The announced Closure of the PaperlinX/Tasmanian Paper Operation at Burnie was made to all onsite employees at 10:00 am today 13th April 2010. The announcement was also made on ABC Radio prior to the companies representatives informing them officially. In the meantime the Australian Stock Exchange also made the announcement.
So June 30th the last paper will roll off the No. 10 machine and at some date in July the Finishing Room
will also close.It is hard to say with absolute cerainty where the problems for the seventy two year old company started. At a rough guess it would have been at the time that North Broken Hill Pty Ltd took the controlling interest in APPM after the boom years of the early 1960's. It was at this point that the mining industry was in trouble with low prices and NBH didn't appear to have capital to prop up the Electrolytic Zinc works in Hobart and asset stripping started at the expense of the paper industry, after all paper wasn't NBH's core business. New investment in paper making machines and equipment would have kept the mill in a competitive position in the market place. Added to that the fluctuating value of the Australian dollar against the US Dollar didn't help matters either.
Following on from there Amcor saw the opportunity to buy out the paper merchants owned by APPM/NBH and the coup was to gain control of the REFLEX brand paper that was such a success. The two Tasmanian Mills were considered a load stone or cross they had to bear to achieve the buy out, but at a cost to NBH which precipitated the 1992 strike. (Refer to an earlier article.)
Mis-management with scant regards to the well fare of the employees that remained, has been a sore point since 1992. They became the pawns and a number on a sheet of paper bouncing off the walls of the corporate head office on the mainland, and now it is being screwed up and thrown in a rubbish bin or shredded as is the latest form of disposal.
So the Number 10 paper machine manufactured in England by Walmsley Ltd in 1961, installed in late 1962 - 1963, then its speed doubled in the early 1990's now slowly ceases production along with all the supply lines to it. The likely buyer Thailands Advance Agro's offer wasn't acceptable to PaperlinX management, and the deal was off. The end result, closure and site remediation. Now the rumour mill is in overdrive as it is perceived that after the successful trial of pulp from Thailand being converted to paper, Advance Agro are seen as the buyers of the plant after closure leaving Paperlinx with the remediation costs. A cunning move if ever there was one. Fact or fiction? That remains to be seen.
Maybe now is the ideal time to explain the emergance of Reflex Paper. The original Bond grade of paper was known by an unlikely title of 127N. Marketing wasn't crash hot to say the least, and it became Burnie Bond. This paper was designed for duplicating machines such as the Gestetners of the 50's and 60's and filled that need well, however with the advent of photocopiers and digital printers it was found sadly lacking. It was prone to clogging up the equipment with dust, wasn't opaque enough, nor was it bright, and the inks bled though not to mention paper "curl". This led to the development of an improved formula where extra clay filling, dyes to add brightness, moisture content etc. in fact a whole raft of changes were made to produce the paper now known as "Reflex". The name itself was worth a fortune and Burnie became known as the home of "Reflex Paper" Sadly, no longer.
To the employees being made redundant. I know exactly how you feel. The elder ones will have problems getting jobs, the younger ones will pack up and head to the mainland where other opportunities are waiting for you. To those with homes to pay for and children to educate, you are the ones I feel for most. You will be the ones hit hardest.
To all, I wish you well, and God's speed.
Will the last person leaving please turn off the lights after seventy two magnificent years.
Burnie thanks you, for all those years of opportunity and prosperity.
Received per email direct:
ReplyDeleteMy sincere thanks for your timely information re the end of an era at the Burnie Mill. As it happened, the boss was also in the office at the time you called and it came as somewhat of a surprise to him that it was closing so soon.
Certainly a sad day for Burnie and the North West in general. You can't take an industry the like and size of Australian Paper out of the district without leaving a bloody great hole somewhere, and this is just the last in a long line of businesses that have either folded - or simply packed up and buzzed off - in recent years. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that we are heading for hard times in this little state, and at this stage, there would appear to be no easy answer. The fact that we have ended up with a complete 'dog's breakfast' in Hobart following the recent election will only further harm our already slim future prospects.
I don't know what has happened to our legislators - even if you picked the eyes out of all three parties you'd struggle to find enough talent to form a committee capable of running a country out-house - so what hope has Tasmania got ??? I don't think any of them can see past the end of their collective ambitious noses, and even if they had an ounce of talent (which I seriously doubt) they would have little time for the things that really matter - like running the state. " Look after No.1" seems to be the prevailing sentiment these days.
Me 1st, Me 2nd and anything left over - Me as well!!
We should have had a pulp mill at Wesley Vale, or we should have had a pulp mill at Hampshire (rather than down the Tamar) because if either of these had gone ahead, we'd probably still have viable paper mills here.
I can't recall all the industries that has disappeared but when you start with places like Tioxide, the NW Acid plant, Particle Board mills, Saw mills, Vegie processors, Ovaltine, Finlayson's foundry, Railway workshops, mines such as Hellyer etc. engineering shops such as Kent’s and probably another twenty or thirty that I have missed, its a bloody wonder any of us still have jobs.
Anyway - you get the picture. I suppose I have become one of those 'grumpy old men' but stuff it all - I'm entitled to my opinion !!!
“Troubadour, Singer of Songs”
Another direct email:
ReplyDeleteNo matter what upgrades were applied to the APPM plant it was always doomed. Too small, too slow just like my football team. Was always propped up by tarrifs and subsidies, hampered by poor work practices, too many staff mainly in 50's and 60's. Remember all the drivers, tea ladies, etc. Leftovers from the old school tie days.
Ken