Cyclone Forces Pan Pac Forest Products to Close Its Whirinaki, New Zealand, Pulp Mill Until Further Notice
Pan Pac pulp mill offline after cyclone hits New Zealand
In response to the massive flooding and the resulting destruction caused by Cyclone Gabrielle, Pan Pac Forest Products announced on its website that, following assessment of the storm damage, its Whirinaki facility site will be closed until further notice. The cyclone ravaged New Zealand starting on February 12th.
According to reporting by the New Zealand Herald and EUWID Pulp and Paper, Pan Pac has already decided to rebuild the mill rather than closing it down permanently or relocating the facility elsewhere.
Pan Pacific is owned by Japan’s pulp and paper group Oji Holdings. The company makes bleached chemi-thermomechanical pulp (BCTMP) in Whirinaki, which is located in the Hawke’s Bay region of northeastern New Zealand. With a daily capacity of 850 t, the mill makes pulp sold all over the world and is also home to a sawmill. Pan Pac operates another sawmill in Milburn in the Otago region in the very south of the country. The two sawmills have a combined radiata pine lumber capacity of 530,000 m³ per year. The firm also owns several forest estates.
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