Transcript
SAM FULTON: We also wanted to gain more control over the manufacturing side of things so we've been looking closer to home for quite a while now. We've explored Fiji as an option but earlier this year we were made aware that the Yazaki plant in Samoa was closing down and we travelled to Australia to talk to Australian Arrow who manage the plant. And from there it's just been a great opportunity for us to get involved with an existing plant, well trained staff and a government that understands the product and the business, and yeah, go from there.
DOMINIC GODFREY: What if any incentives is the government offering to you for your operation there?
SF: They are providing us with a duty exemption on any imported materials that we're exporting back out again and they are providing a slightly subsidised rental property. We're quite keen to make sure that we're operating a sustainable business so we're paying full tax, there's no other real incentives that come through.
DG: So the three buildings at Vaitele that Yazaki were operating out of, I'm assuming that you're going to be taking over the same premises?
SF: Part of the same premises, yes.
DG: Okay so what portion of the factory?
SF: I think it's about a third. We're still negotiating with the National Provident Fund that own the building but our request has been for a third of that building which is about 9000 square metres.
DG: Sow hen are likely to take possession of the premises?
SF: At this stage we haven't got a fixed date of when we take over but we're working towards the first of November.
DG: As your desired start date?
SF: Yes, yeah.
DG: So what level of involvement, in terms of the fit-out for the space, will you have and how long a lead-time will it be before you can get into production and so on?
SF: We should be able to get into production pretty quickly. There will be some renovations required on the building but we can probably operate prior to those alterations being done.
DG: Right. And so, how many of these Yazaki workers, there are 740 redundancies of skilled workers via the Yazaki EDS plant, how many full-time positions will you be able to offer with your operation?
SF: At this stage we're looking at an initial kick-off with between 50 and 70 staff. It's our goal to be employing 200 staff within 24 months. There's a bit of dependency on the amount of work that we can secure for the plant and we'll be looking towards the Australian market for that.
DG: So have you penetrated the Australian market already and if so to what degree?
SF: We've been exporting to Australia for a long time now. We've got an Australian business set-up which we've had for about five years I think. It's always been difficult to really penetrate that Australian market because we don't have any real benefit that we can provide. Our cost of manufacturing is similar. Freight across the Tasman is quite expensive. So we'll be looking from now on to really find some opportunities in that market and supply them directly out of Samoa.
DG: And I guess with your shorter lead-times of manufacture and your better control over that manufacturing in terms of quantities, you'll be able to be more fleet-footed for the market and that'll give you a point of difference?
SF: Definitely.
A bed and furniture manufacturer Sleepwell International is also launching in Samoa and will be offering employment to former Yazaki workers at the factory site at Vaitele.