The NCT Story

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THE EIGHTIES • membership and markets increase

Northern Natal growers join NCT I n 1981 NLK in Northern Natal had advised its members that it wished to close down its Timber Division. Growers in the region could either form their own timber co-operative or join either TWK or NCT. At a meeting held at Kambula, growers from the Vryheid and Paulpietersburg areas decided that it would be in their best interests to join NCT. In return NCT guaranteed the Northern Natal region permanent representation on the NCT Board. This is entrenched in the Co-operative’s statute of rules. NLK sold its shares in CTC to NCT which in turn increased NCT’s director representation in CTC from three to four. Although not recorded in the statute, it has been tacitly accepted that one of NCT’s directors to the CTC board will always be from Northern Natal. Today an NCT office and extension service based in Vryheid serves this thriving timber producing region. The acquisition of a large influx of established growers at this time was to NCT’s overall benefit because CTC had relocated its chip plant to Richards Bay and supplies from Northern Natal were strategically close to that mill. In the same year Saiccor had offered NCT a ten-year supply contract for hardwoods. Included in the terms of the agreement was a favourable pricing formula allied to the six monthly movement of the Consumer Price Index. The arrangement was for NCT to supply between 120 000 and 150 000 tons Eucalyptus logs per annum. Having access to additional supplies from

Northern Natal to feed the CTC chip plant meant that NCT could place more reliance on deliveries to Saiccor from traditional areas such as Southern Natal.

Haulage Division moves to Stanger NCT also began diversifying in other operations. As

mentioned earlier, the Haulage Division was running smoothly from its Cato Ridge base but, as CTC had moved its chip plant to Richards Bay, the Board realised that it would be more strategic to re-establish the haulage base nearer the chip plant. The outlay for such a move would prove to be very expensive but it was agreed that in the interests of efficiency, the operation should continue, provided road transport did not exceed rail cost. In June 1982 a suitable location was found and purchased at New Guelderland outside Stanger. Workshops, offices, rest rooms and accommodation for drivers and other employees were built on site. To accommodate senior staff, five houses were purchased at Blythedale Beach and the whole operation was moved piecemeal.To finance the move NCT made application to the Land and Agricultural Bank for a loan of R850 000. The facility was granted but NCT’s own monetary resources were sufficiently strong to allow it to fund the operation itself.

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