A Chinese company has announced plans for a new particle board plant for Kawerau that is expected to bring 100 jobs to the district. The Chinese-based Guangxi Fenglin Wood Industry Group has announced plans to establish the plant, to be built on Putauaki Trust land adjoining SH34, within two years.

It will produce 600,000cu m of panel boards a year for exports mainly to China. The announcement comes following a recent visit to China by representatives of Kawerau District Council, the Putauaki Trust, Toi-EDA, Eastern Bridge, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The delegation visited the Fenglin Group’s Mingyang MDF (medium-density fibreboard) and Huizhou particle board plants, and met group founder Mr Liu, chairman Mr Cui and chief executive officer Mr Wang. Council economic and community development manager Glenn Sutton said a number of factors led to the group’s decision to invest in Kawerau.

Overseas Investment Office approval and other consents now need to be obtained, but if everything goes to plan the plant should be fully operational by 2020. The Fenglin Group is a leading wood industry group in China, listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

It has four large-scale wood-based panel plants in Guangxi’s Nanning and Baise cities and in Guangdong’s Huizhou City, including two medium-density fibre board (MDF) facilities and two particle board (PB) facilities (one PB facility is in construction) with a total capacity of 1.1m cu m a year. The company also owns 14,000ha of fast-growing eucalyptus plantations for industrial use. More >>.

Source: Rotorua Daily Post