Alliance Group Limited, a cooperative originally named Alliance Freezing Company (Southland) Limited, operates

freezing works In livestock agriculture and the meat industry, a slaughterhouse, also called an abattoir (), is a facility where livestock animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a meat ...

at seven sites in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and exports grass-fed meat and

by-products A by-product or byproduct is a secondary product derived from a production process, manufacturing process or chemical reaction; it is not the primary product or service being produced. A by-product can be useful and marketable or it can be cons ...

to Europe, North America, as well as Asia including

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and many other countries. Alliance employs almost 5,000 people across New Zealand and operates two processing plants in the North Island and five in the South Island.

Brands

*''Pure South'' – the company's overarching brand for lamb, beef and venison *''Lumina Lamb'' – high country lamb *''Silere'' – alpine origin merino lamb *''Handpicked'' – beef and venison *''Ashley'' – for sheepmeat exported to Europe

Corporate profile

The corporate identity was changed to Alliance in 2018.Alliance Annual Report 2018
/ref> David Surveyor has since January 2015 been the chief executive officer, succeeding Grant Cuff. Murray Taggart has been chairman of the board of directors since 1 October 2013.

History

Alliance Freezing Company (Southland) Limited was founded by local farmers in

Invercargill Invercargill ( , ) is the southernmost and westernmost list of cities in New Zealand, city in New Zealand, and one of the Southernmost settlements, southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland Region, Southlan ...

in 1948. Their first large

was opened in 1980 at Lorneville on the outskirts of Invercargill. From its base in

Alliance runs freezing works nearby in Southland at Lorneville and

Mataura Mataura is a town in the Southland region of the South Island of New Zealand. Mataura has a meat processing plant, and until 2000 it was the site of a large pulp and paper mill. Geography Mataura is situated on and the Main South Line rail ...

, further away at

Pukeuri Pukeuri is a settlement to the north of Oamaru in the North Otago region of New Zealand's South Island. It is located near the coast in the Waitaki District that straddles the border of Otago and Canterbury. The settlement's major employer i ...

Otago Otago (, ; ) is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local go ...

Timaru Timaru (; ) is a port city in the southern Canterbury Region of New Zealand, located southwest of Christchurch and about northeast of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast of the South Island. The Timaru urban area is home to peo ...

South Canterbury South Canterbury is the area of the Canterbury Region of the South Island of New Zealand bounded by the Rangitata River in the north and the Waitaki River (the border with the Otago Region) to the south. The Pacific Ocean and ridge of the S ...

, and at

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

. There are two freezing works in the North Island at

Dannevirke Dannevirke ( "Earthworks (archaeology), work of the Danes", a reference to Danevirke; or ''Tāmaki-nui-a-Rua'', the area where the town is) is a rural service town in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of the North Island, New Zealand. It is the ...

and Levin. A new $15.9 million venison plant opened at Lorneville in December 2018. Always a business belonging to farmers Alliance's ownership model was changed in 1960 to a

cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomy, autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned a ...

. The farmers who supply the livestock to be killed are the company's shareholders. The name of the cooperative was changed to Alliance Group Limited in 1990. Alliance Group bought their first

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

freezing works at

in 2003. They added a second North Island works at Levin in 2008. On 27 September 2024, the Alliance Group proposed closing down its

Alliance Smithfield meatworks plant, which would affect about 600 jobs. The consultation period will last until 11 October, with a decision expected to be made on 18 October 2024. On 18 October, the Alliance Group confirmed that it would close down its Smithfield meat processing plant in December 2024, citing declining sheep processing numbers caused by land use changes.

References

{{reflist Meat processing in New Zealand Food manufacturers of New Zealand Agricultural cooperatives Agriculture companies of New Zealand Cooperatives in New Zealand New Zealand companies established in 1948 Agriculture companies established in 1948