Ta Ann moves its veneer mill north

TA Ann Tasmania will close its Huon veneer mill and consolidate operations in Smithton.

The company said the disruption caused to supply chains by coronavirus, which came after a bushfire last summer, had forced its hand.

There are only 10 workers on the Southwood site and the Smithton mill is earmarked to reopen in January.

Some of the southern workers have found other jobs. The rest will be offered relocation to Smithton.

The closure is a blow to the forestry industry in the South and a shock to the Huon Valley community.

Huon Valley Mayor Bec Enders said the mill’s closure was the “end of an era”.

“It has been an enormous battle for Ta Ann management, staff and shareholders,” Cr Enders said.

“We regret that the economic climate post the 2019 bushfires has meant the closure of Ta Ann in the South of Tasmania.”

The company spent $ 79m developing veneer mills — at Huon in 2007 and Smithton in 2008 — and says it will invest in its Smithton mill if an adequate volume and longer- term wood supply can be finalised.

It also opened a plywood plant in Circular Head in 2015.

The Bob Brown Foundation said it was time to move the multinational logger out of Tasmania’s forests and give taxpayers “back the $ 44m that Lennon Labor gave it to set up here”.

“Without Ta Ann driving the logging of native forests, including critical swift parrot habitat, it’s time to move the industry out of native forests,” campaign manager Jenny Weber said.

“Instead, Ta Ann is saying ‘ give us the Tarkine forests on a plate or we will leave’.

“It’s a disgusting ransom.” Ta Ann says it is working with Sustainable Timbers Tasmania to support options for wood manufacturing on the southern Tasmanian site.

“Unfortunately, due to a combination of circumstance largely outside of our control, Ta Ann Tasmania’s parent company has had to accept the hard commercial reality that consolidating of all veneer and plywood operations at Smithton is required,” general manager Robert Yong said.

“Those factors include the extensive bushfire damage to the mill, reduced log volumes and the impact of the COVID- 19 crisis through the whole supply chain both in Australia and overseas.

“We acknowledge closure of our Huon mill will disappoint many in the region.”