FARM EQUIPMENT - including new products and services

By Howard Keene

A portable sawmill can be a very useful piece of machinery on the farm, as well as being a good source of off-farm income. Several models were on display at the Canterbury A&P Show, attracting some onlookers by the sweet smell of freshly-sawn macrocarpa. Peterson Portable Sawmills was one of those doing their thing under a cloud of sawdust.

A Peterson portable sawmill: the sweet smell of macrocarpa.

Factory supervisor of the Rotorua-based company Kurt Williams says quite a few farmers have bought them because they have logs around the farm that can be used for things like fencing cattle yards. “A lot do jobs for neighbours. Some people buy them for hobbies.”

He says the company started off in a shed at Reporoa. It now has 21 staff and exports all around the world.

The mills are made of aluminium and stainless steel, and can therefore be left outside without corroding. All the mills can be operated by one person, and can be assembled or disassembled in 10 minutes and carried on a Hilux ute.

Mr Williams says most models can cope with logs up to 1.8m (6') in diameter. “They will do anything you can throw at them really.”

He says the mill can be set up directly over a log, making it unnecessary to haul logs.

A new blade, the MicroKerf, creates less sawdust, allowing better wood recovery, which is especially important with valuable native timbers.

Peterson portable mills range from about NZ$11,000 to NZ$40,000.


STRAIGHT FURROW, Wednesday, November 24, 2004 : 62