Company Profile

Albany Plantation Forest Company of Australia Pty Ltd (APFL) is a joint venture between the Japanese companies Oji Paper, Itochu Corporation, Senshukai and Tohoku Electric Power & NYK Line. APFL was formed in 1993 with the goal of planting more than 20,000 hectares of Blue Gums in plantations under share farming agreements with landowners in the Great Southern.

APFL adopted several innovations in achieving its goal. The first was to join forces with the Western Australian Department of Conservation and Land Management (CALM) to tap the agency's expertise and experience in growing plantations. The second innovation was to seek share farming arrangements with owners of previously cleared farmland - providing farmers with a range of benefits.

The success of these strategies can be measured by the fact that APFL has surpassed its original target and now has over 23,000 hectares - around 29 million trees - planted in the region.

In December 1993, CALM signed a Deed of Agency and Indemnity with APFL. This marked the commencement of a contract to establish and maintain Blue Gum plantations in partnership with landowners. CALM, and subsequently South Coast Sharefarms (SCSF) - a business unit of the State Governments Forest Products Commission - became APFL's agent.

In growing the resource, APFL sought the world's best practice in its arrangement with SCSF. The entity had demonstrated leading edge capability in research, plantation establishment and management. FPC attained quality certification to ISO 14001 standards.

The Western Australian Government showed foresight in supporting the concept of a Japanese paper producer endeavoring to guarantee a reliable source of raw materials. The Governments resource of plantation timber expertise through CALM presented an excellent opportunity to maximize a long-term State investment in the industry. This was formalised with the passing of the Albany Hardwood Plantation Agreement Act in December 1993. The State agreement provides assurances for APFL on a range of issues.

This is a long-term investment by the joint partners, with $100 million invested in the establishment phase, and more than $100 million to be paid to landowners over the life of the project. It is an indication of the joint venture partners' confidence in the enterprise, including reliability of supply, consistency of product, and international price competitiveness gained through efficiency and technology.

The landowner benefits through greater opportunities to diversify, the option of staying on the farm, a guaranteed income, and flexible options to maintain and grow the farming enterprise for future generations.

To maximize landcare benefits, APFL introduced an award-winning scheme to plant alternative species in addition to Blue Gums to meet different demands. This pioneering scheme to plant non-commercial species responded to farmers', needs for the environmental benefits of having trees on all parts of their farms, not only in areas suitable for Blue Gums. These alternative crops are not harvested by APFL and remain the property of the farmers - with no establishment or maintenance costs.

APFL also purchased the CALM Blue Gum plantation estate planted between 1988 and 1993 with the intention of harvesting this timber.

At the end of 2001 - after eight years of development - APFL was ready to hand over to the harvesting operation. The first official harvest was on the property of Mr Jeff Pyle, a Manypeaks farmer. It was the culmination of more than 12 months planning and preparation leading up to the actual harvest operation.

APFL now manages its plantation resource in its own right with the agency agreement between APFL and the State Government coming to an end in September 2003. The State Agreement still continue to cover this project.