Above: Representatives from Hyne Timber, Maryborough Member, Bruce Saunders, and Fraser Coast Deputy Mayor, Darren Everard.
Hyne Timber’s much anticipated, new Continuous Drying Kiln (CDK) has commenced operations, a milestone marked with an official ribbon cutting event held today.
Since the initial announcement in March 2021, around 60 additional team members have been recruited to assist with scaling up the Tuan Mill with an added 20% capacity over the next few months.
Hyne Timber CEO, Jon Kleinschmidt said Hyne had invested significantly over its 139-year history and this latest milestone is yet another chapter for the history book,
“We are currently experiencing significant demand for our products so this $14.5 million investment for expansion is timely and can bring the construction sector some comfort as we ramp up production over the next few months.
“The CDK not only delivers efficiency for the Tuan Mill in addressing the timber drying bottleneck, but it will also improve the consistency of drying quality and overall quality of our timber in addition to delivering energy efficiency.
“We have had dedicated teams working on this highly specialised project for months and I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge them. They include several Tuan Mill team members led by David Spencer and Paul Ryan supported by contractors including Civil Mining and Construction, Wolff Power, Brisbane Electrical, Platinum Fire, Windsor and representatives of The University of Queensland, Centre for Future Timber Structures and ARC Future Timber Hub. I hope they all feel very proud of this achievement as part of our history and for our future.”
“Scaling up our expansion project is paralleled with us working collaboratively with our suppliers including HQ Plantations, Richers Transport and Log Management Solutions, creating more jobs for the region.
“I would like to thank the Queensland Government, Bruce Saunders and the team at State Development and the Fraser Coast Regional Council for their ongoing support for growth, jobs and expansion in our region.” Mr Kleinschmidt said.
To officially mark the CDK as operating, CEO Jon Kleinschmidt was joined by Member for Maryborough, Bruce Saunders, Fraser Coast Deputy Mayor, Darren Everard, Hyne family members, Chris Hyne and Kelly Hyne, Hyne team members David Spencer, Paul Ryan and two of the newest recruits to join the team as part of the expansion, Giaan Muller and Abby Zipf in cutting the ribbon.
The event coincided with the 35-year anniversary of the original installation of Kilns at the Tuan Mill.
The Tuan Mill now employs around 300 people and is one of Australia’s largest suppliers of softwood framing.
To take a Tuan Mill tour or learn more about the company and its products, visit: https://www.hyne.com.au/
Continuous Drying Kiln – More Information
A CDK operates differently to the Tuan Mill’s existing batch kilns. Packs of wood are continually fed onto trolleys that are steadily pushed through the kiln without stopping. Over the course of 37 hours, the wood passes through three zones; a humid heating zone where the wood is gradually warmed up, a central low-humidity drying zone and a humid cooling zone. Heat is transferred between the cooling and heating zones to increase thermal efficiency.
CDK’s have rapidly been accepted as best practice for wood drying and have several advantages:
- Significantly higher thermal efficiency.
- Automation and improved safety. The CDK is fed with green packs at one end while dry packs are removed at the other end.
- Less moisture variation.
- Straighter product with less risk of discolouration, improving quality for customers.
- Less maintenance, reducing ongoing costs.