Today marks the next step for an exciting new project which will create jobs in the North West and support the local timber industry.
The Hermal Group has today announced that an 80-hectare site in Hampshire will be the location of their $190 million Cross Laminated Plantation timber mill and production facility.
The new facility will be Australia’s largest plantation-based hardwood mill and the first ever hardwood cross-laminated production plant.
Once complete, the facility expects to create around 221 jobs, and a further 160 jobs will be created during the construction phase.
This is a big win for the North West, and is more evidence of the growing confidence, investment and jobs in the industry on the back of the strong forestry policies of the Hodgman Liberal Government.
Hermal’s focus on opportunities in Tasmania comes after it was forced out of Australia’s biggest hardwood sawmill when the Victorian Labor Government decided to slash wood supply by more than half.
The Hodgman Government is backing this game-changing Hampshire project and the hundreds of jobs it will provide with a $13 million grant and training support. A loan of up to $30 million also will be available.
I would like to acknowledge the work of the Coordinator-General, John Perry and his team for their hard work in helping bring Hermal to Tasmania.
Unlike Labor, whose so-called Peace Deal with the Greens cost two out of every three jobs in the industry, the Hodgman Liberal Government is a strong supporter of Tasmania’s forestry industry, and the regional and rural communities who depend on it.