Inside Foodstuffs’ massive new $70m chilled goods centre in Māngere

A 2.8ha footprint building is about to be enclosed, its roof two-thirds on, floors being laid and exterior walls now being enclosed.

Foodstuffs’ upcoming North Island frozen and chilled distribution centre is a giant building. Photo / Corey Fleming

Such a large new building is needed because customers vastly increased their purchases of frozen and chilled foods during Covid and continue to buy those products, Quin said.

All up, it will be able to store 27,656 pallets.

“That’s the biggest pile of insulating panels I’ve ever seen,” Quin says, pointing to rows of polyisocyanurate PIR panels stacked to one side of the building site.

The panels, supplied by Christchurch-headquartered Kingspan New Zealand, will ensure the building stays within the target -24C to +2C range, Quin said.

Auckland Airport contracted Macrennie Construction as the head contractor.

Conset Construction is doing a vast amount of indoor and outdoor concrete work.

A rendering of Foodstuffs’ new $70 million North Island chilled and frozen distribution centre (far right) in South Auckland. The existing support centre and ambient distribution centre are the two buildings shown on this plan to the left and centre. Image / Foodstuffs

Foodstuffs has leased the site at The Landing from Auckland Airport on a 25-year term.

That is opposite Foodstuffs’ Māngere headquarters, on the corner of Te Kapua Drive and Patai Way on airport land.

David Boersen (left), Chris Quin and Nick Hanson inside the new building. Photo / Corey Fleming

Steel for the building is coming from West Auckland’s DH Steel Construction, owned by Auckland businessman Mike Sullivan, also of Countrywide Properties and Clearwater Construction.

Some steel components come pre-assembled, while others are assembled at the building site.

Steel Roofing, Citywide Electrical and Kidd Civil Consulting are other operators on the site, where Boersen estimates about 200 people are now working.

The big site as it was last August, before the building began to rise. Photo / Dean Purcell

“We have to get it square,” he said of laser technology being used within the building, with its internal stud height of 16m and an external height of 22m.

About half the building will be a chiller and half a freezer, with the flexibility to convert all to frozen storage in future if needed.

A frost heave floor system in the chiller area allows future conversion to a fully frozen building.

A lounge for truck drivers is being developed, along with offices and many on-site car parks.

Plans for the truck loading and unloading area at Foodstuffs North Island’s new $70 million chilled and frozen distribution centre at Māngere, South Auckland. Image / Foodstuffs

An outdoor basketball court is also planned at the site, with Hanson telling how Foodstuffs’ own headquarters across the road also has one.

Quin says the building will be operated 24 hours a day, six days a week, with Sundays off.

Shifts will start at 6am, 2pm and 10pm.

An artist’s impression of how Foodstuffs North Island’s new $70 million frozen and chilled distribution centre could look once it is finished. Image / Foodstuffs

Unlike Foodstuffs South Island’s new $28m automated frozen distribution centre opened last year, the Māngere building will not be automated.

Hornby is more for storage, whereas Māngere is for distribution, Quin said, so instead of robots, “people will do our picking”.

The Auckland building will have 2.5ha of rooftop solar panels, generating about 20% of its electricity needs.

Boersen said Foodstuffs was negotiating to sell its existing Wiri frozen and chilled distribution centre, where the firm has been for 17 years.

At the site last August, before the new building rose. Photo / Dean Purcell

Hanson said when completed, the new building would:

Increase chilled and frozen capacity Improve food distribution resilience across the upper North Island Help supermarkets remain well-supplied Improve efficiency for food suppliers Reduce product handling Improve fleet utilisation Support future population growth in the upper North IslandProvide a safer working environment Improve sustainability performance

The site had been future-proofed with the capacity to charge electric trucks, he said. 

Boerson said the building contract was between Auckland Airport and Macrennie, with Foodstuffs to be the tenant.

Once the building is finished, it can only be chilled at 2C progressively; the floor or steel could crack if it is cooled faster.

“It’s complexities of scale,” Boerson said of the challenges of building Project Igloo.

Foodstuffs North Island Paitai Way chilled and frozen food distribution centre

Rising on Auckland Airport land at MāngereNew $70m project replacing the existing Wiri hubFor chilled and frozen food itemsTotal footprint: 28,128sq m, size of four rugby fieldsWarehouse: 24,821sq mRacking up to 12m high for 27,656 palletsTwo temperature zones: chiller +2°C and freezer -24°C 27 state-of-the-art loading docksCapacity to park 30 trucks on-site 1.96MW rooftop solar array with 3557 panels to offset grid electricityThe solar array will produce about 20% of buildings’ electricity needsDeveloped by Auckland Airport, to be leased to Foodstuffs North IslandSite on Paitai Way, The Landing, Auckland Airport Due to open in March 2028.

Anne Gibson has been the Herald’s property editor for 26 years, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.

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