T&G commissions state-of-the-art automated apple packhouse in New Zealand

T&G Global has unveiled its cutting-edge automated packhouse in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand.

Situated at the Whakatū site, this state-of-the-art facility boasts an impressive 1.7 hectares of roof space, making it one of the largest apple packhouses in the Southern Hemisphere.

Once its two-phase construction is complete, the packhouse will have the capacity to pack over 125 million kilograms of apples per season, doubling the current volume.

This development aligns with T&G Global's ambition to meet the growing global demand for high-quality apples from New Zealand.

In line with T&G's commitment to sustainability and kaitiakitanga (guardianship), the packhouse adheres to rigorous environmental standards. It features 1,200,000-litre water tanks, enabling the facility to capture and manage large rainwater volumes, preventing immediate discharge into the public stormwater system. This not only minimises the strain on the local rivers and stormwater infrastructure but also allows T&G to utilise the collected water for onsite irrigation of trees and vegetation.

Additionally, the packhouse incorporates an advanced filtration system that reduces water consumption from its own bore, ensuring that the discharged water meets drinking quality standards.

T&G Global Chief Executive, Gareth Edgecombe, says: 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 market in an excellent condition.

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.

We see this packhouse playing a key role in helping create increased value from Aotearoa 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 our premium Envy™ brand, which is on track to be a billion-dollar brand by 2027. Many of our independent grower partners have done the same. By building this packhouse we can accommodate this increased volume and help support the domestic and export growth of the region, sector and nation.