Our Story

How it all started

In 1985, 22-year-old Mark Hewitt started his own logging business, primarily harvesting farm woodlots and processing the logs into farm fencing posts. In 1991 Mt Pokaka was established as a tanalising plant, with a sawmill added soon after in 1995. Today Mt Pokaka Timber Products Ltd processes around 140,000 tonnes of logs annually.

Three decades later, Nikolas Morrison (Marks brother in-law) and Isaac Lindesay (partner to Marks eldest daughter) join Mark with a focus on value-added products and utilising Cross Laminated Radiata Pine under the Laminata brand. 2014 brought with it the first CLT experiments at the Mt Pokaka mill and over the next few years research and investment developed a suite of Laminata products. 

2017 saw the creation of the Laminata Group, focusing on two divisions, Laminata Build Ltd, offering high performance-affordable housing solutions and Laminata Outdoor Ltd, supplying innovative and affordable fencing systems. With the first three Bedroom Laminata house completed and over 30 kilometers of Laminata fencing installed throughout the country in 2017. Mark, Nik and Isaac are confident Laminata can offer New Zealand and the Pacific new and better ways to build with wood. 

To learn more about Mt Pokaka, please click here.