‘Teething problems' plague electric van

Press, 27 February 1981, Page 4

‘Teething problems' plague electric van

The Christchurch electric vehicle company. N.E.E.V. Ltd, has dismissed most of its staff, incurred heavy debts, and is under pressure from its creditors, according to the company’s chairman, Mr C. P. Hibbott. , ■

The company has also raised the wrath of a trade union And may, hlive ; .embarrassed a Government'department for its failure to hold I six workers who came with a Government loan of $lB,OOO ■ less, than two months ago. Seven of its commeicial electric vans have been sold, but they have been plagued with “teething problems.” The company claims that its equipment is not responsible for these.

In spite of such an inauspicious start, Mr Hibbott believes the company still has a bright future. Mr Hibbott’s company’s latest problem started in January, when it applied for the Government’s new job creation suspensory loan for small businesses. The company received a loan of $lB,OOO on the condition that it employed six people who were then registered as unemployed.

• Under the terms cf the loan, which was approved by the Labour Department and administered by the Development Finance Corporation, the loan would be cancelled if the six people were kept on for two years. If the workers lost their jobs within two years, a proportion of the loan had to be paid back to the D.F.C. Once the loan had been received by N.E.E.V., the company’s bank claimed $12,000 to clear a bank overdraft the company had enjoyed for a year, Mr Hibbott said. Two workers left the company after one week. Last Friday, the other four, and three, permanent members of the staff, were given notice, to take,effect immedia-tley. According to a spokesman for the Engineer’s Union, the workers left without holiday

pay, sick leave pay, or four weeks .pay in lieu of notice. Mr Hibbott last evening said-- ' the company had 'deliberately and perhaps provocatively” withheld pay from, the, workers; but he maintained 1 that N.E.E.V. wasi' already in debt, and that . the bank’s claim to' $12,000 had removed much, of -the company’s - ability to pay its employees. He said he could neither confirm nor deny a report that the company owed creditors $79,000. “I believe that that figure is much higher than is actually the case,” he said.

He said that N.E.E.V. was under “gentle pressure" from its creditors.

The company was also owed some money by other people, Mr Hibbott said. He said this was “no great thing; I guess about $lO,OOO or $12,000.” “When this money comes in, and it will, God willing, we’ll meet our pay,” he. said. The district superintendent I of the Labour Department: (Mr W. T. Holland) saidi yesterday that the $lB,OOO loan would also have to be' refunded by N.E.E.V. Mr Holland said the company had met all the criteria of the loan scheme, and had been approved by his department. His department's responsibility ended with finding six people on its registers. Asked if the department had investigated the company’s financial standing before granting the loan, Mr Holland said it had not, as this was not required in the criteria. Asked if this was a weakness in the loan scheme, he said, “No comment.”

The Engineers’ Union is investigating the dismissal of seven workers, last Frida’to see if it can claim foj their lost pay. A spokesmai for the union said he was not very optimistic aboud obtaining the money. Mr Hibbott said that in spite of its present predicaments, the company had bright future. Two big pri*.

vate companies, two big public and one overseas company were "actively exploring ?a relationship” ' with NiE.E.V. to I manufacture the electric vehicle which, it had developed A “well known” group-’,of Wellington sharebrokers h,ad also been engaged-in .discussions with N;E;E.V. ’ /' ?.- : Mr Hibbott said the intention was to set up another company, with different directors and different •finances, “hopefully not far from Christchurch,”' to manufacture the- vehicle. This would leave N.E.E.V. as a “developmental”. company, with no interest in manufactturing.