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It is with great sadness that we at Northpine say farewell and rest in peace to Keith Reay, the founder of Northpine Ltd who passed away on Friday 23 August 2024 in Tauranga.

Keith was a remarkably successful, innovative and influential sawmiller when he set out on a new challenge in the winter of 1999. He purchased the assets of the defunct Waipu Timber Company to make something good out of a broken -down old sawmill, quickly “roping in” two of his former CHH colleagues Richard Wilson and Bruce Larsen as partners to establish Northpine Ltd.

Keith retired 15 years later, having left an indelible mark on many people in the timber industry and having founded a business that has grown to become one of New Zealand’s leading timber manufacturers over the past 25 years.

Paying tribute to Keith today, Bruce Larsen says:

“Keith was a man with a passion for sawmilling who had a major influence in the late 80’s and early 90’s on how New Zealand cut timber. He brought back ideas from his time in America and set about improving the efficiency, accuracy and yield of New Zealand sawmills. He also had a strong belief in people and always made time to mentor and coach, in his own unique way, and to lead people to the well of knowledge, even if they weren’t thirsty! There are literally hundreds of people throughout NZ that Keith has had an influence on either directly or indirectly and they, and the industry in general, owe him a massive thanks. I think the following sums him up very well:

"Other bosses give orders, you gave us direction. Other bosses give targets, you gave us a vision. Other bosses lead by authority, you always led us by respect. Farewell – and thank you – to a boss like no other.”

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