Family company supplies timber for more than 60 years Coffs Coast Coffs Coast - popup ad Coffs Coast News by News Of The Area - Modern Media - November 15, 2024 Gary McCarthy uses only responsibly-sourced timber THE McCarthy family have been supplying timber products nationally and internationally since it was established in 1961. Coffs Harbour Hardwoods has grown over the years from timber merchant and world champion axeman Ray McCarthy and a few sons, to now employing over 100 staff and having a turnover of millions of dollars. Advertise with News of The Area today. It’s worth it for your business. Message us. Phone us – (02) 4981 8882. Email us – media@newsofthearea.com.au The company is one of the biggest employers on the Coffs Coast and also supports many charities, sporting clubs and other organisations. Sixteen family members are currently involved in the company as either shareholders or workers. Manager Gary McCarthy, said Coffs Harbour Hardwoods’ core business is supplying power poles, accounting for approximately 60 percent. He said the introduction of composite poles has had some effect on the business but having a range of customers has been beneficial. Until 1980, the business was located at the Jetty in Coffs Harbour, but moved to Glenreagh where it could expand. Gary McCarthy has an engineering background and built several large machines for “desapping” poles, which is to remove the bark and moist outer layers. He also constructed a mill for boards and cross arms for power poles. He said that virtually everything on the vast site has been built by company workers. The company also supplies heavy structural timbers for bridges and similar structures. Mr McCarthy said interior timbers are approximately 10 percent of the business while handles are another popular product. These are chemical-free and range from small ones like those used for hammers, to larger ones for tools such as spades. An on-site joinery provides the means to manufacture almost any timber product. Out in the yard, rows of stacks of boards and housing timbers dry in the air for six to twelve months before being finished in a kiln. Mr McCarthy said that more than 50 percent of the timber used came from properly-certified private sources. He indicated that halting logging of native forests would adversely affect the business. “Plantation timber hasn’t got the quality that we need for most products,” he said. In previous times, the company used its own contractors and cycled through forests every decade or so. Mr McCarthy said selective hand cutting had worked well but safety concerns and technology led to changes in forestry practices. He believes that properly managed forests can regenerate naturally. By Andrew VIVIAN Almost everything on site has been built by the company.
