Fletcher Wood Panels Opens Laminating Plant

Fletcher Wood Panels Opens Laminating Plant In Brisbane

AUCKLAND, 10 November 2000 – Fletcher Wood Panels (Australia), an operating subsidiary of Fletcher Challenge Building, has today opened a new A$5 million laminating plant in Brisbane, Australia.

The decision to open a plant in Australia is a direct result of the success of Fletcher Wood Panel’s Melteca brand. Previously Fletcher Wood Panel’s laminating plant in Hamilton produced Melteca for export to Australia, and with strong demand for the product, the company needed to expand its capacity.

“Fletcher Challenge Building is focused on strategically targeted growth opportunities within our core businesses,” said Bill Roest, Fletcher Challenge Building’s Director of Performance Improvement and Planning. “We believe there are considerable growth opportunities in Australia for Fletcher Wood Panels, and for the Melteca brand in particular,” he said. “Opening a plant in Brisbane provides an opportunity to expand our capacity and to more effectively service the Australian market by building on our unique service offer which will significantly reduce lead times for product delivery.”

Mr Roest also acknowledged the support and co-operation Fletcher Wood Panels (Australia) had received from Queensland Government, state development organisations, and local authorities.

“The location for the new plant was carefully assessed and we are proud that the Department of Training and Industrial Relations is going to use the establishment of Fletcher Wood Panel’s Australian site as a case study in how projects like this can be effectively managed,” said Mr Roest.

The plant currently has 14 employees operating on two shifts with additional shifts planned for the New Year.

Backgrounder – Fletcher Wood Panels and Fletcher Wood Panels (Australia)

With a combined output of over 300,000 cubic metres, Fletcher Wood Panels (FWP) is one of New Zealand’s largest manufacturers of reconstituted wood-based panel products. These products are supplied to the building, construction, furniture and joinery industries.

FWP has 6 manufacturing sites throughout New Zealand with the largest located in Taupo.

FWP’s Australian operation is made up of the surface laminating plant in Brisbane, with sales and marketing offices located in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. Customer services and brand marketing are run through a central support office in Auckland, New Zealand.

The Brisbane plant applies a resin-impregnated paper to a substrate of medium-density fibre board and particleboard supplied from New Zealand. The resulting laminated board is then marketed to the furniture and joinery and office fit-out industries.

Fletcher Challenge Limited

FWP is a business unit within Fletcher Challenge Building, a targeted letter stock of Fletcher Challenge Limited.

Fletcher Challenge Ltd is a New Zealand based international company with operations in building, energy and forests. Targeted shares representing each division are currently listed on the New Zealand, New York and Australian stock exchanges.

Fletcher Building

Following its decision to dismantle the Group’s targeted stock structure the Board of Fletcher Challenge Ltd has recently announced that it is recommending to shareholders that Fletcher Building become a stand-alone publicly listed Company. Shareholders will vote on the Board’s recommendation in February/March next year.

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