Norske Skog Tasman

Story

The Tasman Mill site is a pulp and paper mill located on Fletcher Avenue just outside the town of Kawerau in New Zealand. The Tasman Mill site is the largest single employer in the Eastern Bay of Plenty region. Three pulp or paper companies operate in Kawerau: Norske Skog operate the mechanical pulp mill and paper mill; Oji Fibre Solutions, formerly Carter Holt Harvey, operate the kraft pulp mill; and SCA who manufacture tissue and base paper (physically separate mill on Fletcher Avenue).The Tasman Pulp and Paper Mill has been discharging waste into the Tarawera River since 1955, causing irreparable damage to freshwater resources. Despite protests of local Māori, in 2009, the mill gained permission to continue discharging pollution into the river for the next 25 years.HistoryIn 1952 the Tasman Pulp and Paper Company established a mill to process timber from maturing stands of Radiata Pine in the state-owned Kaingaroa Forest. The site was chosen because of the ready availability of geothermal steam as a power source. Pulping operations were underway by 1955.In the 1970s a number of expansion projects took place within the mill which in turn led to a significant increase in employees. More recently, introduction of new technology, coupled with the decline of the timber industry from 1980 onwards, has resulted in a decline in the mill's workforce. The 2,000 strong workforce of the mid-1980s had dropped to 1,200 by 1998. In 2000, Fletcher Challenge sold its shareholding in the mill to Norske Skog.