Source: Radio New Zealand
Japanese-owned Juken NZ has put its two Kaitāia mills – the Triboard Mill and the Northland Mill (pictured) – up for sale. Peter de Graaf
Hundreds of people are expected at a public meeting in Kaitāia this weekend to discuss the future of the town’s timber mills.
Earlier this year, Japanese-owned Juken NZ put its two Far North mills up for sale, and a decision whether to sell them or shut them down is thought to be imminent.
Workers First union organiser Marcus Coverdale said losing the mills would be devastating for Kaitāia, not just for the 200-plus employees but also for many other businesses that depended on the mills’ products and the workers’ incomes.
Coverdale said the sale period was due to end on 22 May.
The union had called the meeting, from 4.30pm on Saturday at the Te Ahu Centre, to meet mill workers outside work, along with affected members of the community.
Northland MPs, iwi, council leaders and industry had also been invited.
“Our main concern is we don’t know anything. The members don’t know anything and the public doesn’t know anything. We’re saying the community has a right to know what’s going on,” Coverdale said.
“We want to have a public forum where we can discuss some of the options to keep the place open. Is it cheaper power? Is it rebates on the water or land rates? Something to make it attractive to buy.”
Coverdale said closure of the mills would be a huge blow to the town.
“You’re not just talking about the actual workers at the mill. You’re talking about the products that go to local builders, so they’re going to take a hit. They’ll have to import that from somewhere else in Aotearoa, so that will push housing costs up,” he said.
“It’s all the flow-on effects on the local economy if those people lose their incomes. It’s the workers that buy their smoko in the morning or dinner at night, and the effect on the supermarkets. We’re hoping that doesn’t happen, but it’s a very real possibility.”
Another aim of the meeting was to give the community a chance to share ideas about how to keep the mills open, or make them a more attractive proposition to new owners.
Coverdale said Juken had cited high costs and declining markets as reasons for wanting to pull out of Kaitāia.
In particular the mills’ electricity costs were high, but they also used about a third of Kaitāia’s town water supply.
Another factor behind Juken’s exit was the fact the company had a newer mill in Masterton making similar products.
Coverdale said New Zealand had already lost six major wood processing sites in the past two years, and could not afford to lose another two.
Other mills to have closed recently include the paper production line at Kinleith Mill in Tokoroa (with the loss of 230 jobs), Eves Valley Sawmill in Tasman (140 jobs), and Karioi Pulpmill and Tangiwai Sawmill in Ruapehu (200 jobs).
Earlier, Northland MP Grant McCallum told RNZ he had spoken to a consortium interested in buying the mills as a going concern.
He would not say who was behind the potential buyout, but the group included New Zealand and Northland investors.
However, McCallum said he would not celebrate until a deal was “signed and sealed”.
The only employer in Kaitāia with more staff than Juken is Health New Zealand, which operates a hospital serving the top of the Far North.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/05/20/kaitaia-waits-for-decision-on-timber-mills/