OjiFS Proposes To Discontinue Paper Production At Kinleith Mill

Oji Fibre Solutions (OjiFS) has today announced it proposes to take further action to stabilise and strengthen the company, by simplifying operations at Kinleith Mill, its largest facility that manufactures pulp and paper.

Chief Executive Officer Dr Jon Ryder says: “After extensive work and considering a variety of options, we are proposing to simplify Kinleith Mill’s operations by focusing on pulp and discontinuing loss making paper production. Therefore, we are consulting on a plan to permanently shut the Kinleith PM6 paper machine and move to a paper import model for our packaging operations.

“Manufacturing paper has become unprofitable. Paper production at Kinleith Mill has suffered significant losses for several years and we see no prospect of the situation improving.

“Due to the complexities of operational changes required at the mill for this proposal, the exact number of potential job losses is unknown at this stage. However, we anticipate approximately 230 roles may be affected.The wider impacts will become clearer as we work through the consultation period, through to final decision and into next year.

“This proposal takes into account our ability to continue to serve our customers with as little disruption as possible. We propose to continue producing paper at Kinleith Mill through to the end of June 2025, to ensure we meet our packaging customer obligations and provide a smooth transition to new paper supply arrangements.

“Under this proposal, there would be no change to the wastepaper collection service provided by OjiFS Fullcircle, which will continue to collect, sort and bale wastepaper throughout New Zealand for recycling.”

“This is a difficult change to propose because of the impact on our hard-working team. We acknowledge the history and importance of Kinleith Mill in the local community and region and have made every effort to ensure we continue operating at the site.

“Our need for change is in no way a reflection of the experience, skills, and dedication of all the team and leadership at Kinleith Mill.

“We will now enter a consultation period with employees at Kinleith Mill, through to early January, to see if there is an alternative we have not yet considered.We anticipate announcing a decision by end of January 2025.

Background Information

Who is Oji Fibre Solutions?

Oji Fibre Solutions (OjiFS) is a pulp, paper and packaging company owned by Oji Holdings Corporation. Most of Oji Fibre Solutions’ operations are based in New Zealand. It employs over 1840 people in New Zealand and Australia.

Market pulp and containerboard products are produced in the Central North Island of New Zealand and at a recycling mill in Auckland. There are also nine packaging operations in New Zealand and Australia that produce a range of wood-fibre based packaging solutions, principally for the horticulture, dairy, meat and beverage industries.

The business includes Fullcircle, New Zealand’s largest waste-paper recovery and recycling service.

Market pulps and containerboard are exported to more than 30 international markets, while most of the packaging products are sold to domestic customers in Australia and New Zealand.

Oji Holdings Corporation, based in Japan, is one of the largest companies in the global forest, paper and packaging sector. Its operation in New Zealand includes Pan Pac, based in Hawkes Bay and Southland Plantation Forest Company of New Zealand, as well as Oji Fibre Solutions.

For more information go to www.ojifs.com

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