Kinleith Mill in Tokoroa. Photo / Mike Scott
Seven months after paper production ceased at Kinleith Mill, the South Waikato district can look optimistically into its future, mayor Gary Petley said.
At the end of 2024, Oji Fibre Solutions first announced its proposal to close its paper processing plant, impacting 230 jobs and marking the start of a period of uncertainty for many people and the district.
In July last year, Oji confirmed 130 job losses.
“When it first happened, I was pretty down ... But now ... I’m feeling a lot more buoyant,” Petley told the Waikato Herald.
“There is light at the end of the tunnel.”
In response to the closure and to combat that uncertainty, the South Waikato District Council, together with local MP Louise Upston, South Waikato Investment Trust Fund (Swift), the Ministry of Social Development and local organisations set up Project Phoenix.
Petley said Project Phoenix was a series of initiatives, including workforce research and career expos, to help impacted workers and the district’s economy.
“It’s about getting some wraparound support for the workers, connecting them with the right agencies.”
Upston said the Ministry of Social Development had done “significant work” on strategies to help people find and apply for jobs.
“Project Phoenix has meant faster connections with employers across the Waikato Region with support from the Waikato Chamber of Commerce,” she said.
“Tokoroa is a strong and tight-knit community. It is amazing what can be achieved with collaboration, and Tokoroa is well known for doing this in good times and in challenging times.”
Upston said part of the challenges, identified through research undertaken by Swift as part of Project Phoenix, was that what students were training for and the skill sets local employers needed were “not well matched”.
“This research will ... [help] form a plan to target training opportunities to local workforce needs.”
While Project Phoenix is ongoing, Petley deemed it a success.
He said a lot of impacted workers had taken up the support offered.
“Of 60 people who received support through Project Phoenix, less than five are on the benefit,” Petley said.
“It’s something we are really proud of.”
He said only a few people had moved out of the district.
“Most of those moving away were young families ... but [those] numbers haven’t been that noticeable,” he said.
“We are long, long away from being a ghost town. We’ve got enough growth [still happening], enough things on the go.”
Petley said with the paper plant closure, several workers had left Kinleith Mill, meaning others were able to be re-employed by the mill in a different division.
He said a few people pursued overseas opportunities.
“Some were offered jobs in the paper industry in Australia ... they were headhunted for similar positions [to ones they had at Kinleith].”
Other people had opted for a career change.
“One of them now works in a school environment with at-risk children.”
Petley said this year would mark a shift in Project Phoenix, going from “crisis management towards opportunities”.
“The whole thing is now to build a fence at the top of the cliff rather than parking an ambulance at the bottom.”
Petley said the South Waikato District had a lot going for it.
“We are in an ideal spot, on SH1, close to Hamilton, Tauranga, Auckland. We’ve got the railway line.
“You can get land at a better price point than Auckland, Tauranga, and Hamilton.
“I am hugely confident [in the district].”
He said there were “major positive things” happening in the next 12 months, including the opening of the Maraetai Road Intermodal Business Park, which had allocated all available spots.
He said the Maraetai Road Intermodal Business Park would provide employment opportunities and boost the economy.
“New businesses are coming, we have housing developments happening and the Van der Heyden Industrial Park [announced last year] - all these things add up.
“The signal is we are working with a solid strategy. It’s not just doom and gloom any more.
“Yes, life deals some cards to you that are going to rock your boat, but it’s up to you to pick yourself up. We’ve done that.”
Danielle Zollickhofer is the Waikato news director and a multimedia journalist at the Waikato Herald. She joined NZME in 2021 and is based in Hamilton.