Forestry Commission pledges support to plywood factory
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Forestry Commission, Dr Hugh Brown, has assured the West Coast Wood Products plywood factory, located at Afienya, of support to have access to more timber to scale-up production.
He said the Forestry Commission would consider giving the company more access to degraded forest lands to establish forest plantations to improve its access to raw materials.
Dr Brown stated this during a working visit by the management of the commission to the factory to review its production capacity.
Context
The West Coast Wood Products operates a plywood manufacturing plant built to run on a 24-hour production cycle.
However, factory is currently running a single eight-hour system, mainly because of limited access to raw materials.
The Afienya plant produces plywood largely for export.
Initial processing is done at a separate facility at Twifo Hemang in the Central Region, where logs are processed into veneer before being transported to Afienya for final production.
A tour of the factory showed several installed production lines meant for continuous operations, including sections for veneer handling, pressing, finishing and packaging.
Some of the lines were not in use at the time of the visit, reflecting the effect of timber shortages on production and labour use.
The factory is structured to move from a single shift to two or three shifts once raw material supply improves, a development that would increase employment.
Assurance
Against that backdrop, Dr Brown said the commission was exploring ways to support firms with the capacity to create jobs while operating within forestry regulations.
“We need to see how we can prioritise raw material needs through allocation or timber licences where resources are available,” Dr Brown said.
He said any short-term steps would be supported by longer-term measures aimed at sustainable supply.
“Beyond the short term, government can support companies by allocating degraded forest land for them to establish private plantations to meet their raw material needs,” he said.
Dr Brown said West Coast Wood Products, which currently employed about 1,400 workers at its Afienya and Twifo Hemang facilities, had the potential to hit 5,000 employees if there was reliable supply of raw materials for full operation.
Expansion
The Deputy CEO of the Forestry Commission, Elikem Kotoko, said expanding operations at the factory would create employment, particularly for young people seeking technical and vocational skills.
Mr Kotoko said the size of the facility and its existing infrastructure showed its potential for industrial job creation if supported with a steady supply of timber.
The Executive Director of the Timber Industry Development Division of the Forestry Commission, Dr Richard Gyimah, said West Coast Wood Products was operating within Ghana’s legal and sustainability requirements.
Dr Gyimah said the company was among those exporting to the European Union under Ghana’s Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade license, with shipments sent to Romania.
He said the company was also using wood waste to generate energy, reducing its electricity use.
Access to timber
The Head of Sales at West Coast Wood Products Ghana Limited, Arnold Dodzi Susuawu, said the company began production in July 2024 after it was established in October 2022.
Mr Susuawu said access to logs remained the company’s main operational challenge.
He said improved legal access to timber would allow the factory to introduce three production shifts and expand employment.
He said the company exports plywood to several African countries, including Togo, Benin, Guinea, Gambia and Senegal, as well as South Africa and Romania.
He added that the company has applied for permits to establish plantations on degraded land.
