Gunns Limited was a major forestry enterprise located in Tasmania, Australia. It had operations in forest management, woodchipping, sawmilling and veneer production. The company was placed into liquidation in March 2013. History Founded in 1875 by brothers John and Thomas Gunn, it was one of Australia's oldest companies. It had over 900 square kilometres of plantations, mainly eucalyptus trees. In 2001 Gunns paid $335 million for Tasmania's biggest woodchip company, North Forest Products, making it Australia's biggest exporter of woodchips. At one stage it became Tasmania's largest private land-owner. The company employed over 1,200 people and had suffered a dramatic turnaround in revenue in its final years, going from a turnover in excess of A$600 million in 2006, to a loss of over $350 million in 2011. Gunns was one of the largest export woodchip operation in the Southern Hemisphere, and one of two chip export companies sourcing raw materials from Tasmanian forests, the other being Neville Smith Forest Products through their SmartFiber branch in Bell Bay. Gunns announced a $900 million loss for 2011–12 and debts of $3 billion. On 25 September 2012, Gunns announced to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) that its board had decided to put the company into voluntary administration after its financier withdrew its support, and in March 2013 the company was placed into liquidation. New Forests purchased the assets and employed former staff of the old company. Operations The move to expand its base into mainland operation began with the acquisition of Auspine in 2007. In September 2010, Gunns announced that it would end logging of old growth forests and move to plantation timber. In November 2011, the Gunns Mitre 10 stores were re-branded as Beck's Home Timber and Hardware, after being sold to Danks Brothers Hardware Group, a subsidiary of Woolworths Limited. Gunns was placed into voluntary administration on 25 September 2012, and later liquidated, after it was unable to raise further capital or restructure the business. Tasmania Gunns operated sawmills across the state, as well as three woodchipping mills: Longreach, near Bell Bay; Triabunna, on the east coast; and Hampshire, near Burnie. The company was forced to close all three woodchipping mills and most of its sawmills in 2011. After being placed into voluntary administration in 2012, the Longreach mill was reopened and began exporting woodchips for a time. In 2008, operations at a sawmill in Scottsdale were restructured, resulting in the