Dulux’s $30 million manufacturing investment unveiled

3 August 2011

Dulux’s $30 million manufacturing investment unveiled

Prime Minister John Key today officially opened the $30 million upgrade of Dulux’s paint manufacturing and warehouse facility in Wellington.

Signalling the leading paint maker’s commitment to manufacturing in New Zealand, the major upgrade of the 70 year old Hutt Valley facility sets it up for the long term and makes it the country’s largest paint manufacturing facility.

“This is one of the most significant capital projects DuluxGroup has undertaken for some time and it is an important part of our growing Dulux’s market leading positions here in New Zealand,” said DuluxGroup Chairman Peter Kirby.

The two year construction project has included replacing and expanding the main water-based paint manufacturing building and introducing greater automation, new filling machine and production vessels. The project also included construction of new and larger warehousing and distribution facilities, removal of older earthquake-prone buildings, new roadways to improve traffic flow and pedestrian safety, and improved water treatment and waste management systems.

“The new facilities greatly improve the safety and efficiency of our day-to-day operations. They also provide additional manufacturing capacity and set the direction for our future here in New Zealand,” said Dulux New Zealand General Manager Julia Myers.

“In the final stages of construction, the increased manufacturing capacity and the new equipment were given a thorough stress test. Production was doubled almost overnight to export finished product to Australia to help cover the production lost as a result of our main Australian factory being extensively damaged by floods earlier this year. We passed that test with flying colours.

“It has been a phenomenal effort to complete the work on time and on budget. Just pouring the concrete slab for the warehouse required us securing two of Wellington’s concrete production plants’ capacity for a 24 hour period.

“Dulux products have also been used extensively throughout the new and refurbished buildings with the ‘Colours of New Zealand’ range of paints on prominent display inside and out. Appropriately, the base colour on the exterior of the new factory building is ‘Dulux Hutt Valley’ from our Wellington range.

“We’ve enjoyed great support from our employees, customers and the local community throughout. We are delighted to be investing here in Wellington and making a long term commitment to New Zealand manufacturing,” said Ms Myers.

During the opening the Prime Minister added his artistic touch to a colour mural, painted in the ‘Dulux Colours of New Zealand’ paint range which, when complete, will be mounted on the exterior of the main factory building.

Media contacts: Lisa Walters (+61) 421 585 750

Pauline Ray 021 958 635

About Dulux New Zealand

Dulux New Zealand is part of Australian publicly listed company DuluxGroup (ASX:DLX) which manufacturers and markets some of New Zealand’s most iconic brands including Dulux, Selleys, Yates and Cabot’s. DuluxGroup in New Zealand employs about 400 people and has three manufacturing sites: Dulux Paints in Wellington; Dulux Powder Coatings in Auckland; and Yates horticultural products in Auckland.

It also operates 19 Dulux Trade Centres across the North and South Islands.

The Hutt Valley site is also home to DuluxGroup’s Customer Service call centre which manages all customer orders from throughout Australia and New Zealand.

In May 2011, Dulux won the ACC-sponsored Wellington Gold Award for workplace safety. This was the second time in three years that Dulux has taken out this award. It also won the Wellington Green Gold Sustainability award in 2008.

In 2008, Dulux was the first decorative paint manufacturer in the Southern Hemisphere to achieve the stringent ISO 14001 environmental management standard. The standard is an international benchmark for business best practice which recognises the focus and performance of the site in the area of environmentally sustainable manufacturing.

Dulux New Zealand

Manufacturing and Distribution Site Upgrade Fact Sheet

• More than 97,000 construction hours worked.
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• Approximately 300 contractors from as close as next door and as far away as Belgium worked on site to complete the project.
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• Just 20 days of production shut down required during the years of construction.
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• During construction the old paint factory was enclosed in a huge temporary structure constructed of shipping containers and canvases while the new building was built over and around the old building – allowing minimal disruption to paint production during construction.
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• 16,000 tonnes of soil was removed from the site.
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• 3,800 cubic meters of concrete laid in roads floors and foundation.
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• Over 500 drawings issued for construction.
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Factory and Distribution Centre Exterior Colour Scheme

Base colour Dulux Hutt Valley Wellington

Blue accents Dulux Cook Strait Wellington

Orange beams and accents Dulux Evans Bay Wellington

Green highlights and doors Dulux Cuba Street Wellington

Administration Building Exterior Colour Scheme

(Left to right)

Column 1 Dulux Oxford Terrace Canterbury

Column 2 Dulux Marahau Tasman

Column 3 Dulux Church Rd Hawkes Bay

Column 4 Dulux Katiki Otago

Column 5 Dulux Red Jacks West Coast

Column 6 Dulux Port Ohope BOP

Column 7 Dulux Kopu Waikato

Column 8 Dulux Evans Bay Wellington

Column 9 Dulux The Viaduct Auckland

Walls Dulux Mavora Southland

Vertical beams Dulux Taihape Whanganui

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