| 49 T T Sue Russell Cyclone prompts a rethink for orchard business The Moffett family has had a long association with the horticulture sector in Hawke’s Bay, stemming back to when Jonty’s father Jonathan emigrated from Northern Ireland and established a peach block in 1968 with wife Christine. HORTICULTURE Moffetts Orchard The last two years have been fairly tumultuous for Hawke’s Bay’s Moffett Orchards, and given the repurposing of the business that has taken place of late, former director Jonty Moffett is no longer involved in the day-to-day operation of the company. While Jonty has stepped back to take up new pursuits following the disruption and changes caused by Cyclone Gabrielle, his two brothers are still actively involved. “When we looked at the extent of damage we experienced, it became evident that we would need to look at new directions for the business, concentrating instead now on fully utilising our packhouse and storage infrastructure on Korokipo Road, inland from Napier, as well as growing another business activity, in the form of building, “ Jonty explains. “Making that call was tough, but the right decision for us to make, so I’ve now essentially stepped back,” he says. In the wake of the destruction caused by the cyclone, all stops had to be pulled out to find a pathway forward, such was the extent of the damage to their orchards and packhouse facility on Korokipo Road, inland from Napier. Finding the courage and imagination to rethink how the family-owned business would operate was fundamental to its survival. Top of that list was looking after staff and ensuring ways were found to keep them meaningfully employed. “We devised a plan to rebuild, but knew we would have to find the resources ourselves to do the work, given the shortage of contractors able to operate, and the demand for their services, so we bought a 14-tonne digger and set to getting the ground in order as much as we could.” It became apparent, though, that any aspirations to return the orchard to its former productive capability couldn’t be fulfilled, which demanded a rethink on where the skills and resources the business had would best be utilised. “Basically, we’ve decided to exit growing,” says Jonty. “Just the challenge of replanting and the timelines it takes to get back to a positive situation when you’re talking about years before you reap the rewards of new plantings, made us realise a new focus for the business had to be around our packhouse and storage facilities, so this is what we’ve focused on, though it’s not been the only change,” he says. It soon became apparent that, along with finding third-party growers to process their fruit and produce through, the experiences of rebuilding post-cyclone, gave the staff an opportunity to learn new skills, so a new building venture has been launched. “We’re now basically packhouse operators and builders. “We have a lot of engineering capability, so the business has totally changed, but that’s what you need to be able to do to remain viable,” Jonty says. A key focus is in the engagement of other investors, keen to take up opportunities to acquire, through purchase or lease, land to develop for horticultural and orcharding purposes, and to feed products through the packhouse. “It creates quite an efficient model for them. They’re only needing to concentrate on the growing and we can take care of the rest.” The Moffett family has had a long association with the horticulture sector in Hawke’s Bay, stemming back to when Jonty’s father Jonathan emigrated from Northern Ireland and established a peach block in 1968 with wife Christine. Through diversification and a subsequent focus on apples and melons, the company grew to be a significant player in the region, not only in the growing, but in the processing of fruit post-harvest. The packhouse, run by brother Joe, packs for 12 months of the year, and Jonty’s other brother Sean takes care of the build team. “We’re about to run out of work, so we’re looking to take our skills out wider.” Jonty says. “We’ve always taken care of our build processes on-farm, and we feel this is a good foundation on which to offer our construction skills to a wider market.” Construction work extends to earthmoving, drainage, sheds and even building whole houses. With his brothers very capably running the two main divisions of the business, Jonty has taken the opportunity to experience a very different setting – working as a cowboy in Australia, an experience he really enjoys. LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED COMPETITIVE PRICING ONE-STOP SHOP FOR ENGINEERING SUPPLIES Come and see the team 06 879 5005 | 021 755241 ENGINEERINGSOLUTIONSHB.CO.NZ INFO@ENGINEERINGSOLUTIONSHB.CO.NZ 3 HAZLEWOOD ST, FLAXMERE, HASTINGS 06 878 8622 500 Omahu Road Hastings 500 Omahu Road Hastings www.harrispumps.co.nz Providing exceptional packaging since 1972. Let us help you find the right packaging and supplies for your business. 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