COVER STORY
Montigny ’ s sawmills can collectively process 1 250 tons of timber per day .
The company presently supplies countries across the world including South Africa , Seychelles , Mauritius , Namibia , Mozambique , Botswana and Japan . Given the present growth rate , it may not be long before everyone in the industry is within a degree of separation of Montigny .
Witnessing a Swazi-owned and operated company transforming the Usutu estate has revived enthusiasm throughout the country , as many recall King Sobhuza II commissioning the plantation in partnership with the Commonwealth Development Company ( British ) in 1949 .
Most notably in the past three years since taking over the former Sappi Usutu plantation and mill , the company ’ s employment has more than doubled , growing from more than 3 000 in 2013 to 6 700 today . Montigny has also grown the plantation by over 5 000 hectares and constructed two new sawmills , which collectively process 1 250 tons of timber daily , resulting in 625 cubes of finished goods per day . The fresh leadership and revitalisation of Usutu have been particularly exciting for those living in the neighbouring 30 chiefdoms that have felt the impact of the renowned asset underperforming its potential in recent years .
Montigny ’ s diversified business model , a great departure from traditional forestry and sawmilling models , is explained clearly by the company ’ s motto ‘ We add value ’.
With a distinct focus on extracting the optimal value from every part of the tree , the company remains agile in its operations to meet the needs of the ever-dynamic markets it serves .
“ Montigny is a market-driven company focused on delivering high-quality products to the diverse markets we supply ,” explains the group sales manager Gerhardt Elliott . The company ’ s product offering , which ranges from highquality doors to wet-off-saw planks for pallets and crates to decking , furniture grade planks , desktops for school desks and mouldings , to structural timber and everything in between , means that they maximise the value of every tree to the extent that about 95 % of the tree is utilised in one form or another .
Additional products include pallet timber of all grades made from either Pine or Saligna ; kiln-dried packaging timber ; mining timber including scaffolding and sleepers ; structural timber for roofs and flooring ; a wide variety of poles including CCA treated poles for fencing ; building and transmission applications ; timber for pulp producers as well as for sawmills ; charcoal ; biomass in Acacia Mearnsii ( Wattle ); Eucalyptus or Pine ; Acacia Mearnsii bark for tannin extract ; chipboard ; Saligna decking ; furniture grade planks ; and even finished furniture and school furniture components .
14 APRIL / MAY 2017 //