The land and buildings housing what was once one of the biggest sawmills in the Central North Island are on the market for sale in a receivership process.
The plant at 55 Domain Rd, Putaruru, was operated by wood processing company Pacific Pine Industries. It exported finished timber to Australia and Europe but shut down last month.
Building infrastructure totals some 10,773sq m and includes the main sawmill building, a workshop, multiple drying sheds, kiln cool sheds, a heat generation plant, planer building, and administration offices and staff amenities.
The equipment, machinery and plant is being offered for sale separately, with the option for the inventory to be included in a land and building sale if required.
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The 6.8ha site is fenced, and there are extensive yard areas, including a metalled car parking area.
The freehold property and buildings are for sale by tender through Bayleys Tauranga. Tenders close on March 5.
Salespeople Brendon Bradley and Ryan Bradley said the premises was being sold ‘as is’ without any warranties. Brendon said there was the strong possibility that the Pacific Pine Industries plant could be bought by an existing lumber processor and manufacturer based elsewhere in the county, and the machinery and plant removed from the Putaruru site.
“Under that dynamic of breaking down the assets, the resulting substantial portfolio of empty shed space — along with the significant amount of yarding — would suit the purposes of a freight forwarding or logistics company, particularly as Putaruru sits directly on the country’s main highway on the edge of the ‘Golden Triangle’,” he said.
“It could also be developed into a multi-occupant trucking services hub similar to the 4.35ha Stag Park truck stop in Taupo. Sitting on State Highway One, Putaruru is on an equidistant axis between Rotorua, Tauranga, and Hamilton.”
The Stag Park truck stop is predominantly operated by Truck Stops New Zealand Ltd, and is used 24/7 by some of the biggest truck and trailer units, as well as the ‘B-trains’ which feature two trailers linked together by a fifth wheel.
The location enables drivers to ‘swap-in’ and ‘swap-out’ of their driving roles — depending on how many hours they have been behind the wheel.
“The former Pacific Pine Industries administrative block has bathroom and canteen amenities in place which could service the needs of long-haul drivers, while the yard space would allow for secure lay-overs just a few hundred metres away from the state highway network,” Brendon said.
Ryan said that while the expansive array of industrial building infrastructure on the Domain Rd site was obviously naturally suited to wood processing activities, the buildings would also be amply suitable for accommodating the production facilities for New Zealand’s newest emerging primary sector crop — medicinal cannabis.
“The high-stud warehouses have historically been used for timber drying and plank storage, and have a size and structure identical to industrial premises currently being sourced by some of the big medicinal cannabis production companies pending operating in New Zealand,” Ryan Bradley said.
“However, the per square metre rate for a rural location such as Putaruru offers a significant discount to comparably sized industrial locations in the likes of Auckland, Hamilton or Wellington.
“The drying sheds could be converted from drying wood to drying the harvested medicinal cannabis before further processing takes place, and of course the existing heating production equipment would allow for year-round cannabis crop production.
“There is also a considerable amount of unused flat yard space within the property which could sustain a near doubling in the size of the existing warehousing hot-house amenities.
“And of course the administrative commercial offices and staff facilities are in a ‘turn-key’ state, having only been shut a month or so ago.”
“Whatever new ownership permutation, it would be a real shot in the arm for the South Waikato community and economy to see a swift takeover of the site and the potential for new job creation to pick up the skilled labour force in the area.”
