28 | Demand drives upgrades Pure Pac is planning key upgrades to increase capacity and capability. T T Hugh de Lacy New apricots creating a buzz with consumers Pure Pac T T Russell Fredric REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Ardgour Valley Orchards Central Otago cooperative cherry processor Pure Pac is planning key upgrades that will include artificial intelligence technology to increase its capacity and capability, orchard manager James Huffadine says. “We’ve always had plans, when we’re getting above 1000 tonnes of volume, that we’re going to have to make some adjustments to the building so this year we are planning on putting in a cold storage extension for our inwards side so we can hold more product.” Pure Pac’s modern packhouse in Felton Road, Bannockburn, will be expanded to double the existing coolstore capacity from 40 tonnes to 80 tonnes to allow for increased volumes to be processed. Although Pure Pac packs primarily for its own growers, it has started processing some third party volume and is keen to expand this market which adds to the need for more capacity. “This year we had a one group that had managed their own harvest and transport to our facility. Pure Pac was acting as a third party and packing into their own brands and pack types. We have another external grower whose harvest and sales we manage into our own brands.” The cool store expansion will comprise a 200 square metre wing on the front of the inwards end of the packhouse, plus on the processing side, upgrades to software and the existing optical grader/sorter which is eight years old. “We are doing a whole array of upgrades to that side; there will be new cameras, lights and computers with new software that has AI built in.” This will significantly contribute to achieving a higher level of grading precision and reduced operational costs while reducing manual quality control. “We are going to get a lot more accuracy when it comes to grading the fruit. We will be able to pick up more defects that we can remove, and we will be able to pack a consistently more accurate grade.” “The other part of it is that you need a very highly skilled operator to keep the [existing] machine running right where you want to be. “The nice part about AI is that it’s going to help reduce some of the strain on that operator. The machine will be self-teaching to some extent on what you want for the parameters. It will be a more set-and-forget process.” The upgrade will add also enable cherries to be packed into in smaller pack and punnet sizes to meet demand for this in the New Zealand market. The first crop of a sweet and brightly coloured apricot have proved a hit in New Zealand and in target markets round the world for Central Otago fruit company Hortinvest – and its first crop of cherries haven’t done too badly either. Hortinvest is owned by Sharon and Ross Kirk who have brought landowners and investors together to establish new orchards so far totaling 245ha and 150,000 trees. And while the region’s famous cherries are a constant favourite, it’s the new varieties of apricot produced by Ardgour Valley Orchards that have come on-stream for the first time this year that are creating excitement among consumers and marketers alike. The new apricot varieties, for which names are being developed reflecting their flavour and sweetness, were bred 16 years ago by Plant and Food Research in Clyde, Central Otago, originally for the Asian market, and for Ardgour Valley Orchards, which is managed under contract by Hortinvest. Marketed this year under the generic Summerfruit brand, the apricots are non-climactic, meaning they don’t react to ethylene, and therefore have a longer shelf-life. They were showcased to foreign buyers at the Asia Fruit Logistica event in Hong Kong last September where they attracted great interest from global supermarket chains. “They’re really sweet with a sugar content of 14 to 25 brix; they’ve got a really attractive colour and have a great shelf life without becoming mealy, a complaint often levelled at traditional apricot varieties,” Sharon says. “We’ve had a wonderful reaction to the markets we’ve tested them in, including one Auckland supermarket, and others in Australia, Malaysia, the United States, Canada, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. “We spread them round the world, and the only negative reaction we’ve had is that we can’t yet produce enough of them.” Hortinvest established a 38ha orchard between 2020 and 2022 at Ardgour Station in the Ardgour Valley, Tarras, in a partnership with the station’s owner, Bruce Jolly, comprising 25ha of apricots and the rest a mix of red and white-fleshed cherries which were also harvested for the first time this year. The orchard produced about 50t of apricots - plus 20t of cherries - this year, contributing to a New Zealand summer-fruit industry goal of grossing $465m by 2035, including a six-fold increase in apricot returns to $69m. Hortinvest was earlier involved in the establishment of 164ha of cherries at Deep Creek, nearby in Central Otago. Both orchards are serviced by a purpose-built 4600m2 packhouse on Ardgour Station that employs 45 people throughout the main harvesting season from mid-December to late February. “All the fruit we harvested this year was of good quality despite the cherries being a bit affected by wind and rain, and the apricots by wind,” Sharon says. Sharon and Ross have complementary backgrounds and expertise, Sharon in marketing and logistics while Ross as a third-generation grower of all manner of summer-fruits, from apples and pears to grapes, melons, squash and kiwifruit. Sharon says that Ardgour Station is ideal for summer-fruit production, being a long, fertile valley with optimal growing days, excellent access to water and close to established transport and distribution networks. “Summer-fruit orchards, and the new varieties of apricots in particular, are an attractive proposition for land-owners and investors because under the fully-integrated system used the producer remains in control from the orchard to the consumer.” The trees will come into full production in the 2026-2027 season when output is expected to be about 450t. The several cherry varieties produced by Ardgour Valley Orchards include a distinctive white-fleshed variety named Stardust, which became available in small quantities this year. 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