26 | MDF production grows Daiken’s Southland plant has increased production without capital outlay. Southland: Daiken NZ T T Russell Fredric REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Innovation and optimisation have enabled Daiken Southland to increase its production capacity without additional capital outlay. Daiken New Zealand and Daiken Southland operates plants at Rangiora and Mataura respectively, with the Rangiora plant manufacturing MDF (medium density fibreboard) of 2.5mm to 4.0mm thickness and Mataura 5.0mm to 36mm. Much of the thicker board is used in furniture and kitchen joinery, plus Daiken Southland’s range includes products for various building applications, including grooved board, door jambs and mouldings for interior applications and architectural features. Daiken Southland’s plant includes an added-value factory for placing melamine overlay on the MDF, primarily the white board that goes into kitchen joinery carcasses with a focus on the domestic market. Sales and distribution manager Tristan Dawson says Daiken Southland has been able to increase its production by about 10% to 15% without the need to upgrade its existing manufacturing plant. This was facilitated by Daiken New Zealand closing its Rangiora thick board production line in October 2022 and transferring a portion of this output to the Mataura plant. Rangiora’s production, comprising all thin board, is now all exported, with the effect of doubling the Mataura thick board output into the domestic market from 20% to 40%, while a portion of thin board production at Mataura was transferred to Rangiora. “It was effectively a product-swap scenario, thin for thick,” Tristan says. “Because Daiken Southland is more adept at making thicker panels it’s increased our production capacity year-on-year with our existing plant and equipment, but we continue to trial new resin or glue and other chemicals and optimise the MDF composition to increase production.” “We’ve been able to increase capacity with existing equipment and human resource. We are really proud of that; obviously the challenge is to make more without spending more whether it’s in production or for resource and the flow-on effect from that, it keeps us competitive, particularly in the export market.” New MDF production facilities in other parts of the world typically have an annual production capacity of around 300,000 cubic metres. The Daiken Southland plant was designed for a production capacity of 140,000 when it was built, however through trialling and optimisation over many years it has now achieved annual output of 240,000 cubic metres. “So although the plant is over 25 years old, we are remaining globally competitive by continuing to increase our production capacity.” Southland’s production is spilt 60% to 40% respectively between international and domestic markets, while Rangiora’s production is 100% exported. Wholly owned by Itochu Corporation, Daiken is one of Japan’s leading building material manufacturers. Daiken New Zealand and Daiken Southland make a significant contribution to the provinces they operate in as well as to the New Zealand economy, both directly and indirectly including through its suppliers of which the forestry industry is a major contributor. The Southland and Rangiora plants both employ 130 staff each. Due to the current economic conditions, this year Daiken is experiencing a decrease in domestic demand for its products for the first time in five years, Tristan says. “We expect that to continue through the balance of 2024, but the domestic market is underpinned by a shortage of residential housing and we expect the medium to long term demand domestically to remain strong.” Graham Gillespie Ph: 021 323 595 • graham@cgiindustrial.co.nz www.cgiindustrial.co.nz INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVE PLANT PERFORMANCE
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