Japanese sales and marketing joint venture

Date: 18 March 2004

Carter Holt Harvey announces Japanese sales and marketing joint venture

Carter Holt Harvey (CHH) today announced it would partner with Hokushin and Kanematsu-NNK in a new sales and marketing joint venture to sell Medium Density Fibreboard (MDF) to the important Japanese market.

To be launched in early April – the start of the Japanese financial year – C&H Corporation will be the exclusive Japanese distributor of CHH Customwood MDF and Hokushin MDF. CHH Pinepanels Chief Executive Mr Ian Myers, said the joint venture would bring together the three partners’ technical, logistics, sales and strategic marketing expertise to deliver high quality MDF to the Japanese market. “The creation of C&H Corporation deepens the relationship our three companies have forged over nearly 30 years of working together to serve the Japanese market.”

Mr Myers also said the new venture demonstrates CHH’s long term commitment to the Japanese market. “C&H Corporation will help CHH to build its local presence in Japan, at the same time enhancing our market knowledge and customer relationships.

“The venture also brings CHH’s manufacturing sites much closer to their market – our MDF facilities in Rangiora (NZ), Bell Bay and Oberon (Australia) will work with Japanese customers through C&H Corporation to better match our capabilities with their needs. “These sites will now play an even bigger role in the company’s efforts to build the Customwood brand in the important Japanese market,” he said.

CHH will contribute 5% of C&H Corporation’s authorised capital (¥5 million), with Hokushin (60%) and Kanematsu-NNK (35%) the remaining shareholders. CHH will also be represented on the Board of Directors and provide a senior executive on secondment to the venture.

ENDS

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