Operating at scale: Inside Kaingaroa’s supply chain

“Our forest footprint means we can operate as one big, connected unit,” says Gareth Bowen, Kaingaroa Tipu (KT) Harvesting and Logistics Manager. “Off highway trucks, internal roads, and rail integration all work together as a single system, which is very different to anywhere else.”

By managing every stage of the value chain, from nursery and planting through silviculture, harvest, and replanting, Kaingaroa Tipu avoids the fragmentation common in smaller or multi-owner forests. Boundaries and access are regulated. Biosecurity is easier to control. Roads and haulage routes are engineered for safety, efficiency, and environmental performance with less reliance on public networks. 

The result? Fewer vehicle movements mean lower emissions, and a lighter carbon footprint across the supply chain.

“Supply chain influences sustainability,” adds Colin Maunder, Kaingaroa Tipu General Manager Sustainability.

Much of KT’s harvest is moved through an established internal roading network to supply local processors, including Donnelly’s Sawmill, Sequal, Carter Holt Harvey Wood Products, and Oji Fibre Solutions.

The same network also links harvest sites to KiwiRail’s Murupara and Kawerau railheads, where logs travel via the 57km Murupara Branch line to the East Coast Main Trunk and on to the Port of Tauranga.

“The KiwiRail portion of our supply chain is significantly lower carbon emissions than trucking that volume to port,” Gareth explains.

By shortening the “first mile” between forest and rail, many long-haul truck movements on public roads can be largely avoided. The private road system and rail link form a lower-emission supply chain operating at industrial scale.

Kaingaroa’s progress stands on decades of refining our ways of working. For Kaingaroa Tipu Chief Operating Officer, Dean Witehira, the link between operations and climate outcomes is straightforward.

“We’ve spent decades refining how our infrastructure, systems, and contractors work together. That integration is what allows us to move fibre efficiently and reduce the volume of transport movements required in our supply chain.”

“With a contiguous estate and a well organised supply chain, we’re already achieving real efficiency gains. The next step is harnessing modern technology to take that even further.”