In the picture: Bostock New Zealand owner John Bostock (left) and Mr Apple CEO Andrew Van Workum.

Two of Hawke’s Bay’s biggest apple exporters have teamed up to store apples, today opening the regions largest single rooms coolstore.

 Bostock New Zealand and Mr Apple have officially opened their new 8600m2 coolstore near Flaxmere, which has the capacity to store 30,000 bins.

Bostock New Zealand Owner, John Bostock says it’s very exciting to be opening a state of the art facility, which has the technology and innovation to provide customers with full traceability from the Hawke’s Bay orchards to consumers across the world.

“The apple industry is growing to meet international demand and every day we are working to ensure we have cutting edge technology to deliver premium apples to our customers.

“We are also happy to be offering more permanent and seasonal jobs, with 9 staff needed to run the new facility,” Mr Bostock said.

The new coolstore has a unique, advanced scanning system, which ensures each bin is identified and each apple can be traced back to the orchard where it was grown.

This is the first stage of a two-stage development, which will see another coolstore built with a further capacity to store another 13,000 bins.

“It’s taken months of planning and project management and we take our hats off to Gordon Kinnear and his team for the wonderful job they’ve done to ensure the coolstore was completed in a short timeframe and in time for the busy apple harvest,” said Mr Bostock.

Mr Apple CEO, Andrew Van Workum says it’s positive to be working in partnership with Bostock New Zealand to ensure Hawke’s Bay apples are stored and delivered in top quality.

“Both companies, and the NZ industry in general are establishing very strong sales and linkages into particularly the Asian market. It’s a market that has a very clear focus on fruit quality, the appearance and the eating experience of the apple and they are prepared to pay a good price for very good quality apples. This sort of infrastructure is essential in locking in that quality that we’ve spent all year growing. “

Mr Bostock says all apples grown in Hawke’s Bay and stored in the new coolstore are GM Free.

“Having full traceability in our coolstore means we can attract premium prices from customers who are assured their apples are being grown naturally in pure Hawke’s Bay.”

Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule opened the new facility alongside staff from Bostock New Zealand and Mr Apple and many of the regions apple growers.

“The apple industry is a current success story for our region. Our apple growers and exporters are pumping money and jobs back into our local economy. This new coolstore development is going to help grow our economy and must be applauded. It shows innovation and success that we are proud to be part of,” said Mr Yule.