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Wood and Paper Product Manufacturing in Northland

Whakanao Hua a-Rakau, Pepa

A sawmill operator sitting in a control booth.

On this page:

Quick facts

A map showing the main centres in the Northland region.
  • The wood and paper product manufacturing industry is the third largest GDP earner in Northland, employing more than 1,400 people in 2007.
  • In 2007, 5% of the New Zealand’s wood and paper product manufacturing employees were from Northland.
  • Northland is one of two regions in New Zealand where the amount of wood harvested could potentially outstrip the processing capacity of the region (the other is the East Coast).

What type of work will I do?

 

The wood and paper product manufacturing industry in Northland offers a range of job opportunities, including work in:
  • log sawmilling (520 employees in 2007)
  • plywood and veneer manufacturing (340 employees)
  • wooden structural component manufacturing (230 employees)
  • fabricated wood manufacturing (150 employees).
There are few job opportunities in the following industries:
  • wood product manufacturing
  • timber resawing and dressing
  • wood chipping.
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What's happening in this industry?

 

This line graph shows the four largest wood product manufacturing sectors in Northland by number of employees between 2002 and 2007. The sectors are log sawmilling, plywood and veneer manufacturing, wooden structural component manufacture and fabricated wood manufacturing. All have remained relatively stable during this period, though the number of workers in wooden structural component manufacturing rose from about 150 to 250.
There are more than 1,400 people employed in this industry in Northland, making it the fifth largest region for wood and paper product manufacturing in New Zealand.

Employment in the wood and paper product manufacturing industry in the Northland region has been reasonably stable over the past six years.
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What type of employers could I work for?

 

Most work is with either log sawmilling or wooden structural components businesses, with 52 and 46 businesses in 2007 respectively.

Major employers in the region are:
  • Juken Nisshio Ltd (JNL) in Kaitaia (a Japanese-owned plant that employs more than 800 people).
  • Carter Holt Harvey Woodproducts NZ has a wood processing plant and two large sawmills in Northland.
There are also a number of smaller sawmills operating in the area.
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Where can I work?

 

A pile of logs inside a sawmill.

Most jobs in Northland's log sawmills are in the Whangarei district

Most people in log sawmilling work in the Whangarei District (67.7%), with Kaipara and Far North Districts employing 21.5% and 10.8% respectively.

Plywood and veneer manufacturing is predominantly in the Far North and Whangarei Districts, particularly in the towns of Kaitaia and Whangarei.
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Find out more

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Other Websites

Sources used to write this report

Updated February 2009
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