented last October but due to the Federal Election, they were held in Brisbane on 13th April. WAPRES was one of three finalists in the longevity category for partnerships over 5 years. WAPRES won the medium-sized business category for the Blackwood Waterwatch partnership in 2003.
WAPRES Nursery Wins State Award The best garden centres and production nurseries in Western Australia have been named with WA Plantation Resources of Manjimup acknowledged as our State’s Best Medium Production Nursery. This year the Australian Garden Industry Awards introduced production nursery categories, and WA Plantation Resources eagerly embraced this first fantastic opportunity to compete on a nationwide basis. "Our nursery produces over 5 million quality seedlings each year, mainly bluegum seedlings for large plantation companies but also a mix of pine and over 30 native species for landcare and private plantation growers, " said Simon Hunter, Nursery and Tree Improvement Manager. “We are proud and excited to receive this award, and it is great recognition for the hard work of our team of dedicated staff. “ “We are committed to long term involvement in the industry. We strive to be leaders in the production and supply of quality seedlings, and work proactively to address staff, workplace, community and environmental concerns”, said Simon. Presented jointly by Nursery & Garden Industry Australia and the Garden Centres Association of Australia, the Awards celebrate exceptional performance across the entire garden industry. WAPRES Wins Prime Minister's Award More information on PM's Awards Environmental Tick for WAPRES WAPRES has recently gained certification to the Environmental Management System Standard known as ISO14001. ISO14001 is a management tool enabling WAPRES to control the impact of its activities, products or services on the environment. An environmental management system represents a structured approach to setting environmental objectives and targets, to achieving these and demonstrating that they have been achieved. WAPRES has increased the scope of the management system by integrating occupational health and safety elements into the system. “The system will enable WAPRES to achieve desired environmental and safety outcomes by design, not default”, said Managing Director Kyo Oshima. Donnybrook Woodchip Mill Proposal Withdrawn WAPRES has been forced to withdraw its application to build a woodchip mill near Donnybrook. The company has written to the Shire of Donnybrook-Balingup to say that its application to build a $12 million woodchip mill should no longer be considered. General Manager of Woodchip Operations, Ian Telfer, said it was extremely disappointing for the Company given the effort and resources invested in the proposal. “We tried to get this project off the ground for more than 18 months. We achieved EPA approval but there were some onerous conditions that would have added to the cost and further delayed the project”. Ian said the support of the local community was greatly appreciated and was one of the reasons the Company continued with the proposal for so long. Ian says the Company will be considering options over the next few months. One Million Tonnes of Woodchip Exported in 2002 WA Plantation Resources has achieved a major milestone in 2002 with the export of one million tonnes of woodchip from the Bunbury Port. It is the first time in history that the company has achieved the volume in a single year, with a record 25 vessels loaded with an average of 40,000 tonnes each. About 70% or 680,000 tonnes was plantation grown bluegum, with the other 30% comprised of marri/karri residue woodchips produced at the company's Diamond Mill in Manjimup and other south west sawmills. Bluegum exports have increased from around 100,000 tonnes per annum in 1999 to a projected sales volume in 2002 of 720,000 tonnes. General Manager of Woodchip Operations, Ian Telfer, says that WA Plantation Resources is performing very well despite the recent reductions in native forestry in the South West. "The forestry industry as a whole is suffering but I'm pleased to say our plantation timber operations are excelling in a rather turbulent global market and a difficult local political climate". "We
are fortunate to have sales commitments in place, through Marubeni
Corporation, with our major Japanese customers who include the
Nippon Paper Group, Hokuetsu and Daio Paper ," Mr Telfer
said. "The volume of woodchip we have produced and exported this year indicates just how much the plantation industry is growing in the South West. Over the next few years we hope to maintain our production and export level at just over one million tonnes per annum." Mr Telfer says it is quite significant that the vessel in port for the milestone shipment is from Hokuetsu, the same company that took the first shipment of woodchips from our shores in 1976.
