The first four prosecutions under WA's new workplace safety laws, which lifted the maximum penalty for failing to ensure safety of a worker jump from $625,000 to $3.5 million, have been initiated.
The federal government has announced grants to three big timber processing companies in WA in another sign the industry's future rests with softwood plantation timber.
ICS Australia will start construction on a bar made from locally grown timber later this week, the latest project by hospitality entrepreneur Miles Hull.
WA business leaders have bemoaned the state government's failure to plan for life beyond the mining construction boom, but still see opportunities in other sectors.
SPECIAL REPORT: Having faced intense competition for much of the past decade, an innovative manufacturing plant backed by timber industry veteran Denis Cullity is starting to deliver good returns.
Building products manufacturer Wesbeam posted an improved result in financial year 2009-10, but remains short of being profitable, according to its latest accounts.
Western Australian company Wesbeam has officially launched its laminated veneer lumber product range onto the market with the opening of its $85 million operation at Neerabup Industrial Estate.
The single largest investment in Western Australia's timber industry is about to start bearing fruit at a vast factory at the Neerabup industrial estate, north of Wanneroo.
