July 1, 2024 • 7 mins
Former Air New Zealand CEO Rob Fyfe is set to launch his biggest - and most sustainable - business venture yet.
Recorp, an aluminium canning company, is set to launch in September, with former House of Travel head Bruce Parton being appointed the inaugural CEO.
Fyfe says many Kiwi companies are phasing out plastic, meaning there's room to enter a new market.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Here the Duplessy in New Zealand. Boss Rob Vice's new business, Recorp,
is set to open an aluminium can manufacturer in September. Today,
Recorp announced its first CEO, former House of Travel boss,
former and New Zealand executive Bruce Parton. Now, the plant
cost one hundred million bucks to build and it's going
to be able to churn out eighteen hundred and fifty
cans a minute. And Rob Fife is with us to
talk about this.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Hey Rob, Hey, Eather, how are you very well?
Speaker 1 (00:23):
Thank you good to talk to you. I mean, it
sounds to me pretty amazing that you guys managed to
scratch together one hundred million bucks just from New Zealand investors.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Is it well, I'll tell you what. It gives you
a sense of confidence that, you know, as tough as
things are out there, there's sort of a bunch of
people that really believe in New Zealand and the opportunities here.
So the vast majority of that money came from six
or seven people. And you know, this industry today is
(00:50):
dominated by a couple of Australian companies and they're just
passionate about seeing the benefits and the rewards stay in
New Zealand.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Did I am I reading this correctly? That Animobra, who's
one of the investors that you've got there, wants to
get aluminum cans to basically steal market share of glass
and plastic. Is that right?
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Yeah? Absolutely? You know, if you look today glass in
terms of single single serve containers, glass makes up about
forty percent of the market. They weigh ten times more
than an aluminum container. There's obviously a whole lot more material, carbon,
fragile and so on. Plus we all know the issues
(01:30):
with plastic they find they were into our waterways, our
food system and so on. So alumineum, without doubt is
the fastest growing container type and it's the one that's
the most food safe. The material is infinitely recyclable. The
story is an amazing story, and it's say, we've convinced
(01:51):
a bunch of New Zealanders to get behind it and
brank to life. Not for the faint hearted. This is
a really big project.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
Why do you say not for the faint hearted?
Speaker 2 (02:01):
You know to as you say, you know, there's one
hundred million being invested in this. The Bank of New
Zealand's got behind it with a big chunk of bank finance.
To spend that sort of money before you turn your
first dollar of revenue, you need a lot of passionate
people that really believe in a in a vision. And
as I say that, that certainly isn't for everyone, but
(02:23):
you know, we're very, very committed.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
Rob What am I getting at the moment in plastic
or glass that you would like me to get an aluminium.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
Well, ultimately, I mean I've just come back from overseas.
You know, water now around the world is all moving
into aluminum, a combination of both alumineum cans as we
think of them today and also screw top or resealable
alimineum bottles. So many, particularly sports venues but also a
(02:52):
lot of hospitality venues are just banning plastic bottles in Toto,
So water is a big one off. Drinks are glass
now overseas you're seeing glass. Sorry, beer is moving up
more and more away from glass into aluminium, both again
cans and aluminium bottles. At the moment, you know, there's
(03:13):
no aluminium bottles made in this part of the world
at all, and that's certainly on our roadmap to bring
aluminium beer bottles and water bottles into this market.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
I feel weird about that because I feel like I
feel like screwing it would sort of like lit little
bits of metal into my drink. Am I just is
it I'm overthinking.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
In I definitely am overthinking it. So not not that
I accused you of overthinking, but it's you know, aluminium
in terms of in the food system in the body.
You know it's not a good thing, but the alumineum
that comes into our food source doesn't come out of
(03:52):
containers or aluminium in that state. It's very very stable
and you know flake off and so on. Aluminium comes
in through various foods and minerals and our souls and
that sort of thing. That's the biggest risk of elimenem
into our diet. Element in bottle or containers absolutely safe.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
So Bruce Parton, you'll have worked with him at A
New Zealand. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
Yeah, I've worked with with Bruce for twenty years. So
you know, we've got a great relationship, very very passionate.
