Business View Oceania | Volume 4, Issue 1

45 46 BUSINESS VIEW OCEANIA VOLUME 4, ISSUE 1 BUSINESS VIEW OCEANIA VOLUME 4, ISSUE 1 YOUR LOGGING HARVEST AND TRANSPORTATION COMPANY Ellen St Penola, SA 5277, AU (08) 8737 3438 MIDWAY LTD (MIDWAY) sites their broad suit of woodfibre products, producing a wide variety of woodchips that range in value from premium quality Tasmanian Blue Gum through to Acacia mangium from the tropics. The company is also the only listed integrated forestry provider in Australia. Mr. Price continues, “We really value the contribution that all of our service providers make to our success, particularly our operators who provide plantation establishment, harvesting and logistics services. We use external contractors for this, so they rely very heavily on us for their businesses, and obviously we rely very heavily on them for the efficiency of our operations. It’s a very collaborative arrangement. We also have an exceptional team that look after our marketing. Customer relations is fundamentally important in our sector and, given that many of us have been in the industry over two decades, we are very experienced and well known in the markets we operate. Maintaining those business relationships to Management Partners, and contractors are engaged for harvest and haul of plantation products to processing and customer sites in Geelong (NSW), Brisbane (QLD), Portland (VIC), Port Melville (NT), and Western Australia. Midway exports FSC and PEFC certified woodfibre products from six different Eucalyptus species to Asian markets for use in the global pulp and paper industry. Tony Price is Managing Director at Midway. “Historically, the forestry sector would harvest their logs and leave residue to build up in the forest. Similarly, processing plants would dispose of fibre as waste and burn it. In the early 80’s, some local sawmillers gathered to explore their options for commercialisation, and they realised that woodfibre and woodchips could be potentially processed and exported. Through that group, Midway was born. We now directly employ around 250 staff and support well over a thousand external contractors and their employees; we have seen steady growth over the years from very humble beginnings in a market that didn’t really exist in Western Australia before us, so I’m very proud of that.” Mr. Price shares some of the industry challenges Midway has combatted over the years. “Forestry is a cyclical business, so there are downturns in demand that we have to deal with every so often. Our success also grows alongside that of our partners, clients, and suppliers, so the effects of things like natural disasters and the recent pandemic on markets we work in therefore affect us as well.” In rising to these challenges, Midway utilises the strength of their collaborative relationships and strict regulations surrounding best practices. The company fulfills certification requirements in Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems, Quality Management Systems, Australian Forestry Standards, AFS and FSC Chain of Custody Standards, and FSC’s Requirements for Sourcing FSC Controlled Wood. Full certification details can be viewed on their website. In marking themselves as unique amongst other forest product providers, Midway