T&G Global has commissioned one of the largest apple packhouses in the Southern Hemisphere at its Whakatū site in Hawke’s Bay.
With 1.7 hectares of roof space, the highly automated facility can pack more than 125 million kilograms of apples per season once its two phased-construction is complete, twice the volume of apples currently packed.
T&G Global Chief Executive, Gareth Edgecombe, said the world-class packhouse had been built to help meet future global consumer demand for premium apples from Aotearoa, New Zealand.
“This state-of-the-art post-harvest facility will be instrumental in enabling us to manage increased volume growth, lift productivity and ensure our fruit arrives in the market in an excellent condition,” said Edgecombe.
“The packhouse, which cost close to $100 million, is being commissioned in two phases and integrates leading automation and technology, from the wet infeed area and defect sorting to soft fruit handling technology and robotic fruit packers and palletisers, enabling us to do more with less.
Edgecombe continued that the facility and installing the first 220-metre packing line was a testament to the team, and the team effort involved in building the packhouse and delivering it on budget and on time while dealing with labour and material constraints during COVID-19 was remarkable.
The new facility will enable the Whakatū team to pack 90-100 bins per hour on one line, lifting the productivity rate to one per person per hour. When the second line is installed, 190 bins could be packed per hour, with a similar number of people.
The packhouse will play a key role in helping create increased value from New Zealand’s unique benefits and intellectual property. Over the last five years, T&G has redeveloped hundreds of hectares into modern 2D growing systems, with increased plantings of its premium Envy brand, which is on track to be a billion-dollar brand by 2027.
Many of T&G’s independent grower partners have done the same. By building this packhouse, the enterprise can accommodate this increased volume and help support the domestic and export growth of the region, sector and nation.
As part of T&G’s kaitiakitanga strategy and commitment, the packhouse has been designed with demanding sustainability standards to help conserve and protect New Zealand’s natural resources. It has 1,200,000 litre water tanks, enabling the packhouse to absorb significant downpours and remove this volume of water from flowing immediately into the public stormwater system. This allows the company to meter this water out, reducing the impact on the stormwater system and local rivers and using it for watering onsite trees and vegetation.
In addition, the packhouse’s filtration system allows for reduced water use from its bore, with final discharges being drinking quality standards.
