NPT Opens Warehouse In Hastings

HASTINGS MAYOR OPENS NPT LIMITED’S EXTENDED WAREHOUSE
LEASED TO HEINZ WATTIE’S

NPT Limited’s recently completed major extension to its large Hastings warehouse was formally opened today by the Mayor of Hastings, Lawrence Yule. Located on Tomoana Road, Heinz Wattie’s is the sole lessee of the 50,000m2 building on the 6.293 ha site.

NPT’s Hastings Asset Manager Trevor Taylor says, “NPT Limited is very pleased with the enlarged warehouse built to meet Heinz Wattie’s requirements for more space. It significantly enlarges the company’s Hastings operating footprint and is one of the largest stand-alone warehouse facilities in New Zealand.”

The Heinz Wattie’s warehouse has had two major building projects in the past two years; the first project saw 4,000m2 of new high-stud warehouse space replace the last of the lower stud facilities. The second is a just-completed addition with an extended canopy area, providing a further 3,500m2 of space A second railway siding has been added, and an old laboratory building of 300m2 has been refurbished and is now used as a training centre with extra offices for Heinz Wattie’s export administration.

Heinz Wattie’s National Logistics Manager Eric Raulet says, “The company is catering for production that has been relocated from Australia to take advantage of the scale of our Hastings-based operations. A significant proportion of the raw materials required for the additional production volume will be grown in Hawke’s Bay, and in total a further 50,000 tonnes of product railed to the Port of Napier for shipping.

“There are now two railway sidings on the property. The original siding has been refurbished and a new one has been built; these allow us to have separate import and export lanes. Having dedicated sidings for moving 2,500 inwards containers and upwards of 7,000 export containers brings major efficiencies to our operation. Using rail helps to significantly reduce local road traffic and makes for less congestion at the Port of Napier. Internationally, it’s the goal of our parent company, H J Heinz, to substantially reduce freight carbon emissions by 10% over five years from 2010-2015. The new and refurbished facilities at Tomoana will help our New Zealand business make a significant contribution to that goal.”

Mr Raulet says that Heinz Wattie’s is very happy with the outcome of the building programme. “The building projects on this site have brought major efficiencies for Heinz Wattie’s expanded operations in Hastings. Much of the success of these projects has been the result of a good relationship with NPT Limited which has taken a long-term view for this property. There’s a strong level of NPT investment in this site, and high value has been added to this facility.

“It has also enabled us to move our Export Operations Distribution Centre (previously situated at the King Street manufacturing site) into the National Distribution Centre at Tomoana, creating one centralised base for all logistics operations.”

NPT’s acting chief executive Kerry Hitchcock says, “It’s gratifying to see the two building projects are working so well for Heinz Wattie’s. NPT Limited’s goal is to add value to its properties in order to benefit our lessees and our shareholders, and this is being achieved.”

NPT Limited is an NZX-listed company (NPT). It has a diversified portfolio of retail, commercial and industrial properties located in Auckland, Hawke’s Bay, Wellington and Christchurch. NPT was established in 1994 as a unit trust, The National Property Trust. On 1 April 2011 the trust was corporatised and became NPT Limited.

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