MINUTES OF CANTERBURY WESTLAND BRANCH TRAINING AND NETWORKING EVENT
Time & Date: 31 March 2026
Location: Gib Factory 219 Opawa Rd, Opawa
Meeting held at The Tannery, 3 Garlands Rd, Opawa
Welcome:
The Branch Chair Jenny Lilley opened the meeting and welcomed members.
Attendance: Members
Guests -Fraser Pearce, Justine Angell, Karel Boakes
Members – attached list
Apologies:
attached
Previous Minutes: 24/02/2026
Motion: That the branch approves the minutes of the previous meeting(s)
Mover: ___Jenny Lilley________ Seconder: ___Barb Dillon_______ Carried
Matters Arising:
Action: None
Decision: None
New Members:
No new members this period
General Business:
Voting in the Board elections close 4pm Wednesday 8th April
BOINZ AGM – register now for 22nd April
BOINZ Symposium and BCA leaders Forum – 4-6 May in Auckland – registration open, check out the lineup of speakers and sessions
Save the date for Kaikoura overnight meeting – 16/17th October
Board Representative Update: none provided
Correspondence In/Out:
• Renumeration survey is out – members encouraged to complete it
Building Code Issues:
Action: None Raised
Decision: n/a
Guest Presentation(s):
Guest Presentation
Nick Mathews took us through the H & S briefing while sharing afternoon tea, He also gave us a short presentation on the history of Winstone wallboards from when they first opened as NZ wallboards in 1927, with the Christchurch plant (on the current site) opening in 1961. It became Winstone Wallboards in 1988 and is now part of the Fletchers group. The ‘new’ Tauranga site was commissioned in 2023. The factory tour guided us through the manufacturing process and follow the pathway of raw material, to full plasterboard creation, finishing with the channel to market in the distribution warehouse where we were able to see orders being picked and packed for delivery.
The Christchurch production line has a 100m belt producing approximately 7 kilometres of board every hour. In comparison to Tauranga which has a 400m belt and produces 28km of board every hour. The whole process from the raw product in the hopper to finished board on a pallet ready for dispatch is approximately 70 minutes (1 hour 10 minutes) for standard 10mm board. The Christchurch factory produces approximately 30% and Tauranga 70% for the NZ market. All types of board are made here including Aqualine, Fyreline, Weatherline, Braceline etc.
Next Branch Training and Networking Event: Waimakariri District Council to host, with Guest speaker Craig White, the Technical Support Manager - Regulatory Compliance and Systems Development for Carter Holt Harvey, scheduled for 4.30pm on the 23rd June 2026
Special thank you to: Nick Mathews, Barb Tie and Richard Scales from Winstone Wallboards for afternoon tea and for showing us around the Gib factory.
Jenny Lilley closed the meeting at 5.40pm
Attachments:
Next Branch Training and Networking Event: Waimakariri District Council to host, with Guest speaker Craig White, the Technical Support Manager - Regulatory Compliance and Systems Development for Carter Holt Harvey, scheduled for 4.30pm on the 23rd June 2026
Special thank you to: Nick Mathews, Barb Tie and Richard Scales from Winstone Wallboards for afternoon tea and for showing us around the Gib factory.
Jenny Lilley closed the meeting at 5.40pm
Barb Dillon
Canterbury Westland Branch Secretary
