Eco-effective HQ for sale

A significant eco-effective Mount Maunganui property housing an international blue chip tenant supplying dairy hygiene and animal health products is being marketed for sale internationally.

Germany-based GEA bought Farmers Industries (New Zealand) Limited in 2010, kept the company’s name and became a tenant at the specifically designed and built premises at 72 Portside Drive, which is in the heart of Mount Maunganui’s industrial precinct.

Farmers Industries original owners retained the land and buildings and have now chosen to place the property on the market for sale by international tender closing on October 24 through Bayleys Tauranga salesperson James Ross.

The eco-effective headquarters helped the company win the 2008 Bay of Plenty Sustainable Business of the Year award and the company’s new owners won Farmland’s Animal and Dairy Management award in 2017 and 2018.

Designed in 2006 by Matrixx Consultants (now Jigsaw Architecture) and completed in 2008, the freehold 5,008 square metre building on a 9,643 square metre freehold site with 26 onsite car parks returns a net income of $731,250 a year.

The modern building has an internal atrium flooded with natural light and fresh air ventilation within a stylish two-storey 666 square metre office block behind which is the warehouse/storage area.

The warehouse is divided into three main sections with some smaller secondary areas. The first section located on the eastern end is the raw materials and packaging store, with its own large load-in canopy.

Located in the middle is the 1,252 square metre processing area with the finished goods and load-out area on the western end. Canopies at both ends of the property cover 397 square metres, warehousing and storage 2,540 square metres, while there is also a 153 square metre service mezzanine.

Mr Ross said the property had full drive around facilities with separate entry and exit, ample yard space and the factory and warehouse/storage areas include alsynite topglass cool extreme roofing, a three-level containment system for chemical spills, and all new LED lighting installed earlier this year.

Innovations in the two-level office include concrete slab floors bringing reduced cooling demand, fibreglass wall, roof thermal and acoustic installation, reverse cycle regenerative heat pumps and solar water heating.  

The building was specifically designed to maximise reductions in energy and water consumption compared to standard buildings with strong attention to waste management. Features include two 30,000 litre tanks capturing water from the factory roof which is then filtered to provide process water. Condensate from the heating/ventilation system irrigates the atrium and the complete system, in turn, reduces storm water leaving the site by nearly 50%.                                                                                                                    

Mr Ross said the building is ideal for its purpose of processing farm chemicals, including detergents, teat care, cow bloat remedies, spray marker dyes and heat detection tail paints, although it could be re-purposed if GEA Farmers Industries ever left the site. However, this property  meets all of its current requirements and the company has been manufacturing and supplying products to the dairy industry for more than 30 years.

The company signed a five year lease in 2010 with two five-year rights of renewal due to run out in August 2025. The next right of renewal due on September 1 next year has already been exercised.

“The building been cleverly designed, and is a fully functional enterprise, recently having a substantial amount invested by the company on plant as the business grows.”

Mr Ross said the property’s location is quite discreet and suits the company. Portside Drive is an established part of an industrial zoned area three kilometres south east of Mount Maunganui’s CBD and is close to all major roads, the Port of Tauranga and Tauranga Airport.

Surrounding properties have been developed as large warehousing and manufacturing space. Properties near GEA Farmers Industries include Priority Logistics, PBT Transport, IBT and in the area, Toll New Zealand and Mainfreight.