Innovation and safety are the key drivers behind OneFortyOne’s $8 million nursery redevelopment, with a new state-of-the-art undercover handling system leading a number of major upgrades for the Glencoe facility, Australia.
The two automated handling lines, designed in Europe and installed on-site, will see millions of radiata pines trees sown, lifted and dispatched under controlled conditions annually, significantly increasing workforce conditions and safety.
Nursery Manager Craig Torney said the new infrastructure investment will substantially increase efficiency and signals a major shift away from traditional intensive in-field growing.
“The line has the ability to sow about 1-million trees per week, so it’s a lot cleaner and a lot more efficient,” Craig said.
“This work would normally be done on the back of a tractor in the elements. Now, from the time the container is introduced to the machine to the time that the finished product is pushed through the wall automatically out into the nursery, there is no human intervention, apart from overseers.”
A new irrigation system is also part of the upgrades, improving efficiency at the establishment stage by decreasing water and chemical usage.
In operation since 1983, the Glencoe nursery is central to OneFortyOne’s Australian operations, growing around 7.5million trees annually for the company and other Green Triangle forest growers.
OneFortyOne is a vertically integrated Trans-Tasman wood fibre company. It owns and operates sustainable softwood forests and innovative sawmills in Australia and New Zealand.
