22 | REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Port Waikato: Punchbowl Group Embracing a family of integrated businesses Richard Loader Punchbowl Packco packs and coolstores kiwifruit as well as owns, leases and manages orchards. With a proud history spanning thirty years, Punchbowl embraces a family of integrated businesses in South Auckland that includes post harvest Kiwifruit operations and facilities, an award winning packaging solutions company and an investment company. Founded by Rob and Maree Craig on the fertile volcanic soils of Pukekohe, Punchbowl Group’s roots dig deep within the world of horticulture. As the Group’s Executive Chair Rob defines the business as a family hybrid company. “The majority of the business is owned by family, with a small number of non-family member shareholders. Three of our children are now full time in the business. “One of our secrets has been backing young talented people who want to contribute to the business. We look to use the best talent we can find and if people show talent we support them, regardless of whether they’re in the family or outside it. Business is one of progress and looking forward to where the future points.” First registered in 1990, Punchbowl was originally a joint venture in a small coolstorage operation between the Craigs and a kiwifruit orcharding business they were managing at the time. In 1995 the Craigs bought out their joint venture partner and brought in other shareholders, progressively growing the business from being just a coolstore. Having survived the Psa outbreak in the second decade of the new century, Punchbowl progressively diversified its business operations, firstly establishing the packing company that is now called Punchbowl Packco as a separate entity. Effectively the operating company, Packco packs and coolstores kiwifruit as well as owns, leases and manages orchards. Currently the company packs about 3.5 million trays of export Kiwifruit each year. “There’s also a number of development orchards in the South Auckland area which we hold a shareholding in,” says Craig. “They’re the gold and red varieties of Kiwifruit. We will be making substantial growth over the next three to four years, which will require considerable capital to increase our packinghouse and coolstore capability. The entire industry is going through a very strong growth phase, and what we call the post harvest businesses will all have to inject considerable capital to manage that growth. As that growth occurs there’s also increasing labour requirements.” Driven by the need for efficiency and reduced labour costs over the last three years Punchbowl Packco has invested heavily in automation and is now a leader in packhouse automation. As well as sourcing off the shelf automation from different countries, Punchbowl Packaging has developed and patented its own bespoke in-house automation. Performing all works in: Residential, Commercial & Industrial Sectors focusing on maintenance, fit outs, new work builds, renovations etc. EW Electrical Ltd are proud to have a good working relationship with Punchbowl Packaging Eamonn Wallbutton M 0211 366 121 E ewelectricalltd@gmail.com Machinery Maintenance • Orchard Irrigation Repair Relocation • Breakdown Response Tested in its own Kiwifruit packing facilities, that automation has been added as a commercial offering to its customers, under another entity known as Punchbowl Automation. As part of the drive for diversification Punchbowl’s packaging business that had been operating since the ‘90s was also set aside as a separate entity called Punchbowl Packaging. Punchbowl Packaging conceptualises, designs, creates and sources packaging solutions from trusted manufacturers around the world, delivering solutions to its customers that differentiate their products on the world stage and market shelves. “We supply the ancillary products that go into packaging — everything excluding the boxes. “For the last 20 years it has been one of the lead packaging supply companies in the New Zealand Kiwifruit and apple industries. Progressively that business has been heavily focused on building and developing sustainable packaging products, to the extent that we won a major international award in 2020 as well as an Australasian award.” Rob says Punchbowl Investments, in which he is heavily involved, has investments in a number of Kiwifruit orchards, both as majority and minority shareholder. It is also the second largest investor in Rockit Global Ltd, which has the global rights to the Rockit plant variety, a mix between a Gala apple and a Gala Splendor cultivar apple. Punchbowl Group employs about eighty permanent staff, taking on an additional 200 seasonal staff for pruning, harvest and packing. “We have a serious focus on the local region,” Rob says. “More and more we are becoming a significant employer in the area and we see it important to give back to the local community. We have been supplying fruit to schools over the last couple of years. Kiwi fruit is one of the nutritiously dense fruits you can eat.”
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