DOING BUSINESS
Encompassing 5229 km2, it's sizable yet intimate, serving urban centers like Hastings, Flaxmere, and Havelock North, alongside coastal and rural settlements. Heretaunga Hastings boasts a diverse economy spanning agriculture, agritech, construction, digital technology, and viticulture, among others. These industries underscore the district's commitment to innovation and progress, positioning it as a dynamic hub for global markets and technological advancements.
Land
Roads and rail keep things moving and connect your business easily to the rest of the country. State Highway 2 brings traffic from the south and heads on up to Gisborne. State Highway 5 connects Hawke’s Bay with Taupo and further north to Auckland. Locally, the Hawke’s Bay Expressway keeps traffic moving around the region, to the Hawke’s Bay Airport, and provides easy access to Napier Port. The main rail link from Palmerston North to Napier Port traverses Central Hawke’s Bay, through Hastings to Napier.
Sea
Napier Port is the premier freight gateway for Hawke’s Bay and New Zealand’s lower North Island, connecting our businesses, our people, and our communities to the world. One of New Zealand’s largest container terminals, millions of tonnes of cargo flow across the Port’s wharves into and out of the region each year. The new 350 metre long 6 Wharf – Te Whiti, can accommodate the increasingly large vessels calling into port.
Air
Hawke’s Bay Airport, is the third busiest airport in the North Island and provides an essential role in connecting the Hawke’s Bay region’s people and produce with the wider national and international economy. With up to 10 flights a day to Auckland and Wellington, the airport is also a short distance from other logistics hubs, such as Napier Port, Onekawa and Whakatū, and has strong connectivity to State Highway 2, rail, and air freight services to support the freight and logistics businesses the airport ideally wants to attract.
Power
Companies rely on power to function. Fact. Hawke’s Bay’s electricity distributor, Unison Networks, assures reliability through their world class network deploying the latest technology further backed by ISO 55001 certification – that’s total commitment to operational efficiencies. The fantastic central location of Hastings enables a robust distribution network, with supplies transmitted from generation sources to the north and south. Unison can work directly with your business to scope and develop a tailored electricity supply solution.
Gas
Powerco operates, builds, and maintains our gas network. With a business focused on lines and pipes, Powerco spends more than $10 million every year on safety driven maintenance and network quality upgrades to the vital infrastructure. Powerco also invests in gas pipeline installation into new subdivisions.
Water
The Heretaunga Plains aquifer is a significant natural resource for Hawke’s Bay. It is used for public water supply and for industrial use and irrigation across the wider Heretaunga Plains. Hastings District is criss-crossed by several major rivers, the three biggest are the Tukituki, the Ngaruroro and the Tutaekuri.
Construction capability
Hastings is home to several large-scale, highly diversified construction companies, with extensive experience. They’ve got the expertise and in-house resources to undertake new build projects to large scale.
Fibre and telecommunications
Being connected to a high-speed network is crucial for your business to do more, in less time. Chorus New Zealand’s high-quality, high speed ‘fibre to the premises’ (FTTP) network delivers large amounts of data further and faster than old school copper broadband. You’ll be in the driver’s seat with speed, capacity, and control when you engage with one of the telecommunications companies servicing the district. Some are locally owned and operated, some even award winning, because that’s what we do in Hastings.
Hastings city
Hastings city is a vibrant business hub, housing a variety of businesses and industries including professional services, call centres, regional head offices, and all manner of retail and hospitality offerings. The city’s central North Island location is a real drawcard for businesses looking to relocate, with great names like Kiwibank, Datacom and Fingermark arriving in Hastings in recent years.
Havelock North
Havelock North is a boutique village just a stone’s throw from Hastings. Its charming village setting, high-end retail, hospitality venues and proximity to many of the region’s wineries, means many businesses choose to establish themselves in Havelock North.
Irongate industrial zone
- Large land area (118 hectares), average lot size of one hectare, minimum 5000m²
- Dry industries (no trade waste access)
- Sewer and water connection infrastructure ready for connection
- Short- and long-term use
- Adjacent to the expressway, providing excellent access to northern and southern highways, the port and airport
- Roading improvements and a new roundabout
- Types of industries: wood product manufacturing, textile production, broad metal product-based manufacturing, pack house and cold-storage, logistics, warehousing, distribution.
Example tenants: Sunfruit Orchards Limited, NZL Transport, The Carr Group, Rockit Global Ltd, TUMU Timbers, Stephenson Transport Limited, ACME Supplies
Ōmahu industrial zone
65 hectares of new general industrial land; minimum lot sizes 1,000m² – 2,000m²
- New water and wastewater services (no trade waste access)
- Easy access to expressway providing excellent access to northern and southern highways, the port and airport
- Wide road frontage options ideal for businesses needing a high profile, such as machinery/equipment sales or hire
- Roading improvements scheduled including two new roundabouts
Example tenants: McCain, Greenmount Foods, Bostock New Zealand, Furnware, Metalcraft Roofing, Hustler, Hydralada, Fletcher Steel, Downer, ERL/ MELO, Freshmax
Whakatū industrial zone
- 60 hectares
- Suited to wet processing industries as it has access to trade waste
- Options to use rail to the Port and the lower North Island; easy access to state highway network
- Napier Port only 18kms away; development of an Inland Port in Whakatū is being investigated
Example tenants: Silver Fern Farms, T&G, Apollo Beverages
The Tōmoana Food Hub
- 22.5 hectares
- Suited to wet processing industries as it has access to trade waste
- Specifically designed to meet the needs of food businesses; zoned to locate any business operating in food industry
- Options to design, build and lease or purchase available
- Easy access to state highway network, 18kms to Napier Port
- Foodeast-Haumako is sited within the zone – Hawke's Bay’s food innovation hub (due for completion March 2024)
Example tenants:
Jamestrong Precision Packaging, Miracle Water, Fonterra
