Maryvale Mill centre of business continuity plan.

 

Australian Paper has closed its Mount Waverley head office and state sales offices with working from home arrangements in place until further notice.  

 

The company has also established a ‘Business Continuity Team’ (BCT) to assist in maintaining the company’s supply of office paper.

 

In a note to customers, Gary Harris, Australian Paper’s sales director, said: “Our joint commitment means that the boxes, bags and sacks that our customers manufacture from Maryvale products will continue to reach the FMCG manufacturing sector, fresh food growers and the food processing industry. 

 

“It will also mean that locally made copy paper, vital for a wide range of essential paper-based administrative systems, can continue to be made readily available in support of the community,” he said.

 

Chad Leslie, Australian Paper’s chief financial officer, added: “Australian Paper Maryvale is one of Australia’s key manufacturers of paper and board. As an essential service, it is vital that Australian Paper maintains business continuity to support the community and meet our obligations to government during these difficult times.  

 

“The boxes, bags and sacks that our customers manufacture from the wide range of packaging papers made at our Maryvale Mill are supplied to the FMCG manufacturing sector, fresh food growers and the food processing industry. Without fibre-based boxes, bags and sacks the distribution of key supplies to communities would be severely compromised,” he said.

 

Harris told Office Product News that while business sales of office paper had fallen off, retail sales had been boosted by the increase in working from home. 

 

Here is the full COVID-19 customer update from Gary Harris:

 

Further to our recent update, the government response to the COVID-19 situation is continuing to develop rapidly. 

 

Australian Paper Maryvale is one of Australia’s key manufacturers of paper and board. As an essential service, it is vital that Australian Paper maintains business continuity to support the community and meet our obligations to Government during these difficult times.  

 

Thank you for your ongoing support as our valued customer. It is imperative that we work together to ensure that the supply chain which brings Australian Paper’s packaging and copy papers to the market remains in place.  

 

Our joint commitment means that the boxes, bags and sacks that our customers manufacture from Maryvale products will continue to reach the FMCG manufacturing sector, fresh food growers and the food processing industry. 

 

It will also mean that locally made copy paper, vital for a wide range of essential paper-based administrative systems, can continue to be made readily available in support of the community. 

 

The Premier of Victoria has confirmed that stage 3 restrictions are now in place. Our Business Continuity Team (BCT) is meeting regularly to work through the emerging challenges. 

 

Although working from home has not yet been mandated, the Government encourages this wherever possible. Australian Paper has made the option of working from home available to employees since 19 March. In light of the move to stage 3, we have now made the decision that our Mount Waverley Head Office and state sales offices will close with working from home arrangements to be in place until further notice.  

 

We have implemented strong processes to ensure that this decision will not impact our supply volumes and customer service levels.  

 

All mandated Government requirements regarding COVID-19 including social distancing and hygiene measures will continue to be implemented at Maryvale and Preston as well as our other sites. 

 

We will provide regular customer updates as the COVID-19 situation develops. In the meantime, if you have questions or queries, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your Australian Paper representative. 

 

Best regards 

Gary Harris,

Sales Director