42 | REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Silver Fern Farms - Dargaville Silver Fern - largest Kaipara employer Richard Loader to page 44 Proudly supporting Silver Fern Farms to grow and prosper LMAC Consulting help local and National businesses in the Manufacturing and Primary Industries to: • Improve productivity and efficiency • Develop a culture of Continuous Improvement • Create high performing, engaged teams Contact us to see how we can help you with your improvement journey. enquiries@lmac.co.nz 0800 439 424 www.lmac.co.nz Member of Abrasive Blasting & Coating Specialists 021 740011 | info@rudolphs.co.nz | www.rudolphs.co.nz For All Your Industrial & Commercial Needs Employing in excess of three hundred skilled waged and salaried workers, Silver Fern Farm’s Beef processing plant in Dargaville is the largest employer in the Kaipara region and a significant contributor to the local economy. Located in an industrial area on the outskirts of Dargaville township the modern beef processing facility draws cattle from Warkworth through to Cape Reinga all year round. From early October through to the end of July the plant runs a night and day shift, each operated by a team of 150 skilled butchers, boners and trimmers, along with a crew loading containers. From August the plant moves to a single shift phase. After closing for three weeks in September, the plant reopens in single shift mode before the night shift returns early October and the cycle starts all over again. Operating five days a week, some overtime is worked during the peaks of the season. The Dargaville plant’s main markets are China, US, Middle East, United Arab Emirates, New Caledonia and New Zealand, with China the plant’s biggest customer. Site Manager Lance Warmington says what is now extracted from the carcass is vastly different to what was extracted 27 years ago when he first entered the meat industry, and that is largely market driven “We utilise the entire carcass and do a lot more differentiated products. Products that used to be processed for burgers are now being sold as primal cuts into the Asian markets. So it’s adding value to the carcass.” Lance Warmington, Silver Fern Farm’s Dargaville site manager.
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