Camp
Mornington Harvest a Milestone for WA Bluegum & WAPRES
Tom
May, representing the owners, flew in from Melbourne to
witness the realisation of his investment in bluegums a
decade ago. "It is very satisfying to see such a long
term investment pay off," he said. "I have been involved in a NSW pine plantation investment since 1977 and I saw the first of the pine logs being harvested, so I couldn't miss the opportunity to see our first bluegums come to the end of the line as well". Mr May explained that Camp Mornington was the first bluegum plantation land leased by his group back in 1992. The trees were planted the following year, and since this time, a company of which he is a director, WA Blue Gum Ltd, has invested in over 4000 hectares of bluegum plantation in the south west. With the expertise of plantation manager WA Plantation Resources guiding the site selection and establishment, WA Blue Gum has developed a reputation for owning quality plantations. "Our priority has always been to acquire the best possible land for bluegums and sometimes this has meant we have had to lease relatively small plantation areas". "However over a number of years we have gradually built up our total bluegum resource on good quality land and we now have a significant plantation estate here in WA". The 49 hectares of wood at Camp Mornington is being harvested by Softwood Logging Company and the logs will be hauled to the portable chip mill stationed at Moore Road in Dardanup for processing. Eventually the logs will be exported as woodchips through the WA Plantation Resources woodchip export facility at Bunbury Port. The
WAPRES Nursery
in Manjimup was recently awarded 3rd place in the Propagation Nursery
of the Year category of the Nursery & Garden Industry WA Awards
of Excellence 2002.
EPA BULLETIN APPROVES DONNYBROOK WOODCHIP MILL WA Plantation Resources is pleased with the outcome of the Environmental Protection Authority's (EPA) assessment of the proposed Donnybrook Woodchip Mill project. The EPA Bulletin provides advice and recommendations to the Minister for Environment and Heritage, and was released by the EPA for two weeks public comment on 19 August 2002. "The Bulletin confirms the EPA's satisfaction with the proposed site and also confirms that the proposal satisfies their requirements in regard to environment, health and safety matters," said Ian Telfer, General Manager of Woodchip Operations. "Obviously we are pleased with the findings of the EPA, and although we have waited longer than we should have for this advice, we understand some extra time was taken for the EPA to thoroughly consider the community's views". The EPA does acknowledge community concerns related to increased truck movements, and Mr Telfer says the Company is happy to continue to liaise with Main Roads WA and local government to deal with these concerns. "We now look forward to the Shire Council's consideration of our proposal with the backing of the EPA. Council can have confidence that all potential issues can be managed through the implementation of specific commitments". The Company must now wait for appeals on the Bulletin to be resolved and for the Minister for Environment and Heritage to give her approval. Mr Telfer says the EPA decision provides a clear resolution to a lot of issues that have been debated non-stop for the past year and whilst it means the company can move forward with its plans, the project still has a long way to go before construction commences. MEET
OUR NEW Mr Kyo Oshima is the new Managing Director of WA Plantation Resources, taking over from Mr Nick Itakura in March 2002. A profile of Mr Oshima is included in the latest edition of our newsletter, Blueprint NIPPON PAPER INDUSTRIES BUYS 40% STAKE IN WAPRES Nippon Paper Industries Co Ltd (NPI) has secured a 40 % stake in WA Plantation Resources. The sale of WAPRES share from Marubeni Corporation took place on 22 March 2002. The deal provides WAPRES with a significant opportunity to develop its woodchip export program with the direct support of one of the largest Japanese pulp and paper companies. NPI have been developing a plantation estate in WA for a number of years through their Bunbury Treefarms project. With this investment in WAPRES, NPI have extended their involvement in the region in order to secure access to WAPRES expertise and processing and export facilities.
The proposal of WAPRES to develop a one million tonne per annum woodchip mill in the town of Donnybrook is currently being assessed by the Western Australian Government's Environmental Protection Authority. After a lengthy community consultation process, a decision from the EPA is expected in early June 2002. UPDATED MAY 2002
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Harvesting
of the Camp Mornington bluegum plantation commenced in October,
marking a significant milestone for the owners of the resource
and the managers of the plantation, WA Plantation Resources.
