A new $3.5 million coolstore space is being built in Te Puke as Trevelyan's Pack and Cool Ltd prepare to handle a record kiwifruit crop from orchardists who are putting the Psa crisis behind them.
The fast-growing company already has 26 coolstores on its 20ha site on No 1 Rd, Te Puke, but is building another three new state-of-the-art coolstores and extending three more to cope with booming Gold3 production.
By March next year, an additional 2784 m2 of coolstore space will have been created to house fruit produced by Trevelyan's growers.
Coolstore manager Mike McCauley says the concrete pad for one new coolstore was laid in 2010 in anticipation of a large harvest. But the project was put on hold when the devastating kiwifruit vine disease, Psa, was first discovered in November of that year.
"Thankfully this new variety, Gold3, is Psa-tolerant compared to its predecessor, Hort16A, which was highly susceptible. Psa is now under control and orchardists have a large gold crop coming on which we're gearing up for," McCauley says.