Chairman’s view

Press, 23 January 1988, Page 1

Chairman’s view

By

NIGEL MALTHUS

Even if the Government paid the entire wage bill for the P.D.L. Westport factory, it would still probably run at a loss, the chairman of P.D.L., Sir Robertson Stewart, said last evening. Sir Robertson was responding to the member of Parliament for the West Coast, Mr Kerry Burke, who said he had invited P.D.L. to make a special case for assistance last year, and challenged the company to explain why it had not done so.

“I recognise that Mr Burke was likely to say this,” said Sir Robertson, “but the situation was out of hand.”

Before last year, Government assistance may have helped, but last year brought substantial increases in highly competitive imports, a high dollar value, and

extremely high interest rates, he said.

Those factors, added to the high cost of transport of raw materials to the Coast, and sending finished products back to Christchurch, meant that P.D.L. made a loss on everything produced at the Westport factory. “We kept it going for 12 months, hoping that interest rates, the dollar value and inflation would fall. None of these things improved. In fact, they got worse,” said Sir Robertson. He said he was aware of the efforts being made by the Engineers’ Union to keep the factory going, but that now had nothing to do with P.D.L. “The time has come when we can no longer persist with a lossmaking company,” he said.

P.D.L. would, however, cooperate with parties willing to take it over, he said.

The factory has had a chequered history, being part of the ill-fated Matai Industries, begun by the former All Black, Mr Kevin Meates, at the time of the Kirk Labour Administration. Matai was begun in the expectation of substantial Government support, but soon went into receivership when the expected level of support was not forthcoming. Mr Meates later sued the Government, alleging negligence in its original promise of assistance.

Sir Robertson said he had “rehabilitated” the factory after taking over 13 years ago “at the specific request of the Labour Government.” “I had a social conscience towards the Coast,” he said. He said it was ironic that it was another Labour Government whose policies were now forcing it to close.