Separated by World War 1, two brothers (Jonnie and Norman Sutherland) nonetheless shared the same dream – to start producing lumber after the war. While one was sadly killed in action, the dream lived on and Sutherland & Co was born over a century ago in 1920 in the Happy Valley Tuatapere.
The mill, Sutherland Timber, moved a number of times, with a second mill set up in The Catlins until the family made the move to Cheviot to start the milling of pine timber. Finally in 1956 it was moved to its current site in Kaiapoi where it has developed in leaps and bounds over the years milling, drying and treating on site.
As the years passed, it was third generation, Jack and Ian Sutherland who took Sutherland Timber native production into the soft woods of Pinus radiata. Next came Murray (‘Muzz’) and Annie Sutherland who took the company to the next level, building up local and international relationships which are still vital to the company today. And it’s relationships that matter in this, the oldest sawmill in New Zealand that is still 100% family-owned and operated and has stayed in the same family since it was established, now in its 5th Generation.
Now Annie and Muzz’s children, two brothers and a younger sister, are now at the helm. There’s General Manager of the Sutherland Group, Jonathan (‘Jonnie’) Sutherland; David (‘Davie’) Sutherland running the ITM operations and Amy Sherwin coordinating the marketing for Sutherland Timber and the ITM stores.
Customer-centric
“Our Dad, Murray, has been able to take a step back now, although he is always our go-to man for anything! His knowledge and experience is something we all rely on,” says Jonnie. “Customer service is the biggest and most important part of our process, that’s why we have our own delivery trucks. This way we can deal with meeting customers’ needs and requirements quicker. Our father introduced building material supplier, Independent Timber Merchants (ITM), to our company to secure our supply lines, starting with the Kaiapoi store and more recently adding the Ashburton and Timaru stores to the group, which also includes our own frame and truss manufacturing plant. We now supply our stores as well as many other building merchants throughout New Zealand.”
Currently producing 120-150 cubic meters of timber per day, the mill cuts New Zealand radiata pine and Douglas fir to produce structural framing for the domestic building market, with an annual output of 25, 000 m3. All logs are sourced locally throughout the South Island using local contractors.
Jonnie says while export has been a large part of the business in the past, shipping timber to Australia, Asia and America, Sutherland Timber now predominantly supplies the domestic market which has “been very strong”.
“Post-COVID, we still have export commitments that we fulfil when we can get containers and an available booking on a ship (getting the containers has been the main issue). We have a great team of staff who have all stepped up when we have had people off with...
