Imperial Sells New Zealand Factory

Imperial Tobacco announced that it has sold its Petone (New Zealand) production facility to a real estate developer and will discontinue its operations at the facility by
Sept. 30. In Feb. it was reported that the factory’s closure would mean the loss of 122 jobs.

The Petone plant predominantly supplies Imperial Tobacco’s products to the Australasian market and is the company’s only factory in New Zealand or Australia.

Located in a popular suburb, the site measures 2.25-hectare and includes a warehouse along with manufacturing and office buildings

The site had been an important part of the Petone economy for around 90 years. W.D and H.O Wills Limited started manufacturing cigarettes in suburb around 1930, after establishing their business in Wellington in 1919 and needing to expand.

Imperial Tobacco had owned the site since the late-1990s

All production at the facility will be taken up by an Imperial facility in Taiwan.