EastPack to invest $15m in Bay plants

The EastPack packing plant in Te Puke is set for investment, along with the company's other facilities in Te Puke and Opotiki. Photo / File

A multimillion-dollar expansion by kiwifruit company EastPack will provide new employment opportunities in the Bay, its chairman says.

The grower-owned kiwifruit post-harvest company is to invest around $15 million in new packing and cool storage capacity to meet volume growth.

The expansion includes installing a new nine-lane grader and a new coolstore for up to 2 million trays at its Washer Rd, Te Puke, facility in time for the 2015 season.

EastPack will also increase coolstore capacity at Collins Lane, Te Puke, for an additional 400,000 trays and expand its Opotiki coolstore to provide capacity for an extra 500,000 trays.

EastPack chairman Ray Sharp said as the industry recovered from Psa it was about to experience the steepest increase in fruit volume it had ever faced - and as New Zealand's largest post-harvest supplier, EastPack was making significant capital investment in quality equipment and infrastructure to meet that growth.

Mr Sharp said EastPack's initial 2015 crop estimates indicated total volume to be between 29.5 million to 31.0 million trays, up from 24.6 million in 2014.

"Industry-wide, volume is expected to increase from 93 million trays in 2014 to approximately 140 million trays by 2018 as Sungold (G3) rapidly progresses to full production. This will place considerable pressure on critical industry infrastructure," Mr Sharp said.

"As well as significant capital investment in high quality plant and equipment, our expansions will provide employment opportunities for people within our communities, and increase career opportunities for some who are already part of the EastPack team.