Hon. Stuart Nash announced on site today that Techlam will receive up to $1.75 million to procure and install machinery for reducing manufacturing landfill by up to 25%, and enable processing a large proportion of its waste into value-added products. The Beehive press release is below and incorporates a media release for Plentyful:
“The investment criteria we set up in the RSPF has innovation and sustainability at its heart. Both Techlam and Plentyful are paving the way for sustainability in the high-tech industry with their cutting-edge, environmentally-friendly manufacturing processes,”
“From framing for houses to paper packaging for pies, there are so many products that can be made more sustainably, and with a better fit for the circular economy, and these companies are at the forefront of this sector-wide shift.”
“The RSPF is all about regional economic development, and these world-class Manawatu-Whanganui businesses are further proof that innovation doesn’t have to come from big cities or huge research institutions.”
“Investing into Plentyful and Techlam will not only support local job creation and the development of sustainable products, but will also help these regional businesses export to new international markets.”
“These projects align with the regional priorities of Manawatū-Whanganui, in particular fibre production and specialised manufacturing, as well as with the wider Government strategy to develop a low-emissions, highly-skilled economy, while making our regions stronger and more resilient,” Stuart Nash said.
This funding will be going towards our new E-Grading, Docking & Finger Jointing line to improve efficiencies and eliminate the amount of waste going to landfill by utilising more of the raw timber feedstock than we are at the moment. The new line will enable us to finger joint shorter lengths to use in our product and produce these products much faster than currently. We will also be commissioning a new CNC, a significant upgrade to our processing capacity which will enable faster processing of our prefabricated components.The investment will also create more jobs for the local community.
Hear from Brett Hamilton, our Managing Director
“At the moment we’re unable to process some of our feedstock, and this waste currently goes to landfill. Very soon we’ll significantly reduce these waste streams because we’ll utilise them to create new product lines.
This along with additional CNC capacity, will significantly increase our capacity in the areas we’re growing in, both the project market and also our general markets.”
What benefits will the proposed upgrade bring to the glulam industry in New Zealand?
“It will increase capacity and thus increase productivity. We’re aiming to increase production by more than 30% and reduce waste currently going to landfill by 25%.”
