| 41 Hawke’s Bay: Meiros Orchard The cyclone delivered rivers of silt and debris, destroying a house and RSE accommodation, tools and machinery and worst of all, half the orchard’s trees. REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT road. Because our silt was deemed Regional Council silt and not Hastings District silt we weren’t allowed to dump our silt there. There were a lot of inefficiencies that we saw on a daily basis like that. There was a lot of bullshit politics right at the beginning.” Alistair had joined his parents in the family business some while ago, and Craig says without Alistair’s input he and Gill would probably not be going down the rebuild path, but looking at leasing out or doing something else with the ground. “Alistair has given us the motivation to carry on. Pre-cyclone we were picking just under 7000 bins of apples per season — roughly 110,000 Tray Carton Equivalents (TCE). With half the trees lost in the cyclone this season’s budget is 3100 bins. Many of the trees that we were able to save were young and so we have lost over half of our production. It is going to take about 50,000 new trees to replant entirely, which we will have to do progressively. Where we have dug everything out we’ve planted squash in the short term to generate some kind of income from the bare dirt. We planted 4500 apple trees this last winter and we will continue to plant slowly over a period of time. We have to plant the right variety and right root stock and it has to be planted in such a way that we can drive our business forward using modern technology.” We are proud to support Meiros Orchard Power Farming Hawkes Bay | 06 879 9998 The recruitment specialists After two decades in the business of successfully placing people into jobs, in 2021 Robin Singh decided the timing was right to make his own mark, and established specialist contract recruitment agency JCR Services Ltd. While initially focused on the horticulture, agriculture and viticulture sectors, JCR Services has progressively expanded its scope to include facility management, food processing, demolition, maintenance and transport. “Our focus is on inding roles for Kiwis, place them into good jobs and ensure they make good money for their families, while at the same upskilling those people keen to learn more,” says Robin. “Nothing is impossible — it’s about doing the best for your people and the client, looking after their business as well as our business. E ectively we’re recruiting skilled sta , and placing them in temporary employment in line with their skill sets.” Shortly after commencing operations, Robin was joined by Ranjeet Singh and Mandeep Singh who brought additional skills and experience to the leadership team as co-directors. The business now has branches in Hastings, Gisborne and a small o ice has just been opened in Te Puke, to service the Bay of Plenty region. The JCR Services team includes recruitment specialists in horticulture, agriculture and viticulture placement,as well as pastoral care for the workers, and administration sta . “Throughout the Hawke’s Bay, Gisborne and Bay of Plenty regions, we have a core team of permanent sta who we place into roles, and then at peak season our sta roll grows with a larger number of temporary workers looking for placement. Pre-cyclone we had 250 employees on our books. That dropped down to 150 when the cyclone hit, but we are now almost back to full strength again. We’ve established relationships with Work and Income, we advertise our services on-line and people also come directly o the street into our o ice.” Word of mouth from satis ied clients is also increasing the number of businesses that JCR supplies high-quality and skilled workers into. “We provide a comprehensive vetting process that includes criminal checks, past employer references, and drug testing, to ensure each candidate is safe to place. We provide our people with the opportunity to undertake Level 2 Primary ITO training. Those people who are motivated to progress and further their careers will take that opportunity up. We also progress people through their driver’s licences including motor car, forklift and truck licenses.” Re lecting in the success of JCR Services, Robin has no doubt it is about attention to detail, ensuring the clients’ requirements are well understood and working accordingly. 20 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN • Horticulture • Viticulture • Agriculture Work with us We hire talent across the New Zealand RECRUITMENT Proudly Supporting Meiros Orchard LABOUR 06 870 3026 | 022 160 7746 www.jcrservicesltd.co.nz robin@jcrservicesltd.co.nz Directors: Robin Singh Ranjeet Singh Mandeep Singh
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