| 19 Hawke’s Bay: T&G Global REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT T T Sue Russell Packhouse will double apple volumes The massive packhouse, one of the largest in the Southern Hemisphere, will be capable of packing more than 125 million kilograms of apples each season. T&G Global has invested close to $100 million into a new state of the art apple packhouse at its Whakatū, Hawke’s Bay site. When completed it will rank amongst one of the largest in the Southern Hemisphere. The highly automated facility, with a massive 1.7ha of roof space will be capable of packing more than 125 million kilograms of apples each season once the projects two- phased construction is complete. This will double the volume of apples currently packed. There is unprecedented demand for premium apples from Aotearoa New Zealand and in committing this investment T&G Global is future-proofing its capacity. Gareth Edgecombe, T&G Global’s Chief Executive says the state-of-the-art post-harvest facility will be instrumental in enabling the company to manage expected increases in volumes, lift productivity while ensuring fruit arrives in market in excellent condition. Inside, the packhouse integrates leading automation and technology, from the wet infeed area and defect sorting, to soft fruit handling technology and robotic fruit packers and palletisers. “It will mean we can do more with less.” Gareth knows the smooth completion of the facility and the installation of the first 220 metre packing line is a real testament to the team. He describes it as a remarkable team effort to build the packhouse and deliver it on budget and on time, while dealing with labour and material constraints during COVID-19. “The new facility will enable our Whakatū team to pack 90-100 bins per hour on the one line, lifting the productivity rate up to 1 bin per person per hour.” When the second line is installed productivity will lift again up to 190 bins packed per hour with a similar number of people. T&G Global expects the packhouse to play a key role in helping create increased value from Aotearoa New Zealand’s unique benefits and intellectual property. Over the last five years, T&G has redeveloped hundreds of hectares into modern 2D growing systems, with increased plantings of its premium Envy™ apple brand which is forecast to be a billion-dollar brand by 2027. “Many of our independent grower partners have done the same and by building this packhouse we can accommodate this increased volume, helping support both domestic and export growth of the region, sector and nation.” As part of T&G’s kaitiakitanga strategy and commitment, the packhouse has been designed with demanding sustainability standards to help conserve and protect New Zealand’s natural resources. It has 1,200,000 litre water tanks, enabling the packhouse to absorb large downpours and removing this volume of water from flowing immediately into the public stormwater system. This allows the company to meter this water out, reducing the impact on the stormwater system and local rivers, and using it for watering onsite trees and vegetation. In addition, the packhouse’s filtration system allows for reduced water use from its own bore, with final discharges being drinking quality standard.
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