brochure - bluegum plantations

C O M P A N YO V E R V I E W

Australian Bluegum Plantations:Australian Bluegum Plantations Prepares for GrowthWith a diversifying market and strong growth, Australian Bluegum Plantations is a young business with a bright future.

Written by: Sasha Orman Produced by: Cory Shields

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AUSTRALIAN BLUEGUM PLANTATIONS

In the past few years, the world economy has made it a difficult time for Australian businesses

with products seeking to export outside of the domestic market. But while many have struggled, others are on the rise.

Among them is Australian Bluegum Plantations Pty Ltd. With 110,000 hectares of Bluegum (Eucalyptus globulus) plantations spread across Western Australia, South Australia and Victoria, ABP is in the business of producing premium wood fibre for the pulp and paper sectors. By exploring new markets and vertically

integrating its operations, the fledgling venture is striving to become a successful integrated forestry business.

Growing the Business from Scratch Every business has to start somewhere and with Australian Bluegum Plantations it commenced with the acquisition of a large plantation estate and the purchase of additional plantations adjacent to these plantations, as well as two port operations.

“In November 2009, we purchased 93,000 hectares of

M A N U F A C T U R I N G

www.austgum.com.au/ 4 6

AUSTRALIAN BLUEGUM PLANTATIONS

plantation—with no access to export markets, we just bought the land and trees,” says ABP managing director Tony Price, explaining that the land was purchased from a previous plantation venture that had failed and gone into receivership.

That lack of direct market access required the negotiation of partnership agreements with third-party businesses for processing and shipping ABP’s product, which was very important to get the business up and running in the first couple of years. Through these arrangements the business was

able to gather momentum with the business increasing its sales by almost double from 2012 to 2014

“In 2012, we had the opportunity to acquire the forestry assets and port facilities of a company that was seeking to exit the forestry business,” says Price. “The additional plantations we purchased increased our total estate to around 110,000 hectares, and with that acquisition we purchased a port facility in Albany in Southwestern Australia. Shortly after that acquisition, we had the opportunity to buy another port facility at the Port of

www.komatsuforest.com.au

Export ChippingSolutions

Komatsu Forest Pty Ltd.11/4 Avenue of Americas

Newington NSW 2127 AustraliaT: +61 2 9647 3600

E: [email protected]

The Innovative Solution for Flails & ChippersPeterson off ers two very successful solutions for Pine and Eucalyptus Plantations in the southern hemisphere; the ‘All-in-One System’ and ‘Twin System’ forin-fi eld chipping.

Peterson is represented by Komatsu Forest in Australia and New Zealand which provides a strong combination in meeting the local requirements.

Komatsu Forest off ers chipping contractors real product support and expertise.

Chipping Equipment

Twin System6830/7900EL(Track Optional)

Twin System6830/7900EL6830/7900ELTwin System6830/7900EL6830/7900EL

All-In-One System

5000H

All-In-One System

5000H

All-In-One System

5000H

All-In-One SystemAll-In-One System

M A N U F A C T U R I N G


AUS. BLUEGUM PLANTATIONS


Export ChippingSolutions




The Innovative Solution for Flails & ChippersPeterson off ers two very successful solutions for Pine and Eucalyptus Plantations in the southern hemisphere; the ‘All-in-One System’ and ‘Twin System’ forin-fi eld chipping.

Peterson is represented by Komatsu Forest in Australia and New Zealand which provides a strong combination in meeting the local requirements.

Komatsu Forest off ers chipping contractors real product support and expertise.

Chipping Equipment

Twin System6830/7900EL(Track Optional)

Twin System6830/7900EL6830/7900ELTwin System6830/7900EL6830/7900EL

All-In-One System

5000H

All-In-One System

5000H

All-In-One System

5000H

All-In-One SystemAll-In-One System

Portland which was in the other area we operate—so we acquired that, which allowed us to have our own avenue to market in Eastern Australia as well as Western Australia.”

As Price explains, the purchase of these port facilities has been as strategically valuable as the acquisition of the trees themselves. “It allowed us to move down the supply chain,” he says. “Where we’d been totally reliant on third parties for getting our wood to market in the past, this gave us the opportunity to more effectively manage our supply chain, which we believe is a very sensible move in the long term.”

Over the two years, ABP has worked hard to integrate its new facilities and staff into the business as a whole. “We think we did that pretty well,” says Price. “Now that we have pulled the supply chain together, the next step is to optimize and improve the efficiency of that supply chain.”

Exploring New Markets Diversification can be vital to the growth of a new business, and Australian Bluegum Plantations is

looking outside of the paper pulp industry to discover new markets and develop new partnerships.

“One that’s exciting to us at the moment and where we think there’s the potential for even more growth t is a product called dissolving pulp,” says Price. “This is used in the production of rayon for clothing. In China alone, that market is projected to grow 50 percent from its current level in the next two to three years. Historically, softwood was used for that process—but it’s now been found that the high quality of our fibre is well suited for this process. Probably 80 percent of our wood that is exported to China at the moment goes toward that process. So that’s an emerging or growing market for us and we’re pursuing that.”

Protecting the Environment Environmental protection is always a concern within the industry. Rather than avoiding the subject, Australian Bluegum Plantations embraces it, caring for the remnant native vegetation on its properties, along with native wildlife.

