The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

An Abaco-based timber harvester is aiming to move into full-scale production by end-February, having already harvested 300 trees.

Rob Roman, principal of Lindar Industries, told Tribune Business the company was looking to produce 20,000 board feet initially.

“We have our trees cut down,” he said. “We have a bunch of logs and we’re starting to cut them up now. I would say that close to the end of January we will be in the final stage of production for sale.”

Mr Roman added: “We have probably harvested an area of about 10-15 acres. We’re not into full-scale production. That’s why we are not continuing harvest.

“If we were into full scale production we would be harvesting and sawing, and we would keep doing that continuously. We have harvested those 300 trees. We have stopped harvesting and we’re going to saw them up and do our initial production. Once that’s done we will get into our full production, which will probably be at the end of February.”

Mr Roman said Lindar currently employed a relatively small crew of between four to six persons. He added that it would likely target 2,500-3,000 board feet per day initially when it begins large scale production.

“It’s not a huge production, but we’re trying to match production with sales initially,” he explained.

“We have to build up our sales before we build up our production because we don’t want a whole bunch of inventory. We’re not going really high production initially, but the saw mill will be running an eight-hour shift every day. It wouldn’t be 30 or 40 people; it would probably be like six or seven people at most until the sales build up.”

Lindar took hold of a lease for 6,746 acres of pine forest on Abaco Crown Land from the Ministry of the Environment back in 2011. The company was granted a five-year renewable timber harvesting license.