64
MASTER BUILDERS VICTORIA
ISSUE 02, 2019
TIMBER ADVERTISING FEATURE
AKD Softwoods focus on quality AKD Softwoods is a 100 per cent Australian owned and operated integrated forestry and timber processing company with operations in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. AKD is distinctive among its key competitors for its scale, family ownership, technological innovations in sawmilling, its exceptional customer service and vertically integrated operations which comprise: • Six sawmills processing more than 2,000,000 cubic metres of sawlog per annum • Approximately 10,000 hectares of radiata pine plantations located in Victoria and South Australia • Three preservation businesses • A softwood chip export operation • Multiple log export locations All of AKD’s products are certified under either Forest Stewardship Council or PEFC/Responsible Wood Chain of Custody. The quality assurance of an Australian manufacturer meeting the required Australian Standards provides peace of mind for their whole supply chain. AKD has a strong supply channel to market on the East Coast with a vast customer network of timber merchants and timber frame and truss fabricators. As a regional employer, AKD plays an active part in supporting a variety of local community activities and sees its employees as the vital
ingredient in its past and future success. Since its founding, AKD has continually made significant investments to ensure long-term growth and prosperity. The company’s mission is to ensure that Australian homes for generations to come are built using AKD’s sustainable structural pine framing. The company’s ability to invest for the long term comes from its stable ownership, loyal customer relationships, sustainable log supply, its own plantations and state-of-the-art processing innovations. AKD is proud of its 60-year history, having retained its original headquarters at the site on which it was founded in Colac, Victoria in 1955 by an association of local family companies. The four equal shareholder companies that own AKD have been involved since day one. Along with the company’s rich history and family values, AKD’s scale today means that its investment in trialling new technologies is leading the industry. Talented optimisation and mechatronic engineers lead the company’s research and development programs. High speed automated scanning and imaging devices throughout the process help determine maximum yield, board recovery and quality from the AKD process; 3D, gamma ray and acoustic scanning devices are employed to assess log
rotation, grading of timber, board density and fibre stiffness, which are essential to determining a product’s end use. The latest timber drying technology of Continuous Drying Kilns (CDKs) involves the careful control of push speed, air temperature and humidity to ensure air circulates in a particular manner to ensure consistent drying of every board. This process helps to create an end product that is more stable across varying Australian climate conditions. In addition, dry wood is lighter (reducing the cost of transport) and insulates better with a higher electricity resistance. AKD utilises state-of-the-art treatment processes on its termi-blue™, ecowood-dry™ and losp-clear™ new generation products. Blue Pine termite resistant treatment for Australian pine frames was developed more than two decades ago and is the proven and preferred solution for peace of mind against termites for the structure of any home. These processes ensure the durability, protection, performance and reliability of all AKD’s products. Specific treatments are undertaken to ensure structural integrity and protection against termite attacks, decay and weather. Every house lot of AKD’s structural pine framing stores approximately 12,600kg of carbon for its life.