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Australian History of Veneer and Plywood Manufacturing
Boas (1947) states that the manufacture of veneer and plywood in Australia first occurred in 1907. Messrs, Beale and Co. of Sydney used machines for slicing and sawing veneers for use in piano manufacture. The first rotary lathe was placed into production approximately eight years later. The lathe was used to peel hoop pine to manufacture 3-ply plywood, and was installed in Brisbane by McG Williams. In 1916 Messers, Brims and Co. established a plywood mill at Yeerongpilly in Brisbane. This mill grew rapidly into a modern plant for its time, but was destroyed by fire in 1943. In 1944, the total of veneer and plywood mills in Australia reached 25, with a total annual production of 140 000 000 square feet of plywood. At this time the industry was based in Queensland with other mills scattered throughout Australia.
The species utilised in each state in 1944 are as follows;
Queensland
Eleven plants peeled hoop and kauri pine, and also scrub woods such as silky oak, Queensland maple silver ash, satin sycamore and rose alder. Three of these plants also operated slicers utilising mainly walnut, Queensland maple, and silky oak.
NSW
Nine plants peeling scrubwoods, coachwood, white birch, yellow carabeen, brown tulip oak, sassafras, southern silky oak and silver sycamore.
Victoria
One plant peeled mountain ash post war, but pre war the raw materials comprised of Douglas fir and kauri from island in the pacific.
Tasmania
One plant peeling myrtle beech and some mountain ash.
South Australia
Two plants peeling mainly radiata pine and small quantities of mountain ash from Tasmania.
Western Australia
One plant peeling karri.
The total labour absorbed in these factories and excluding those engaged in supplying logs was approximately 2 000.
Imports before the war were mainly of plywood made from Douglas fir, Japanese oak and birch and fancy veneers for furniture manufacture.
Exports included some hoop and kauri pine plywood but consisted mainly of sliced Queensland walnut, Queensland maple and silky oak for use for furniture construction and other decorative purposes.
Between 1955 and 1966, the development of synthetic glues or adhesives largely assisted the development of modern types of plywood. However, between the nine year period of 1970 to 1979 the number of plywood mills declined from 55 to 38. With the employment industry being halved during this period declining from 3500 to 1800 (APIAC 1980). Similar to today's native forest industry, this period was a time of transition, converting from hardwood resource base to a plantation softwood resource.
Before 1975 the local industry produced both thick and thin plywood. However, the manufacture of thin plywood was ceased by many companies due the labour intensive nature of thin plywood manufacturing, scarcity of local timbers for high value/volume thin plywood and reduced access to raw materials from south east Asia.
Today there is 43 veneer and plywood mills, with individual companies trading in ether veneers or plywood, or a combination of the two. The combined companies produce 3 percent of the total wood conversion industries output. Rotary peeling is the most common method of peeling, with the veneer being manufactured into plywood for various constructional end uses. Whereas slicing utilises raw material to produce unique design effects.
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