Consistency at the core The unassuming appearance of Taylor Corp heads Kelvin Taylor and son Cameron might lead you to believe they’re pretty relaxed about how they do business. But at the heart of their hugely successful growing and export enterprise – Farmlands’ largest apple-growing shareholder – sits a commitment to quality, fierce protection of the Taylor brand and tremendous investment in emerging technology. All with a firm focus on family. Kelvin Taylor’s route to the massive export markets of Asia began in the early 1960s, following in the applegrowing footsteps of his father Wally and grandfather Walter. Kelvin had worked on-farm before leaving school but he knew he didn’t want to work for anyone else. The idea of autonomy was already a driving force behind his decisionmaking.
“We just wanted to be totally integrated. Grow our own trees, have our own apples, pack them and then export them to the markets ourselves.” What association with ENZA did give was an opportunity for Kelvin to travel the world, building relationships and demand for a quality product. “When the world opened up [postderegulation], we didn’t have to go out hunting for people to buy our apples, they approached us and we made sure that it was all good fruit wherever we sent it.” The number of customers isn’t an issue either. Across China, Taylor Corp’s strongest export destination, there are only about four or five buyers the company deals with and all are family-run businesses. “When we travel, the whole family comes out to dinner with us. It’s the same when they
One bit of dirt, bought from the proceeds of a car sale, then another and another helped Kelvin establish his own orchard. Soon he was able to build his own packing shed and start packing his dad’s apples. Again, a man in control of his own destiny. Apart from the grip of the New Zealand Apple and Pear Board.
come over here. We’re one big family
“ENZA controlled everything back in those days, which we didn’t like,” Kelvin says, “and then when deregulation came – which meant we could sell our own apples – well, that was the best day in our lives.
arriving in New Zealand from across
| Kelvin Taylor and son Cameron amid the packhouse technology that has helped them cope with labour shortages.
and you build a lot of trust from that,” Kelvin says. Alongside skyrocketing shipping costs and inflation, Taylor Corp has faced a lack of available RSE workers. The 20/21 financial year was tough across the board, with just 2,000 workers the Pacific, the lowest number of arrivals since 2007. This meant that in 2021, 95 percent of the Taylor Corp packhouse and orchard was staffed by people new to the business.
Instilling a sense of pride in what you do doesn’t happen overnight.” Cameron Taylor
18 | THE FARMLANDER
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