New Zealand's Fletcher Building Limited will proceed with building a new wood panels plant at its current Laminex site in Taupo with a capital cost of approximately $275 million. The investment involves building a new wood panel production and processing line using innovative technology that is well suited to serve New Zealand market opportunities but is equally flexible to supply export markets.
The new process will supersede the current particleboard production line by producing cost competitive and superior products that have diverse applications in furniture, joinery, and the broader construction sector.
All appropriate consents for this project have been granted and initial civil works will commence in early 2023.
The project is expected to take around 2.5 years to complete, with FY26 expected to be the first year of operations. After a ramp-up period, the investment is expected to generate mid-cycle EBIT of approximately $40 million and return on funds employed (ROFE) at or above 15%.
