Transpower has released a draft proposal for future pricing of electricity distribution, which could deliver solid savings to a handful of users, but increases of varying sizes to most of those affected.
D-Crew shift manager Jim Spalding has been employed by Norske Skog for 38 years, both in the Tasman Mill and over the ditch in Australia. He said he had loved his time working with the crew in Kawerau and had enjoyed working alongside them to solve problems and meet the challenges that came with running a paper machine. The D-Crew are a tight-knit bunch and Spalding expects those friendships will continue despite the closure of the mill. Spalding has fond memories of Christmas functions in which D-Crew chartered fishing boats and then gathered at team-member Tuwhakairiora (Tu) O’Brien’s house to cook up their catch for the men’s families.
The Tasman Mill has been producing a twilight product , says an industry expert.
Photo: Norske Skog
Kawerau s Tasman Mill - owned by Norwegian company Norske Skog - began producing newspaper print in 1955.
But on Wednesday, it is set to cease operations after its owners deemed it unviable, leaving its 160 workers without jobs.
The mill produced up to 150 tonnes of paper per year at its peak. But as the publication paper industry declined so did the mill s output.
Industry group Industrial Symbiosis Kawerau chairman Jacob Kajavala said it was inevitable the mill would shut. Unfortunately it s producing a twilight product and it s been suffering for years. This is the inevitable conclusion of that.
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