Hopes factory will be re-built
Tight overseas supply chains are giving hope that a North Canterbury factory that burned to the ground will be re-built or moved to another site.
Australasia’s largest drill bit manufacturer, Sutton Tool NZ, suffered catastrophic damage in its main manufacturing facility after a fire engulfed the building in the early hours of Sunday.
The blaze was so fierce one nearby resident described feeling a heat blast on his face after one explosion, and up to 40 houses had to be evacuated to a nearby school because of the risk of toxic fumes.
Kevin Donovan, general manager of the Kaiapoi site, said while it was too early for the company’s Australian owners to make any decisions about the business and its 80 employees, Covid-19-affected supply chains meant the company played an important part in hardware supply in Australasia.
“A lot of what we manufacture is important for Australia and can’t easily be replicated at the quality standards or costs the market expects.”
Donovan said the company had been researching alternative sites, and said both the engineering facility and goods areas had not been damaged.
The engineering team were positive as they could build the machinery needed to manufacture, he said.
Employees are not currently allowed on site due to the danger of asbestos.
Donovan said the company was able to continue paying staff wages, as it had done in previous pandemic lockdowns.
‘‘It’s one day at a time at the moment.’’
While the fire destroyed much of the factory site, a toxic leak had local residents equally concerned about an impact on the Cam, Kaiapoi and Waimakariri rivers and their wildlife.
Environmental Canterbury launched a major mopping up operation as staff tried desperately to collect from the rivers a toxic quenching fluid, used to control the cooling of steel.
ECan staff managed to collect about 2000 litres of the fluid, onscene commander Emma Parr said on Monday, but more had escaped and flowed away with the tide.
Parr said five oiled birds were seen on Sunday and one was captured for a vet assessment. Wildlife experts from Maritime New Zealand were also at the scene to help.
Special booms were deployed to help contain the oil spill, while flood barriers at the Cam and Ruataniaha rivers were used to hold water back to enable containment and recovery.
‘‘It is a difficult situation due to the multiple rivers affected and their tidal nature,’’ Parr said.
For Amber Marie Whitmore, a 5.15am alarm usually signalled a normal Monday morning, until she remembered a fire gutted the workplace she loved.
By mid-morning Sunday, the devastating scene had left Whitmore and her colleagues shaken and in tears as they pondered their future.
Describing the employees as a family, she said she felt most sorry for the many workers who had clocked between 20 and 40 years service.
One man who had been operating his machine for 21 years was in tears when he saw the destruction, she said.
David Miller lives 100 metres from the Sutton Tools factory on Sims Rd and had a front row seat to the Sunday night inferno, describing it as ‘‘massive’’ and saying there were ‘‘huge’’ explosions followed by a power cut.
No-one was injured in the fire.
Waimakariri district mayor Dan Gordon said the damage to the factory was devastating news for Kaiapoi.
Gordon said his thoughts and those of the council were with the 100 employees and said he had reached out to the factory manager to offer support.
Waimakariri MP Matt Doocey said Sutton Tools had been a proud local employer in Kaiapoi.
Firefighting operations have now finished at the scene of the factory fire on Dale Street, Kaiapoi.
Fire and Emergency district manager Dave Stackhouse said firefighting operations had finished at the scene, but investigators were still at the scene to investigate the cause and origin of the fire.
The site remains cordoned off while the blaze is investigated.
Sutton Tools NZ had been operating since 1962 when it was known as Patience and Nicholson and was considered an icon in North Canterbury.
It also has an office in Auckland and is owned by an Australian family.