Joint venture takes over tannery

Greenlea Premier Meats and Wilson Hellaby will jointly own and operate the hides and skin operations as Waitoa Tannery Ltd.

The two processors have also partnered up with Glendenburg Holdings to run the composting business owned by Wallace Group.

Glendenburg Holdings, owned by Glenn Smith and Steve Dahlenburg, will run Wallace Proteins Ltd, the rendering business arm of Wallace. Smith and Steve Dahlenburg have significant experience in rendering operations including the marketing of meal and tallow products. 

The joint venture acquisition includes Wallace assets based in Waitoa, Feilding and Northland: assets associated with the rendering, composting and tannery operations undertaken at the Waitoa site as well as in Northland and Feilding.

Fred Hellaby, managing director of Wilson Hellaby, says it is a great opportunity for two meat companies to work together for the future of the industry.

Greenlea managing director Tony Egan says the deal will ensure existing employment, creating new jobs, and supporting the local community during this difficult economic period. 

“There will be approximately 100 staff employed across all business activities at the Waitoa, Feilding and Northland sites,” says Egan.

Greenlea Premier Meats is a Waikato based, family owned and operated beef processing company and export their products globally to over 40 countries worldwide.

Wilson Hellaby is a privately owned Auckland based meat processor predominantly focused on the marketing of beef, lamb and pork products into the domestic and selected export markets. 

The Wallace Group Tannery was established in 1992 and has since expanded its collection area to service the greater North Island, as well as Canterbury and Otago.

About 25% of the wet/blue Tannery production is made up of casualty calves and cows, with the balance being hides from meat processing plants.