R. Smart closes Auckland arm

Press, 21 August 1989, Page 13

R. Smart closes Auckland arm

The statutory managers of Richmond Smart Corporation have closed Pressure Die Casters, an Auckland-based wholly owned subsidiary of the group. Statutory manager, Mr Graeme McDonald, said the factory employed 22 people and it had been closed because further losses could not be sustained.

Earlier this year, the managers had announced a possible buyer of Pressure Die Casters, but it had not been possible to reconcile the requirements of the buyers and the unions.

The buyer had examined the books and had stated that

the purchase would be conditional on seven employees losing their jobs. The unions were placed in a difficult position because they wanted to protect their members. They asked for redundancy for those leaving, but because the company was insolvent no such payments could be offered. There had been no success in finding a buyer in the last few months, and because of the level of debt in the company there had been no choice but closing, he said. At the time the statutory managers had been appointed to Richmond Smart, Pressure Die Casters had been running at a loss.