Food Processing

Project Details

In 2016, Apollo Projects was proud to deliver a new, purpose-built processing facility for Ngāi Tahu Seafood in one of Aotearoa’s best-known kaimoana spots – Bluff.

Apollo has built a strong relationship with Ngāi Tahu Seafood in recent years, so when the company needed to vacate their old facility, they knew they could depend on Apollo for a quality, timely replacement.

The brief was to design and build a seafood processing factory including office space and staff amenities. On the surface, a project like this could look like a straightforward design and build: an exciting opportunity to use our proven expertise in food handling, efficient workflow processing, and cold storage construction. But an added layer of complexity came from the project’s remote and at times, hostile, location.

Bluff weather can be unforgiving, with coastal winds battering the area on stormy days. Despite this challenge, we were committed to delivering this ambitious eight-month construction project, on time and on budget – even if it meant tying down our site shed to stop it from blowing away!

The new facility processes lobster, paua, oysters, blue cod, and mussels for its domestic and international markets, and features a purpose-built oyster opening table that can accommodate up to 14 staff at a time. Services were installed in the ceiling to ensure a clean, food-safe environment, and stainless steel panel walls were used around the lobster swim room and the viewing windows between the public and processing areas. A special biofilter was also installed to create the right conditions for live paua and crayfish.

Apollo took care of every step of the process, from handling all consents and compliance to managing subcontractors, health and safety, and construction processes. When the final touches had been made and the site blessed, we were very proud to hand over the keys to this exciting processing facility.