8 | Family at heart of multi-generational The Thomas Bros orchard. Kim Newth When brothers Bill and Fred Thomas planted their rst kiwifruit vines on family land at the top of the South Island in 1976, they could scarcely have known just how successful their orcharding enterprise would be more than 40 years’ later. Kiwifruit grown by Thomas Bros at Riwaka is today not only sold into the domestic market but also exported to China, Europe and other countries around the world. Apples from the orchard go to markets in Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the US. The multi-generation business has 70 hectares in kiwifruit (40ha of green, 27ha of gold and with a couple of other varieties in development), 70 hectares in ve varieties of apples and two hectares in cherries. A drive to innovate through the years has resulted in a well-integrated operation that manages fruit seamlessly from harvest to packhouse to coolstore and then onto market. Bill and Fred remain a force to be reckoned with in the business, but now it’s the next generation doing the heavy lifting at Thomas Bros with Bill’s son Steve managing kiwifruit and logistics, his brother Mark managing apples and their cousin Paul managing post-harvest. Steve and Mark’s younger brother Daniel is stepping up into managing coolstores. “If you include all the partners and cousins, around 15 family members are working for Thomas Bros and most of them in key roles,” says Steve. “Fortunately, we all get along. As we continue growing, it means we have faith in the people we’re working with and can plan ahead.” A rewarding experience for the Thomas Bros team this year was being featured in an episode of Country Calendar. “Of course, Country Calendar is such a big part of Kiwi life and is our longest running TV series, so it was a real honour for us and they pretty much captured things as they are here.” Ingenuity has long been a de ning feature of this thriving family orchard business. Steve recalls how Bill and Fred borrowed “up to their necks” to build their rst packhouse only to have hail smack the kiwifruit harvest not long afterwards. They picked the fruit early and got it out to the local market a few weeks before anyone else and, in the end, did well in spite of the setback. HORTICULTURE » Thomas Bros Ltd A more recent example of ingenuity is the family’s substantial investment in smart packhouse automation. A MAF Roda European automated system was installed in the lead up to the last kiwifruit harvest. As Steve observes, nding short-term staff to process the fruit through the packhouse has become increasingly dif cult. An automated system for counting, weighing and packing the fruit helps solve that problem as well as enabling increased throughput. “We’re not looking to take away any permanent jobs – it’s really just to get us through that peak of the season.” Thomas Bros has worked with software solutions provider Radfords for many years now too and today uses integrated Radford products throughout their operation to streamline and future-proof the business. Steve says it is not only saving time but is also enabling them to incentivise their workforce by rewarding ef cient staff who are hitting their targets. Deans Truck Services Ltd Full Maintenance and Repairs on Trucks and Trailers E. deanstruckservices@xtra.co.nz | P. 03 528 8073 24 Hu am Street Motueka Ph: (03) 528 0040 www.cwsnz.co.nz SUPPLIERS OF HORTICULTURAL IRRIGATION NELSON TASMAN CompleteWaterSolutions
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