Wood Processing Growth Fund

About Catalyst

Catalyst grants help with the costs of pre-investment activities for wood processing projects. If your project is at the pre-investment stage, you can seek a Catalyst grant to develop it further.

Catalyst grants can co-fund:

• business cases and feasibility studies
• research and pilots
• technical and business development assistance
• entrepreneurial capability building, to help groups and investors develop commercial capability and skills
• skills development associated with improving productivity
• market development projects.

Catalyst provides grants for typically up to half the total cost of these activities.

If you get a Catalyst grant, the results of the activities you get funding for can be used to support your application for an Accelerator loan. For example, results from research or a feasibility study.

Eligibility for Catalyst grants

To be eligible for a grant, your project should:

• aim to increase wood processing of long-lived wood products
• be a New Zealand-based wood processing project
• be supported by co-funding from non-government investors.

For Catalyst grants, we invite you to get in touch if your project is at the pre-investment stage. See our section on getting funding below.

We're looking for projects that:

• align with government priorities to boost wood processing of long-lived wood products
• are well-planned and backed by specialist expertise
• can increase the processing of long-lived wood products at the firm or sector level.

About Accelerator

Accelerator provides debt and/or equity finance for up to half of the total cost of capital activities that aim to increase wood processing capacity of long-lived wood products. Applicants will need to source finance for the remainder of the costs. To be considered for funding, applicants will ideally be undertaking a project that requires at least $1 million of Accelerator investment.

Accelerator can co-fund investments including:

• equipment
• technology
• buildings
• infrastructure.

It cannot be used to buy land.

There is $27 million available in total for capital co-investments, alongside private capital. As the proceeds of investments are returned, they will be available for reinvestment in future investment rounds.

Eligibility for Accelerator funding

To be eligible for funding, your project should be:

• a New Zealand-based capital project that requires at least $1 million of Accelerator investment
• likely to stimulate more onshore wood processing of long-lived wood products
• supported by co-funding from non-government investors.

For Accelerator, we invite you to get in touch if you are investment ready. See our section on getting funding below. "Investment ready" means you will:

• have already conducted your due diligence
• know your investment is both technically and commercially feasible
• use existing technology that can offer early returns on investment
• have the necessary documentation, including a detailed business case.

We’re looking for projects that:

• increase output of long-lived wood products
• show they’re well-advanced and will provide returns on investment
• are well planned and backed by specialist expertise
• include private finance.

Abodo Wood

Abodo Wood sells long-lived building material wood products, including Vulcan Cladding. The cladding is New Zealand's first verified carbon-negative feature timber. The grant will allow Abodo Wood to bring part of the manufacturing process for the cladding in-house. This will double the company’s production capacity for the cladding.

Abodo Wood received a $125,000 grant. This project is now complete. 

Biotanex

Biotanex is a New Zealand-owned timber manufacturing business based in Napier. It uses water-based treatments to enhance the weight, durability, and performance of timber. Biotanex’ products are suitable for both interior uses like panels and flooring, and exterior uses like decking and cladding. The business will use the grant to fund testing to meet national and international building standards and secure IP rights. This will help Biotanex expand its market presence and commercialise its products.

Biotanex was approved for a $258,479 grant.

Calibre Equipment  

Calibre Equipment makes structural timber grading machines for sawmills. The company will use the grant to develop an ecoustic sideboard grader. The grader will provide a better structural stiffness assessment of sawn boards. It will allow sawmills to increase recovery rates for structural logs and produce more high-grade timber.

Calibre Equipment was approved for a $361,631 grant.

John Fairweather Speciality Timber Solutions

John Fairweather Speciality Timber Solutions is a timber manufacturer based in Canterbury. It specialises in eucalyptus timber flooring. The grant will enable the business to build a prototype hot oil thermal modification kiln with the University of Canterbury and the New Zealand Farm Forestry Association. The cost-effective kiln will provide an alternative to large-scale, imported kilns. This project aims to show the commercial viability of producing durable wood from alternative species. It builds on the university's small-scale eucalyptus research.

