Rumours circulating around South Otago about the impending closure of a Balclutha sawmill have been laid to rest by management.
Talk has intensified in recent days about the future of Wenita Forest Products Ltd's Rosebank sawmill, just south of Balclutha, with the continued downturn in the timber industry fuelling the speculation.
But Wenita chief executive Rodger Hancock said the gossip was "news to me" and the sawmill was operating as usual.
It was no secret the industry was suffering, he said, and speculation about Wenita had probably come in the wake of recent sawmill closures around the country, including the closure of the Milton-based Harveywood operation.
Until recently, the Wenita sawmill had a major deal to supply timber to the New Zealand Mouldings Company plant at Mosgiel which recently downsized and this may have contributed to the rumour mill, Mr Hancock said.
Recent difficulties in the United States housing market - where Wenita supplied timber framing - meant the company had "changed our market directions" and focused on its exports to Australia and Asia.
The Rosebank sawmill was constantly looking at its operations to improve efficiencies, Mr Hancock said.
An example of this was the sawmill moving to a four-day week, but with 10-hour shifts, meaning staff still worked a 40-hour week. The dry mill operation still operates five days a week.
The sawmill employs about 45 staff.
