Partnership Delivers Major New Contract

News Release For Immediate Release

March 1, 2006

Rutherford And Meyer – Eurest: Partnership Lands And Delivers Major New Contract

Wellington speciality food company Rutherford and Meyer has secured a major contract to produce private label muesli – and food service provider Eurest has invested in a new production kitchen at Petone to make it.

Rutherford and Meyer, started in rural Canterbury in 1996 by two farming wives exploring ways to use surplus fruit, and now enjoying a multi-million dollar turnover and sales within New Zealand and to Australia, Canada, U.S.A and England, started delivering on the long-term muesli contract last month.

Details are commercially confidential in what Rutherford and Meyer managing director Jan Meyer describes as a highly competitive market. She says the new fruit muesli line is part of her family-owned company's plans to triple earnings during the next year.

Eurest, making all of Rutherford and Meyers' fruit based products, including fruit pastes, coulis and vinegars, has invested $170,000 in a new production kitchen in Petone's Sydney Street to help its client expand.

The new kitchen has been built using easy-to-clean refrigeration panel walls inside a large warehouse, to the kitchen manager's design. The "commonsense" layout is based on workflow patterns.

Eight staff work there. The kitchen more than quadruples Eurest's production capacity for Rutherford and Meyer.

Jan Meyer says: "Our skills are in sales and marketing and Eurest's are in production and formulation development. Eurest has made some capital investments that have allowed us to expand production.

"They're not just a supplier, but a strategic partner. All the staff who work on our products are extremely dedicated and conscious of quality. Quality control is an area that is continuously being improved."

ENDS

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