42 | Trevelyan’s Pack and Cool � Russell Fredric Optimising returns for growers Trevelyan’s provides quality growing, picking, packing, cool storage and technical support for its kiwifruit and avocado growers. “The window of getting the fruit off the vine is very limited, so you have to make sure you’ve got both the capability and capacity to pick the fruit, bring it to the site, pack it, and then store the fruit.” REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Trevelyan’s Pack and Cool is the largest single-site kiwifruit and avocado packing operation in New Zealand. Four export packhouses, one local market packhouse, and 43 state-of-the-art cool stores are strategically spread over 30 hectares to provide efficiency and ease of management on its Te Puke site. Established in 1971, Trevelyan’s provides quality growing, picking, packing, cool storage and technical support for its kiwifruit and avocado growers. The Trevelyan’s managed orchard (TMO) team is managed by Dan McKenney, who says the business is currently managing about 360 hectares of kiwifruit and 40 hectares of avocado. Trevelyan’s Pack and Cool packs around 20 million trays of kiwifruit and one million trays of avocado annually. For kiwifruit, the harvest period for red is mid- to late-February, gold varieties around March to May, and green, mid-March to early June. Avocados are typically exported from August to February, but the local market tends to run year-round with a small lull in January. Trevelyan’s marketing and communications manager, Sacha Koster, says its managed orchard contract model is designed with flexibility in mind, “because we understand that the needs of orchard owners may change, so we don’t lock growers into long-term contracts”. This approach allows growers to confidently plan for the future of their orchard, with all contracts termed seasonally and re-signed annually, giving growers the control they need. Trevelyan’s high level of engagement with growers includes having highly qualified technical support and laboratory teams monitoring and analysing specific scientific trials and orchard-specific data, implementing the latest industry developments and information garnered from orchards and the packhouse. All insights are shared with growers and the internal team, with the goal of creating successful processes and thereby production, packing and storage to optimise returns for their growers. Trevelyan’s employs about 300 permanent and 1300 seasonal staff during the kiwifruit harvest season, which is an intensely busy time, Sacha says. “The window of getting the fruit off the vine is very limited, so you have to make sure you’ve got both the capability and capacity to pick the fruit, bring it to the site, pack it, and then store the fruit. We have, spread over the 30-hectare site, 43 cool stores and 12 controlled- atmosphere rooms, providing ample room. “ INDUSTRIAL | COMMERCIAL | AUTOMATION 07 578 0050 logit@emacelectrical.co.nz www.emacelectrical.co.nz Trevelyan’s Pack & Cool ojifs.com Proudly supplying quality corrugated packaging to Packaging Central | +64 6 367 6800 | casectrl@ojifs.com RSE (recognised seasonal employer) workers are a valued part of the business. “We warmly welcome RSE workers as part of the Trevelyan’s workforce. They integrate seamlessly into both the orchard work and across our wider site. “Many of our RSE workers return year after year, with some families joining us across generations. We place a strong focus on their wellbeing, providing holistic support and care, as they are a vital part of the Trevelyan’s business,” Sacha says. About 99 % of the kiwifruit packed by Trevelyan’s is exported. Dan says last season, the overall volume of fruit produced was up across most varieties, with the harvests being underpinned by a good supply of labour. He says that this season there were some challenges, due to some significant heavy rain events which made managing the workload within the kiwifruit sector challenging; however, it has not negatively impacted the fruit. “We were on the back foot for a little while, but we’ve had a really good run for the last few weeks,” says Dan. For kiwifruit, the current expectation for this season is forecasted to exceed $5 billion in global sales from more than 200 million trays exported. Avocado is also looking promising, with an earlier start to this season than normal, and fruit being exported to a greater variety of markets.
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