70 | REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Power Solutions Otago T T Aimee Wilson Simplifying power supply the company’s goal “People like to have their own private network, and they do a lot to have some control of their own infrastructure.” Hitting the sweet spot Jackson Orchards has built a model that balances risk through diversity. Jackson Orchards T T Kim Bowden Kevin Jackson was probably driving a tractor before he could legally drive a car. Born in 1942, the fourth-generation orchardist has spent more than eight decades between the rows, watching Central Otago’s horticulture sector shift from local supply to export-driven juggernaut. But at Jackson Orchards in Cromwell, the strategy has pivoted back to where it all began. “I’ve gone full circle,” Kevin says of his current operation. His great-great-grandfather planted the family’s first trees in Alexandra in the 1860s, and Kevin grew up on a 37-acre mixed orchard growing more than 100 varieties for nearby buyers. After purchasing his own operation in the Cromwell gorge in the late 1960s, he narrowed his focus to a single crop — apricots, largely for export. The construction of the Clyde Dam forced a move to his current site at the entrance to Cromwell — historic land originally fenced by pioneer William Jackson Barry — and eventually, a rethink of the business model. Five years ago, Kevin stopped exporting altogether, citing higher costs and tougher compliance as the catalysts. There was an upside for Kiwi fruit lovers. “Cutting off the export side of it lifted the quality of our product for the local market,” he says. Jackson Orchards now runs what Kevin believes is one of the longest harvests in the country, stretching six months from the first cherries in mid-November to the final pip fruit in mid-May. Its domestic supply chain now spans orchard-gate sales, Foodstuffs supermarkets — Power Solutions Otago has grown to having one of the larger customer-initiated contracts with Aurora in the Queenstown Lakes and Central Otago districts. Electrical distribution design and installation is a key focus for the company, and owners Mark Laming, Ed Trombik and Alex Gaffaney thrive on the new challenges presented to them by developers, businesses, councils and investors. The Wanaka-based company has 16 staff, all working on a wide range of projects, such as the 200 new lots in the Three Parks retail development, and three different Queenstown developments for the Gibbons company. These include the Lakeside villas on Frankton Road, the Crest Chalets on Hansen Rd and studio apartments on Boundary Street. Mark says a lot of their recent work has been involved with high-density housing, and the team offers a complete across-the-board electrical solution, from design to installation. Because turning on the power is the final thing needed for clients to receive their 224C supply confirmation letter, there is constant pressure and deadlines to meet. “That has always been the end goal with subdivisions,” Mark says. But Power Solutions Otago has streamlined the process between client and power company to have the 224c signed off in days, rather than weeks and months as it has been in the past. Mark says the only restraint can be the supply of material – transformers can take anywhere from six weeks to five months to arrive. Cable is imported, and due to demand can take up to seven weeks. Mark found a gap in the market when he started the business back in 2018, providing efficient, streamlined, design-to-installation services across the electrical industry in Queenstown Lakes. Services are now right across the board and in every corner of the district – from downtown Queenstown to a private lifestyle property in the hills near Springvale. Mark says their business has had some big years of growth, and it has been an approved contractor on the Aurora network since 2022. But Power Solutions Otago still has room to grow to become more efficient, and offer more services to its wide range of clients. including under the Pams brand — fresh-produce cooperative Market Gardeners, and a mail-order business. It’s within the mail-order database that Kevin sees consumer trends most clearly. For decades, particularly in the 1980s and 90s, the industry prioritised appearance over taste to satisfy overseas markets. “We planted a lot of new varieties which had good appearance but not such great flavour,” he says. Now, “a flood” of consumers are seeking out heritage varieties such as the Moorpark apricot and Greengage plum. During peak demand, Kevin will even buy fruit from other growers to keep up. Meanwhile, he thinks the newest varieties coming onto the market are finally hitting the sweet spot: robust, good-looking fruit that also delivers that old-fashioned flavour profile people want. On his 37-hectare property — roughly 90 acres, more than double the 37 acres of his youth — cutting-edge grading technology underpins the operation. The packhouse grader takes 70 photographs of every single piece of fruit, instantly analysing key characteristics to direct a softer peach to the local shop and a firmer one to Auckland. The business employs 25 or so permanent staff and manages a seasonal crew of approximately 100 — a workforce boosted by the orchard’s proximity to town rather than reliance on the RSE scheme. Kevin has built a model that balances risk through diversity. Alongside the mix of fruit grown, the business now relies on a range of revenue streams, including farm tours using electric open-sided vehicles. 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