Freshco is a leading fruit export business that was founded in Auckland in 1989, and has grown to include orchards, packing houses, cool stores and offices in key growing locations throughout the country. They recently completed a two-stage renovation of their processing facility in Whakatū, Hawkes Bay, involving a seismic building upgrade, and refurbishment of the interiors. For interior ceilings, Climate’s pre-finished ceiling tiles were specified, providing the tidy finish and long-lasting low maintenance the facility required.

The packhouse is a busy processing facility packing 1.8 million 18kg cartons of apples for markets all around the world. When it came to choosing a ceiling material, the business wanted to upgrade the visual appearance, but it was also crucial to select a hygienic, easy to clean and low maintenance surface to ensure longevity and maintain productivity. Climate’s Ecotile ceiling tiles ticked these boxes and were specified for the large two-stage project. 

Ecotile is a prefinished plasterboard tile for suspended grid systems, featuring durable GIB plasterboard, with a durable powder coated surface. The system has a Group 1-S fire rating and antimicrobial properties, making it suitable for a range of commercial projects, including food processing facilities where a suspended grid system that is easy to clean and maintain is required. Made in New Zealand from sustainably produced materials, the system is Global GreenTag certified for added peace of mind. 

“The upgrade came about because we wanted to do some alterations and bring the building up to current seismic standards, so we took advantage to also tidy up the buildings,” says Rick Jones, GM Engineering, Freshco. “We put the Ecotile suspended ceiling in for both the aesthetic side of things and to make it nice and easy to clean. I also like that it’s New Zealand made, sustainable and eco-friendly.”

Installation of the ceiling tiles took place in two stages in line with the seismic strengthening programme — the first in 2021, and a second stage which was completed in early 2026. Rick notes that installation was straightforward, helping to keep the project on track. “Ecotile is quite an easy product to work with. We had to do alterations to stormwater pipes, for example, and were able to just add in a bulkhead. The system is modular which makes it nice and easy to work with.”

Over 3,000 ceiling tiles were installed in total across 2500m² of ceiling. While the ceiling tiles have been installed in stages over multiple years, the cleanability, colour consistency between batches, and in-service performance has ensured consistency in the overall appearance of the ceiling.

The end result is a fresh look for Freshco’s Whakatū facility, backed by excellent durability and low maintenance. “Ecotile has a nice clean aesthetic that’s made our older building look a lot newer than it is,” says Rick. “I’d be happy to specify Ecotile in future developments as well as consider Climateline for in-house wall partitions and service area alterations”.