The real BIGforwarder…




Komatsu Forest matches a Komatsu PC270-8 with a Komatsu C202E debarking head and forestry modifi cations to comply with Australian Forest Standards.

The PC270-8 provides the higher engine hp for optimum performance of the Komatsu C202E head with this combination providing:• High Production• High Availability• Lower Purchase Price• Low Operational Cost

Komatsu Forest off ers alternatives to meet the various harvesting demands in the blue gum plantations plus local factory support off ering real benefi ts to contractors.

Blue GumSolution

Komatsu Forest’s ECO Harvester


Total Forestry FocusKomatsu Forest AB (KF) is a major global supplier of forestry equipment with its Head Offi ce located in Sweden. The distribution of KF forestry equipment is carried out by factory owned sales companies and dealers which are supported by the Komatsu factories located in Sweden, USA, Japan, and Brazil.

The Australian sales company Komatsu Forest Pty Ltd (previously known as Valmet Logging) was established in Oct 1990 with the Head Offi ce located in Sydney which incorporates the main parts warehouse. The Head Offi ce supports the KF branches in Albury / Wodonga, Mt.Gambier, Launceston, and Rotorua as well as the service / parts agents located throughout the more remote forest regions of Australia and New Zealand.

Komatsu Forest is rather unique in that it relies totally on forestry business whereas with all other major suppliers forestry is very much a sideline or secondary business interest. This forestry focus enabled KF to take the market leadership in the early 90’s and continues to hold this position today through its concentration on customer support;

• Customer/Product Support through; i. In fi eld technical expertise ii. High spare parts availability iii. Competitive pricing• Close customer relationships• Long term specialised staff• Flexibility to meet quick changes to market demands• Product modifi cations to satisfy local conditions

Also Komatsu Forest is able to adapt to the different demands of the various sized companies within the Forestry industry. Being able to adjust to these different requirements is very important. In many cases the harvesting demands and expectations of the equipment may vary, so in this situation KF is able to fi nd a solution that normally will satisfy all parties involved.

With 25 years of experience, Komatsu Forest is the longest serving machinery supplier to the Australian and New Zealand Forestry Industries and it will continue to meet customers’ expectations as the prime supplier of quality forest machines. i.e. TOTAL FORESTRY FOCUS…

Management: Brett Jones - Managing Director, Mike Jones - Marketing Director,Brenton Yon - Sales/Marketing Manager (Aust), Dean O’Connor - N.Z. Manager,Sheryl Pavloff - Financial Controller and Paul Harrison - Product Support Manager.

Website: www.komatsuforest.com.au

The real BIGforwarder…




Komatsu Forest matches a Komatsu PC270-8 with a Komatsu C202E debarking head and forestry modifi cations to comply with Australian Forest Standards.

The PC270-8 provides the higher engine hp for optimum performance of the Komatsu C202E head with this combination providing:• High Production• High Availability• Lower Purchase Price• Low Operational Cost

Komatsu Forest off ers alternatives to meet the various harvesting demands in the blue gum plantations plus local factory support off ering real benefi ts to contractors.

Blue GumSolution

Komatsu Forest’s ECO Harvester


Their R&D partnership resulted in the invention of the “square flail chain” which is now widely used in Australia, Canada and the USA.

L.V. Dohnt and Company - The largest infield chipping contractor in Australia and Function Chains Pty Ltd, both leaders in improving woodchip quality and increasing wood fibre recovery.

Ph: +61 8 8739 7276Email: [email protected]

Visit us online:

Bracke Plough

Peterson chipper Skidder Feller buncher Flail drum with square chain

CHAMPIONS IN CHIPPING

&

1.8 million hectares of plantation.one specialist insurance broker.

T 02 9965 1100 F 02 9965 1111 E [email protected]

www.agririsk.com.au

“We operate in accordance with Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) forest management principles,” says Price. “We’re very proud of that and we have a strong commitment to sound environmental management, it is ingrained in our business.”

Aiming for the Best Australian Bluegum Plantations certainly intends to continue explore growth options in the future, and always has an eye out for potential new opportunities,

AUS. BLUEGUM PLANTATIONS M A N U F A C T U R I N G


whether it’s markets or acquisitions. But with that said, it is not a business concerned with growing at any cost.

“We’re not necessarily the biggest, but I think we’ve got ourselves well positioned as a significant, reliable, high-quality supplier in this market and we’ll acquire assets if it makes sense and fits with our strategy,” says Price, explaining that quality growth will always be our goal.

“One of our customers asked last year if we’re going to become pretty big,” he says. “I said: look, the business has grown and we’ve done that to improve the efficiencies of our business. But at the end of the day our target isn’t to be the biggest company, it’s to be the best. That is our philosophy.”

Company Information

I N D U S T RY

Manufacturing

H E A D Q U A RT E R S

Part Level 1, 24

Albert Road, SOUTH

MELBOURNE VIC 3205

F O U N D E D

2009

E M P L O Y E E S

52

R E V E N U E

NA

“The additional plantations we purchased increased our total estate to around 110,000 hectares, and with that acquisition we purchased a port facility in Albany in Southwestern Australia.”

– ABP managing director Tony Price

Australian Bluegum Plantations

AddressPart Level 1, 24 Albert Road, SOUTH MELBOURNE VIC 3205

Tel. 61 3 9291 0101 Fax. 61 3 9291 0199

[email protected] http://www.austgum.com.au/

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