Sandalwood (Santalum spicatum) is a tree native to Western Australia. It is a rapidly depleting timber commodity with an ever-increasing global market.
Sandalwood (Santalum spicatum) is a tree native to Western Australia. It is a rapidly depleting timber commodity with an ever-increasing global market.
WA Sandalwood Plantations was founded in 2001 by Ron Mulder, Keith Drage and Andy Hannington.
The company establishes native Australian sandalwood plantations and offers a simple investment model where our shareholders benefit from our unique approach to growing this valuable commodity and its diversified revenue streams.
The majority of Australian sandalwood growers target the domestic market with managed investment schemes (MIS). These schemes offer tax deductions to Australian residents but often demand significant fees and management charges for the lifetime of the project.
WA Sandalwood Plantations has adopted a simpler model, taking smaller fees upfront during establishment and then aligning itself with the investor for payment at harvest time. This means that we only profit if the plantation is a success and meets its projected outcome.
As shareholders in the plantation project company, our investors benefit from land ownership, together with any revenues generated from sandalwood seed, host tree sales and carbon credit projects. This is in addition to revenues from the sale of the sandalwood timber itself. This structure has resulted in our projects attracting a high level of foreign, as well as domestic investment.
We have chosen to grow our trees in the vast wheat belt area of Western Australia, where sandalwood has naturally occurred for thousands of years. The plantations are established on high quality agricultural land, typically used for cereal crops. The soil is tried and tested and the average rainfall is plentiful. Our manager employs only experienced forestry contractors and we believe that our approach to sandalwood plantation establishment is the best available in Australia.
Our current investors have come to enjoy a very transparent management process and we take great pleasure in submitting regular reports on each of the plantations, complete with up to date photographs. These reports are sent both in printed form and by email, depending on preference. We also actively encourage plantation visits when investors are visiting in Perth.
Plantation grown sandalwood has strong support from the Australian Government, both at state and federal levels, and the federal government has published a vision statement –2020 vision, confirming its commitment to expanding and supporting the Australian timber industry. There are numerous environmental benefits generated by the plantations of sandalwood trees and their host tree species, Acacia acuminata. These include the sequestration of greenhouse gases, the enhancement of biodiversity and the reduction of dry land salinity. Our plantations are professionally managed using best industry practice under a detailed management plan which includes an environmental management strategy.
WA Sandalwood Plantations is the founding member of the Sandalwood Association of Australia.
WA Sandalwood Plantations focus on two main investment models;
Investors purchase shares in a sandalwood plantation company managed by WA Sandalwood Plantations for a 15 year period, with a projected IRR (internal rate of return) after harvest of approximately 16% per annum, pre tax.
(minimum investment A$25,000)
A Sophisticated Investor or Company project that appoints WA Sandalwood Plantations as a long term Manager for the project, with an equity share arrangement.
(Minimum investment A$500,000)
