Speaking at an oat industry field day near Gore this week, chief executive Henry Hawkins said shareholders would vote at the company’s annual meeting on Tuesday on whether to contribute $3 million of the $10m required “to do a pile of capital expenditure and refurbishment projects”.
The investment project would include buying new milling gear to increase capacity and installing a new grain intake facility to improve the process of delivering oats to its Green Island mill.
“It is big stake-in-the ground stuff for Harraways,” he said.
When he made the announcement, most of the nearly 60 people at the event applauded.
The outcome of the meeting had the potential to be a “game changer” for the business, Mr Hawkins said.
Recently Harraways invested nearly $1m in a machinery upgrade project at its mill.
The ongoing project includes automating the packing of its oat sachet products, installing a new boiler and four new walls to meet seismic strengthening regulations.
The business operated 24 hours a day up to six days a week, and was at capacity.
“We are going really well but we are at a point that we can’t make much more than we do,” he said.
