Ta Ann Tasmania

Ta Ann Tasmania (TAT)

 

Ta Ann Tasmania (TAT) was established in 2005 to make better use of previously woodchipped eucalypt regrowth log billets by peeling them to create a high value veneer for the domestic and international market. 

Ta Ann Tasmania invested over $79 million to develop two veneer mills - the Huon mill built in 2007 and the Smithton mill in 2008 – and in 2015 commissioned a new plywood manufacturing plant in Smithton.

Veneer is produced using a rotary technology from short logs known as billets, in a process not dissimilar to unfurling a roll of kitchen paper. Green veneer sheets are dried before stacking on to pallets and wrapping for shipment.

Ta Ann is a socially and environmentally responsible company and is committed to best practice in the development of new eucalypt wood products. The company receives its wood supply from Sustainable Timber Tasmania under long-term Wood Supply Agreements.

As a result of the Wood Supply Agreements, Ta Ann Tasmania has gained Chain of Custody certification for its Tasmanian eucalypt veneer under the Australian Forestry Standard and the Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes (PEFC). This assures its customers that the product is sourced from sustainably managed forests.

Ta Ann continues to honour its commitment under the principles of the Market Compact with Environmental Non-Government Organisations (ENGOs) to only accept logs supplied from State Forest areas that had been agreed for long term sustainable wood supply through a contract with Forestry Tasmania.

The rotary veneer mills require log billets of between 20-70cms diameter with the average about 35 cms which means that they do not process logs from large old-growth trees.

In 2015 the company opened its new plywood plant with an installed capacity of 24,000m3/year to produce a premium grade, zero-emission product sold in the Australian market under the brand TPLY.

TPLY is initially a form ply aimed primarily at the construction industry but there is also potential for other higher quality ply for building and architectural applications.

When at full production the plywood plant will inject about $20 million a year into the local economy.  The mill currently provides jobs for 37 people – about half of whom were previously unemployed. Employment numbers are expected to increase to around 70 when the mill reaches full production.

Ta Ann’s two rotary veneer plants currently employ 100 FTEs and over the past five years have contributed $184 million into the local regional economies.

Ta Ann continues to invest in research and development of new products. Future growth in veneer and plywood production will come from private forests and plantation log supplies.

 

Our People

All employees of Ta Ann Tasmania are paid in accordance with a registered Enterprise Agreement. Both the veneer mill and the plywood plant are providing employment for many formerly long-term unemployed people from the local areas.