Richmond is now home to the country’s first zero-crystalline-silica engineered stone factory and the family behind it says it is time for major corporates to start using the safer product.
The Paranthoiene family owns AGB Stone which operates six factories around the country where crystalline silica has been phased out in favour of safer substitutions. The factory on the edge of Richmond is the next step as it is purpose built to produce zero-silica engineered stone.
The move follows Australia’s on engineered stone after workers developed the lung disease silicosis from inhaling crystalline silica dust.
Co-owner Cam Paranthoiene says 60 per cent of the company’s engineered stone orders are already made up of zero silica and now it’s time for major industry players to do the right thing and use a product that is safer for the people who make it. To drive change, he says everyday New Zealanders need to start asking for it.
“The main reason we’re doing it is for the well-being of our staff and families. We went to Australia to investigate zero silica about 18 months ago because we lost a big chunk of business in New Zealand (after the Australian ban).
“We interviewed staff on the factory floor and they said they didn’t have to worry any more. It was “like a weight has been shifted off our shoulders”, staff said. We hadn’t realised the mental burden our staff carried. We made a commitment to ourselves that we’d come back and convert to zero silica.”
Cam says the Richmond factory is “the perfect showcase” to show how far the business has come.
While Cam and his wife, Christine, are based in Auckland, their son Will and his fiancé, Sophie Colquhoun, will manage the Richmond factory.
Nelson MP Rachel Boyack cut the ribbon at the official opening of the factory and she says it brings welcome jobs to a region that has been going through a tough time.
