Sydney, Australia, June 1--Boral today announced that it has invested around $21 million to acquire the Davis & Herbert (D&H) timber operation and the hardwood business of Fennings Timber. In addition a further $4 million of inventory was acquired. Both operations, which are in New South Wales, will be integrated into Boral's NSW hardwood timber business.
D&H operates three green mills at Nowra, Batemans Bay and Narooma, on the NSW South Coast, and supplies green sawn timber products predominantly to the industrial market. A small softwood and pallet business is also included in the purchase. D&H's current wood supply agreement, which runs to December 2020, has been assigned to Boral.
Fennings, which is approximately half the size of the D&H business, operates a flooring plant at Gloucester and a saw mill in Walcha, both on the NSW north coast. The Walcha mill has older equipment and technology and over time will require some capital expenditure to upgrade operations to Boral standards.
Peter Boyd, executive general manager of Boral Timber said "Boral is a large hardwood operator in New South Wales and these bolt-on acquisitions provide us with a unique opportunity to build further scale into our business."
"Over recent years we have focused on growing our timber business through the development of value-added products and investing in new milling technologies. Through these investments, which commenced some six months ago and were finalised yesterday with the completion of the D&H transaction, we are advancing the NSW hardwood industry. We are securing regional employment and ensuring that our valuable hardwood resource is used in a sustainable way. We are excited by the opportunities of integrating the D&H and Fennings' operations into the Boral timber business and we believe there is opportunity for significant synergies," said Mr Boyd.
