Metal fabricator buys Mercer site
Taranaki metal fabricator Superior Stainless has bought the Mercer Stainless subsidiary site in Bell Block for $3.95 million.
Superior Stainless paid $2.1m above the book value for the Corbett Rd building, buying it from Christchurch-based food automation and packaging manufacturer, MHM Automation.
Superior Stainless general manager Derek Drinkwater, who served his apprenticeship with Mercer at the site, said the new premises, which they moved into on Friday, was twice the floor space of its previous plant, on nearby Mustang Dr.
The company was in an expansion period, Drinkwater said.
‘‘There’s a lot of work coming up and we needed the capacity to expand.’’
Drinkwater, who is the sole owner, founded the company, which fabricates stainless steel, aluminium and mild steel to manufacture bench tops, stock feeders, milk tankers and silos.
Two other companies he had a partnership in, Oil Steel Engineering, and Oil Serv, will also move on to the former Mercer site, he said.
Colliers International New Plymouth commercial spokesman Benet Carroll said the sale was one of a number of commercial deals in the city since December.
MHM Automation will use the sale proceeds to repay debt to BNZ, upgrade the company’s Lunn’s Rd, Christchurch, building and provide working capital, it was reported.
MHM Automation chief executive Richard Rookes said in September
the sale of Mercer Stainless in Bell Block was a strategic decision as the business had become more focused on automation.
The company has relocated its manufacturing sites to Christchurch and Hastings
Stainless steel fabrication in New Zealand was highly competitive and Mercer Stainless made up around 20 per cent of the group’s total business, he said at the time.