HANSELLS' sale to New Zealand company Old Fashioned Foods is "very good news" for the Masterton factory, says managing director Stuart Walker.
"It is very good news," Mr Walker said yesterday.
Mr Walker said it would be "too early to tell" if there would be any job losses from the change in
ownership, but "I don't see why there would be".
"It's a complementary fit between the businesses, with very little duplication."
Mr Walker, of Auckland, is himself a shareholder in Old Fashioned Foods, so he said has a "strong personal vested interest" in seeing the deal succeed.
Mr Walker said that Old Fashioned Foods managing director Ross MacKenzie is a "very innovative" food technologist.
Old Fashioned Foods makes Aunt Betty's traditional desserts, but they have also been producing new products like Alpha-1 rice bran oil.
Mr MacKenzie was named exporter of the year in 2000.
Masterton staff were among the first to know of the sale when Mr Walker flew in especially to tell them on Tuesday.
Hansells makes and packages powdered and concentrated drinks, soup mixes, spices and baking needs including flavoured essences.
Its brands include Vita-Fresh, Quench, Thriftee and Jungle Juice, and home-made yoghurt brand Yog-It.
Operations manager Dave Owen said Masterton staff had been "kept in the loop" as the sale progressed, and were "not particluarly anxious", although there was "always a little uncertainty".
Mr Owen repeated what Mr Walker had said in July, that any buyer of Hansells Masterton factory would be buying "for the right reasons ? to invest in it".
As the changeover continued, Mr Owen said it would be "nice to have this all settled and behind us".
Senior manufacturer Bruce Gordon said Hansells had been "sold to a reputable New Zealand company".
Mr Gordon said the staff had not been worried during the time the company was on sale.
"The staff here are very loyal. Eight to 10 years (of employment) is nothing unheard of. They're a good company to work for."
