Whanganui Chronicle
  • Whanganui Chronicle home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Taranaki
  • National Park
  • Whakapapa
  • Ohakune
  • Raetihi
  • Taihape
  • Marton
  • Feilding
  • Palmerston North

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • New Plymouth
  • Whanganui
  • Palmertson North
  • Levin

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Whanganui Chronicle

68 jobs lost in carpet company reshuffle

By John Maslin
Whanganui Chronicle·
13 Apr, 2016 08:05 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Sixty-eight jobs will be lost in Whanganui with carpet maker Cavalier Bremworth announcing it is consolidating a major part of its operation in Napier.

The company confirmed yesterday it was moving the spinning lines from its factory in Leamington St, Castlecliff, to the Hawke's Bay, a move that should be finalised by October.

As well as the major changes in Whanganui, the company announced it would be closing its Christchurch felting plant with 36 job losses. The felting operation would shift to Whanganui, a move which would retain employment for 40 staff here.

The spinning operation started in the mid-1970s and some of the staff who started then are still working there.

Paul Alston, Cavalier Bremworth's chief executive officer, told the Chronicle the decision was not made lightly but it came down to a matter of volumes and logistics for the business.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Consolidating the spinning operation in Napier means 39 extra jobs will be created and staff at both Whanganui and Christchurch will be able to apply for those jobs."

Kay Hearfield, FIRST Union organiser in Whanganui, said the news was a "bombshell" for staff when it was broken to them yesterday afternoon.

"I've been speaking to the members and, as you can appreciate, it's been a very stressful time for them. There are definitely a number of long-serving staff here who have been absolutely reliable and given great service to the company. It's been a rollercoaster ride of emotions for them."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Mr Alston said the company had considered shifting all the yarn spinning to Whanganui, "but the site simply isn't big enough".

"The other thing favouring Napier is there's a wool scouring plant next door, which means we're not faced with transporting the yarn to Whanganui. The point is Napier can handle the volumes."

He said the changes came on the back of a review of its manufacturing processes and market trends.

"Demand for woollen carpet has decreased over the last decade and, as a result, we now have excess wool spinning capacity across our Whanganui and Napier plants. In addition, we have felted yarn capacity constraints at our Christchurch plant.

"We're undertaking consultations with all the staff and working through that. I'm aware some workers have been with us in Whanganui for a long time. Some might consider reapplying for jobs, but for others the time may be right for them to take redundancy," Mr Alston said.

He said one felting line was already in place at the Castlecliff plant and the rest of the machinery from Christchurch would eventually be installed here.

Mr Alston said Cavalier Bremworth was "very aware" of the impact the proposed changes would have on staff and where possible would be offering relocation opportunities. "This will be tough for all of our staff, particularly the impacted ones, but we need to future-proof our business to provide ongoing stability and profitability."

Two years ago, the company's then-CEO told the Chronicle the Whanganui plant was a "strategic asset" and would remain so for Cavalier Corporation.

Until yesterday's announcement, the Leamington St plant had taken scoured wool then dyed and spun it to produce yarn for residential carpets and semi-worsted yarn which is finer and stronger and used for commercial grade carpets.

The felted yarn that the Whanganui plant will produce is used in higher-end Cavalier Bremworth carpets because it's softer and more durable.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

Whanganui Chronicle

Earthquakes every six to seven minutes detected under Mt Ruapehu

08 Jul 10:48 PM
Whanganui Chronicle

'Serious shortcomings' in pilot academy management and systems - authority

08 Jul 06:00 PM
Whanganui Chronicle

Health NZ stops funds for Fit for Surgery programme

08 Jul 05:01 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

Earthquakes every six to seven minutes detected under Mt Ruapehu

Earthquakes every six to seven minutes detected under Mt Ruapehu

08 Jul 10:48 PM

Volcanic tremor remains low; Mt Ruapehu is at Volcanic Alert Level 1.

'Serious shortcomings' in pilot academy management and systems - authority

'Serious shortcomings' in pilot academy management and systems - authority

08 Jul 06:00 PM
Health NZ stops funds for Fit for Surgery programme

Health NZ stops funds for Fit for Surgery programme

08 Jul 05:01 PM
'The truth will come out': Scott Guy's parents speak 15 years after unsolved murder

'The truth will come out': Scott Guy's parents speak 15 years after unsolved murder

08 Jul 09:03 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Whanganui Chronicle e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Whanganui Chronicle
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP