Melbourne-headquartered Rodpak says it is considering offering full time employment to Pinetec's pallet making employees, who are now working on a casual basis, after it bought the operation yesterday.
Melbourne-headquartered Rodpak says it is considering offering full time employment to Pinetec's pallet making employees, who are now working on a casual basis, after it bought the operation yesterday.
A Rodpak spokesperson confirmed the company had bought the pallet manufacturing business, located in Perth and Collie, as a going concern. He would not disclose the sale amount.
He added that Rodpak was not interested in buying the sawmill operation, which is located in Collie.
A decision to centralise Pinetec's pallet manufacturing business has not yet been made.
The spokesperson said there was no plan to let employees go at this stage and that Rodpak is "definitely looking at employing the employees on a full time basis".
However he said any definitive decisions would not be made until around three weeks time when the sale process is finalised. Until then it will be business as usual.
Employees started casual work hours this week as receiver PricewaterhouseCoopers rushed to find a buyer for the sawmill operation.
Pinetec has around 110 employees in total.
Rodpak's part purchase of Pinetec is the company's first step into Western Australia. Rodpak also has operations in Sydney and Adelaide.
The announcement is below:
Rodpak Pty Ltd and Pinetec Limited (Receivers and Managers Appointed) announced today that they have reached agreement for Rodpak to acquire the pallet business of Pinetec. An agreement has been reached, with all commercial matters agreed. Legal documentation is in the process of being finalized. PricewaterhouseCoopers the appointed receivers for Pinetec will continue to operate the business during a short settlement period.
Established in the 1960's, Pinetec Limited is the largest pallet manufacturing businesses in WA and supplies timber packaging to a wide range of industrial and resource clients. Pinetec's packaging products are used for the export of approximately $1billion worth of WA manufactured products per annum. As an essential link in the quarantine process, Pinetec is responsible for the treatment of timber to comply with international quarantine standards and to prevent infestation of timber by European House Borer in Perth and surrounding suburbs.
Rodpak's Managing Director, Dean Roderick, said "Pinetec's pallet division is a great fit for Rodpak's national objectives being a very complimentary business. The acquisition will strengthen Rodpak's existing position in the diversified pallet and platform segment by extending its geographical reach and industry specific manufacturing capacity.
"The Pinetec business in WA brings us closer to the forefront of Australia's primary manufacturing regions and closer to developing Asian markets to complement our strong representation on the eastern seaboard. We recognise that Pinetec's client profile and experience in the WA market are assets that simply cannot be grown easily and organically" Dean Roderick said.
"The benefit of this decision and the future potential of our combined talent will create good value for all parties, particularly our customers both in WA and other states" Mr. Roderick said.
Rodpak Pty Ltd and PricewaterhouseCoopers expect to conclude the settlement and have the transition completed by late April 2009.
