In 1991 the Taylor, Preston and Grace families purchased the former Wellington city abattoir and established Taylor Preston Limited, today a thriving quality meat processing and export company, situated in Ngauranga Gorge, minutes from New Zealand's bustling harbour capital.
The majority of livestock originates from the fertile and lush pastures of Wairarapa, Manawatu, Rangitikei and the rolling hills of southern Hawkes Bay. Strong supplier relationships also exist in the South Island to provide year round supply of livestock.
The plant operates at close to capacity from October through to June and operates a single shift five days a week in the low season. The slaughter chains and further processing departments are double shift operations, employing 850 people during the peak period. Throughput has quadrupled since 1991 and today about 1,500,000 animals are processed annually.
Sheep, lamb, goats, venison, beef and bobby veal are all processed at Taylor Preston in a strictly sanitized environment with frequent audits by the New Zealand Food Safety Authority.
Taylor Preston is halal certified and fully EU and USDA licensed for the export of lamb, sheep, beef, goat, venison, bobby veal and offal's and is one of only five organically certified meat export plants in New Zealand.
The company exports high quality meat under the Taylor Preston logo and brand to over 60 countries worldwide, including France, Spain, USA, UK, Japan, Switzerland, the Middle East and Mexico. The product is exported by sea and air, fresh or frozen, and carefully packaged in accordance with the customers' requirements. A variety of meat products are also sold locally through butcher shops and supermarkets.
Taylor Preston Limited is a company synonymous with quality meats and excellent customer service. An integral factor in their success is the unique combination of three families with many generations of experience as meat wholesalers and farmers. They also emphasize effective leadership in management and on the production floor. Taylor Preston strives to build strong relationships with customers and suppliers and they take pride in the family values they instill into all facets of the company operations.