Business Rural North Summer 2021

56 | The Tuakau site. RURAL SERVICES » GrainHub At a time when international supply chains are strained, having a New Zealand-owned stock food company up and running and able to supply pre- mium domestic product is a real positive. Having grown up on a farm and previously worked in the dairy sector as a sharemilker and equity partner, Darren has an excellent grounding in agriculture. He also worked for a stock food com- pany before establishing GrainHub with two other stock feed specialists in September 2018. “We try to keep things as easy as possible by offering good known products to our farmers rather than bombarding them with too much complication and we’re happy to offer guidance as needed.” Today, GrainHub employs 20 staff members, who work as a close knit team. “Many have come from within industry and have a lot of experience in grain drying and maize handling; we’re lucky to have such a great team.” Grainhub’s production output is impressive, with around 14,000 tonnes a year made at Tuakau and with a similar tonnage supplied from the company’s manufacturing and distribution centre at Woodville. In the drying season, around 18,000 tonnes of maize is dried at Tuakau. Storage silos on site have enough capacity for some 20,000 tonnes of maize. Most of the maize being dried and stored is from the Waikato and north of Auckland. “We’re building our own grower base and actively working to in- crease it at Tuakau; we’re looking for new growers as we go.” GrainHub has stringent grain processing and handling procedures and is FeedSafe NZ accred- ited and audited to industry standards. Adhering to industry good practice is central to maintaining quality, Darren observes. Constant testing ensures final finished product is of a premium standard. “We’re very serious about making sure quality is right at every step in the process.” • From page 54. “We try to keep things as easy as possible by offering good known products.” www.becfeed.co.nz 0800 232 123 NUTRITION SOLUTIONS TO ENHANCE PERFORMANCE Phosphate & Mineral Solutions. Organic Selenium (Selisseo ® ). Mainstay ® Range for New Zealand. c© &ÚËê× ËąÚ Ä êÄ×Ú½½½ ÚÄ¤ Ë£ animal nutrition solutions, designed, sourced and blended to support ËêÚ Dö ~½Ä êÞæËÃÚÞɬ ÄÞɁ s êÄÚÞæÄ ËêÚ ÚË½ ¬Ä æ© ©êÃÄ £ËË ©¬Ä Ä Þ Þê©ȼ ¬æ ¬Þ ËêÚ õ¬Þ¬ËÄ æË create a better world through improving the diets of animals and people. On Farm Evaluation & Service. BEC Feed Solutions is a relative newcomer to New Zealand but brings vast experience and expertise to the local industry. Established in Queensland, Australia in 1987, BEC Feed Solutions initially specialised in rural commodities, however the company quickly expanded into premix manufacturing and distribution of a range of feed ingredients and additives. BECFeedSolutionshasgrown signi icantlyandnowsupplyanextensive range of animal nutrition solutions into the stock feed industry across Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia. Through their network of international partners, BEC has the ability to access an extensive range of research and development expertise to deliver specialised new products and technology to the agriculture industry. New Zealand sales manager, Jason Ward, says BEC has developed considerable credibility among its New Zealand-wide client base since it was established here seven years ago. Before taking on his role with BEC, Jason had worked in the stock feed industry for about 20 years. “The business is doing really, really well here in New Zealand. We are really focused on service, and we are able to be very cost-competitive.” The New Zealand operation is supported by BEC’s team in Queensland to provide technical and Research and development is key nutritional advice. Jason and the BEC team can assist with questions on nutrition, advice on the range of BEC products, including the most appropriate and cost e ective feed, and about every day aspects of animal production. This includes dealing directly with clients to discuss the speci ic needs of their livestock across the full spectrum of agriculture, including large poultry operations. BEC also provides products and technical assistance to New Zealand bulk animal feed manufacturer Grainhub. While BEC supplies a broad range of premixed products, creating custommixes is becoming more common, Jason says. BEC’s technical team has an extensive knowledge of premix design, practical feed formulation and the ability to formulate precise custommixes based on blood sample analysis. In May this year BEC opened a new head o ice and state-of-the-art manufacturing facility. The new manufacturing plant incorporates the latest process control systems and state-of-the-art integrated packing line technology in a unique facility which has enabled the company to improve its production capacity, accuracy, e iciency, traceability and hygiene standards.