£600,000 Plywood Plant For West Coast

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30277, 1 November 1963, Page 12

£600,000 Plywood Plant For West Coast

A £600,000 veneer and plywood factory is to be built at Gladstone, near Greymouth, by the Fletcher organisation. This was announced yesterday by the managing director of Fletcher Holdings, Ltd. (Mr J. G. Fletcher). The organisation plans to start early this month preparing the site.

“This marks the first positive stage in our company’s programme to help to invigorate the economy of the West Coast,” Mr Fletcher said in announcing the scheme. He also said the company’s current plants for the West Coast were not restricted to the veneer and plywood project. “We are also budgeting to spend .at least another £400,000 on modifications and extensions to our already extensive timber-processing facilities on the West Coast, and confldentily expect that this substantial investment of more than £lm in all will be but the start of an even bigger development.” Mr Fletcher, in a statement announcing that final agreement to carry out the project had been reached with the Government, said the plant would initially produce about 12m sq. ft of 3-16 in plywood, and would employ more than 100 persons. It would involve a total investment of £600,000.

He said inquiries for equipment for the plant had been world-wide, and purchases would be spread among Europe, Japan, and Australia. Orders for the main items had already been placed and some plant had already been delivered to GTeymouth. The rest would arrive during the next 12 months. The plant had been designed by the organisation’s own

engineers, and incorporated the most modern developments in the industry. It would be built by Fletcher Construction, and work on the site was expected to start early this month. “In 1960, in support of the efforts of the committee of inquiry set up to investigate industrial prospects there, our company engaged the services of A. D. Little, Incorporated, an internationallyknown firm of United States consultants, to prepare an independent and objective report on industrial possibilities in the area,” Mr Fletcher said. “A. D. Little recommended that the forest industries offered the best practical potential, and negotiations in this connexion have been carried on with the Government since 1960.” The announcement of the organisation’s plans has been greeted with pleasure on the West Coast.

“Since I have been Mayor of Greymouth I have always been an advocate for the advancement of the West Coast, and this is the best news I have heard during my term in office,” said Mr F. W. Baillie. “This will not only benefit Greymouth but will assist the progress of the whole of the West Coast. I am sure I am speaking for all the citizens of the borough and the district when I repeat that I am delighted at the news.”

Mr D. H. Copeland, chairman of the Greymouth Chamber of Commerce, said: “This is a great thing, not only from the point of view of 100 employees, but they and their families will mean a tremendous lot to tradesmen in the district.

‘lt is a very pleasant thought that the firm of Fletcher Holdings is going to do

something tangible towards the progress of Westland.” The newly-elected president of the Westland District Progress League (Mr C. C. de Mon talk) said: “It is most pleasing news, and the sooner they start the better. This direct action is most gratifying.”