- Home
- About Us
- Products & Services
- Employment
- Forest Facts
- Photo Gallery
- Contact Us
G & J Groves Pty Ltd – Forest Contractors
Dependable service to the Australian Forest industry for 55 years.
Established in 1957 G & J Groves Pty Ltd is one of Australia’s largest cut to length softwood plantation harvesting and haulage contractors.
• We employ more than 40 full – time staff, including accredited and experienced forest operators, experienced off-road drivers and support staff.
• We are a long term licence holder with Forests NSW and all our staff are accredited under the Forests NSW licencing arrangements.
• We harvest in excess of 430,000 tonnes and haul 380,000 tonnes a year of plantation sourced pulp, saw log and veneer grade material.
• Clients include Forests NSW, Visy Pulp and Paper and Private Plantation Growers.
Operating Since 1957
Geoff Groves (c. 1955) |
Founded in 1957 by Geoff and Jean Groves, G & J Groves Pty Ltd has grown into one of Australia’s largest cut to length softwood plantation harvesting and haulage contractors.
Based in Tumut, at the foothills of the Snowy Mountains, G & J Groves Pty Ltd operates primarily in softwood forests in the Hume region in the south west slopes of NSW around Tumut, Tumbarumba and Batlow.
Annual contracts harvest in excess of 430,000 tonnes, hauling 380,000 tonnes of softwood plantation pulp, saw log and veneer grade material.
A fleet of forest machines, trucks, trailers, support vehicles and an experienced workforce provide flexibility in operations and logistics to meet customer needs across NSW and interstate.
Multi-operational capacity is demonstrated when up to eight operations run concurrently up to 400 kilometres apart.
Experience, Dependability & a Safety Focus
Geoff passed away in July 2008 at the age of 72, having established a solid family business with a focus on service and safety, offering customers dependability and an experienced workforce.
The family and staff focus reflects the culture of the company with its experienced, long serving, multi-skilled and accredited employees one of the key factors in the company’s success.
Experience efficiently managing large scale agriforestry harvesting and haulage operations with minimum down time and environmental impact, has resulted in G & J Groves Pty Ltd successfully contracting for a range of customers including government agencies, private forest owners, pulp and paper manufacturers and other large timber processors.
Innovation & Industry Participation
G & J Groves Pty Ltd has also been a leader in adopting new technology, investing in the introduction and implementation of specialised equipment with many becoming the standard for the Australian and New Zealand forest industries.
Recognising the importance to the industry and its workforce of improving industry standards and safety, G & J Groves Pty Ltd has supported the Forest Industry Council (FIC) in the South West Slopes of NSW as well as partnered forestry departments and safety authorities in the introduction and implementation of uniform processes and procedures for harvesting and haulage.
The majority of work undertaken by G & J Groves Pty Ltd is ‘stump to the mill’ and with experience obtained from over 50 years of operation in softwood plantations the company believes this vertically integrated system provides excellence in quality control and flexibility for the end customer.
G & J Groves Pty Ltd is structured into four specialist business units:
Forest Operations
- Long term, proven ability to achieve quotas and budgets and meet customer expectations.
- Demonstrated ability to work in environmentally sensitive areas.
- Highly experienced in rough and steep clear fall country.
- Prepared to invest in purpose-built forest equipment, sourced locally
and from Canada, New Zealand, North America and Sweden.
Haulage Operations
- Trucks and trailers are custom built for off road and on road performance and to enhance safety.
- Specialists in short haul operations.
Maintenance
- In-house maintenance by skilled and experienced personnel.
- Planned program of maintenance reduces downtime and improves
reliability for the end customer.
- Our long established working relationships with key suppliers ensure reliability and ready access to parts and equipment.
Finance & Administration
- Commercial personnel experienced in areas of forestry finance and administration.
Safety & Productivity Outcomes
The continual growth of this family-owned business and retention of a highly skilled and motivated workforce has been one of many key factors in the success of G & J Groves Pty Ltd.
Experience has shown that knowledge of the job function substantially increases productivity per hour and minimises down time – the two biggest drivers of cost in the logging industry.
Knowledge of the job and professional supervision have enabled the company to achieve a strong safety record.
Policies
All operations are carried out in accordance with our:
- Occupational Health and Safety Policy
- Code of Forest Practice Policy
- Safe Driver Policy
Training
All of our employees undertake the industry course in Forest Operations (Licencing) and are fully accredited to operate in any forest.
Flexible learning is provided in association with the Forest Industry Training Centre in Tumut. Employees undertake a combination of workplace delivery and assessment, plus a short course to meet all the unit qualification requirements.
