NZ pulp mill facing up to falling demandThe Norske Skog Tasman pulp and paper mill in the central North Island is reported to be planning "significant downtime" next year in the face of falling demand. The droip in demand has been put down to general economic conditions from the recession and the effect of rising use of electronic media on the newspaper industry. Norske Skog Tasman produces about 26,000 tonnes of paper a month, it manufactures newsprint for all of the New Zealand market, with the balance of production exported to Australia and Asia.A statement from general manager Ernie Hacker referred to continuing market uncertainty for the Kawerau mill's newsprint product. The company estimated that if the mill continued to produce at current levels that it would have to cut back production by between 25,000 and 50,000 tonnes. A spokeswoman suggested that could involve two shutdowns of two weeks each. The company is seeking 69 redundancies among its 399 workers, though a union plans to contest them. The mill closed for 10 days in August because of over-production and falling demand. Other Norske Skog paper mills in Australia had already cut jobs this year. |
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