Mpumalanga Business 2017-18 edition

OVERVIEW
largest sawmill and plywood
plants in South Africa and it has
60 470 planted hectares. The
company has expressed interest
in investing heavily in biomass
energy generation. The Industrial
Development Corporation (IDC)
has a stake in York Timbers and
a 42.6% share in Hans Merensky
Holdings, a company with timber
and processing interests in three
provinces. Merensky is responsible
for 20% of South Africa’s
sawn pine lumber.
The Mondi Group has extensive
forestry holdings in the
province and has been working
on introducing a higher degree
of mechanisation in its operations.
Mondi has also instituted
an ecosystem management
plan throughout its forestry operations
with the intention of
better managing the impact its
work has on the environment.
Some areas have been set aside
to cater for biodiversity and
endangered species.
Although local demand is
dwindling, the export market for
pulp and paper from South Africa
remains strong. Pulp production
figures have been on the rise for
several years and companies like
Mondi are increasingly focusing
on pulp export because of
better margins.
Global paper giant Sappi has
two large facilities in the province.
The Ngodwana Mill, which
produces its own energy, has
been making dissolving wood
pulp since 2013 when a major
conversion of the plant was
undertaken. About 70% of the mill’s
product is exported. It produces
paper-grade pulp together with
newsprint, containerboard and dissolving wood pulp. It is located near
Sappi’s commercial forestry operations and produces 210 000 tons
of dissolving wood pulp and 380 000 tons of paper (including kraft
linerboard). Sappi’s Lomati Sawmill in Barberton produces kiln-dried
Southern African pine lumber from sawlogs supplied by Sappi Forests.
In 2017, Sappi built a sugar extraction demonstration plant at its
Ngodwana Mill. Findings from the plant will help to improve the process
of extracting bio-renewable chemicals. Sappi is partnering with
Valmet, a Finnish company.
PG Bison has a board plant in Piet Retief. Sonae Rauco runs large
plants at White River and Panbult. Komatiland Forests, a 100%-owned
subsidiary of state company SAFCOL, has big plantations in several
districts. TWK is a R6-billion agricultural company with its headquarters
in Mkhondo (Piet Retief).
The commercial-forest sector offers attractive business opportunities
for small-scale entrepreneurs, particularly small-scale growers,
contractors and sawmillers. The pulp and paper industry is ideal
for recycling. Forested areas lend themselves to bee-keeping and
honey-making.
Asset management company Global Environment Fund created
Imvelo Forests and in 2015 the company investigated using thermal
imaging to detect fires.
Among the other private timber growers in the province are Pull
Scar Timber Co and United Forest Products.
The Community Conservation Resilience Initiative (CCRI) has
been introduced to Mpumalanga, on the basis that local communities
can play a big role in biodiversity conservation and restoration.
The first two communities to be part of CCRI are Mariepskop and
Houtbosloop Valley.
Private rail operator Sheltam specialises in transporting paper and
pulp, and has extensive operations in Mpumalanga.
The Lowveld Botanical Gardens in Nelspruit has more than 650 of
the 1 000 trees indigenous to South Africa. The Council for Scientific
and Industrial Research’s (CSIR) forestry-research unit aims to improve
tree breeds.
ONLINE RESOURCES
Forestry South Africa: www.forestry.co.za
National Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries:
www.daff.gov.za
Paper Manufacturers of South Africa: www.thepaperstory.co.za
Sawmilling South Africa: www.timber.co.za
South African Institute of Forestry: www.saif.org.za
Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry of South
Africa: www.tappsa.co.za
Wood Foundation: www.thewoodfoundation.co.za
41 MPUMALANGA BUSINESS 2017/18