Timber Towns Victoria has completed a three‑day members’ forum and industry tour in Wellington Shire, taking representatives from eleven of the state’s timber regions to inspect plantation estates, two of the country’s largest sawmills, and specialist processors that sustain its supply chain. The program, which included the association’s annual general meeting, showcased the manufacturing capacity, innovation, and the economic linkages that keep regional communities thriving.
“It is vital for our members and the regions that we continue to visit and support these areas,” said Cr Karen Stephens, President of Timber Towns Victoria and mayor of Glenelg Shire, who represents municipal councils on forestry issues affecting public and private land. “The positive impact the timber industry has in Victoria can be seen and shared.”
Wellington Shire Council is an active TTV member and timber is a major economic driver for the region; the sector’s ecosystem includes service industries and major processors — among them one of Australia’s largest hardwood manufacturers and the country’s largest softwood sawmiller, which supply structural timber for housing and framing.
The delegation began in Sale and traveled through Heyfield to Yarram, visiting Australian Sustainable Hardwoods’ Heyfield mill – the country’s largest solid wood product manufacturer, HVP Plantations, which supplies three million tonnes of softwood (pine) and 300,000 tonnes of hardwood (eucalypt) to sawmillers, panel producers, and pulp and paper mills, Radial Timbers, Alberton Timbers, and AKD Softwoods.
Guided at Heyfield by Vince Hurley, managing director of Australian Sustainable Hardwoods, delegates observed high‑volume production lines for mouldings, laminations, finger‑jointed profiles, and mass‑timber products made from a mix of native and plantation species, underscoring ASH’s role as a leading hardwood manufacturer. Whilst at HVP Plantations near Yarram, Craig Dunn, Stakeholder Relations Manager, took delegates to a roadside harvesting operation. Whilst the tour concluded at AKD Softwoods, part of a network that processes roughly 2 million cubic metres of sawlog a year and contributes a substantial share of Australia’s structural timber used in housing and infrastructure.
Organised by Wellington Shire’s economic development officer Mark Coleman, the program highlighted how plantation managers, primary processors, and secondary manufacturers operate in concert across the shire. Participants noted the sector’s focus on innovation — from radial sawing methods that maximise yield to advances in mass timber production — and discussed regulatory and policy pressures that affect regional operations and investment decisions. “These businesses are all thinking ahead, embracing innovation, and finding new market opportunities while working together,” Stephens said. “It’s truly fascinating—just like timber—and we applaud their efforts and support this kind of collaboration.”
