10 | Heinz Watties REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT T TKaren Phelps A long-term recovery process The scale of destruction in the region was bewildering. Nearly two years after Cyclone Gabrielle hit Hawke’s Bay, Heinz Wattie’s continues its journey towards full recovery from one of New Zealand’s most destructive weather events. The cyclone hit just one day after sweetcorn harvesting had begun, effectively destroying almost the entire crop. Tomato harvesting, which had been scheduled to commence two days after the cyclone struck, yielded only a small percentage of the anticipated volume as paddocks remained waterlogged. “With tomatoes we harvested less than 15% of planned crop,” says Bruce Mackay, Hastings agricultural manager for Heinz Wattie’s. “That was the pattern with most of our crops - we lost three-quarters of them.” For a company that has been at the heart of New Zealand’s food production landscape since 1934, the scale of destruction in the region was bewildering, says Bruce. “We had 40-foot containers standing on end that were previously sitting flat on the ground. Caravans were seen in the tops of trees. Recovery for the region is a long-term recovery process. We are still going through it, but it’s getting easier to talk about, understand what happened and move forward.” The coolstore the company uses was flooded in knee-deep water, silt and mud and there was no electricity for eight days resulting in all stored fruit rotting. Beyond crop losses, orchards sustained significant damage. While annual crops like tomatoes, beetroot and sweetcorn recovered from a production standpoint the following year, the lingering effects continue to pose challenges. Debris which washed onto paddocks has been problematic, with some rubbish becoming buried under silt and only discovered during subsequent harvests. “We had to change some of our operational methodologies because we have planting programmes in our orchards and for the last two years the trees we had set aside for new plantings have been used renovating existing orchards. There were some orchards which were completely lost.” Operating from its historic King Street site in Hastings, believed to be the largest canning operation in the Southern Hemisphere, along with the 25-acre Tomoana facility, the recovery unfolds against a backdrop of broader economic pressures. ENGINEERING & INSULATION • Certified Pipe Welding • ASME IX Qualified • Industrial Cladding & Insulation • Spray Foam Injection • Compliance Specialists • Specialists in Steam & Ammonia Pipework • 24hr Call-Out 027 828 5039
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