UPDATED: Commercial printer PMP is consolidating its North Island sites to a main centre in Manukau with the closure of its Warkworth plant north of Auckland likely to cause large-scale redundancies in particular.PMP Print NZ general manager Peter Browne
UPDATED: Commercial printer PMP is consolidating its North Island sites to a main centre in Manukau with the closure of its Warkworth plant north of Auckland likely to cause large-scale redundancies in particular.
PMP Print NZ general manager Peter Browne told NBR the decision to relocate production to South Auckland has been on the cards for a while but came to a head with the recent loss of the company’s ACP Media contract.
He said the move would be undertaken over a ten month period with the Warkworth site closing mid next year. The company will invest $19.5 million in the new site which will employ between 350 and 400 people.
PMP employs about 120 staff in Warkworth and a similar number at Auckland’s Viaduct Basin.
Mr Browne said there would definitely be redundancies.
“We have to be frank about it. Particularly for the Warkworth people and the people at the Viaduct,” he said.
“Certainly our intention is to give as many people as possible the opportunity to relocate from the Warkworth site to the new site, if they are prepared to either travel or move their families down to that part of the world but it’s a bit early for us to have a clear picture right now.
“We are doing a lot of work with the employers and the union up there for retraining, upskilling and redeploying. I guess going out 10 months before its realised buys some time to optimise things.”
PMP’s move follows the recent decision by New Zealand Herald publisher APN News&Media to close its Manukau printing plant with the loss of 150 jobs after reaching an agreement with PMP to provide its gloss printing services.
PMP has applied for Commerce Commission approval to buy the discarded printing assets of rival APN Print NZ.
PMP Print is owned by Australasian commercial printing group PMP Limited and produces a range of printed products including catalogues, magazines, books, dictionaries and newspapers on both sides of the Tasman, including The National Business Review.
Mr Browne said the loss of the ACP Media contract was a factor in the decision to move now. ACP titles included high volume titles such as Property Press.
However, he said relocating to Manukau would strengthen the company.
“While those things haven’t helped, it was a bigger picture driving this and that was to consolidate all of our operations.
“The way the market has played out has encouraged us to move now. We re-signed Progressive, have a long term contract with Fairfax, and the APN news recently has given us a reliable revenue stream to give the board comfort that we can invest and go ahead with our plans.”
PMP recently announced a new 10-year print contract with APN New Zealand.
“Certainly from an operational point of view there are a lot of synergies that you can realise when you can design a purpose built facility for your business.”
The change will also see the distribution and Gordon & Gotch Warehouse moving to the new site, as well as head office.
Mr Browne said PMP intended to retain its sheet fed printing site at a separate facility in Mt Wellington.
