Editorial: Silver Fern creates its own future

Many people probably feared the lights were about to be turned out on the meat processing industry in Hawke's Bay following the closure of the Ovation plant at Waipukurau this year.

It was a valid fear in the wake of 300 job losses at Ovation and with the ghost of the Whakatu and Tomoana closures still haunting us all these years later.

There is, however, still a future in meat processing that includes employment in Hawke's Bay. The jobs that are to be had are at the cutting edge of the industry, where innovation, technology and smart marketing of fresh produce are the buzz words.

Ovation's Hawke's Bay plant was mired in a time past. Its management conceded, and the Meatworkers Union accepted, that there was little market left for the frozen products the Ovation plant was designed to produce. The plant was shut down and the boning operation moved to Feilding.

This trend to kill off the giant meat plants of yore has been a shock to workers in the industry but it is hardly surprising. Ultimately, if you are not producing what consumers want, then you are doomed

Silver Fern Farms is showing what it takes to succeed in a competitive world and has enough belief in its direction to have made a significant new investment in Hawke's Bay.

On Friday, Silver Fern Farms announced it had purchased the Frasertown sheep-processing plant north of Wairoa. The unforseen move shows a deep level of confidence in the sheep-meat sector by the farmer-owned co-operative, which says it expects to need all 40 existing staff and possibly more.

A telling quote came from Silver Fern Farms chairman Eoin Garden, who said the purchase allowed the company to "show the initiative in the sector that sometimes appears to be operating within a leadership vacuum".

Initiative is what Silver Fern Farms has been relying on to grow its business and share of market.

It has clearly determined that a far better job can be done of producing cuts of fresh meat to meet consumer needs.

It takes a plate-to-paddock approach and delivers portion sizes, convenience, innovative packaging and information to consumers about what they are buying and eating.

At Takapau, where Silver Fern Farms employs up to 1000 workers, the company is now producing chilled branded lamb packs for 350 Tesco supermarkets to test a concept in the UK market that has worked in New Zealand.

That's faith in your own future.