| 87 nzdairy New South Island manufacturing plant Clockwise from top: Chipped plastic. Crated posts. Equine fencing. Vibrating digger head install at vineyard. Richard Loader Future Post is in the business of transforming waste plastics into high quality round and square posts of varying sizes, that are used in a diverse range of applications. Initially focused on rural fencing, as word got out the application has expanded to include oyster farms, vineyards, residential, and power pole cross arms. What started out as a brilliant idea and several months of Kiwi-style painstaking trial and error R&D by founder Jerome Wenzlick and his ambitious team, has become a brilliant business based in Waiuku, with rapidly growing markets at home as well as Vanuatu, the Pacific Islands and England. Future Post currently receives soft plastics collected by the recycling scheme in the supermarkets and The Warehouses, along with soft and hard plastics from Fonterra’s sites and material from residential collectors like Northland Waste, Smart Environmental, EnviroWaste, Waste Management, and a range of other companies — all going into the secret recipe to make plastic posts. “One thing we keep hearing at the various field days we go to is why aren’t we taking their plastic waste. The answer is if we can’t use it in our production, because we don’t have capacity, we don’t take it. Now, a manufacturing site in empty commercial premises in Blenheim is set to commence operations, enabling Future Post to recycle twice as much waste plastic as it currently does. “We decided on Blenheim for several reasons,” says Jerome. “Firstly we send a lot of posts to the vineyards around Marlborough. That was a big incentive because the transport costs across the Strait are very expensive. Manufacturing them locally is not just a cost saving but we were burning diesel to get posts right where the market is. There’s also a lot of waste plastic from companies in the South Island who want it recycled and being local just makes that easier again.” The new plant will provide Future Post with capacity to process an extra 3000 tonnes of waste plastic a year, operating two shifts, six days a week. “The plant will create ten brand new jobs, which is great for the local economy. There will be a mix of skilled and unskilled jobs, and there will be opportunities for people to grow their skills within the business and become factory and production managers.” With plastic chipping machines imported from overseas on site, along with the machines that actually make the posts currently being built, Jerome says the next month or two will be spent installing and commissioning the machinery, with operations set to commence in July. DAIRY SERVICES » Future Post “We’ve worked out how to successfully make these posts. The way we’re doing it is absolutely unique in the world. We have plenty of waste plastic in New Zealand to do it. “We have post orders coming out our ears. All it comes down to is the capacity to manufacture. If we had four sites around the country, we could recycle four times the current volume. That means with time and money there will be additional plants, and that is in our plans.” 0800•111•24•7 24/7 BREAKDOWN SERVICE SERVICING GREATER WAIKATO, FRANKLIN, COUNTIES & AUCKLAND www.RYCO247.com Proud to support Future Post Ltd
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