Newly appointed Tiwai Point aluminium smelter chief executive to start early 2022
Tuesday, 21 September 2021
A new chief executive for New Zealand Aluminium Smelter has been appointed, nearly three years before the Tiwai Point smelter is due to close.
On Tuesday, it was announced that Chris Blenkiron will begin in his new role of NZAS chief executive and general manager in early 2022, at the smelter near Invercargill.
In May, former chief executive Stew Hamilton announced his resignation and left in July to take up a job at electricity company Mercury.
In a statement, Rio Tinto Pacific operations acting managing director Dan van der Westhuizen says: “Chris has demonstrated a strong people focused approach to delivering business outcomes and I believe he is the right fit to lead the excellent team at Tiwai.”
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Blenkiron is currently the prefabricated steel shed company NS BlueScope president in Indonesia, and has previously held the role of New Zealand Steel market, sales and business development general manager.
He has more than 15 years’ experience in several leadership roles in manufacturing and building products businesses across New Zealand, Australia and Asia.
“His depth of experience in forming lasting partnerships with key stakeholders will be important for NZAS, as we work with our community on the future of the Southland region,” van der Westhuizen says.
“Chris will play a vital role in managing important relationships and overseeing the company’s obligations and wider role in New Zealand.”
In July 2020, Rio Tinto announced the smelter would close in August 2021.
However, in January, a new power deal with Meridian Energy resulted in Rio Tinto announcing it would continue operating until the end of 2024.