OneFortyOne is a New Zealand-based forestry company that’s managed by Global Forest Partners, one of the world’s oldest and largest forestry investment managers and advisors. OneFortyOne currently owns 78,000 hectares of high-quality radiata pine plantations in the Nelson and Marlborough regions of New Zealand, which also includes the Kaituna Sawmill near Blenheim. The company maintains a strong environmental focus and is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, ensuring compliance with strict environmental, social, and economic operational standards.

How do you use the MEX Maintenance Software?

MEX is used at the Kaituna Sawmill to manage all maintenance activities on site. We use the Asset Register to organise our assets based on functionality, with around 6,000 different assets currently recorded. These assets are categorised into nine processes, including the Sawmill, Drying, Planer, Dry Chain, Treatment, Admin, Vehicles, Workshop, and Yard.

Each process is then broken down into up to five additional levels, where appropriate, to capture the detailed equipment required to maintain operations across the site. All maintenance information relating to each asset is stored here — including asset details, assigned Work Orders, safety information, last service dates, and Preventive Maintenance Policies.

We use MEX Ops for work requests and the Stores module for our comprehensive catalogue of barcoded spare parts. Our purchasing system has also been fully integrated into MEX, and in recent years we’ve expanded our use of the MEX iOS Apps to improve accessibility and efficiency.

What benefits have you seen since implementing MEX?

We have been using MEX for nine and a half years and are extremely satisfied with the results. The system’s ease of use, combined with our structured Asset Register, allows us to closely monitor machinery and assets at each processing level. This has helped maximise workflow, reduce breakdowns, significantly improve uptime, and maintain compliance.

Additionally, the Stores module helps us better track inventory and spare parts. The purchasing system in MEX allows us to create Purchase Orders directly for materials and services through our suppliers, keeping everything in one place and simplifying account reconciliation and stocktakes. MEX has also enhanced our Work Order scheduling and performance tracking — everything is laid out clearly and logically, making it simple to allocate Work Orders and spare parts.

MEX has helped improve our maintenance practices and made operations more efficient for us at OneFortyOne.