Tokoroa plywood mill closure adds to South Waikato job losses after Kinleith

The pine man sculpture in Tokoroa, created in 2004, symbolises the important role the forestry industry played for the district for a long time. This might now change after Carter Holt Harvey told staff on Tuesday afternoon that 119 jobs would go. Photo / Maryana Garcia

South Waikato has rallied behind Carter Holt Harvey workers after the company confirmed it would close its Tokoroa plywood plant in November.

The news of the closure comes after Oji Fibre Solutions ceased paper production at Kinleith Mill in July to focus on pulp, resulting in 130 job losses.

Carter Holt Harvey told staff on Tuesday afternoon that 119 jobs would go, South Waikato Mayor Gary Petley said.

However, a small group of workers would temporarily stay on after the final day of operation to clean up the site, Carter Holt Harvey E tū union leader Red Middlemiss said.

He said workers had been quite despondent and disappointed since the announcement this week, even though a lot of them had suspected the closure was coming.

He said the closure had left many families anxious as they waited for redundancy payments to cover mortgages and household bills.

“Without that surety, they don’t know what the heck is happening.”

Waikato Herald approached Carter Holt Harvey for comment.

Talking to RNZ’s Evie Richardson, plywood plant worker and father of five, Gilbert Sydney said he had been among those being made redundant from Kinleith Mill recently, but had then found work at the plywood mill, where he had been for only four weeks.

“Double-banger, it’s a double-banger but I’ve always felt as you just gotta move on with life, you can’t be in the dumps for too long, especially when you’ve got family,” Sydney told RNZ.

Although he was determined to stay in Tokoroa, Sydney worried whether his kids would have a future in the town.

“I think if these two places like fully shut, nah ... I don’t think there’s a future here for them.”

Middlemiss told the Waikato Herald that while the closure was very unfortunate, he still had hope for Tokoroa and the wider South Waikato district.

“There are several things happening that are really great ... but we’ve got to come up with a plan,” Middlemiss said.

Middlemiss said South Waikato needed to attract new businesses and retain its workforce as workers who left for Australia often did not return until retirement.

Petley said the council would keep advocating for the workers and help them navigate redundancies through Project Phoenix.

There were training and employment opportunities, he said.

“The timing hasn’t been perfect, but we have positive things going on,” he said.

“We are a long way from being a ghost town.”

He said there were “a lot of [work] options” in the area “once infrastructure work is complete”.

Petley said the closure of Kinleith Mill, along with Carter Holt Harvey’s decision, signalled a shift away from timber and towards new industries.

He said one example was the new Better Eggs facility in Putaruru, which marked its sod-turning this week.

The 8ha first stage of the development will include a new packing, processing, warehouse and distribution facility.

Final consenting requirements are being worked through before earthworks begin by the end of the year.

– Additional reporting by Evie Richardson of RNZ

Tom Eley is a multimedia journalist at the Waikato Herald. He previously worked for the Weekend Sun and Sunlive.