The components of the Forest Operations (Licencing) course are:
- Occupational Health & Safety.
- Environmental Care Procedures.
- Operator Core Knowledge & Skills - includes Plantation Harvesting, Plantation Establishment and Truck Driver Skills.
- Working with Cultural Heritage Requirements.
- Applying Basic First Aid – G & J Groves Pty Ltd employees have additional training in first aid and are skilled to the higher standard of Senior First Aid.
Employment Opportunities
G & J Groves Pty Ltd provides opportunities for employment in a range of positions in the forestry industry.
Training and accreditation are priorities in our operations with our safety record and skilled workforce essential to undertaking and meeting our commitments to customers.
Multi – skilling of employees adds to the flexibility of G & J Groves Pty Ltd for meeting customers’ requirements. Employees are trained across the range of the company’s operations. Promotion from within the organisation is encouraged making maximum use of the employees’ industry and company knowledge.
Employment opportunities include:
- Single-Grip Harvester Operator
- Forwarder Operator
- Log Truck Driver (Single and B-Double)
- Heavy Equipment Mechanic
- Heavy Motor Vehicle Mechanic
- Spare Parts Co-ordination
- Finance & Administration
Apprenticeships/Traineeships are available periodically.
Contact Us
New positions are generally advertised in local and regional newspapers, however interested and experienced applicants are welcome to enquire about employment with G & J Groves Pty Ltd – Forest Contractors by using the 'Contact Us' section of the website.
Related Links
Clicking on a link below will open a new internet browser window or tab.
South West Slopes Forest Facts
- Mainly softwood plantations of Pinus Radiata.
- 110,000 hectares on South West Slopes & 19,000 hectares in Shelley region of northern Vic .
- 74% publicly owned, 26% privately owned.
- Plantations in Tumut, Tumbarumba, Greater Hume and Gundagai Shires.
- In 2006 an estimated 4.4 million tonnes of logs, wood products and residue were transported in the South West Slopes.
- Processing centres in Tumut, Wagga Wagga, Tumbarumba, and Albury.
- Over 900 jobs in Tumut and over 200 jobs in Tumbarumba were directly employed in plantation management and processing (2003/04).
- Direct employment in the South West Slopes – 1,680 jobs.
- Indirect jobs in the South West Slopes – 3,250 jobs.
- Over 95% of direct employment in the plantation sector was full time employment. (2003/04)
- Less than 5% of direct employment in the plantation sector was part time or casual, generally in areas such as the planting of seedlings and seasonal fire fighting (2003/04). (Source: Socioeconomic impacts of Plantation Forestry in the South West Slopes Region (NSW) Bureau of Rural Sciences 2005).
- Pine forests generate $700 million a year. (Source: FIC Fact Sheet Nine).
- In the Tumut Shire, forestry and forest products industries contribute about $450million to the local economy annually. (Source: Tumut Shire Council C Change brochure).
- Only fully integrated timber industry in Australia, using forest product from ‘the cradle to the grave,’ with waste minimised by recycling from planting to processing.
Useful Links
Clicking on a link below will open a new internet browser window or tab.
 |
 |
||
|---|---|---|---|
Tigercat LH830C Harvester with Waratah Head |
Timberline ST3510 Processor |
John Deere Harvester |
Tigercat LH830C Harvester with Waratah Head |
Valmet 890.3 Forwarder |
Softwood Stack |
Softwood Stacks |
Isuzu FVR950 Fuel Tanker |
 |
|||
Kenworth T650 Prime Mover with Trailers |
Kenworth T650 Prime Mover with Trailers |
Kenworth T950 Prime Mover |
Kenworth T650 Prime Movers |
Solutions for Forest Harvesting & Haulage
If you’d like to find out more about G & J Groves Pty Ltd - Forest Contractors, our capacity and capabilities to offer solutions for your forestry projects:
Administration:
- Address: Lot 8 Jarrah Road Tumut NSW 2720 Australia
- Postal Address: PO Box 535 Tumut NSW 2720 Australia
- Phone (Australia): (02) 6947 1135
- Phone (International): +61 2 6947 1135
- Fax (Australia): (02) 6947 6039
- Fax (International): +61 2 6947 6039
- Email:
Workshop & Spare Parts:
- Address: Lot 5 Jarrah Road Tumut NSW 2720 Australia
- Postal Address: PO Box 535 Tumut NSW 2720 Australia
- Phone (Australia): (02) 6947 2830
- Phone (International): +61 2 6947 2830
- Fax (Australia): (02) 6947 4287
- Fax (International): +61 2 6947 4287
- Email:
Location Map:
Please click on the below map to use it interactively (will open a new internet browser window or tab).
