Industrial arable hub offers buyers cream of crop

Buyers have the rare chance to secure a large-scale industrial facility equipped for bulk arable crop storage and processing in a pivotal lower North Island location.

The more than 5.9-hectare site for sale in Marton encompasses some 30,000 tonnes of grain storage, automated production plant supporting bulk operations from receipt to dispatch, and extensive supporting infrastructure.

The Rangitikei location places it in the centre of the arable cropping heartlands of Manawatū-Whanganui, Hawke's Bay and Wairarapa, home to significant producers of barley, wheat, maize, and other specialised crops.

A private rail siding runs into the site, with State Highway 1 minutes from the gate, connecting the property to freight routes across the North Island.

Bayleys salesperson Bede Blatchford says the sale represents an opportunity of a scale and completeness that rarely reaches the market.

“To be sold with vacant possession, this purpose-built facility gives owner-occupiers in the grain, feed, seed and agricultural processing sectors immediate control of a fully serviced site.

“It also gives operators a base from which to stake their claim in New Zealand’s arable industry – whose world-leading productivity is a vital foundation for the primary sector, powering food manufacturing and underpinning the multi-billion-dollar livestock industry,” says Blatchford.

The freehold property at 56 Wings Line, Marton, is being offered to buyers by deadline private treaty closing on Wednesday 9 September, and will not be sold prior. The sale is being marketed by Blatchford and colleague Karl Cameron, of Bayleys Palmerston North.

The purpose-built storage and handling facility encompasses 28 storage silos, intake, bagging and loadout plant, dryer and cleaner buildings, plus workshop and office accommodation.

Site-wide automation sees grain move from a weighbridge and intake pit, through elevators and conveyors to storage, drying and cleaning equipment, and out through the bagging and loadout line.

The property is supported by an on-site water bore and storage tanks, gas connection, and electrical substations built for industrial-scale operation – an infrastructure platform Blatchford says would be extremely difficult and costly to replicate.

The facility is underpinned by some 5.92 hectares of Industrial-zoned land in Marton’s established industrial precinct, providing scale for expansion or reconfiguration of the existing operation.

Cameron says the private rail siding and proximity to State Highway 1 are a rare operational advantage.

“Few industrial sites combine road and rail this directly. This means product can be efficiently received and dispatched at scale by either mode.

“The Rangitīkei and Manawatū production catchments sit within around half an hour's drive, as do Whanganui, Palmerston North, and the country’s leading distribution hub, Te Utanganui.

“Wellington and the central North Island are directly accessible via the country's principal freight corridor. Together, this makes the Marton site virtually unrivalled for logistics and dispatch operations across the lower North Island.

“Marton also offers businesses greater affordability compared with larger centres such as Palmerston North and Wellington, thanks to lower land values and operating costs. The combination of accessibility, affordability and future growth positions this as an increasingly attractive destination for owner-occupiers, investors and industrial developers,” Cameron says.

Potential buyers of the Marton property may also consider another bulk grain storage facility now for sale at 8 Glassworks Road, Ashburton, through Bayleys Canterbury.