Juken New Zealand has placed its two Kaitāia timber mills on the market, triggering urgent calls for the government to intervene and save hundreds of jobs in the Far North. It comes after Hisayuki Tsuboi, Juken’s New Zealand managing director, confirmed that it had begun consulting employees and unions on the future of its Northland Mill — which produces sawn timber — and its Triboard Mill, which makes engineered wood panels for residential and commercial construction.
“This reflects a combination of ongoing structural and market pressures affecting these operations, including declining demand in key export markets and increasing operating costs,” Tsuboi said.
Wood Central understands that high power costs have long shadowed Kaitāia’s mills, with the Far North paying among the highest electricity prices in the country. Juken NZ said it had spent several years attempting to turn around financial performance at both sites — lifting production and pursuing new markets — before concluding that a structural change was the only remaining option.
“We are taking the mills to market to assess whether there is interest from potential buyers. Our focus is on testing whether there is a viable pathway that would allow the mills to continue operating and to preserve employment where possible,” Tsuboi said.
Juken NZ employs more than 450 people across its three New Zealand mills, with 145 of the Kaitāia workforce represented by Workers First Union, others by E tū, and a further cohort that are non-unionised. For a town of around 6,000 people carrying 18 per cent unemployment, the prospect of losing both mills represents a major threat to the community in the Far North.
Far North Mayor Moko Tepania is demanding the government come to the table, naming the Regional Infrastructure Fund, power price relief, and potential water charging concessions as mechanisms worth deploying for prospective buyers — the two mills account for around 30 per cent of Kaitāia’s town water supply. “Given the scale of the potential economic impact, we’ll be advocating strongly for government involvement. Councils can’t advocate for this alone; we need all partners at the table,” he said.
Meanwhile, Northland Regional Council chairman Pita Tipene confirmed that councils and the regional development agency, Northland Inc, had already held initial discussions with Juken. “We’re willing to work together to investigate every avenue, advocate for our communities, and support efforts to secure a sustainable future for the operation in Kaitāia,” he said.
Workers First deputy secretary Anita Rosentreter said the union understood both mills had been listed for sale, with the eight-week tender window now running. New Zealand’s wood processing sector had already absorbed hundreds of job losses across Kinleith’s paper machine in Tokoroa (230 jobs), Eves Valley Sawmill in Tasman (140 jobs), and the Karioi Pulpmill and Tangiwai Sawmill in Ruapehu (200 jobs) over the preceding two years — losses Rosentreter said made any further attrition unconscionable.
“We can’t afford to lose more of our manufacturing industry when our economic sovereignty and good local jobs are more important than ever. The wood industry provides many good jobs in Aotearoa, and it should be growing, not shrinking.”