It's not like we're trying to create an in New
Zealand old boy network, but you know, working with people
you really non trust. I think Chris is a bit
busy at the moment, but yeah, you know, I'm really
you know, I love working with people who I know
(04:35):
can deliver the results, and Bruce is definitely one of those.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
What do you like about him? I think I saw
somewhere that you were quoted as saying he learns, he
takes not necessarily criticism, but he takes direction.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
No, no, he takes criticism really well. I mean, but
I made a comment that you know, I mentor a
lot of young, up and coming entrepreneurs, and one of
the things I'm always saying to these, to these focus
you know, the people that learn the most, that grow
the fastest, that achieve the most, are the people that
(05:09):
make it the easiest to give feedback to because are
the ones. You know, if they're too defensive, then you're
a little reserved. And what you say to them, Bruce,
you can give it straight between the eyes and varness
exactly what you think. He just soaks it up. He listens,
he considers, he responds, and the adepts and he's just
one of the most adaptable people I know. And that's
(05:31):
I guess one of the reasons, because your feedback exactly
back the other way. So we have a really, really
strong relationship can be a bit sporty at times, but
that's how you create healthy outcomes.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
Great, Rob, give me your take on right, you've been overseas,
as you say, give me your take on coming back
to New Zealand. What's the mood like here? It feels
like it might be a little gloomy.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
You know, it does feel gloomy, and it does feel
at the moment very introspective. You know, I've just come
back as in London. In London, you would argue, or
the UK definitely has many of the issues that we have,
some of them even worse and more amplified than ours.
(06:14):
The crime on the streets in London is deeply, deeply concerning.
Yet when you go out and have dinner with people
or you're socializing with people, no one seems to be
as consumed by all those issues as we get here
in New Zealand, and we all talking about, you know,
what's around the corner, the upside, the possibilities, you know,
(06:35):
and the opportunities, and it's it's just a mindset that
doesn't allow them to get so consumed by the say that,
you know, the stuff that we seem to just allow
us to drag away from the great possibilities and opportunities
for this country. So I'm sitting outside New Zealand, I
get more optimistic about New Zealand, and I feel it's
(06:58):
ourselves and our minds set that's the biggest constraint on
the possibilities for this country. Nothing that's structurally wrong about
this company country, or nothing that's politically constraining us about
this country and a great country, really talented people. We
just have to get that self belief in a bit
of mojo back.
Speaker 1 (07:15):
I think there's some good advice in that. Rob, thank you.
I really appreciate it's nice to have you back in
the country doing great things. It's Rob Fife, chairman of Recoor.
For more from Hither Duplessy Allen Drive, listen live to
news talks it'd be from four pm weekdays, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio.
Here the Duplessy in New Zealand. Boss Rob Vice's new business, Recorp,
is set to open an aluminium can manufacturer in September. Today,
Recorp announced its first CEO, former House of Travel boss,
former and New Zealand executive Bruce Parton. Now, the plant
cost one hundred million bucks to build and it's going
to be able to churn out eighteen hundred and fifty
cans a minute. And Rob Fife is with us to
talk about this.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Hey Rob, Hey, Eather, how are you very well?
Speaker 1 (00:23):
Thank you good to talk to you. I mean, it
sounds to me pretty amazing that you guys managed to
scratch together one hundred million bucks just from New Zealand investors.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Is it well, I'll tell you what. It gives you
a sense of confidence that, you know, as tough as
things are out there, there's sort of a bunch of
people that really believe in New Zealand and the opportunities here.
So the vast majority of that money came from six
or seven people. And you know, this industry today is
(00:50):
dominated by a couple of Australian companies and they're just
passionate about seeing the benefits and the rewards stay in
New Zealand.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Did I am I reading this correctly? That Animobra, who's
one of the investors that you've got there, wants to
get aluminum cans to basically steal market share of glass
and plastic. Is that right?
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Yeah? Absolutely? You know, if you look today glass in
terms of single single serve containers, glass makes up about
forty percent of the market. They weigh ten times more
than an aluminum container. There's obviously a whole lot more material, carbon,
fragile and so on. Plus we all know the issues
(01:30):
with plastic they find they were into our waterways, our
food system and so on. So alumineum, without doubt is
the fastest growing container type and it's the one that's
the most food safe. The material is infinitely recyclable. The
story is an amazing story, and it's say, we've convinced
(01:51):
a bunch of New Zealanders to get behind it and
brank to life. Not for the faint hearted. This is
a really big project.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
Why do you say not for the faint hearted?
Speaker 2 (02:01):
You know to as you say, you know, there's one
hundred million being invested in this. The Bank of New
Zealand's got behind it with a big chunk of bank finance.
