Fletcher expands mdf plant

Press, 4 November 1986, Page 25

Fletcher expands mdf plant

Fletcher Challenge, Ltd, has announced a $17.5 million expansion of the Lakepine medium density fibreboard plant operated at Taupo by Fletcher Wood Panels, Ltd. The chairman of Fletcher Challenge, Sir Ronald Trotter, said that since its opening by the Prime Minister, Mr Lange, in February the plant’s performance has been “an outstanding success.” It operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, but strong demand from both domestic and export markets exceeds the company’s present ability to supply. The Lakepine

MDF plant is already producing at better than its rated design capacity of 90,000 cubic metres a year. “World demand for medium density fibreboard is growing at a faster rate than for any other wood-based panel product and we see this as a long-term trend,” said Sir Ronald. “We will become the biggest wood panel manufacturer in Australasia as a result of this expansion.” The managing director of Fletcher Wood Panels, Mr Alan Purdy, said, “When we built Stage I, critical items of plant

were sized to allow further expansion at a time determined by world-wide demand. In fact, demand in our key export markets, Australia and Asia, is so strong that we have had to bring forward our plans for Stage II.” The second stage will increase production by more than 50 per cent to 150,000 cubic metres a year but will cost only $l5 million because the plant’s original design took the need for an extension into account. A further $2.5 million will be spent to refine the existing plant operations. A substantial proportion

of the total production will be exported.

Major equipment, including a second wood refiner and mat forming station, along with additional drying capacity, has already been ordered from suppliers in Sweden. The new expanded plant will be commissioned in December, 1987.

Along with the MDF plant, Fletcher Wood Panels operates three particle board plants at its Taupo site; a panel laminating factory in Hamilton, and a door manufacturing factory at Penrose, in Auckland.