Indevin confirms wine bottling operations to move from Māngere, 35 redundancies expected

Indevin chief executive Duncan McFarlane says the company will expand its relationship with WineWorks.

Wine company Indevin has confirmed plans to change its Auckland bottling operations and now about 35 staff could be made redundant.

The company has pledged to support staff and explore new job opportunities as it prepared to move bottling from Māngere.

As the Herald reported last year, Indevin’s target="_blank">purchase of the Villa Maria brand meant some big changes.

Chief executive Duncan McFarlane indicated last June that half of Villa Maria’s bottling would move to the UK.

Indevin today said after a five-month search, due diligence and exploring various options, the company would expand its relationship with Kiwi company WineWorks to support its remaining New Zealand bottling.

WineWorks is based in Ōnehunga, also in Auckland.

All remaining Indevin New Zealand bottling operations will be moving to WineWorks, most being done at WineWorks Auckland.

McFarlane said the decision considered higher-than-expected costs of establishing a standalone operation.

Indevin Group acquired Villa Maria in 2021. Photo / Michael Craig

He said the decision also took into account the need to secure more volume with customers, difficulty in finding a suitable property and a compelling proposal from WineWorks, which included job opportunities for some Indevin staff.

“As a longstanding partner for the past 20 years, we will expand our relationship with WineWorks, another New Zealand-owned business with a strong commitment to quality and people,” McFarlane added.

“As part of this process 35 roles will be disestablished, and Indevin is actively working with the teams on positions available with WineWorks, redeployment opportunities within Indevin, other industry opportunities and outplacement support.”

He said the Villa Maria brand was doing well under Indevin ownership.

Local bottling operations would move to WineWorks on July 1 and McFarlane said the Villa Maria brand would still be held to the highest quality standards.

He said Indevin would gradually reduce operations at Māngere.

That included decommissioning the winery, warehouse, bottling line, office, and grounds.

Indevin said staff were informed of the decision in an email today.

“We understand that this process has taken longer than initially anticipated, and we appreciate everyone’s patience during this period,” a copy of the email said.

“Our initial plan was to establish our own bottling operations at a new site, provided we could replace the UK volume, attract third-party bottling customers, and ensure the long-term economic viability of a standalone operation.”

The email added: “Earlier today, we met with the Māngere bottling and operations teams to let them know of the decision and seek their feedback on elements of how this change will be implemented.”

An exit from the Mangere site was expected in November 2024.

In the email, McFarlane said he acknowledged the impact of the changes and thanked all staff.

McFarlane last June said the Māngere plant had about 60 fulltime staff across warehousing and bottling.

At the time he said Villa Maria staff not involved in production would move to Indevin’s Newmarket office.

Indevin Group said overall it had more than 575 employees across its portfolio.

McFarlane previously told the Herald transporting wine to the UK without the weight of bottles meant a two-thirds reduction in carbon emissions.

Indevin said it sourced grapes from Marlborough, Hawke’s Bay, and Gisborne.

The company bought Villa Maria Estate Ltd from its parent company FFWL, which was placed into receivership in May 2021.