Golden Bay Cement's Portland plant clocked over 100 years of buiness last year, when it also celebrated a new 6000t storage silo, ship loading facility upgrades and its workers recently spoke about its importance in the community.

The plant began in December 1916 but can trace its roots back to 1884 when Nathaniel Wilson founded the Wilson Portland Concrete Co. Three generations of the Wilson family also worked there.

Among them was Raki Harding, whose father and grandfather had also worked at "Portland", just one of several families who have provided generations of workers to the local works. Mr Harding said the mountain, the maunga, that was once a dominant feature of the landscape was literally disappearing, and was now spread all over New Zealand.

However, Golden Bay Cement is still investing in its future. Last year the company signed a 20-year lease for the new 9000t freighter MV Aotearoa Chief, representing a NZD30m (US$21.7m) investment.