Job boost from new SFF plant

The Silver Fern Farms (SFF) Pareora freezing works can now offer its skilled employees full-time work across 52 weeks, rather than the seasonal work of the past, as a result of a new $7 million venison processing plant.

Seventy staff, shareholders and executives gathered at Pareora, south of Timaru, a week ago for the official opening of the plant, which processed its first animal on November 14 last year.

The new plant had been built to replace the meat co-operative’s Islington plant, which was on leased land and part of a business park at Belfast, Christchurch.

SFF co-chairman Rob Hewett said the freezing works contributed in excess of $200m to the local economy each year.

‘‘The efficiencies and benefits from the new venison plant are going to go a lot wider that just SFF. They will spread out into the community and New Zealand as well,’’ he said. ‘‘Now that Pareora is multi-species [venison, beef and lamb] we can leverage the opportunities for our communities and the people here and for our shareholders and suppliers.’’

Hewett acknowledged the local contractors who had built the plant in record time, all the while dealing with a working freezing works. Chief executive Dean Hamilton said the decision was made in May, last year, to close the Islington operation and focus on the new venison plant at Pareora. ’’Seven million was spent on the plant and upgrading the chillers so they could handle more animals,’’ he said.

New Zealand was a strong and stable country in terms of government, but also in exporting and had a good reputation of producing high-quality food, Minister for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Jacqui Dean said.