increase font size
Alliance Group general manager processing and safety, Wayne Shaw, says the technology has improved the health and safety of employees, unlocked advantages of scale and lifted the efficiency and competitiveness of the plant.
Alliance Group has launched a new $16 million warehouse technology system at its Lorneville plant near Invercargill.
The fully integrated storage and warehouse management system for frozen products introduces automation to the warehousing process, using automated shuttle vehicles rather than manual lifting for the storage and retrieval of product.
Product is then automatically moved through the warehouse and palletised without being touched by human hands.
Wayne Shaw, general manager processing and safety, Alliance Group, says the technology has improved the health and safety of employees, unlocked advantages of scale and lifted the efficiency and competitiveness of the plant.
“Previously more than 60 people were required to work in the warehousing operation during peak processing, manually handling boxes of fresh product, each weighing around 22kg,” Shaw says.
He says that lifting poses a risk of muscular skeletal injury to Alliance’s employees.
“The system also includes a more effective stacking system for frozen boxes, minimising product damage and potential safety risks,” Shaw adds. “It has enabled improved handling of cartons and product and reduced the use of forklifts.”
Shaw says the investment in the system reflects the co-operative’s commitment to both the Lorneville site and the wider Southland region.
“We have been continually investing in Lorneville over the past five years including the opening of a new venison plant and the installation of primal cutters for processing,” he says.
No job losses have occurred as a result of the project, with existing staff re-deployed.
Alliance Group's proposal to sell a 65% shareholding to Ireland's Dawn Meats won't solve the red meat industry's structural problems, says former Federated Farmers meat and wool chair Toby Williams.
Alliance Group has announced plans to sell a 65% stake in the farmer-owned co-operative to Irish meat processor Dawn Meats Group for $250 million.
Irish meat processor Dawn Meats is set to acquire a 70% stake in Alliance Group, according to a report in The Irish Times.
The next phase of the Taste Pure Nature campaign has been launched in Shanghai, China.
Alliance Group and Grand Farm have signed a strategic co-operation agreement with a focus on delivering more premium New Zealand grass-fed beef to Chinese consumers.
Academic Dr Mike Joy and his employer, Victoria University of Wellington have apologised for his comments suggesting that dairy industry CEOs should be hanged for contributing towards nitrate poisoning of waterways.
Environment Southland's catchment improvement funding is once again available for innovative landowners in need of a boost to get their project going.
The team meeting at the Culverden Hotel was relaxed and open, despite being in the middle of calving when stress levels are at peak levels, especially in bitterly cold and wet conditions like today.
A comment by outspoken academic Dr Mike Joy suggesting that dairy industry leaders should be hanged for nitrate contamination of drinking/groundwater has enraged farmers.
OPINION: The phasing out of copper network from communications is understandable.
Driven by a lifelong passion for animals, Amy Toughey's journey from juggling three jobs with full-time study to working on cutting-edge dairy research trials shows what happens when hard work meets opportunity - and she's only just getting started.
