Ballance Agri-Nutrients fertiliser firm starts work on Whangārei Hub

Kaumātua Dan Hauraki blesses the site of Ballance Agri-Nutrients' new Whangārei Hub on Port Rd.

Farm fertiliser giant Ballance Agri-Nutrients has started building its new hub in Whangārei, as part of the company's $50 million investment in Northland.

The new site, on Port Rd, was blessed in a pre-dawn ceremony last Thursday to mark the work.

The Whangārei Hub is phase two of more than $50m of investment into the Northland economy as part of Ballance's long-term intent in the region.

Ballance's existing site at 223 Kioreroa Rd will be upgraded to benefit Northland's expanding agricultural sector, including the fast-evolving horticulture industry, Shane Dufaur, Ballance's general manager operations and supply chain said.

Ballance will use the Kioreroa Rd site for blending, bagging and distribution to customers around Whangārei and is the central distribution hub for Northland.

The company's Marsden Point site, which opened in June, is a bulk storage and transitional facility for product coming directly from Northport, and a customer service centre.

"Kioreroa Rd will be a place where vital nutrients for food production are blended using world-leading technology, specifically designed for Northland farmers and growers in the wider region and our distribution network,'' Dufaur said.

"We will be transitioning from our current long-serving Port Rd site to the new site in the 2022/23 season. Ballance is focused on the future of farming and growing in Northland, that is why we have invested in precision automated technology and digital infrastructure that will enhance product quality and reliability of supply."

He said the Kioreroa Rd site was recently used as a drive-through centre to support the region's Covid-19 vaccination programme.

Operations will continue at the Port Rd site until Ballance commissions the new Kioreroa Rd facility.

The Kioreroa Rd site was previously owned by Argosy Property Limited.