Hunt for newsprint supplies
Newspapers and other users of newsprint are hunting for alternative sources following the news that the country’s last newsprint mill, at Kawerau, is closing.
Norske Skog announced on Wednesday night that its Tasman mill will close at the end of this month, with the loss of 160 jobs.
Newspaper companies and printers had known since October, when the mill went under review, that the closure might occur.
But while newsprint can be imported, post-Covid shipping delays and supply chain problems may make it difficult to ensure a steady supply. The News Publishers’ Association, which represents more than 100 newspapers and 10 publishers, said the mill’s demise would be ‘‘the end of an era in local publishing, affecting all New Zealand newspapers’’.
‘‘Our members have contingency plans to ensure there is no disruption to newspaper printing in the short term,’’ the association’s general manager, Brook Cameron, said.
With the Tasman mill set to close, Norkse Skog says the last newsprint producer in Australia or New Zealand is its Boyer mill in Tasmania.
Stuff Ltd, which publishes many newspapers including the Dominion Post and The Press, said it had been given assurances of imported paper from Tasmania until mid-next year.
‘‘Our plans have included stockpiling newsprint to ensure we have plenty of paper for our short-term requirements, and negotiating with Norske Skog to honour their existing contract with us,’’ chief executive Sinead Boucher said.
Stuff was working with the News Publishers Association to secure long-term contracts to ensure a strong supply chain for the whole industry, she said. Those discussions were ongoing.
Grant Mckenzie, chief executive of Allied Press which prints the Otago Daily Times, said it had a similar arrangement to Stuff’s.
Bernie Roberts, chief executive of printing company Webstar, said distance did make the supply chain vulnerable and it would ‘‘without a doubt’’ increase costs, which may or may not be passed on to consumers.
‘‘The mill in Tasmania is overcommitted ... there are a number of challenges.’’ Webstar was not a major newsprint user but in the case of magazine paper, the shipping delays were hitting home, Roberts said. ‘‘Our lead times now for commercial grade magazine stock is six months, it used to be inside three and prices are going up every quarter.’’
Other businesses associated with Tasman mill are also working through the implications of its closure. Japanese-owned pulp company
Oji Fibre Solutions employs 207 people at the Tasman site and shares some of the equipment with Norske Skog but makes a different product.
It recently invested $63 million into the Kawerau mill to focus on cement pulp and similar products.
Chief executive Jon Ryder said his company would work closely with Norske to ensure operations continued smoothly. ‘‘We feel for the people who are affected; we have had a long and close relationship with Norske Skog Tasman through our adjacent pulp mill, so it was a sad day on Wednesday.’’
E tu¯ Union delegate Bruce Habgood said workers were relieved to get some clarity on their future but the sense of loss was real. ‘‘There is a strong sense of mourning that the mill is shutting down – it has been a big part of the town’s history for several generations and is the reason Kawerau township was built in the first place.’’ There was also apprehension for the businesses that supported it. ‘‘They may suffer ‘death by a thousand cuts’ once the mill is gone.’’
One business unaffected is Norske Skog’s Nature’s Flame wood pellet business. The company, which provides a green energy alternative for industries, said it would continue to explore options for its long-term ownership. Nature’s Flame produces 90,000 tonnes of chips annually for industrial use and said that could be increased.