Creating a Bright Future Together

Welcome to Daiken NZ

The year 2011 marks 35 years since the commissioning of the Ashley plant of Daiken NZ Ltd, home of Customwood. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the wide range of individuals and companies who have supported us over many years: our customers, fibre and resin suppliers, our staff, the local community and of course our shareholders.

This site became part of the Daiken group in February 2009. The depth of experience here will be complemented by the know-how, technical strength and human resources of the Daiken group and we look forward to moving our capability to a higher level as a result. In practical terms this will facilitate a transition from a high quality MDF to a product that will meet the highest international standards. To ensure that we can offer customers a competitive product we will be putting increasing resources into optimising uptime, yield and productivity. We will increase our sales into what is considered the most quality conscious MDF consumption market in the world, Japan.

“Safe and Clean” is a critical guideline on site. From May this year, to ensure the safety and satisfaction of all visitors to our plant, we have embarked on a campaign to clean up the plant. A clean and safe manufacturing operation – the platform from which we will offer buyers the best MDF in the world.

Everyone at Daiken NZ Ltd is focused on customer needs and to secure the highest ranking for customer satisfaction growth we are constantly looking to better our performance on quality, price and delivery.

I look forward to your continued guidance and encouragement.

Nobuo Kikutake
Managing Director
Daiken New Zealand Ltd

Download quality policy

---

About Daiken New Zealand

Daiken New Zealand is a joint venture between two Japanese companies Daiken Corporation and Itochu Corporation.

Daiken has a strong focus on sustainability and is one of Japan's leading building materials manufacturers. Through its ambitious research and development efforts, Daiken is continuously working to develop the newest materials, concepts and technologies.

A general trading company, Itochu is a truly global enterprise with 135 overseas offices, 18 domestic offices and 651 subsidiaries and affiliates. The forest resources and product department alone has an annual turnover of US$7.5 billion.

Our plant, just north of Christchurch, has always had a close relationship with Japan. Since the early days of production Japan has been its biggest export market. And thanks to the Japanese insistence on consistent quality, an enduring culture of technical know-how and product excellence has been developed.

---

Plant History

The establishment of the plant put New Zealand at the forefront of industrial wood utilisation technology. Below are key milestones in the plant’s development.

1974 - Canterbury Timber Products (CTP) issue a prospectus to raise finance to build the first MDF plant in the Southern Hemisphere.
1975 - Construction begins on what had been a quiet North Canterbury farm.
1976 - First MDF comes off the production line. Later that year blowline blending with UF resins is pioneered at the plant and remains a worldwide standard for MDF manufacture.
1977 - Official plant opening by the Prime Minister Robert Muldoon.
1979 - Prestigious Furniture Industries Research Association of Great Britain chooses Customwood as the best international fibreboard product.
1982 - Joint venture company Laminex Customwood Pty Ltd establishes the first MDF plant in Australia at Wagga Wagga.
1983 - CTP staff help commission the first MDF plant in mainland China.
1985 - Carter Holt Harvey buys the New Zealand plant.
1986 - CHH staff help commission the first MDF plant in Chile.
1994 - Second production line added (9 foot wide) and focuses on the new MDF phenomenon called ‘thinboard’.
2000 - New Zealand plant is the first outside Japan to meet the new Japanese low formaldehyde emission standards.
2001 - Develops ultralite panel for USA market.
2009 - Daiken Corporation and Itochu Corporation establish Daiken New Zealand Limited, having purchased the plant from Carter Holt Harvey.