Prime Minister John Key is soaking up parts of the Bay of Plenty today as he opens the $60million expansion of the SCA Kawerau Tissue Site.

President of SCA Hygiene Australasia Peter Diplaris says the opening marks a new era for the iconic facility, which manufactures and exports Purex, Handee and Tork products from its eastern Bay site.


Pressing the start button on the new tissue winding machine.

The Kawerau tissue manufacturing site.

He says the expansion will secure a Kiwi-made future for the nation's favourite brands of toilet and towel tissue, and boost local exports of some products.

'Kiwis who have grown up with household names such as Purex and Handee can feel good knowing the tissues are Kiwi-made under the highest quality standards while utilising the renewable forestry stocks of the Bay of Plenty and sustaining more than 200 jobs here in Kawerau.”

The expansion includes a new 13000m2 tissue conversion hall, a 55metre long state-of-the-art Italian made tissue winding machine and robotised packing and dispatch.

Peter says this is a major strategic investment of the Australasian company, a joint venture of Swedish-based SCA - a global paper and hygiene company - and PEP - a leading Australian private equity fund with expertise in the FMCG sector.

'This expansion secures a long term future for our Kawerau site as the sustainable supplier for the New Zealand and Australian markets.

'It also confirms the site's significant export role with an estimated 2600 containers of product exported through the Port of Tauranga each year.”

Peter says total output from the site will initially increase by the equivalent of 66 40ft containers each week with a further 11 per week to be added from 2015 onwards.

This increased efficiency of the Kawerau site will add to the significant gains made in sustainability over recent years.

In 2009 the site converted its steam heat source for its papermaking process from steam generated by natural gas fired boiler to geothermal steam in a ground-breaking partnership with the Ngati Tuwharetoa iwi, contributing to a 45 per cent reduction in annual total CO2 emissions since the changeover to geothermal steam.

Peter says the skilled, knowledgeable and committed local workforce was a further factor in the company's decision to invest in the Kawerau facility.

'I wish to pay particular tribute to the project team, site employees and the army of local and international suppliers.

'We have kept everyone safe through more than 175,000 hours of work while also delivering this major undertaking on time and on budget.”

SCA Hygiene Australasia's Purex toilet paper.