The case for making processing jobs, such as timber, a priority

While the number of jobs created by the North Coasts Forests industry is impressive (nearly 1000, the second highest of all manufacturing jobs on the North Coast) it is the quality of these jobs that is the most important measure of significance. Manufacturers are constantly introducing new processes to further improve productivity leading to increased demand for intermediate goods and services. . As an example, the illustration depicts a block of hardwood cross laminated timber - comprising lower quality wood which, when cross laminated achieves twice the strength of softwood.

LendLease has released a time-lapse video of the construction of the Forté apartment block in Melbourne using CLT which was, as the time of writing, the tallest timber building in the world. While watching this video it is worth looking at the comparison with the 'traditional' construction going on in the background which will give an indication of the speed and ease of construction of Forté.

Forte Building