Own or work here?
Mintroad Saw Mills was founded by Mr Richard Smith in Fordsburg, Johannesburg in 1945. In 1952 land was bought in Robertsham, Johannesburg and the company expanded into the supply of gumpoles to the mining and building industries. In the early 1970’s treated poles were added to the product range and a comprehensive range of gumpoles and sawn timber was distributed to the building, civil engineering, road building, packaging and thatching industries as well as building material merchants. In 1978, Mintroad Saw Mills installed its first timber treatment plant. In 1990 Mintroad Saw Mills bought the Alrode operations of Taylor & Mitchell, its main opposition in Gauteng. The assets included land with railway facilities as well as an additional 3 timber treatment plants. The sawmilling operations were expanded and products developed to supply nurseries and outdoor wood outlets. A timber drying kiln was installed in 1994. Mintroad Saw Mills currently operates 1 Creosote, 2 CCA (Tanalith) and 1 Flambor/TanE treatment plants.
Tan E (Ecowood) preservation is Arsenic and Chrome free and represents the “new age” of treatment chemicals. Mintroad Saw Mills is a leader in the wood preservation and process control fields and specialises in custom timber treatment (e.g. cooling tower application) with access to the world’s largest timber preservation chemical manufacturer’s research and technical database. SABS permits are held for the full range of timber treatment types and hazard classes. Research is carried out on an ongoing basis with international input. A process assistance and record keeping computer program designed specifically for the South African wood preservation industry has been developed and patented by Roy Smith and currently has 3 licensed treatment plants using the software.
