30 | Hume Pack-N-Cool: Tuatara Structures REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Going big to futureproof the business from page 29 About 60% of the growers supplying fruit to Hume are shareholders, with the Hume family continuing to play a role in the business. “There aren’t many companies able to build coolstores. Tuatara Structures showed that they had the ability to deliver.” “All pallets are also stored for traceability, so we know exactly where every pallet is located for retrieval for specific orders,” says Simon. The more environmentally friendly and efficient glycol refrigeration has been used to provide a more consistent temperature and offers greater control over humidity. “With kiwifruit, the higher the humidity the longer the fruit will last. The trouble is when all of the fruit is packed in cardboard boxes. Cardboard and water don’t mix that well. That’s another benefit of racking, because the integrity of cardboard lasts for a longer period of time in that high humidity environment. Because we are carrying larger volumes of fruit for a longer period of time, being able to maintain the temperature consistently and with the higher humidity means we can generate better outcomes with the fruit at the end of the season.” Simon says Tuatara Structures was selected as the building company, based upon their past reputation for successfully completing other kiwifruit coolstores. “There aren’t that many companies out there who are able to build coolstores. Tuatara Structures demonstrated they had the capability to deliver the project both in terms of materials, and to our timeline. “They’re also a young team and highly motivated with good systems in place to deliver high quality projects. They brought with them a different way of viewing things. Ground was broken in September last year, with the first coolstore operational with all electrical and refrigeration systems working early April and the other two stores progressively commissioned over the next month.” Handling gold, red and two varieties of green kiwifruit, Hume Pack-N-Cool’s overall packing capacity is currently about 7.5 million trays. “We have other satellite coolstores as well, so not all the fruit is stored on our main site. Also, the way the season works the first fruit that is packed goes to market relatively quickly and the coolstores can be turned over more than once during a season, which runs from March till December.” All Class One fruit is exported all around the world, predominantly Europe and Asia. While some Class Two fruit is exported globally, most of it, along with Class Three fruit, services the New Zealand and Australian markets. “Most people are unwilling to pay the premium for a Class One product so from a grower return perspective you can’t supply your best product to the domestic market, unfortunately. “But aside from some cosmetic blemishes on the outside of the fruit, or an irregular shape, there is very little difference to the fruit’s internal quality.” Originally dairy farmers, the Hume family saw the opportunities offered through Kiwifruit, planting their first vines in 1978, envisioning their own packhouse and coolstore facility, which came to fruition in 1984. Packing for other growers as well, the family believed growers needed the opportunity to be part of the company and introduced grower-shareholders into the business. Today, about 60% of the growers supplying fruit to Hume are shareholders, with the Oj i Fibre Solut ions Packaging 0800 220 500 | oj i fs.com Providing Hume Pack-N-Cool with quality corrugate packaging, made from renewable, sustainably harvested forestry and recycled wood fibre. Proud to be supporting Hume Pack-N-Cool 027 252 5498 30a EnterpriseDrive, Papamoa iain@blaksteel.co.nz • Rigging • Welding • CraneHire • Steel Construction Hume family continuing to play a role in the business with Mark Hume the company’s Executive Director. Simon says with 38 years on the same site and urban encroachment, becoming landlocked will limit the future growth potential of the business on this site. “We have room for one or two more coolstore developments. For us our main goal is to get the site to its capacity with further automation and efficiencies. We already have a highly automated packhouse and we are looking to roll out automation across the rest of the business in the future.”
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