18/08/2026
“Potential future use for Winstone Pulp International’s Karioi Pulpmill emerges two years after closure
Fin Ocheduszko Brown
Fin Ocheduszko Brown
Multimedia journalist ·Whanganui Chronicle·
An application has been lodged for the future use of one of Winstone Pulp International’s Ruapehu mills, which closed two years ago.
Winstone Pulp International (WPI) lodged a revised resource consent application with Horizons Regional Council for a proposed wood processing operation incorporating torrefaction (a thermal process) at the Karioi Pulpmill site.
The application stated WPI had been “working tirelessly” to find a new operator for the site and was now working with a potential buyer.
The application is to enable the discharge of condensate wastewater from the site to the Whangaehu River and land disturbance associated with construction of the wetland.
As requested by iwi Ngāti Rangi, the condensate would pass through a constructed wetland before being discharged to the Whangaehu River via the existing discharge infrastructure.
A 20-year consent is sought.
WPI chief executive Mike Ryan said the driving force behind the application was to repurpose the site and bring jobs back to the region.
“Hopefully the next time we talk, we’ve got some good news to say. I can’t say which way it will go but, fingers crossed, downhill with a tailwind.”
The application related only to the Karioi site but other parties had shown interest in the Tangiwai site, Ryan said.
Horizons regulatory manager Greg Bevin said a hearing was scheduled for October, with exact dates to be finalised.
Ruapehu Mayor Weston Kirton hoped the sites and assets could be utilised.
“There is a sliver of hope that it could be resurrected, in some shape or form, whether it would be for pulp or some other business because it is such a huge site,” Kirton said.
Reflecting on closures two years on
When the mills folded, Ryan said the decision to close after 45 years was because of rapidly increasing energy prices.
About 230 directly employed workers were made redundant.
Ryan told the Chronicle it was a difficult time for him and the company.
“I don’t think you can get over how bad it was but we’re just focused on trying to repurpose the site and get employment back with a potential new owner; that’s really where things sit at the moment,” he said.
Kirton said the closure of the Karioi and Tangiwai mills was a “big hit” for workers and the Ruapehu District.
“Certainly, it is to the detriment of the community when you lose that many and it takes out the economy that revolves around it,” he said
It’s not just about jobs, that’s important and recognised, but the fact that we don’t have that business in the district has a big impact on our whole economy in total and leaves a vacuum there that is hard to fill.”
After the closures, former Infometrics chief executive Brad Olsen told Newstalk ZB the mills accounted for about 3.5% of the Ruapehu District’s entire workforce.
Ruapehu District Council statistics show signs of economic recovery are emerging, with annual expansion of 2.9% reported in March.
Factors in the recovery were the rural sector and housing market, with 191 houses sold in the year to March, up from 153 the previous year.
The data revealed the employment rate is still suffering from the closures.
Despite a 1.5% decrease from the previous year, 5.4% of Ruapehu residents were unemployed.
Kirton said the mill closures were “completely different” from other events that damaged Ruapehu’s economy, such as the 1995-96 mountain eruptions and flooding, because of their longer-lasting impacts.
“Eruptions come and go – Winstone Pulp mills don’t,” he said.
Ngāti Rangi’s Jude Sinai was employed by WPI pulpmill for 19 years and was the First Union executive.
He said about 20% of workers went abroad for work and most trade-qualified workers left the area.
Some retired from industrial work entirely, he said.
Sinai believed most nearby production jobs were “all snapped up and hotly contested”.
“Which has caused very highly motivated and qualified workers to take heavy pay cuts and squeeze the less qualified out,” he said.
Kirton understood some workers had found employment at King Country Pet Food New Zealand near Taumarunui, which opened in early 2024.
Kirton said the mills’ closure reinforced Ruapehu’s resilience and emphasised the importance of the farming community and ski fields.
“Adding value to what we’ve got is one way of addressing some of the key deficiencies that we’ve got, but also looking outside the walls and saying ‘what else can we do in this area?’,” he said.
He said there were positive advancements in transportation, Waiouru Military Camp and potential for energy companies to operate in the area.
“We’ve got some other things happening but it is still an issue not having those jobs, day-in and day-out, at the pulp mill,” Kirton said.
Fin Ocheduszko Brown
