Our Company
Founded in 1980, Midway Limited is one of Australia’s largest woodfibre processors and exporters with a strong and growing plantation and carbon management business.
Midway’s fibre is used in recyclable paper and packaging, plastic replacement products and coal replacing energy generation in the Asian region.
The Company is building a plantation management and carbon business to generate carbon abatement and emissions offsets solutions utilising its expertise in the process.
Midway has woodchip processing and exporting operations at five major port locations in key forestry areas around Australia including: Bell Bay, Tasmania; Portland and Geelong in Victoria; Brisbane, Queensland; and Melville Island in the Northern Territory’s Tiwi Islands.
Locations
Midway businesses source timber from across six Australian states and territories including:
Midway Limited, Geelong
- Midway Group head office
- Midway Limited processing and export facility with capacity to process and export upto 1.5 million green metric tonnes per annum of woodfibre
- Midway Plantations and carbon management, managing over 17,000 ha of hardwood plantations
Queensland Commodity Exports, Brisbane
- QCE office, processing and export facility at Port of Brisbane
- Supply from hardwood and softwood plantations
- GrainCorp provides toll ship loading and owns 10% of QCE
- Processing and export capacity of Up to 600,000 GMT per annum
South West Fibre, Myamyn/Portland
- South West Fibre office and processing facilities at Myamyn
- 51 per cent owned joint venture with Mitsui
- Processing capacity of 1.2 million GMT per annum capacity
- In-field chipping and ‘upstream’ chip and log storage
- Portside woodfibre receival, storage and loading facilities contracted at the port of Portland.
- Woodfibre export capacity of up to 1.8 million GMT per annum
Midway Tasmania, Hobart/Bell Bay
- Midway Tasmania office Hobart managing harvest planning and supply
- Pulplog sourced from native regrowth forest thinning and hardwood plantations
- Processing and export facility at Bell Bay with capacity of up to 600,000 green metric tonnes per annum
Midway Pongamia Farms, Townsville
- Development and management oil seed farms on behalf of Rio Tinto, to test viability as a sustainable renewable diesel feedstock.
Plantation Management Partners (PMP), Tiwi Islands
- 30,000 hectares Tiwi Plantation Corporation forestry plantation project
- Midway provides forestry management and marketing services
- Acacia mangium woodchip exports commenced in November 2015 out of Port Melville
- Stockpile capacity 60,000 tonnes
- 400,000 GMT per annum export capacity
Our values represent what we stand for and determine our behaviour when dealing with our customers, stakeholders and each other.
1
Safety and the environment
We are committed to protecting the safety and health of our employees, our contractors, customers and the people of the communities in which we operate. We also seek to manage the business to the highest possible environmental standards.
2
Honesty, integrity and respect
We will strive to uphold the highest possible standards and ensure we are open, honest and direct in all our dealings. We will treat people with respect, acknowledging their knowledge, capability and experience as individuals and team members.
3
Performance
We continuously strive for more effective and efficient ways to create value for our customers and shareholders.
4
Sustainability
We are advocates for sustainable forestry and have a strong commitment to the development of productive and viable forest estates, ensuring they co-exist with other community values.
5
Community
We aim to be a trusted corporate citizen respected and valued in the communities in which we operate.
Process Overview
Partnerships
Partner with local investors and communities to grow sustainable woodfibre.
Planning & Establishment
Site selection using known and disciplined parameters to plant and grow the highest quality woodfibre.
Plantation Management
Plantations are grown and managed on freehold, leasehold and private land.
Harvest
Forest Services Contractors harvest pulpwood sourced from Company managed plantations or third party suppliers using mechanical harvesters.
Haul
Haulage contractors transport product from plantations to the mill.
Processing
Mills located at Geelong, Myamyn, Brisbane, Bell Bay as well as infield processing on Melville Island convert pulplogs to woodfibre.
Stockpile
Chip stockpiles located at mills and ports.
Marketing & Export
Ships carry woodfibre for export from Geelong Port, Port of Portland, Port of Brisbane, Port Melville and Bell Bay.
History
2024
Continued to build team which is leading the industry in plantation carbon.
Commenced partnership with Rio Tinto to develop decarbonisation project.
Completed redevelopment of Geelong site following the sale of approximately 5 ha to be developed into a grain export facility.
2023
Midway Tasmania secured FSC Controlled Wood certification for native regrowth thinning fibre.
Build carbon capacity to enable delivery carbon strategy including capability to register ACCU carbon projects.
