New Zealand-based Oji Fibre Solutions will build a new corrugated packaging facility at Yatala on the Gold Coast to supply Queensland, parts of New South Wales and the Northern Territory.
“This investment is an exciting development for Oji Fibre Solutions,” says CEO Dr Jon Ryder. “The new facility will use the latest manufacturing technology, housed within a Green Star rated building and will initially employ approximately 50 people.
“This confirms our commitment to grow our business in Australia and New Zealand. We believe there is opportunity to take advantage of the increasing demand for corrugated packaging in Queensland and the Yatala project fits our strategy to increase vertical integration across our pulp, paper and packaging businesses.”
Oji - formerly Carter Holt Harvey Pulp and Paper - produces a range of paper-based products for the horticulture, dairy, meat, beverage, seafood, reseller and industrial sectors in New Zealand and Australia. The announcement follows a recent expansion and upgrade project at its Auckland paper bag making facility, which is on track for completion in 2016, and further investments in its pulp, paper and packaging facilities in New Zealand and Australia.
Nick Molloy, the company’s GM of packaging in Australia, says the new facility is a $68 million dollar investment. "The market has encouraged us to expand our manufacturing footprint and and we look forward to offering customers more choice.”
The Oji investment in Queensland indicates how significantly food and beverage production has grown in the sunshine state over recent years, according to IndustryEdge analyst Nicole Armstrong. “The company’s emphasis on virgin kraftliner boxes lends itself to the performances required for shipping perishable food products and for storage in cold stores, among other performances.
"The new investment, which means Oji will be manufacturing corrugated boxes in all three eastern seaboard states, comes off the back of the substantial lift in demand for corrugated packaging in Australia over the past year," says Armstrong. “As IndustryEdge has reported in recent months and as detailed in the 2016 edition of the Pulp & Paper Strategic Review, this market grew an apparent and very substantial 12.1% in the last financial year. Opportunities may exist for all of the producers, but it appears that Oji may have taken the ‘first mover’ position.”
Oji Fibre Solutions is a pulp, paper and packaging company owned by Oji Holdings and Innovation Network Corporation of Japan. The majority of Oji Fibre Solutions operations are based in New Zealand. It employs over 1850 people. Market Kraft pulp and container board products are produced in the Central North Island of New Zealand and at a recycling mill in Auckland. Eight packaging operations in New Zealand and Australia produce a range of corrugated board packaging products and paper bags principally for the horticulture, dairy, meat and beverage industries. The business also includes the Fullcircle waste paper collection service and the Lodestar logistics operations. Market pulps and container board are exported to over 15 countries, while the majority of the packaging products are sold to domestic customers in Australia and New Zealand.