Robots come to Dannevirke

The mayor of Tararua says she expects a big spend by meat company Alliance Group will benefit the region by making the plant’s future secure.

Tracey Collis said Alliance’s plan to spend $10.6 million on putting robots into the plant and re-vamping the boning room is great for Dannevirke.

‘‘There are to be no redundancies with the new equipment but, I guess, as people retire, they are unlikely to be replaced.’’

Collis said the technology input was a good thing for the town.

‘‘It could benefit local builders though, I guess, with the robot equipment there will be specialists who designed the equipment who will come.’’

But she said the injection of more than $10m meant security of jobs at the meat plant, and security of jobs among suppliers.

Alliance group will install robotic cutting machinery, which the meat company said would result in higher product yields and better productivity.

Alliance chief executive David Surveyor said the technology would result in highly efficient production runs and it was vital that the gains were made in meat processing. ‘‘This technology is also more advanced than any other system in New Zealand and will ensure we can deliver greater accuracy, better yields and minimise waste.’’

Alliance said the custom-built primal/middle cutting technology featured an X-ray unit that analysed each carcass and ‘‘told’’ the two cutting machines where to cut.

Surveyor said circular cutting blades rather than bandsaws would result in improved hygiene and less strain for workers.

The technology is already in place at the company’s Smithfield site in Timaru and Pukeuri site in Oamaru. ‘‘The investment is also good news for the Dannevirke community and our farmer shareholders in the region. The plant is a vital part of our business and we’re pleased with the operational performance. The hard-working team and our farmer shareholders deserve a lot of credit for this success.’’

Alliance is a farmer owned cooperative with about 5000 farmer shareholders. It is the world’s largest processor and exporter of sheepmeat.