Expanded product group with the shipment of first softwood vessel from Geelong.
Signed memorandum of understanding to sell approximately 5 hectars of Geelong Site for the development of a grain storage and export terminal.
2022
Midway Limited signs agreement to sell its existing 17,000 ha plantation estate in south-west Victoria to Otway Silva for A$154.1 million. Otway Silva also commits to investing an additional A$200 million for the development of new hardwood plantations in southwest Victoria to be managed by Midway.
Commissioning of the Midway Tasmania processing facility. First vessel successfully loaded from Berth 7 Bell Bay. This enables the independent processing and sale of wood fibre.
2021
Commenced woodfibre export expansion at Bell Bay, Tasmania. The signing of a multi-year lease agreement enabled Midway to commence construction of independent processing facility at an adjacent site.
Research project with CRC for developing Northern Australia to support second rotation of eucalypt for future woodfibre export sales.
2020
Midway continued to pursue opportunities to divest its non-core assets including areas in the Hume Highway corridor.
2019
Rebranding SLS to Midway Logistics.
Midway invested 19.8 m in restructructuring PMP, Equipment is now in good shape, firest FY20 vessel completed and 2 due in September. Exports from Tasmania continue to grow rapidly (marketing of third party wood fibre and also Midway purchases).
2018
Midway announced investment of $17 million on the Tiwi Islands to enable Plantation Management Partners to manage the entire woodfibre supply chain.
Commenced exports from Tasmania.
Establishment of joint venture marketing company in Tasmania with RMS and Pentarch, called the Plantation Export Group, which has a throughput arrangement with a major wood processor in Bell Bay in North East Tasmania.
China overtakes Japan as the world’s largest wood chip importer.
2017
Midway acquires Plantation Management Partners and commences management of approximately 30,000 ha of acacia plantations on Melville Island NT.
2016
The company listed on ASX December 2016, with a market capitalisation on listing of $187 million.
2015
Volume sold to China has grown significantly – dealing with four major customers in China. Pricing for China and Japan almost at parity as all sales now in USD.
2014
Midway increased interest in QCE to 90% by purchasing shares from Itochu – remaining 10% owned by GrainCorp.
2013
Began supplying woodfibre to West Coast Paper Mills in India. Expansion of sales to Chinese customers including Huatai, Chenming, Sun Paper, APRIL and Bohui.
2012
Commenced supplying woodfibre to Chinese dissolving pulp producer Anhui Huatai for use in the textile industry to produce rayon.
2011
Recommenced supplying woodfibre to China (Sun Paper).
2010
$25 million equity raising from existing shareholders, Acorn and management.
2009
SWF $32 million chip mill completed with annual processing capacity of 1.2 million GMT.
2008
Signed 25 year agreement with GeelongPort and Ports Pty Ltd for a new $28 million ship loader and berth.
2007
Established woodfibre producer and marketer, South West Fibre (SWF) with Mitsui.
2006
Midway acquired major shareholding Queensland Commodity Exports (QCE), exporting softwood chip to Itochu Oji from the Port of Brisbane.
2003
A strategic alliance with Macquarie Bank to establish The Macquarie Forestry Investment Scheme commenced in 2003.
2002
Fibre Exports aquired, Midway Tasmania formed and supply contract with SSYMB Rizhao (China) signed.
1999
The Victree pine plantations estate of approximately 4,000 ha was acquired in 1999 which complemented the existing freehold plantation assets.
1996
30 years plantation venture with Mitsui and Nippon Paper. Softwood woodfibre exports commenced.
1995
In 1995, the Company acquired a Smorgon pine plantations comprising approximately 6,000 ha of softwood plantation on freehold land with the strategy of conversion to short rotation hardwood as the softwood crop was clear felled. Softwood woodfibre exports commenced in 1996.
1986
The first export shipment of hardwood was loaded in Geelong in 1986. Since then the company has diversified and grown significantly.
1985
Hardwood contract with Mitsui signed (primary export partner).
1980
Midway was established in 1980 by a number of Victorian hardwood sawmillers with the objective of establishing a viable export market for hardwood sawmill residues. At that time, the Victorian hardwood sawmilling industry relied on the Victorian Government for supply of sawlogs from state owned forests.Offcuts from the sawmilling process were chipped at the sawmill and brought to Geelong for stockpiling and shipping to a pulp and paper producer in Japan.
Community
Midway is proud to support various projects and events that enrich the regional communities in which we work.
Careers
Midway employs over 260 people in forestry and mill operations at our sites in Australia.
