EastPack Ready for 2009 Kiwifruit Season

EastPack Ready for 2009 Kiwifruit Season with Investments to Lift Quality and Efficiency

EastPack, one of New Zealand’s largest and most modern integrated kiwifruit post harvest service providers, is readying for the start of the new season with $7 million of improvements in infrastructure and capabilities on its three sites to further lift quality, efficiency – and grower returns.

“We set out to work smarter and leaner in order to fully optimise quality, capacity and efficiencies across all our operations and sustain our record of delivering upper quartile Orchard Gate Returns and improved profitability to grower shareholders,” Chief Executive, Tony Hawken said.

“We know that growers are facing nervous times not only because of the market situation but also the rising costs of doing business. EastPack has to compete for supply and a point of difference is building on our reputation for improving out- turns and reducing fruit loss by consistently delivering quality Green and Gold Kiwifruit efficiently to the marketer. That meant continuing our upgrading programme despite the difficult economic times.”

Mr Hawken said EastPack, which is due to report its full year result in April, had a better 2008 year financially and was operating a strong balance sheet.

“We consider the ongoing investment in quality and efficiency at our three Bay of Plenty sites and in recruiting skilled staff as essential for business sustainability and profitability. Quality pays dividends and reduces rework, costs and inefficiencies.”

EastPack operates the world’s single biggest post harvest facility for Gold kiwifruit at its Te Puke site and a significant portion of the infrastructure upgrade this year has been on a new 400,000 tray coolstorage complex on this site. Also on this site, after a successful trial with an automated stacking and strapping system using two robots, the packing process is being further automated.

EastPack is also spending $2 million this year to upgrade the Opotiki facility to handle 3 million tray local supply by building a new 500,000 tray coolstore complex while the Edgecumbe site has upgraded its bin tip and in-feed grading table system to better handle Gold kiwifruit.

“Ongoing capital investment will ensure that we have the appropriate infrastructure, cost saving technologies and management in place to pack and store 16.5-17.0 million trays in the upcoming 2009 kiwifruit season to fully utilise capacity,” Mr Hawken said. “We will start the new season in a good position firmly focused on improving operations, bringing costs down both on and off orchard and lifting returns and profits by being a leader in quality and efficiencies.”

ENDS

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