ContainerCo is developing a new $10 million container depot in the industrial Napier suburb of Pandora.
The firm's managing director Ken Harris said the 5ha site on Mersey St was necessary for increasing Hawke's Bay exports.
"We have seen significant growth in the need for shipping company and shipper-related services in recent years and we expect this to continue," he said.
"The new site will future-proof our presence in Hawke's Bay."
The new depot will accommodate more than 5000 TEU (20-foot equivalent container units) and include on site rail facilities that will reduce the company's reliance on road transport.
He said the company was keen to make it an open rail siding, available for others to use.
A large part of the investment will be the installation of electricity for refrigerated containers to meet rising demand for them increasing for horticultural exports.
The Mersey St depot will consolidate two ContainerCo Napier facilities - the Austin St and Battery Rd container depots.
"Residents near the Battery Rd site will no doubt be particularly pleased by the news of the pending move.
"We have worked hard to minimise impacts associated with activity in the Ahuriri mixed-use zone, and are appreciative that Ahuriri residents have worked closely with us in that regard. However, all would agree that moving operations to the new site in an industrial zone is a preferred outcome."
Sandra and Robert Codd never complained about the Ahuriri depot they overlook, but said they are very relieved noisy operations will move away.
"You get banging if they are fixing anything and sometimes we can't sit on our deck, because it just gets to us," she said.
Mr Harris said the Ahuriri site would continue to be operated until the new depot was operational and would be retained by ContainerCo, possibly as a secure-storage facility for the public.
The company has consulted with a group of residents since the depot's noise became an issue several years ago.
"We have a lot of respect for the time and contribution made by the residents. We were able to adapt our operations increasingly to minimise the impacts."
He said the company operated noise monitoring equipment and took a variety of measures including shifting to "quieter tools" and creating noise barriers.
"They were very firm about their expectations and we were very firm about trying to meet them."
Six years ago the site was an eyesore because of thousands of unwanted tyres posing a major fire threat.
The tyres were gathered as part of a private export business which failed when recession hit. The cost of removing them was more than $1m.