Six plants and 200 employees

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33463, 19 February 1974, Page 1

Six plants and 200 employees

Matai 1 ndustries, Ltd, a company with strong emphasis on regional development, was formed about 11 months ago. Its six West Coast factories now employ more than 200 people, and manufacture wooden and plastic products and home appliances.

The company started with the establishment of a plastics factory at Westport, then a factory at Reef ton concentrating on woodware. and a similar factory at Runanga, based in the former St Joseph’s Convent building. There is also a warehouse in the Runanga Miners’ Hall.

The company’s Greymouth factories centre on the purchase of the Regent Theatre last year from Kerridge Odeon. The building is now a factory producing toys and other products, including electric irons.

There is a woodware factory at Karoro, and a tooling shop in former bakery premises in Guinness Street.

When the company advertised for staff for its Westport factory last March, it received 277 applications from persons wishing to register for possible employment.

The board of Matai Indus-! tries held its first meeting in Christchurch on August 17| last year. The board included)

I Mr R. P. Thompson (chairman), Sir Bernard O’Connell (deputy chairman), the Deputy Leader of the Opposition (Mr Muldoon), and Messrs A. Bourne, R. Connell. and K. F., J. D. and B. M. Meates. It was in early March last year that the Minister of Trade and Industry (Mr Freer) said that agreement on

the basis for establishing new manufacturing industries on the West Coast had been reached between the Government and Torro International (N.Z.) Ltd. He said that an entirely new company would be formed to undertake the projects, and that the Government had agreed to give certain assistance in accordance with its regional development policy. Torro International (N.Z.). Ltd, of Christchurch, makes toys, plastic flowers, and floral arrangements. The managing director is Mr K. F. Meates.

On March 21, Mr Meates said that three factory sites for a s2m manufacturing complex on the West Coast had been bought, and that a new company would be formed. He said he would eventually close his Torro factories in Auckland and Hastings, and all but one of 'he Christchurch plants. The new company, Matai Industries, Ltd. would eventually employ 280 persons, he said. Initially it would draw on the resources of six companies in the Torro group. It was correct to say that Torro was moving to the [West Coast, he said. It was planned to build 'up export markets for the I goods from all the factories.