At its peak, Palmerston’s privately owned sawmill and timber merchant Hewvan Timber employed 25 people.
Proprietor John Millar said he made the difficult decision to wind down the business, with the loss of 12 jobs, because of tough economic times.
Mr Millar said the balance tipped while weighing up the substantial upgrade costs he faced to meet WorkSafe requirements.
“Things aren’t viable, and I’ve had WorkSafe in here and the amount of money they want us to spend bringing it up — it’s just not worth doing.
“I’m coming up 67, and I’ve made the call.”
It might have been different if he were 20 years younger.
However, it had never been tougher for small sawmilling enterprises — driven by declining export returns for bigger players who had returned to supply the domestic market in the face of that.
It ceased operating last Friday.
Mr Millar said Hewvan could not beat “the big boys” on price point for domestic framing timber.
This had seen much larger North Island mill operators, particularly, offering standard building framing timber at $2.25 a metre.
“We can’t ever produce that.”
Mr Millar said Hewvan’s niche had been producing, “the stuff that the big fellas didn’t want to do”.
“We’re just too small to compete against the big boys …
“Now with the overseas market not being good, they have come back into the [domestic] market.”
At the same time domestic building was being squeezed and “there’s just no activity there”.
The cost to update systems at the mill was the final nail.
“Working out what it was going to cost me, at my age, I just couldn’t be bothered.”
Mr Millar said the decision was sad in one way but he could now retire “and do my own thing”.
“To be honest, the community has been awesome. Most of the people in the community who have supported us over the years, they’re very sad to see us close down.
“I’ve met a lot of good people in this industry, that will be the sad part of leaving.”
Mr Millar said the company had already lined up alternative employment for its “very hardworking” staff, all in East Otago.
“We’ve found jobs for all the staff …
“All the ones that have worked here have been really good workers, so no trouble at all,” he said.
The operation now had a skeleton staff while it sold remaining stock and worked to dispose of plant.
“When it’s closed, that will be the end of it — there won’t be another sawmill here.”
The business began in 1987 initially with four partners.
“It grew from a job for four people to what it was to become,” Mr Millar said.
Waihemo Community Board chair Heather McGregor paid tribute during the board’s meeting on Monday night noting that Hewvan had always backed the Palmerston community.
It had been good to the community but unfortunately the closure was “a sign of the times”.
“They were very good to groups and organisations in Palmerston when people were doing a wee project … It will be missed,” Mrs McGregor said.
