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LAST MEETING: Andrew Locke
Andrew was marketing manager at the Port of Napier for 25 years and is now the Manager Commercial and Marine at Centreport Wellington looking after " everything from logs to liners". He gave a fact-filled account of how Centreport works, his philosophy as a manager, and current plans for improvements.
Centreport is 76% owned by Wellington Regional Council and 23% by Manawatu. He is in charge of fifty people and maintains the single most important issue has to be health and safety as port work is always potentially dangerous. As a manager his priorities are his people, his customers, the community of 23,000 that depend directly on the port and the environment. Centreport faces some particular problems. Whereas at Napier 80% of its cargo originated within 20 km, for Wellington only 40% of its cargo comes from within 100km. This makes its links with Kiwirail critical.
Logs are by far the chief export, going mostly to China, having grown from 40,000 tons a year to 2.2 million currently. They are brought in through a series of regional hubs in the Wairarapa, the Manawatu and Taranaki, with 450,000 tons coming by rail from the Waingawa Hub for example. This rail hub approach means far fewer logging behemoths on the roads.
Since the damage caused by the 2016 earthquake Centreport has faced, and is overcoming, many problems. The cranes were unusable after the quake, and for ten months containers had to be moved by road or rail to Wellington at a total landing cost of $3,800 each, compared to $220 if unloaded at Wellington. The entire port area was built on unstable landfill, which is now being surrounded by a containing peripheral wall and consolidated. Development is moving north, hopefully eventually freeing up land at the Southern end for civic purposes. It hopes to be carbon neutral by 2040 and all cranes, trucks and forklifts are now eclectic. The almost brand new BNZ building had to be demolished after the quake but was 90% recycled. The oil terminal at Seaview which takes over a million tons of oil each year is also being upgraded at a cost of $45 million. New Cook Strait ferries are due in 2025 and they will need new passenger facilities.
Logs are now the main cargo, 25 million tons a year. Almost all of these go to China. Most are Radiata pine which, as a soft wood, is used almost exclusively for pallet making or drum centres. (Worryingly, there are no other markets for this wood: nobody else wants it). We are actually very efficient at what we do: the average time from cutting a tree to loading a log is 18 days, which means on shore application of methyl bromide is no longer necessary. Rapid loading is essential as it costs $42k a day to keep a ship in port and shipping companies will simply by-pass Wellington if they cannot get efficient service. Pre-Covid we had 120 cruise ships a year. This year we expect about 30, but hopefully more will return in future. To view Andrew's presentation, CLICK HERE.
(If you have any comments or questions, please contact the editor)
General Notices:
* Anniversary dinner on Wednesday June 29th - Don’t forget to buy your tickets for this momentous and important occasion. We hope that all our members will come to this anniversary at the Boulcott Golf Club. A recent count, there are 80+ registered, which is great. If you've not responded yet by email, please do so and make your payment direct to the Rotary Club account.
* Bon voyage to Gwen Hoople - who departs our shores at the beginning of July for nearly 3 months. Last week was her last duty as Bulletin Editor, so we warmly thank her for all the time and commitment she has given to this duty. Stay safe and travel well - very best wishes from us all. Looking forward to your travelogue and talking to the Club on your return.
* Duffy Books - the Rotary Club of Hutt Valley have as their guest speaker, Linda Vagana, General Manager, on this wonderful project at 7am, at The Angus, Lower Hutt on Wednesday 13th July. Our club shares the cost of sponsoring Duffy Books at Rata Street School with them. If anyone would like to attend this breakfast meeting, please email Kathy Bryant (kathyndean@outlook.com), or txt message to 0274 885-156.
* Snoods- Jan and her team of helpers are knitting snoods to raise money for Bowel Cancer NZ’s “Early Detection Saves Lives” campaign. The snoods come in a variety of colours and can also be knitted to order in the colour of your choice. Jan is offering them to the club at $30 with $20 going to BCNZ and $10 to our club. Photos of Jan “modelling” one is below. Click HERE to get to the shop but Jan will have a selection next Monday at the Club Forum.
The Power of Positivity
Parting Thought
This is chosen by Gwen who believes all Rotarians are heroes.
"We live in a world in which we need to share responsibility. It's easy to say, "It's not my child, not my community, not my world, not my problem." Then there are those who see the need and respond. I consider those people my heroes. - Fred Rogers, American TV Host.
Please study and plan ahead, especially if you are on duty to write a Bulletin Contribution. A reminder that it's also your responsibility to find a replacement if you are unable to fulfill your duty.
Eastern Hutt Rotary e-Bulletin
We meet at Avalon Pavilion, Taita Drive entrance, Mondays, at 5:55 pm
Visitors and prospective members always welcome.
For catering purposes, contact our Secretary (027) 241 5092
