Nav grew up in Katikati and his 16 year career in the Kiwifruit industry started as an after school job. He studied Business Management after college and not surprisingly, Nav worked his way up within the industry quickly and has held management roles from the ripe age of just 21 years old.

One of his biggest achievements so far is turning around a 3 million tray site to one that was pumping out 8 million in the space of just six years. He brings a wealth of experience to us here at Hume Pack N Cool.

When he’s not working, Nav enjoys playing golf and cricket as well as spending time with his wife and two boys.

I grew up in Auckland, before moving to Katikati at the age of 15. After school I completed level 3 & 4 automotive engineering, worked in the automotive industry before moving to the kiwifruit industry and have not looked back since.

This will be my 12th season working in coolstore. With a mechanical background I have enjoyed learning about plant operation and running coolstore operations. When am not at work I enjoy spending time with my young family of two kids

I grew up in Thames prior to coming to live in BOP, where I’ve worked in the Kiwifruit industry for 15 years in various roles with a quality and compliance background, and have completed a level 4 advanced degree in horticulture.

Outside of work, I love spending time with my daughter and family and going fishing - I’m still trying to get that really big one!

I have been at Hume Pack-N-Cool Ltd for over 19 years and have worked in a variety of positions, learning about packhouse operations and processes.

I enjoy my role as Coolstore Technical Manager, working with the team to continually improve fruit storability. Outside of work, I am a volunteer fireman with the Katikati Fire Brigade which keeps me active and involved in the community.

Audrey is a born and bred East Coast girl who grew up in Matawai near Gisborne. Her career started off in customer service roles and due to a change in her partner’s work circumstances, relocated to the Bay of Plenty. It was at this time that she tried her hand in the kiwifruit industry, starting in the packhouse, moving on to Kiwigreen Pest Monitoring and finally finding her niche in Quality. One of Audrey’s favourite parts of being a manager is watching people develop their skillset and start elevating their career in the kiwifruit industry, just as she has done.

Audrey has three beautiful grand daughters to her one son and loves to spend time with them when she’s away from the packhouse. She’s also quite fond of getting in a round of two or golf in the weekends as well.

Chris joined the kiwifruit industry in 2008 after completing his studies towards a BSc majoring in Horticultural Science at Massey University. His first role in kiwifruit was at a postharvest supplier in a technical support role looking after maturity testing and the selection and monitoring of crops for controlled atmosphere storage, as well as carrying out a range of on-orchard technical activities.

In 2012 he joined Kiwifruit Vine Health as an Operations Advisor, providing advice to growers on the management of Psa on their orchards and helping to develop a range of best practice documents.

Following this, Chris returned to post-harvest in 2015 as an Operations Technical Manager, with a primary focus on optical and predictive sorting of fruit, as well as working with production teams to help maximise packhouse throughput and working on a range of automation projects. During this time, Chris also spent two years overseeing blueberry packing operations.

Chris is a previous winner of both the Bay of Plenty Young Fruit Grower and New Zealand Young Fruit Grower of the Year competitions.

I moved to New Zealand from Rarotonga at the age of 5 and Katikati has been home since. I have been an EDI Manager in the Kiwifruit industry for 12 years, joining the Hume Pack N Cool family in January 2022. One of my biggest achievements was creating and growing a spreadsheet database to produce specialised Grower Packing, Inventory and Financial reports.

In my spare time I enjoy watching Kapa Haka, catching up on series on Netflix and spending time with friends and family.

I was born and grew up in India, before moving to New Zealand in 2009 with my wife. I have a bachelor’s in Information and Technology (B.I.T) and have worked in various roles including in a Private Hospital, a SUV salesperson, and a Foreign Exchange Manager for a bank in India.

In March 2010 I joined the Kiwifruit Industry (this being the first time I had ever seen kiwifruit). I worked mainly in EDI and Inventory, where my expertise are. One of my biggest achievements, and what makes me proud, is that 12 years back I didn’t know anything about kiwifruit or the industry and now I’m a part of this – giving me great satisfaction. I am always keen to learn, and at Hume’s I have the opportunity to expand myself in other areas of the industry.

In my free time I love to spend time with my family. I’m part of local community club where we train young children to play hockey. I enjoy going for long walks and tramping.as well as enjoying Golf and Fishing.