Products and Services
APEC's Albany mill is responsible for the final product of high quality woodchips for the manufacturing of paper in OJI mills throughout Japan. APEC also processes timber for another local tree plantation company in the area.
Wood chips are the end product of a staged process over a number of years. Plantation establishment to harvesting takes an average of 10 years duration before the first harvest and turning trees into chips for further processing.
Briefly the stages are as follows:
acquisition of suitable land from landholders in the region, through a lease, share farming or purchase arrangement
land preparations for the planting of the blue gum seedlings planted at 1250 trees per hectare
plantation management involves maintaining fire breaks, fertilisation of trees for maximum growth and regular weed control during the 10 year period of tree growth
contracting harvesting of trees
transport and chipping of the timber
shipping to Japan
At the completion of the first harvest, the plantation is usually left to coppice and is then harvested for a second time, again on average 10 years later, depending on the growth of the trees. Management of the plantation during the second growth rotation is similar with the thinning of the coppiced timber, fertiliser application, firebreaks etc.
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