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Food hub ready to go

With the i’s almost dotted and the t’s almost crossed, the construction of Foodeast will be underway by September. The building of Hawke’s Bay’s Food Innovation Network hub, the sixth in New Zealand, is expected to be completed by the end of 2022. It will be a place of innovation and connection, designed to add value to the region’s food,...

Hastings – like a big city but better

Hastings District is the centre for employment and economic growth and ready to strengthen its position as the economic powerhouse of Hawke’s Bay. Hastings District Council economic development manager Lee Neville says the thriving primary sector district has a new wave of industry and business launching from the solid economic foundations on offer. Lee points to Foodeast, a $18 million...

Hawke’s Bay Airport takes brave steps toward brighter horizon

Fortune favours the brave, and Hawke’s Bay Airports’ bold new net-zero emissions target is just part of the larger plan to be New Zealand’s most sustainable airport. Hawke’s Bay Airport Chief Executive, Stuart Ainslie, says the organisation is keen to do what it can to reduce the impacts of climate change and is confident it can reach its goal through...

App technology sets to clean up the competition

The increased spotlight on hygiene and cleaning standards has led to a Hawke’s Bay based commercial cleaning business launching a world-first cleaning app. Following two years of development and trials, The Clean Crew has launched an app guides its cleaning team through a job, with photography and video evidence verified by supervisors and available for the client. The Clean Crew...

Watties invest in pet food plant in revamp in Hastings

Wattie’s has completed a multi-million dollar upgrade of its Hastings pet food manufacturing site, positioning itself for future growth in the petfood industry. The pet food manufacturing facility in Tomoana, Hastings produces one of New Zealand’s leading household cat food brands Chef® as well as its other pet food brands Gourmet®, Champ® and a range of pet food products for...

3,2,1 blast off for Rockit

Rockit Global is using technology and innovations in other sectors such as the kiwifruit sector and fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) to combat the major growth trajectory of the miniature-sized apple. “The reason we can move like we are is that we look beyond the apple industry. We look at what other FMCG companies are doing, the likes of Heineken,...

Rockit – small but packing a mighty punch

t may only be 100 grams in size, but the world’s smallest commercial apple is packing one big punch across the world. With over 100 million apples packed in 2021 and forecasted growth of over 400 million apples packed by 2025, it doesn’t take rocket science to work out that Rockit Global Limited needed a multimillion-dollar purpose-built, automated post-harvest facility...

Rockit turns to Worley to deliver project to tight deadline

Developing a best-in-class, post-harvest facility has many moving parts and a high level of complexity. It relies on the lead project manager making sure it’s up and running in time for the ripe apple to be picked and packed, which is an unmovable deadline. Rockit Global Limited turned to Worley, a global leader in energy, chemicals and resources, which has...

Leaders in Automation for food procesing

MHM Automation designs and supplies automated systems for food processing. They understand the challenges processors face and develop solutions to deliver better quality product with improved food safety and reduced reliance on manual labour. The company is recognised as a technology leader, with its equipment installed for some of the world’s most prominent names in dairy and meat processing. For...

CR Automation raises the bar in post-harvest performance

CR Automation is quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with as a post-harvest engineering specialist. Founded in 2002 as an automation contracting company CR Automation has a track record of supporting local and international businesses in post-harvest produce handling, water & waste water, food & beverage, and manufacturing. CR Automation director Peter Richards says in 2016 CR expanded into...