To spend that sort of money before you turn your
first dollar of revenue, you need a lot of passionate
people that really believe in a in a vision. And
as I say that, that certainly isn't for everyone, but
(02:23):
you know, we're very, very committed.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
Rob What am I getting at the moment in plastic
or glass that you would like me to get an aluminium.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
Well, ultimately, I mean I've just come back from overseas.
You know, water now around the world is all moving
into aluminum, a combination of both alumineum cans as we
think of them today and also screw top or resealable
alimineum bottles. So many, particularly sports venues but also a
(02:52):
lot of hospitality venues are just banning plastic bottles in Toto,
So water is a big one off. Drinks are glass
now overseas you're seeing glass. Sorry, beer is moving up
more and more away from glass into aluminium, both again
cans and aluminium bottles. At the moment, you know, there's
(03:13):
no aluminium bottles made in this part of the world
at all, and that's certainly on our roadmap to bring
aluminium beer bottles and water bottles into this market.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
I feel weird about that because I feel like I
feel like screwing it would sort of like lit little
bits of metal into my drink. Am I just is
it I'm overthinking.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
In I definitely am overthinking it. So not not that
I accused you of overthinking, but it's you know, aluminium
in terms of in the food system in the body.
You know it's not a good thing, but the alumineum
that comes into our food source doesn't come out of
(03:52):
containers or aluminium in that state. It's very very stable
and you know flake off and so on. Aluminium comes
in through various foods and minerals and our souls and
that sort of thing. That's the biggest risk of elimenem
into our diet. Element in bottle or containers absolutely safe.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
So Bruce Parton, you'll have worked with him at A
New Zealand. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
Yeah, I've worked with with Bruce for twenty years. So
you know, we've got a great relationship, very very passionate.
It's not like we're trying to create an in New
Zealand old boy network, but you know, working with people
you really non trust. I think Chris is a bit
busy at the moment, but yeah, you know, I'm really
you know, I love working with people who I know
(04:35):
can deliver the results, and Bruce is definitely one of those.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
What do you like about him? I think I saw
somewhere that you were quoted as saying he learns, he
takes not necessarily criticism, but he takes direction.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
No, no, he takes criticism really well. I mean, but
I made a comment that you know, I mentor a
lot of young, up and coming entrepreneurs, and one of
the things I'm always saying to these, to these focus
you know, the people that learn the most, that grow
the fastest, that achieve the most, are the people that
(05:09):
make it the easiest to give feedback to because are
the ones. You know, if they're too defensive, then you're
a little reserved. And what you say to them, Bruce,
you can give it straight between the eyes and varness
exactly what you think. He just soaks it up. He listens,
he considers, he responds, and the adepts and he's just
one of the most adaptable people I know. And that's
(05:31):
I guess one of the reasons, because your feedback exactly
back the other way. So we have a really, really
strong relationship can be a bit sporty at times, but
that's how you create healthy outcomes.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
Great, Rob, give me your take on right, you've been overseas,
as you say, give me your take on coming back
to New Zealand. What's the mood like here? It feels
like it might be a little gloomy.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
You know, it does feel gloomy, and it does feel
at the moment very introspective. You know, I've just come
back as in London. In London, you would argue, or
the UK definitely has many of the issues that we have,
some of them even worse and more amplified than ours.
(06:14):
The crime on the streets in London is deeply, deeply concerning.
Yet when you go out and have dinner with people
or you're socializing with people, no one seems to be
as consumed by all those issues as we get here
in New Zealand, and we all talking about, you know,
what's around the corner, the upside, the possibilities, you know,
(06:35):
and the opportunities, and it's it's just a mindset that
doesn't allow them to get so consumed by the say that,
you know, the stuff that we seem to just allow
us to drag away from the great possibilities and opportunities
for this country. So I'm sitting outside New Zealand, I
get more optimistic about New Zealand, and I feel it's
(06:58):
ourselves and our minds set that's the biggest constraint on
the possibilities for this country. Nothing that's structurally wrong about
this company country, or nothing that's politically constraining us about
this country and a great country, really talented people. We
just have to get that self belief in a bit
of mojo back.
Speaker 1 (07:15):
I think there's some good advice in that. Rob, thank you.
I really appreciate it's nice to have you back in
the country doing great things. It's Rob Fife, chairman of Recoor.
For more from Hither Duplessy Allen Drive, listen live to
news talks it'd be from four pm weekdays, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio.
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