Ron Eddy, Managing Director of TimTechChem International Ltd, retired on Tuesday, 31 March 2020.

Ron’s legacy spans 40+ years with the timber treatment/protection industry and started in South Africa where he worked for Hickson Timber from 1977.  In 1986 he and his family emigrated to New Zealand, Ron transferring to Hickson Timber NZ as Marketing Director.  In 1990 Joint Venture company, Koppers-Hickson Timber Protection (NZ) Ltd was set up with Ron as the Managing Director. 

In 1997 Ron took a break from Timber Treatment working for the NZ Institute of Management for a few years before launching TimTech Chemicals Ltd in New Zealand in 2001 and in Australia a year later.  The rest is history.

Ron takes with him a vast knowledge of timber treatment and I am sure everyone joins with us to wish him many happy and relaxing retirement years with his lovely wife, Lyn where he can look back proudly on the contribution he made, the legacy he has left and time to remember both the challenges and highlights of his years working within our industry.

Azelis has agreed to fully acquire Chemcolour, leading provider of speciality chemicals and food ingredients in Australia and New Zealand (ANZ). The company employs a highly knowledgeable team of 90 people, who will all transfer to Azelis. The acquisition strengthens and positions Azelis among the top distributors in ANZ.

Chemcolour is well positioned in the local markets and has shown steady growth over the years, both in speciality chemicals and food ingredients sectors. The company has built a strong portfolio of globally established suppliers thanks to their solid values, technical expertise and innovative, problem-solving approach.

Dr Hans Joachim Müller, Azelis CEO, comments on the deal: “Australia and New -Zealand are wealthy countries with a growing population and rich in natural resources. The fact that the fundamentals of the countries positively contribute to the strength of Chemcolour’s business, makes this acquisition a great platform to extend mandates with our existing, global principals into Australia and New Zealand.”

Laurent Nataf, Azelis CEO APAC, adds: “Chemcolour has significant presence and a long-standing history in both New Zealand and Australia. Their business model is fully tailored to local markets, not only in their superb product portfolio and service, but also in the technical knowledge and commercial skills of their people. It is a perfect fit, as we have always strived to be the best local champion in every region we serve. I am confident we will create many synergies and achieve new wins together.”

Murray Nancekivell, Chemcolour CEO: “Chemcolour has positioned itself well in the New Zealand and Australian markets and the time is right to continue this growth. The acquisition of Chemcolour by Azelis puts us in an even stronger position in the market to better serve our customers and principals. This, coupled with the strongly aligned Azelis and Chemcolour values, provides excellent opportunities for our employees going forward.”

Funds advised by Apax Partners have been Azelis’ major shareholders since 2015 and are committed to supporting the company’s growth in the speciality chemicals and food ingredients distribution industry. Acquiring Chemcolour endorses this commitment and Apax is confident that the expanded range of services and global reach provided by this acquisition will bring significant benefits to customers of the combined Group.

The transaction will be closed in the course of the next months.

RESPECTED timber preservation identity Ron Eddy, managing director of NZ-based TimTechChem International, has been appointed to the executive council of the International Research Group on Wood Protection. Mr Eddy was chosen from a number of candidates to take part in leading the group’s future. The appointment is for three years. The appointment was announced at the 47th meeting of the IRGWP in Lisbon in May 2016. Mr Eddy has more than 30 years’ experience in timber protection.

He graduated as an analytical chemist and registered assayer and has a postgraduate Diploma in Management (Science and Technology) and Master of Management (Strategy) from the University of Auckland.

He joined the South African subsidiary of Hickson International PLC in 1977 before transferring to Hickson New Zealand as marketing director in 1986 and managing director of Koppers Hickson from 1989-1997.

The loco is a 1/5th scale model of the second Galloping Goose built in 1931 from a Buick 2 door sedan and a freight box. The original “rail motor” is still operational at the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden, Colorado.

A REVOLTIONARY low-cost timber preservation process has exceeded all expectations following commissioning of the first “True Blue” plant at the iTreat Timber custom-treatment facility at Narangba, north of Brisbane.

The “True Blue” treatment plant provides a new low-cost, high-output method perfect for H2F framing treatment. The principal of iTreat Timber Pty Ltd Gerry Gardiner said the new plant, averaging 2.5-3 m³ per charge, was working well in a two-shift tandem with a CCA plant at the Narangba site. TimTech Australia sales manager Ian Clarke said the new technology allowed for extremely rapid filling and emptying as well as a system which gave total timber coverage in seconds.“

A typical treatment cycle is less than 10 minutes,” he said. “The system has a number of major advantages over traditional Bifenthrin spray systems, including a highly competitive treatment cost per cubic metre.

”The “True Blue” technology can be supplied either as a purpose-built plant designed to meet a customer’s individual needs, or an existing plant can be refurbished and redesigned to convert it to the new system. Mr. Clark said the “True Blue” plant at Narangba was in fact a converted and refurbished LOSP plant.“Currently plans are being finalised to convert a number of conventional timber treatment plants to the new system.

Conversions to a fully automated plant can be done in as little as three to four weeks, depending on location and the condition of the plant.”TimTech reports unprecedented interest in the new technology and says plans for several more “True Blue” plants are on the drawing board.

On Friday, 26 September 2008 being Blue Friday - the staff of TimTech Auckland Office decided to collectively wear their corporate (blue) shirts in recognition of the need for more awareness and support of this disease.


From Left to Right : Joanne Wills (Accounts Administrator), Campbell Boyd (GM Operations), Paula Fisher (Administration Manager), Ron Eddy (Managing Director), Sam Ning (Accountant), Bridget Derham (Environmental Scientist).