Maryvale Paper Mill

Melbourne, Australia

On 1 February 2011, Pedersen Group took over the operations of the chip mill at Australian Paper’s Maryvale Mill located in the heart of Gippsland, Victoria 160 kilometres east of Melbourne. Built in 1937, the Maryvale Mill has been upgraded over the years to improve its operational and environmental performance. Pedersen Group’s involvement as a contracting business is part of this continuous improvement process.

The Maryvale Mill is Australia’s largest integrated fine paper-making and packaging papers complex, producing more than 500,000 tonnes of paper every year. It has three pulp mills, five paper-making machines, an ECF bleach plant, pulp lapping machine, finishing facility and a waste paper processing plant.

“Partnership’ is an important word in the Pedersen Group vocabulary. As Managing Director Paul Pedersen says, “Our aim is to help (pulp mills) run the most successful operation possible, by combining our expertise and experience with your expertise and experience – because no one knows your business better than you.” The Pedersen Group provides customised processing services to the forestry industry handling over 8 million tonnes of fibre each year. It’s this partnership approach that you can see in the work at the Maryvale Mill where the Pedersen Group are responsible for processing the logs from their arrival at the weigh station through the debarking and chipping stages until the chip is sent on to the pulp mills. With Pedersen Group’s great experience in onsite chipping, expect to see increased long-term production with reduced costs – one of the hallmarks of this business’s way of working. The reduction of the operating hours, from 24 to 18 hours a day will produce community and environmental benefits without any production losses.

Another area of Pedersen Group’s expertise is the technical know-how and machinery to successfully chip mixed tree species. Over 1 million tonnes of eucalyptus and 900,000 tonnes of pine will go through this site each year using machinery specially manufactured for PG in New Zealand and the USA.

The ten-day shut in February 2011 involved pouring new foundations for the upgrades and installing the new mobile plant from the USA. The two million tonne chipper will be the biggest in Australasia. Supplying two 988 caterpillar log loaders, 966 log loader and two 325 excavators, Pedersen Group will create a more efficient, quieter operating environment than the previous company was able to achieve.

This tailor-made operation will create new benchmarks in the Australian paper industry and set precedents that others will look to follow. The Pedersen Group prides itself on achieving high standards of quality throughout its operations and the resultant reduced costs and increased production that this calibre of work brings. From log debarking, hogging and whole log chipping to log yard and mobile plant services, the Pedersen Group will streamline and modernise the Maryvale Mill operations to maximise efficiency and profits.

Client

Pedersens
Operational Duties

• Managing design, manufacture and installation of streamlined fixed and mobile plant
• Log yard services
• Operation of chipping and debarking line
• Full repairs and maintenance
• Capital risk

Site Statistics

• Australia’s largest integrated fine paper-making and packaging papers complex
• Produces more than 500,000 tonnes of paper each year
• Handles over 1 million tonnes of eucalypts and 900,000 tonnes of pine per annum