| 45 Yieldia Packing T T Sue Russell Expanding range of Kiwifruit products At its Paengaroa processing site, over 4,000,000 kgs of fruit are annually packed. When Craig Hart became General Manager at Bay of Plenty-based Yieldia (formerly Kiwi Produce), a kiwifruit processing, packing, storage and distributing business, his mandate was to drive ‘value-add’ in the company’s products. Finding a niche through processing kiwifruit into frozen and dried products is leading the business in some exciting directions. “The frozen side of the business is about 10 years old and the dried processing perhaps a little older. We’re keen to grow the market for these products and to develop new ones in time. These are kiwifruit not destined for export or domestic sale and there’s a nice feel to thinking that product that would have likely become animal feed, now has a new life,” Craig says. Through the freezing and drying processes all the nutritional values of the kiwifruit are retained. Kiwilicious Dried Kiwifruit is both exported and sold domestically. Locally it is available through the Kiwi Fresh Direct website (another Yieldia business) or through various souvenir and gift shops. The bags of dried kiwifruit are also supplied to visitors arriving on cruise ships and are always popular. IQF kiwifruit is predominantly exported to Asia as a food ingredient, but Yieldia also supplies some domestic frozen fruit brands with the products. Yieldia, based at Paengaroa, 11km from Te Puke has about 30 full-time permanent staff and is a 52 week operation. It contract packs kiwifruit, avocados, citrus varieties and feijoa for grower clients, along with Kiwiberries and Blueberries. A significant part of business is supplying kiwifruit domestically through supermarkets. When Business Central spoke with Craig late May the processing plant was gearing up for its busy time. Not only does the business employ locals but it is also provides employment for back-packers. One of the key-drivers to diversifying into new products was to spread the risks, associated with processing fruit. At its Paengaroa processing site, over 4,000,000 kgs of fruit are annually packed. Six fully monitored cool-stores on the same site as a pack-house, provide plenty of room for produce storage awaiting distribution. Yieldia was established in 1986, initially as a specialist kiwifruit packhouse, however one of the company’s strengths has been in its ability to divest into handling a wide range of produce for its customers. “There has been prudent investment in equipment and technology which means we’ve kept up to speed in our processing capabilities.” Craig says he works with a very supportive Board, who carry a lot of expertise. “We’re aspirational in culture and context and increasingly our space will be value-add to stand out in the crowd and maximise the saleable yield of every growers crop.” Craig also has ambitions to continue to see Yieldia evolve to provide valuable opportunities for young people to train in the industry. “We see this business as a place where everyone can learn a whole range of skills and grow their abilities in a supportive and respectful environment. We want to develop each persons confidence and opportunities to move into more senior roles in the industry in the future. Our diversity of produce and operations creates learnings across a broad platform of skill and knowledge, so it’s the perfect environment to train multiple skills. When I joined the business I was inspired by the company’s mission statement: ‘Quality Produce by Quality People’.” REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT
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