Employment lift for Te Aroha

Jason Graham. Photo / Christine Cornege

Silver Fern Farms will employ 150 new staff as it prepares to reopen its Te Aroha facility.

The plant will open with its first few animals at the end of July, more than six months after it was burned down and 300 workers either relocated or lost their jobs.

Waikato's largest meat processing company, which also operates plants in Waitoa and Paeroa, is recruiting processing workers to help its peak-season bobby calf processing between July and September.

Workers will then be relocated to the new Te Aroha cattle plant.

Once the Te Aroha site is fully operational, the Waitoa plant will return to operating five days. An additional shift was introduced after the fire so it could run every day to cover the gap left by the Te Aroha plant. The Paeroa facility traditionally closes after the bobby calf season.

The workforce at the Te Aroha plant will be boosted to 300 staff, with 150 coming from relocating the third shift at Waitoa to Te Aroha and 150 from the new recruits.

Silver Fern Farms Waikato hub manager Jason Graham said roading and installing cold storage were among the final work to be done at the state-of-the-art facility.

While the plant was only slightly bigger than the previous one, Mr Graham said the new technology, especially in the boning room, would increase production by 30 per cent.

"The first few animals will be processed there later in July. Initially we just want to get our export licences and bits and pieces certified, then after that we can start commissioning in earnest and building up towards the coming season."

Silver Fern Farms will employ about 700 staff - including 600 processing workers and 100 support staff - across Waikato's three hubs by November.

The biggest recruitment drive was occurring now but a further 30 to 50 staff will be employed once the Te Aroha site is completely up and running.

"Obviously, with the acquisition of the Waitoa Wallace plant this will be the most people Silver Fern has employed in the Waikato for a long time," Mr Graham said.

The company had planned to open the new plant in March but it was delayed after steel fittings had to be re-fabricated with the original deadline being based on a "best-case scenario".

Matamata-Piako mayor Hugh Vercoe said Silver Ferns was a significant employer and it was great that it was reinvesting in the community by building on the existing site, rather than a greenfield site.