Jerome Wenzlick of Future Post Photo: RNZ/Carol Stiles
The Waiuku company making fence posts from used plastics has expanded into vineyards, is doubling its production capacity, wants to build a South Island plant and is exporting to Australia.
The manufacturer of fence posts made from used plastics says it can't keep up with demand.
Future Post fence posts hit the market in 2019. They are produced in Waiuku from milk bottles, bread bags and other plastic wrapping materials.
The company's founder, farmer and former fencer Jerome Wenzlick says orders now have a lead-in time of 14 weeks. A second production line is being built to more than double the current daily capacity of 800 to 900 posts.
"Demand has gone through the roof.... We're sending them all over the country and to Australia.
"We really need to start thinking about putting something somewhere down in the South Island for the vineyards and for the market down there. The problem with the South Island is transport, getting them from Waiuku to Blenheim or Invercargill takes a fair bit of diesel and tyres and cost."
Jerome says local councils are using the black, plastic posts for bollards and walkways and they are being used on oyster farms.
Future Post has developed a square post specifically for vineyards but it is also being used for garden beds and residential fencing.
"I think the Port of Tauranga is also using them down there for a buffer between the wharf and the boats. It's amazing what people use them for apart from fencing."
In Australia the posts are going in to horse studs.
"They've got a bit of give so ... a million dollar race horse isn't going to bust himself (if he runs into it) and another thing is they don't chew them so the horse isn't going to sit there chewing a tanalised bit of wood all day wrecking the fence and poisoning himself at the same time."
Soft plastics collected from supermarkets are used to produce the posts. Jerome says once the new production line is up and running they'll be putting through 500 tonnes of used plastic a month.
To hear Country Life's 2019 story about Future post click here.
Plastic before it becomes a fence post Photo: RNZ/Carol Stiles
Photo: RNZ/Carol Stiles
