Sir James Fletcher dies

END OF AN ERA: Sir James Fletcher has died at the age of 92.

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Sir James Fletcher, the second generation son of the Fletcher dynasty, has died in Auckland. He was 92.

His family said today he died peacefully at home yesterday.

Sir James – Jim to his friends and JC to colleagues – took over as managing director of Fletchers during World War 2.

For the next 37 years – a crucial period in New Zealand's economic development – he expanded the empire with brave business decisions and a continuous battle against bureaucracy only to see it splinter after he retired.

James Muir Cameron Fletcher was the son of Sir James sen, the carpenter who arrived in New Zealand from Scotland in 1908 with a set of tools and a few pounds to establish the way to bigger business by building New Zealand's first 100 state houses.

Sir James inherited his father's charisma and unshakeable belief in big business.

In the years after World War 2, Sir James stamped his mark on the company. An observer noted his fierce loyalty to staff and their welfare.

Despite the success Sir James remained a man without a hint of pretension – "one of the most down-to-earth people you could meet," said one observer.

In December, 1979, after 37 years in charge he stepped aside as managing director for his son Hugh to take over. Four months later he was knighted.

At about this time Fletcher Challenge had replaced NZ Forest Products as the country's largest listed company, a position it held until Telecom listed in the 1990s. It was the only NZ company listed on the New York, London and Australian stock exchanges. Sir James is survived by Vaughan, whom he married in 1942 and two sons, Angus and Hugh. Another son, Jim, was murdered at Papamoa Beach on New Year's Eve, 1993.

His funeral will be at 11am on Tuesday, at Holy Trinity Cathedral, Parnell, Auckland.

- NZPA