THE DEADLINE for pallet manufacturer Pinetec is closing, with the possibility that its 100 workers will lose their jobs.

PricewaterhouseCoopers says the business will only trade up to early-to-mid March if it cannot find a buyer by then.

The pallet manufacturer was placed in receivership in June 2008, but continued to trade as its receiver tried to find buyers.

According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, if Pinetec cannot be sold by the deadline, the mill will close, and many Western Australian manufacturers may need to source their pallets from elsewhere.

Pinetec’s undoing came as a result of a fallout with Verve Energy. Pinetec supplied biomass material, a secondary product from its timber processing operations, to Verve’s Muja Power Station. Following an explosion at the station, thought to have been caused by the biomass, Verve terminated the use of biomass in power production