20 | Hawke’s Bay: BBI Wood Products T T Richard Loader Irongate becoming a bustling hub REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT YOUR TRUSTED SERVICE PARTNER • Linehaul Bulk Freight • New Zealand Freight Distribution Network • Servicing all North Island Main Centres Daily • Managed Warehousing EMMERSON TRANSPORT LTD 511 Orchard Road, Hastings • Phone (06) 873 0670 www.emmersontransport.co.nz | despatch@emmersontransport.co.nz PROUD SERVICE PROVIDER BBI WOOD PRODUCTS Embracing 118 hectares of land on the south-western outskirts of Hastings and home to a growing number of horticultural, construction and transport businesses, the Irongate Industrial Development is perfectly located on the Hawke’s Bay Expressway. Also known as the Napier to Hastings Expressway, the road runs from Hawke’s Bay Airport, through Napier and Hastings and ends at Pakipaki, just south of Hastings, and forms part of State Highway 2. The Expressway also takes you to the busy Port of Napier, key for export businesses. Located between Hastings and the suburb of Flaxmere, the development also has very good access to Hastings’ residential areas, where a large part of the workforce is located. Six years ago, the farmland that the Irongate industrial development now sits on was rezoned for industrial activity. T T to page 22 “We want Irongate to be a centre for employment for the people of Hastings, in a location that is easily accessible for the workforce.” While Hastings is surrounded by highly productive and fertile horticultural land, there is always a trade-off for having large blocks of land rezoned and developed for industrial use, and no longer available for food production, explains Ben Hamelink, Development Manager at TUMU Property, a part of TUMU Group. A well-established Hawke’s Bay business, TUMU Group is one of several local businesses passionate about growing the region and responsible for Irongate’s development. “Irongate sits on land that is quite gravelly and not well suited to horticultural use. As Hawke’s Bay’s horticulture industry has grown, so too has the need for infrastructure support. Irongate was the perfect site to provide that support and to support the region’s broad economic growth. “The gravelly soils are free draining and provide great ground conditions for development.” Ben says the developers’ overarching vision is for a very high-quality industrial development that supports Hawke’s Bay’s key industries. “For many purchasers or tenants, their businesses have been located in other parts of Hawke’s Bay and they have progressively outgrown their premises. We want Irongate to be a centre for employment for the people of Hastings, in a location that is easily accessible for the workforce.” Since rezoning there has been a steady stream of businesses who have seen the benefits offered by Irongate and have either built on site, or are in the process of doing so, including significant post-harvest coolstore and packhouse developments. Sunfruit Group and Rockit Apples have invested heavily in Irongate with collectively over 40,000sqm of post-harvest accommodation. “With its proximity to the Expressway, Irongate also has strong appeal to transport and logistics companies,” says Ben. Mainfreight have recently purchased land and are proposing to develop a 12,000sqm freight terminal and office building”
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