Business Central July 2021

24 | Innovative firmmaking the most of capacity PFPL is always looking at opportunities for new product development. T from page 22 REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Manawatu - CEDA: Prepared Foods - Moana NZ “For example, we do a range of chilli products for a US based customer who found us on the internet, liked our story and flew out to inspect the plant,” says Dean. “ This year we’ll do upwards of 600,000 packs for him. We also contract pack products like sauces for others. “We now operate five production processes including pāua canning, pouch retorting, a multi-vac machine where long-life bread is packed, and Individually Quick Frozen (IQF) technology for pāua that is either whole in shell, shucked meat or cooked meat. Everything in the plant is Halal and EU/US certified.” Dean says the ability to produce long life foods for the ADF and NZDF also introduced PFPL to the provision of food into humanitari- an channels. “In 2014 we looked at what else we could do in terms of packaged meals and a relationship was forged with a company in UAE called Sal- ma, which responds to emergency situations. “Salma also had a close relationship with what became the International Humanitari- an City based in Dubai, where humanitarian response materials and products are stored. “They respond when there’s a major event with major devastation around the world. Salma was one of the first organisations into Indonesia after the tsunami.” Salma tested the waters with a small supply of PFPL’s products, which gradually grew into a high volume of products bought on an annual programme in anticipation of an emergency. “We now operate five production processes including pāua canning, pouch retorting, a multi- vac machine where long- life bread is packed, and Individually Quick Frozen technology for pāua...” While PFPL is looking to expand the work it started with Salma into other humanitarian type organisations, Covid has forced a slow down, pending the roll-out of vaccination programmes throughout the world. Closer to home the Covid19 pandemic pro- vided an opportunity to support iwi with food. “Te Ohu Kaimoana, our controlling share- holder, proposed a programme looking after Iwi at a hapū/marae level during Level 3 and 4 lockdowns. “So discussions were held with both Sealord and ourselves to see if there was anything we could do in terms of looking after hapū, whānau, and especially kuia and kaumātua — the elderly who were at higher risk and were advised not to go shopping at the time. So, we formulated a plan for four Ready To Eat (RTE) meals at cost.” PFPL is evolving as Moana New Zealand’s innovation hub and is now starting to look at new product development and opportunities outside of what might be processed on site. “We definitely have the capacity, capability and desire to grow,” says Dean. Dean Peter