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KiwiRail fails to find Hillside buyer, but foundry sold to Australia’s Bradken


Redundancies confirmed after buyer takes just part of the Dunedin workshops.

Wed, 11 Jul 2018

KiwiRail has failed to find a buyer for its unprofitable Hillside workshops in Dunedin apart from the foundry operation, which it has conditional agreement to sell to ASX-listed manufacturer Bradken for an undisclosed sum.

The heavy lift facility at the 7.2ha site will now be operated by state-owned KiwiRail's freight business and other operations will be progressively closed down over the next few months as work is either completed or transferred to the Hutt workshops.

"Despite a rigorous sales campaign there simply wasn't a buyer out there for the whole operation," chief executive Jim Quinn says in a statement.

"This will be very difficult for our staff and although some will be transferred to Bradken or the KiwiRail Freight business, there will be redundancies."

A spokeswoman for KiwiRail could not say if the sale price would be made public. Bradken already has foundry operations in New Zealand and will continue to do some work under contract for KiwiRail.

There are 115 workers at Hillside.

The rail operator is on a drive to strip out $200 million in annual spending if it is to meet forecast earnings of $64.6 million by 2013.

Shares of Bradken fell 0.1% to $A4.55 on the ASX today, valuing the company at $A772 million, and have declined 41% in the past year.

The New South Wales-based firm employs 6000 people worldwide.

(BusinessDesk)

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KiwiRail fails to find Hillside buyer, but foundry sold to Australia’s Bradken
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