Penrose Pine Products at Moss Vale in the southern highlands of New South Wales is working hard to meet a niche market for treated pine products.

The family owned and operated business employs 35 people at its mill in the small town of Penrose.It draws its softwood from Forests NSW 3 500 hectares of plantation grown Pinus radiata in the region.

Penrose Pine Products managing director, Peter Cush, said the business had started when his grandfather, Frank Cush, who operated a timber merchants and box making business in Balmain, Sydney, decided to open a mill.

“My grandfather started a mill at Penrose, on a temporary basis, to cut timber damaged by the fires in 1939.”

“They actually ended up building two mills on the site – one driven by electricity and one by steam using the wood waste.”

“It was during World War II, prior to containerisation, when everything was packaged in pine,” he said.

“At the end of the war, my father Warren joined the business, when he left school. He was responsible for the business branching out into timber preservation in the early 1980s.”

The mill started to produce preservation products mainly for the landscaping and fencing timber markets, as well as smaller lines such as vineyard posts.

Peter said there was a steady demand for treated timber, and from a greenhouse point of view, it stored carbon and could withstand the test of time.

“We work with a number of major wholesalers for the placement of the majority of our products through outlets in NSW, Victoria and Queensland.”

“The company also deals directly with several well established independently owned retailers in NSW.”

“Despite the market being slow at the moment due to a general downturn across the construction industry, we see a healthy future for treated softwood through renovations and additions to houses.”

“This market can withstand the downturn in demand for new homes, which is currently the case in eastern Australia,” he said.

Peter’s brother Greg has recently returned to the family business to undertake a sales and marketing role.

Peter said the company was continuing to invest with an eye to the future, through such things as a new drying kiln worth approximately $700 000, and the construction of an expanded covered area over the timber preservation plant.

The company is also trying to access natural gas from nearby Bundanoon – something that would greatly benefit the business.

Peter said one of the business’s strengths was that it could meet the needs of niche markets.

“We are flexible, and because we are a smaller player, we can react quickly to market change,” he said.

“We are committed to the local community and the timber industry, and have a very positive view of the preservation business as it evolves to meet the expectations of the market.”

This article appears in the Summer 2006 edition of Bush Telegraph Magazine.