| 63 Production volumes are around 800m³ each week, the equivalent of 20 truckloads. Kiwi Lumber FORESTRY commissioning over the next year. Ahead, the major development is completing a new bin sorter “That will remove the manual handling out of the process. Currently we have 8 staff manually stacking the timber packets coming out of the sawmill. It’s physically demanding work over long hours. Asked where staff engaged in this manual work will go, Peter says they have been focussing on upskilling them to take on other roles on the site. Once the bin sorter has been commissioned, the plan is to move first into a split shift and then potentially a double shift to get the most return from the investment. On site also are 6 apprentices gaining qualification in timber machinery, engineering and saw milling. Peter’s wife Narissa takes care of the HR. It’s an area that interests her. She’s been working on establishing relationships with school Careers Advisors to build connections with schools and to promote careers in the sawmilling sector. “Kiwi Lumber have established a referral scheme on their four sites. Any current employee can refer someone else for work on the sites and, if successful, receive a bonus. We also use Facebook and are on board with Corrections and MSD,” Narissa explains. She says the aim always is to offer as much training as possible so that in time, they advance through different roles. When the decision was made to split Narissa’s original responsibilities in Health & Safety and HR, she chose to stay with HR. “It’s an area I enjoy, helping our staff to get the most out of their time here with us. We’re always looking for good, keen staff and we don’t care about age, just about availability and attitude.” • Modern Machine Shop • Heavy Fabrication • Structural Steel • Architectural Stainless • Profile Cutting • Machinery Design • Heavy Transport • Marine Engineering • Structural Engineering Gisborne's oldest & largest engineering company. Proudly supporting Kiwi Lumber Gisborne. 46 Parkinson Street, Gisborne W: www.giseng.co.nz Ph: 06 869 0157 Fax: 06 869 0159 E: info@giseng.co.nz
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