New Zealand’s biggest supermarket business has begun construction of a new $70 million chilled and frozen food distribution centre on airport business park land in Auckland.
Foodstuffs North Island chief executive Chris Quin said it was developing a 28,128sq m warehouse across the road from the grocery co-operative’s new support centre at Māngere.
Foodstuffs has leased the site at The Landing from Auckland Airport on a 25-year term and Quin said the businesses were working together.
The project, to be the size of four rugby fields, would “future-proof” the upper North Island’s food and grocery supply chain, he said.
The opening is planned for early 2028 but four years of planning have already gone into the scheme.
David Boersen, wholesale, supply chain and infrastructure senior manager, said the hub would have two concrete floors: a structural floor slab and a freezer slab, with a barrier in between.
Quin said Foodstuffs planned to sell its existing Wiri distribution centre on Nesdale Ave, moving around 250 staff to Māngere in three years’ time.
Macrennie Construction is working on the new chilled and frozen distribution centre site.
It is on Paitai Way, which runs off Landing Drive, down from George Bolt Memorial Drive.
Foodstuffs North Island’s support centre is at 35 Landing Drive, which it shifted to from Mt Roskill in early 2021.
That headquarters has a 7.7ha ambient distribution centre. A fresh-produce hub is nearby.
With chilled and frozen goods to be stored across the road from the HQs, this will be the first time all Foodstuffs North Island goods are in one location.
Quin said the new chilled and frozen centre would more than double Foodstuffs North Island’s storage and distribution capacity.
The Wiri base was now at capacity and operating beyond its intended design, he said.
“When I look out over this site, I see the capacity to care for our upper North Island customers. This will be a lot more pleasant and safer for the team. New Zealand’s population will grow at least 1% annually, so we have got to keep up,” Quin said.
The development aims to support long-term growth and allow Foodstuffs to better manage increasing product volumes and cater to demand for the next 25 years, he said.
Retail and property general manager Lindsay Rowles said the new hub would service 182 supermarkets in Northland, Auckland, the Waikato and the Bay of Plenty.
Auckland Airport chief commercial officer Mark Thomson welcomed arrangements between the two businesses.
“Once complete, this world-class facility with sustainable design features is set to contribute to the growth of South Auckland and strengthen the scale and capability of our industrial portfolio,” Thomson said.
At Hornby in Christchurch, Foodstuffs South Island is this month opening a new $28m frozen distribution centre to increase capacity 222% from the existing 2800 pallets of food stored at the headquarters to 6240 pallets.
Foodstuffs North Island Paitai Way chilled, frozen food distribution centre
Anne Gibson has been the Herald‘s property editor for 25 years, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.