OneFortyOne’s second continuous drying kiln is now online, completing a $16m capital investment project at the Jubilee Sawmill site in Mount Gambier.

Jubilee Sawmill General Manager Paul Hartung said the kilns were working well and had increased site capacity while improving the quality of the timber dried.

“The CDK’s are powered by our own sawdust and wood waste offcuts, and their efficient design is using less energy to process more timber compared to our old batch kilns,” Mr Hartung said.

“With the old batch kiln we put 150m3 of timber in at a time, drying it at up to 160 degrees to achieve a moisture level down to 12%.

“These high temperatures can stress the timber.

“With the CDK, we load the timber to move through the drying process.

“With the efficiencies of shared energy and temperature control, the new kilns have a maximum temperature of 130 degrees which is a lot less aggressive on the timber as it dries.”

Mr Hartung said two of four older batch kilns would be reconditioned and remain on site to provide added flexibility and backup for the CDK’s if they were offline for maintenance.

“The upgrade project is part of a greater Jubilee-wide modernisation program, which has included state-of-the-art sawing equipment upgrades, through to the addition of robotic pack wrap and strapping machine,” he said.

“The upgrades and new equipment on site are creating better and safer working environments for everyone.

“The team is also getting the opportunity to gain new skills, work with the latest technology, and enjoy a safer and more modern workplace.”