A new hub making manufactured timber as strong as steel is being investigated in Australia’s ‘green triangle’. Forestry companies Australian Bluegum plantations, Midway, and New Forests are collaborating with Green Triangle Forest Industries Hub and the Victorian Forest Products Association to develop a hardwood timber manufacturing hub that could utilise engineered soft and hardwood products. The group has unveiled plans for feasibility studies that would support a business case to construct an integrated manufacturing hub, examining the best location close to existing facilities which could help grow a new regional hardwood engineered timber product industry. Australian Bluegum Plantations CEO Russ Hughes said the hub could create 40 full time jobs as well as more than 100 jobs during its construction phase. Midway managing director Tony McKenna said this manufacturing hub could support the development of a sustainable building product that could replace steel or concrete, providing the same durability with less embodied carbon.