31 January 2014
The owners of a Bay of Plenty tissue paper factory are unveiling a $60 million expansion at the site today, securing more than 200 jobs.
The newly-expanded SCA Kawerau tissue site was to be officially opened by Prime Minister John Key this afternoon.
Peter Diplaris, president of SCA Hygiene Australasia, said the expansion would ensure the manufacture of familiar brands like Purex toilet paper would remain in New Zealand.
“This expansion secures a long term future for our Kawerau site as the sustainable supplier for the New Zealand and Australian markets.
“It also confirms the site’s significant export role with an estimated 2,600 containers of product exported through the Port of Tauranga each year,” he said.
The expansion will increase the site’s total output initially by the equivalent of 66 40-foot containers every week. It would add another 11 containers a week from next year onwards.
New facilities includes a new 13,000 sq m “tissue conversion hall,” a 55m-long tissue winding machine and robotised packing and dispatch.
SCA said the site was also making significant sustainability gains. In 2009 the site converted its heat source from steam generated by a natural gas-fired boiler to geothermal steam, cutting its carbon dioxide emissions by 45 per cent.
Fairfax NZ News, 30th January, 2014