Tiwai smelter boss leaving for Brisbane

New Zealand Aluminium Smelter general manager Paul Hemburrow will leave the top job at the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter for the sunny climes of Brisbane at the end of the month. Mr Hemburrow yesterday confirmed he will move to mining company Rio Tinto Alcan's corporate head office to take up a support position. He will finish at the smelter on October 23. Rio Tinto owns about 80 per cent of the Tiwai smelter. Mr Hemburrow took over as general manager in 2007 and said he had found the role both demanding and enjoyable. "It's certainly been a very challenging time, with the transformer failure and financial crisis, and I'm very happy with how we've handled that." Commercial manager Jason Franklin would step in as general manager until a permanent replacement had been found, Mr Hemburrow said. The great lifestyle offered by both the smelter and Southland had lured Mr Hemburrow, an Australian, back to Tiwai four times already and he did not rule out a fifth stint in the future.