ILT CEO surprised Great South has supported factory shift

“I’m surprised by the reaction of Great South because I would expect our regional development agency to have a focus on driving benefits for Invercargill and Southland.”

ILT CEO Chris Ramsay.

Invercargill Licensing Trust chief executive Chris Ramsay says it is “mind-blowing” that a decision to shift a planned plant-based milk factory out of Southland has been supported by Great South.

The new plant-based milk processing facility had initially been announced for Southland by new company New Zealand Functional Foods.

Great South - Southland’s regional development agency - has been working on the project for 10 years.

The initial plan was for a carbon-neutral plant-based milk factory at Makarewa, north of Invercargill, with the capacity to produce up to 80 million litres a year.

However, New Zealand Functional Foods confirmed to The Southland Tribune this week that it would be building the plant elsewhere - most likely in Canterbury.

The Invercargill Licensing Trust is a second-tier shareholder in Great South and Ramsay said the news was a blow to Invercargill and Southland.

He was surprised more people were not upset by the decision.

Great South chairman Ian Collier - who is also a director on the NZFF board - told The Tribune this week Great South both supports and understands the rationale behind the decision to not proceed with the factory on the outskirts of Invercargill.

Collier said it was a great opportunity for Southland, with world-leading Southland-grown oats now able to be showcased on a much bigger platform.

Although Ramsay was not comfortable with that stance.

“When I read some of the comments that it’s going to showcase Southland oats, it doesn’t really mean as much to the economy as actually having the plant down here would’ve.

“To be honest, I was genuinely surprised by some of the comments. Because with an Invercargill and Southland context, it’s not great news.”

“I’m surprised people aren’t more upset that we’ve lost this,” Ramsay said.

“It has been talked about so much about what a great opportunity it was, and how hard they have been working on it.

“So, there’s been a lot of resource, time, money that has gone into an initiative that had the support of the town and the province, because of the economic benefits it was going to create through the additional jobs, and even through the construction phase of it.

“For it then to be lost, and the body that was trying to bring it here saying that they are supportive of the decision for it to move, to be honest from an Invercargill perspective was mind-blowing.”

“I’m surprised by the reaction of Great South because I would expect our regional development agency to have a focus on driving benefits for Invercargill and Southland.”

Great South chair Ian Collier says there will still be benefits to Southland despite a planned plant-based milk factory now heading elsewhere.

Collier earlier said that while the focus at Great South would always be on Southland, as shareholders it fully supports NZFF and “its vision to lead the development of-plant based products.

“Having evaluated all the options open to us during this important phase of the project, we understand and support the rationale for the potential change of location.”

Collier said it was a unique opportunity to prove how “diverse and visionary New Zealand is in the global food industry”.

Great South was focused on building Southland’s reputation as a progressive region, encouraging land-use change, advocating for activities to mitigate climate change, and adapting to ever-changing consumer trends, Collier said.

Great South is largely funded by Southland’s four councils, the Invercargill City Council, Southland District Council, Gore District Council, and Environment Southland.

Southland Business Chamber CEO Sheree Carey was also disappointed by the news this week that the planned factory would now not go ahead in Southland.

Carey said the whole idea of Southland’s Beyond 2025 Regional Plan was to diversify the province’s economy with other industries, and the plant-based milk factory was part of that.

The Beyond 2025 document released last month indicated the plant would create 100+ jobs through construction and an estimated 70 direct skilled jobs after that.

“It would be a different industry of jobs, rather than the same stuff people have been doing,” Carey said.

The Government announced in July last year it would pump $6m into the plant-based milk project.

That money was an investment from the Regional Strategic Partnership Fund.

At the time then Economic and Regional Development Minister Stuart Nash said: “We set up the Regional Strategic Partnership Fund (RSPF) to help build more productive, resilient, and sustainable regional economies. The investment in New Zealand Functional Foods, to develop a plant-based beverage manufacturing facility, brilliantly aligns with this vision.”

New Zealand Functional Foods CEO Paul Harvey said they were working closely with key government stakeholders on the implications of the decision to now construct the plant outside of Southland.