Ardern and Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor guests, staff and farmers then tasted Pure South venison cooked by chef Graham Hawkes.
“This plant shows how serious we are about New Zealand’s deer industry. It ensures we have world- class modern facilities, reflecting our position as a leading and innovative processor,” Alliance chief executive David Surveyor said.
“Venison is a vital part of our growing business. In addition to our long-standing European markets we are diversifying venison into the United States and United Kingdom food service sectors with value-added propositions. We are capturing greater market value and passing these gains on to our farmer shareholders.”
The new plant has design innovations, improved handling facilities, enhanced configuration, a larger slaughter board, wider boning room and a bigger offal area than at the former Makarewa plant in Southland. It began processing in September and employs 70 people at peak.
