The kiwifruit hotel manager

The building which houses up to 80 permanent staff that Seeka employs is circular, just like a kiwifruit.

It is exceptionally well laid out and divided into pods housing the different sections of the business. Situated just out of Te Puke and surrounded, not unexpectedly, by kiwifruit vines, it displays a beautiful Māori carving depicting the process of growing, cultivating and harvesting produce by the people of the regions that the company operates in.

It has a staff cafeteria that many would die for and a gymnasium is tucked away near the main building. Seeka HQ is impressive, but not ostentatious. The company has gymnasiums at a number of its operating sites, reflecting the focus on people and understanding that Seeka people work hard through the various harvests they tackle.

As for Franks, he's not afraid to express a direct view on any given subject. He's an accountant by background and started life working for Fletcher Paper, then Norske Skog before taking up the role as chief financial officer at Seeka. It's a career path that largely came by accident as he originally didn't apply to work at the company as his friends had, but when he heard that they had missed out, he decided at the last moment to throw his hat into the ring and got the job in 2006.

Seeka began life in the 1980s when a group of local kiwifruit growers led by Warner Bowyer got together with a view to making more money in the industry, and so Seeka as we know it today was formed. Franks says the road to success was pretty rocky.

"Some of the originals had to mortgage their houses without their then wives knowing to keep the company afloat. Then they decided they would buy the kiwifruit investments from Brierley, but they didn't have any money so they went around Te Puke and raised the money needed to make the purchase.

"Today the company earns around $300 million in revenue and is now a reasonably-sized operator in the produce industry in both NZ and Australia," he says.

Michael Franks, chief executive of Seeka, is not afraid to express a direct view on any given subject.

Franks told Hort News that Seeka is an integrated produce business focused on kiwifruit. It is a large regional employer and with interests in orchards from Northland to the Bay of Plenty, around the East Coast and down to Gisborne. He says its business is mainly kiwifruit but it is also involved in the production of avocados, kiwiberries and some citrus in Northland and Gisborne.

"We have an interest in about 2,000 hectares of orchards, but we own very little of the land," Franks explains. "We have a network of orchard managers, we do long term leases of orchards, we build orchards and sometimes we have an equity stake in them. We do orchard developments with private people and sometimes just provide orchard management services."

More Than A Fruit Grower

Seeka is also big in the post-harvest side of the business.

The company has interests in 11 packhouses - two in Northland, one in the Coromandel, two around Katikati, one at Mt Maunganui, three in Te Puke, one in Opotiki and one in Gisborne.

Franks says while kiwifruit is the main product going through the packhouse they also put through citrus, avocados, kiwiberries and persimmons.

"Effectively we are running a hotel for kiwifruit. We own many but not all of the packhouses - some we lease. At the height of season we employ about 4,500 seasonal staff," he explains.

Another part of the business is providing the market with all the fruit that doesn't get supplied to Zespri. Seeka will handle local market kiwifruit along with other fruit including apples, avocados and citrus - supplying it to supermarkets and other traders mainly in the Auckland region.

Franks says they also import pineapples, bananas, pears, citrus, tomatoes and papaya. We provide a packing service to citrus and avocado marketers and growers, as well as packing for ourselves.

Seeka360, the company's Te Puke headquarters, is circular - just like a kiwifruit.

Seeka also has a business operation across the Tasman at Shepparton in Northern Victoria, where the company has invested in a kiwifruit orchard. Here they also grow European pears, plums, Asian dates and nashi pears.

Back home, they produce some consumer products namely 'kiwi crush' and also avocado oil. Seeka also contracts its services to other players in the produce industry.

There are new challenges coming out of the woodwork on a daily basis. But as a long-time professional in the industry, Franks is constantly on the lookout for ways of improving the profitability of the fruit sector and the returns to growers.

The kiwifruit hotel is always busy although - unlike the NZ tourist industry - occupancy tends to peak in the winter months. It never stops and is driven by innovation and smart management and hard work.