Mill sale not a threat – EPMU

The EPMU (Engineering Printing & Manufacturing Union), New Zealand’s biggest private sector union, has welcomed the $1.037bn sale of three major pulp and paper mills, agreed to by Carter Holt Harvey and Japanese interests.

The agreement sees the Kinleith pulp & paper mill; the Tasman pulp mill in Kawerau; and the Penrose paper mill sold to Japan’s Oji Holdings Corporation, and the state-backed Innovation Network Corporation of Japan.

Oji plans to continue production and retain workers on existing pay and conditions. Ron Angel, organiser at EPMU, says the Japanese company, a dedicated pulp and paper business, understands the industry. He says, “They’re not a private equity company so we’re not expecting them to asset strip, but actually they’re more likely to probably invest within the group.”

Oji, an international paper and packaging business listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, has previously invested in New Zealand, including the PanPac forest product business in Hawke’s Bay. INCJ is sponsored by the Japanese government and Japanese private enterprises.

Carter Holt Harvey, owned by Graeme Hart, New Zealand’s richest man, does not see the plants fitting with its longer-term investment strategy.

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