Tropik Pushes Boundaries
“I do not want to provide them justifications or tell them of the ignorance and mismanagement of the past.”
Tropik Wood Industries Ltd will push boundaries to expand its area of pine planting, as it sets a target to cover 8000 hectares (19768.43 acres).
It is among ambitions set out by the country’s largest saw miller.
A new sawmill at Drasa will also be completed this year, which will process larger diameter logs, chief executive officer, Vimlesh Kumar, said.
“This will assist us towards forest sustainability, and diversify into other species,” he said.
The company’s third top three outcomes for 2023, include continued best returns to landowners and employees.
Looking back
Mr Kumar said restructure and reforms the company carried out over the last three years took the industry to new heights.
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tropik Wood paid substantial dividends to landowners, he said.
“We continue to keep each worker, pay increments and bonuses,” Mr Kumar.
“Despite us shutting our saw mill for almost four months, we kept all our workers on board.
“Zero impact on our workers and landowners.”
Reforms are paying off, Mr Kumar said.
He hailed workers who adapted to reforms within the organisation.
“Hats off to workers in our forest plantations who deliver our planting targets,” Mr Kumar said.
“We won’t be here when these trees mature.
“However, people who will harvest will remember us for taking this bold step in aggressive forest replanting operations.”
Challenges
The poor planting measures put in place 20 to 25 years ago have compounded problems facing the country’s leading sawmill.
This as Tropik Wood worked to address the need to boost forest sustainability.
Mr Kumar said a pine tree took an average of 20 to 25 years to mature.
“If you invest in pine planting today, you have to wait for 20 to 25 years for that investment to realize returns,” he said.
“Through this 20 to 25 year journey, there are many challenges that need to be addressed to ensure that you get maximum yield or survivability of what you have planted.
“Sadly, planting was either poorly
managed. or completely not carried out back 20 to 25 years, which created a significant gap in our forest.”
Ignorance and mismanagement
In order to keep its Drasa factory, in Lautoka, Tropik Wood brings in logs from as far as Seaqaqa in Vanua Levu to bring in logs at substantial costs.
“I have all my workers and my
landowners to look after and provide them with the best of the returns,” Mr Kumar said.
“I do not want to provide them justifications or tell them of the ignorance and mismanagement of the past.”
It is among strategies put in place by the miller to improve forest sustainability.
Tropik Wood aggressively carries out pine planting for future generations of its landowners, and a solid pine sector, Mr Kumar said.
“We are already realising the returns through the many reforms, strategies and decisions that we have taken over the last three years,” he said.