Visy Board New Zealand, this week  announced construction of a second corrugated packaging plant being established in the Waipa District, south of Hamilton in the Waikato Province.

Visy Board New Zealand is expanding its capacity with a $100 million investment on an 8.5 hectare site at Hamilton Airport, with construction having commenced in April 2017. This new, state of the art facility will deliver a significant increase in capacity and capability so that Visy Board can support the vibrant growth of its customers.

"Visy COO Mark De Wit noted that: "up to 75 new jobs will be created for the local region. Working with the Waipa Council, we have ensured the impact to the local community will be positive and deliver growth to the Waikato region." 

Visy Board New Zealand GM Andrew Gleason said that "a growing focus on export supply chains associated with food processing, fruit and produce, meat, and dairy products has provided the impetus to Visy Board New Zealand’s expansion in the New Zealand market. This advanced, new plant is designed with our customer base in mind and enables us to be local and focused, providing the best quality and cost effective corrugated packaging for our customers."

Visy Board established a corrugating facility in Wiri, Auckland, in 1997 and have continuously grown and developed the site which is now at capacity. Visy is committed to continue investment in New Zealand with the vibrant growth in the economy requiring the accelerated establishment of an additional new plant. In the past year, Visy has invested $20 million at the existing Wiri site, including a corrugator upgrade, installation of a new five-color Gopfert Diecutter, and a new Emba 245 Flexo Folder Gluer, which has enhanced the capacity and quality of the existing plant.

These investments in New Zealand reflect Visy’s confidence in the growth and performance of the market. Visy Board New Zealand Sales Manager John Savery noted that "we have enjoyed the strong support of our customer base over the past 20 years, and this investment highlights our strategy to deliver innovation and capacity to meet the needs of our customers."

"Waipa Mayor Jim Mylchreest is delighted to welcome Visy Board to the district. "The Visy development will fit in perfectly with the existing technology hub at the airport and joins a variety of other international organizations that are making the most of this location. As a council, we welcome developments such as this.  Our teams have worked closely with Visy Board to make sure the development could happen. Being one of the biggest factories in our district, the facility is definite proof that Waipa is open for business."

 

These investments complement other Visy packaging offerings in New Zealand, including the Charta Specialized Packaging facilities based in Auckland and Wellington, the Visy Recycling Materials Recovery facility in Auckland, the recently expanded Visy Beverage Aluminium Can plant, and the Visy Plastics plant both also in Auckland.