Wood Processing Growth Fund

About Catalyst grants

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 apply for 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.

Who can apply

To be eligible to apply, 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.

We’ll assess applications to make sure the projects:

• 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.

How to apply

Get in touch with us to discuss your project and the application process:

• email wpgf@mpi.govt.nz
• contact our freephone call centre on: 0800 00 83 33.

Catalyst grant recipients 

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.

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’s 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 received a $258,479 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.

Kiwi Lumber Gisborne

Kiwi Lumber operates 4 modern sawmills in Putāruru, Gisborne, Dannevirke, and Masterton. These mills produce 250,000 m³ 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 received a $99,413 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.

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.

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 a $83,375 grant.

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.

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 received a $87,500 grant.

About Te Kōtuku grants

Te Kōtuku fund provides grants to small-scale processors that specialise in using non-pine trees to lift productivity and capacity. The grants can be used to fund plant and equipment (capital projects).

Applicants are expected to contribute around 50% co-funding towards the project cost. There is some flexibility where the application can demonstrate significant benefit.

Te Kōtuku can fund a range of investment which lifts productivity and capacity of operations that process less than 15,000 cubic metres a year.

Te Kōtuku can fund investments for:

• inflow equipment for example, loaders, telehandlers, rough terrain forklifts, log decks
• primary processing equipment for example, portable mills
• secondary processing equipment for example, planers, moulders, dust extraction upgrades, resaws, thicknessers
• upgrades to kilns and boilers for example, dehumidifying kilns or solar kilns
• energy infrastructure for example, waste chippers, boilers
• treatment equipment for example, chemical, thermal
• other improvements, new equipment or upgrades.

Who can apply

To be eligible for Te Kōtuku grants, your project must:

• be based in Aotearoa New Zealand
• process less than 15,000 cubic metres log input (or equivalent) annually
• want to scale up or improve processing of non-Pinus radiata tree species (alternative exotic species and/or legally harvested native trees) into high-value, long-lived wood products
• have an annual processing capacity of a minimum of 1,000 cubic metres within 3 years of project completion
• have a detailed plan to show how your business plans to grow and expand in the next 5 years.

How to apply

Get in touch with us to discuss your project and the application process:

• email wpgf@mpi.govt.nz
• contact our freephone call centre on: 0800 00 83 33.

Te Kōtuku grant recipients

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 m³ to 10,000 m³ annually. 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.

About Accelerator

Accelerator provides debt and/or equity finance for up to 50% of the total cost of capital activities that increase onshore processing capacity of long-lived wood products like sawn structural timber and engineered wood. Applicants will need to source finance for the remainder of the costs.

Accelerator can co-fund investments including:

• equipment
• technology
• buildings
• infrastructure.

It cannot be used to buy land.

There is $33 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.

Who can apply?

To be eligible to apply, your project should be:

• a New Zealand-based capital project
• likely to stimulate more onshore wood processing of long-lived wood products
• supported by co-funding from non-government investors.

For the Accelerator, we invite you to apply if you are investment ready. This means you will:

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

We’ll assess applications to make sure the projects:

• 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.

How to apply

Get in touch with us to discuss your project and the application process.

We might encourage you to consider applying for a Catalyst grant if your project needs more development.

To contact us:

• email wpgf@mpi.govt.nz
• contact our freephone call centre on: 0800 00 83 33.

Accelerator recipients

Rosvall Sawmill

Rosvall Sawmill is a modern timber processing sawmill based in Whangārei. They make timber products for residential and industrial construction. The loan will co-finance a state of the art treatment facility. This will enable them to scale-up processing by 42,000 cubic metres of logs per year. It will also create 8 full time jobs on site and facilitate considerable total growth for the period ahead.

Rosvall Sawmill received a $2 million loan.