John Fairweather received a $87,574 grant. This project is now complete.

Kiwi Lumber Gisborne

Kiwi Lumber operates 4 modern sawmills in Putāruru, Gisborne, Dannevirke, and Masterton. These mills produce 250,000 cubic metres of sawn timber annually. The grant will allow Kiwi Lumber to analyse the commercial viability of investing in a vision-scanning optimised trimmer and lug loader at their Gisborne sawmill. This technology would speed up the current manual board grading process. It would also aid more complex decision-making about grades, thereby maximising the value of each board.

Kiwi Lumber was approved for a $99,413 grant. They withdrew their project before any funding was paid.

Kiwood

Kiwood is based in Kaikoura and supplies prefabricated timber bridges for roads, farms and other rural access. Kiwood runs a vertically integrated operation, including forest ownership and management, processing and bridge solutions. Kiwood has invested significantly to pilot and commercially demonstrate their timber bridge systems, recently supplying bridge solutions to a project for the Kaikoura District Council. The grant will support Kiwood to commercially deploy three bridge products to the market.

Kiwood was approved for a $77,000 grant. 

Li Legler

Li Legler manages forestry operations in Horowai Forest in Kerikeri. The grant will allow Li Legler to develop a high-production, small-scale prototype twin bandsaw mill. The mill is aimed at reducing costs in portable sawmilling operations for high-value timber. This prototype will adapt “end dogging” technology to work with a twin vertical bandsaw. This capability is currently available only for larger-scale sawmills worldwide.

Li Legler received a $70,000 grant. This project is now complete.

Red Stag Timber

Red Stag Timber (RST) is a timber company based south of Rotorua. RST will use the grant to carry out a feasibility study into the expansion of its Waipa sawmill. The study will look at the changes the mill needs to make to increase production. The aim is to increase timber output for export markets and structural chip output for domestic markets. The project also aims to grow technological advancements and regional employment.

RST was approved for a $499,000 grant. They completed some of their phase 1 feasibility activities and decided not to proceed with the rest of the study. They received $42,790.

Rosvall Sawmill

Rosvall Sawmill is based in Northland. It was approved for a Catalyst grant to provide technical support to integrate a fourth treatment capability to their new timber treatment plant.

Rosvall Sawmill received a $183,543 grant. This project is now complete.

Summit Forests

Summit Forests started its New Zealand operations in 2013. It’s now the seventh largest forestry business in New Zealand with over 50,000 hectares (ha) of forestry. This grant will allow Summit Forests to develop a pre-feasibility study for a wood processing facility in Tairāwhiti, including the option of a mill at Ruatōria. The study will explore options for the facility’s processing type, size, location, feedstocks, and products.

Summit Forests received a $163,500 grant. This project is now complete.

Te Awahōhonu Forest Trust 

Te Awahōhonu Forest Trust (TAFT) manages over 15,000 hectares of forestry and farmland. Its long-term harvest profile includes large volumes of pruned and structural logs. The grant will fund a feasibility study. The study will evaluate the viability of TAFT investing in Napier Pine (a sawmill). The study will also look at options for TAFT to expand and add greater export value to its raw product. 

TAFT received an $85,000 grant. This project is now complete.

The Bio Factory

The Bio Factory is a business and research consortium aiming to support the long-term viability of sawmills, by establishing new, high value markets for processing residues, with multi-billion-dollar potential. The grant enables the Bio Factory to develop the operating model and business case for a pilot facility, to the point where it can attract capital investment.

The Bio Factory was approved for a $300,000 grant.

Tumu Timbers

Tumu Timbers is a timber manufacturing business based in Hastings, Hawke's Bay. The grant will allow Tumu Timbers to investigate the viability of producing and selling kitset-style agricultural buildings. The buildings will be made mostly of Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL). They’ll use cost-effective connections and efficient assembly methods.

Tumu Timbers received an $83,375 grant. This project is now complete.

