The new vehicle is a generation four, Mercedes ambulance.
''It's a single stretcher ambulance that we've gone over to the past few years. It's got a lot more safety features for our staff to work in, better seating, seatbelting for them, rather than how they used to be, unbelted standing up working on patients,'' he said.
''That's a much better position for staff to be able to care for patients safely.''
The ambulance has a power load stretcher which will help reduce staff back injuries.
''Ambulances improve each time - the lighting in the back and the gear storage just improves each time so we are really pleased to have the latest model in Te Puke.
''It's the safest ambulance for our staff to work in, and the most comfortable ride for patients.''
Jeremy said St John is funded by the Crown - through ACC and the Ministry of Health - to provide an ambulance service.
''But funding equates to about two-thirds of the cost of providing the ambulance service, so there's a significant gap and gifts like this make an important difference.''
He said the district that covers the Te Puke, Tauranga and Mount has a very high workload and a big fleet.
''What we want to do is get the best lifespan out of these ambulances we can, and this one will be here for the first part of its life.''
Peter, the former Zespri chairman who will take over as Fonterra chairman in November, has strong links with Te Puke, his family having moved here in 1979.
He said Trinity Lands started to develop kiwifruit orchards in the area 20 years ago, so it was ''a big day'' to be donating an ambulance that will benefit the Te Puke community.
He acknowledged the work of orchard managers and staff.
''They generate the revenue that enables us to do things like this,'' he said.
''It is really important that we participate in the local community. We try to identify where the gaps are and for us essential services are really important.''
This year the company will donate $11 million to charitable projects.
Trinity Lands also made donations to local schools and is the largest of a number of corporate supporters of EmpowermentNZ.
Trinity Lands has around 195 canopy hectares of kiwifruit, 169ha of Sungold and 26ha of Hayward Green. It also farms 6400 hectares of dairy land, carrying around 12,000 livestock. Annual milk production is around 6 million kg.
The new ambulance is the second to be donated to St John Te Puke in the past 12 months after The Eleos Home Trust paid for a new ambulance which was handed over in September last year.
