Napier’s $100m pet-food factory reopens after floods, pushes lofty goal

Ziwi CEO Stuart Irvine displays how high the floodwaters reached at the Awatoto factory. Photo / Warren Buckland

Ziwi’s $100 million mega pet-food factory in Napier is back operating following Cyclone Gabrielle, as the company pushes ahead with plans to become one of the region’s biggest employers.

The huge plant in Awatoto is the biggest pet food facility in the country.

It had only been open six months when chest-high floodwaters tore through the factory - and nearby businesses - on February 14, shutting down the plant.

Last month, the factory roared back to life following a roughly $30 million repair job to replace damaged equipment and get the plant operational again.

The plant has two main processing lines and one of those lines is back to full production, operating 24-seven.

The plant even set a record last week, producing over 40 tonnes of premium pet food in a single week.

“In the fourth week of operating 24-seven, we have now hit a record that we did not achieve before the floods,” Ziwi CEO Stuart Irvine said.

“It just speaks volumes of the commitment of our people here.”

Irvine, who joined the company after the cyclone, said Ziwi was pushing ahead with big plans for Hawke’s Bay.

Ziwi CEO Stuart Irvine next to concrete slabs which had to be pulled out of the factory as part of the rebuild. Photo / Warren Buckland

Irvine said the factory currently employed around 120 people which could triple in the future, when capacity was increased and a new cannery factory under construction at the front of the Awatoto site was opened.

“At the end of that we will have 250 to 300 people and as we get bigger we are going to have 300 to 400 people here in Hawke’s Bay.”

While production has returned, the amenities and administration block is still under repair, and a makeshift block has been created for staff to use in the meantime.

The company was formerly based out of Tauranga, where it was plagued by complaints about bad odours, but announced in 2020 it was shifting to Hawke’s Bay.

It still has a packaging site in Tauranga, smaller facilities in Hawke’s Bay and Christchurch, and a headquarters in Auckland.

Irvine said the company was not regretting the decision to jump cities, but would be working closely with councils in Hawke’s Bay and neighbouring businesses to “get a bit more resilience into the infrastructure”.

“Whether that is stopbanks, swales, stuff that we can build, or stuff that we can do with our neighbours to help protect ourselves down here - that is something we have to work on for our future business.”

Ziwi, which was insured for the flooding, exports its premium pet food products to 35 countries with its biggest markets being the US, China and Australia.

The plant in the Awatoto industrial area features a roughly $10 million scrubber system which prevents bad odours from being released.

Mana Ahuriri Trust were down at the site on Tuesday holding a cleansing ceremony and karakia as part of the reopening.

Gary Hamilton-Irvine is a Hawke’s Bay-based reporter who covers a range of news topics including business, councils, breaking news and cyclone recovery. He formerly worked at News Corp Australia.