Wenita Forest Products

Wenita is the largest producer of forest products in Otago. It’s acting on behalf of the Southern Forest Growers Consortium based in Southland and Otago. The grant will enable the Consortium to conduct an acoustic study to assess timber stiffness. It will also allow it to develop business plans for new wood processing facilities. This will improve the understanding of timber resources in Southland and Otago and may lead to the establishment of a large-scale saw and pellet mill facility.

Wenita Forest Products received a $99,573 grant. This project is now complete.

Wood Engineering Technology Gisborne 

Wood Engineering Technology (WET) Gisborne turns low-grade logs into Optimised Engineered Lumber (OEL). OEL is a strong, high-quality engineered timber. WET Gisborne will use the grant to overcome technical barriers that make it hard to use OEL in buildings in Australia. Testing and engineering work will ensure OEL meets the standards needed for inclusion in the design software used in Australia’s timber industry. 

WET Gisborne was approved for a $60,000 grant. They completed their project early and received $40,000. 

Woodspan

Woodspan is a New Zealand-owned manufacturer and fabricator of Parallel Laminated Timber (PLT) mass timber panels. They also make glulam engineered wood products. The grant allows Woodspan to look into producing a mass-timber PLT ground floor system. This system would be for residential use. It could offer a cheaper alternative to traditional concrete or timber subfloor systems.

Woodspan was approved for an $87,500 grant. They completed their project early and received $35,643.

Rosvall Sawmill

Rosvall Sawmill is a modern timber processing sawmill based in Whangārei. It makes timber products for residential and industrial construction. This loan co-finances a state-of-the-art treatment facility. This enables the sawmill to scale up processing by 42,000 cubic metres of logs per year. It also creates 8 full-time jobs on-site and facilitates considerable total growth for the period ahead. 

Rosvall Sawmill was approved for a $2 million loan. 

Wood Engineering Technology

Wood Engineering Technology (WET) makes Optimised Engineered Lumber (OEL). The company is based in Gisborne. The equity investment co-finances a commercial demonstration plant. This allows WET to grow production by 25,000 cubic metres of logs per year. It creates 12 full-time jobs. The plant supports domestic and export markets, allowing WET to license its technology globally.

WET was approved for a $6 million equity investment.

Bennetts Sawmill

Bennetts Sawmill is a small-scale mill. They supply Oregon, larch, and macrocarpa timber across Canterbury. The mill’s new owners saw a market need for reliable, high-quality, non-pine timber. The grant will fund new equipment, increasing production from 600 cubic metres to 10,000 cubic metres every year. This will enhance efficiency and sustainability. It will also support the fencing, railing, outdoor landscaping, and construction industries.

Bennetts Sawmill received a $280,534 grant. This project is now complete.

Gourmet Wood

Gourmet Wood is a small-scale mill based in Ōtaki. It supplies non-pine timbers in the lower North Island. The grant will fund a new kiln to reduce bottlenecks created by the drying time for the mill's timber. The kiln will grow production from 1,200 cubic metres to 14,000 cubic metres per year. This will increase log intake from local suppliers and provide high-quality timber to construction businesses.

Gourmet Wood received a $141,968 grant. This project is now complete.

MacDirect Sawmill

MacDirect Sawmill is a supplier of cypress and macrocarpa timber. It’s based in Auckland. The sawmill provides sawn timber and profiled timber to the building market. It’s now offering stress-tested timber in the central North Island and Northland. The grant will fund new equipment to increase production of stress-tested timber from 2,800 cubic metres to 8,000 cubic metres per year. This will make the mill more efficient and profitable. It will improve the quality and supply of non-pine timber products.

MacDirect Sawmill received a $160,000 grant. This project is now complete.

Ruapehu Sawmills

Ruapehu Sawmills is based on the outskirts of Raetihi. It specialises in non-pine timber species, such as cypress, macrocarpa, and redwood. The mill will use the grant to buy equipment. The equipment will allow the mill to machine high-value dressed timber on-site. This will eliminate the mill’s reliance on external services and associated costs. 

Ruapehu Sawmills received a $120,000 grant. This project is now complete.