6 Jun 2018

Bittersweet: Cadbury factory equipment to be auctioned

8:18 pm on 6 June 2018

Cadbury's owner, Mondelez International, will host a series of auctions to sell what remains of Dunedin's Cadbury factory and cafe.

The Cadbury factory in Dunedin.

The Cadbury factory in Dunedin. Photo: RNZ / Lydia Anderson

The five online auctions will open next Wednesday and close after a week with everything from plant equipment to forklifts and a 1975 Bedford van available to buy.

The auctions are being organised by Grays, an online auctioneer based in Sydney.

No historic memorabilia would be offered in the auctions.

"We have no financial targets for the auction - it's really a means for us to decommission left over equipment in a way that allows Kiwis to buy items they think they could use," plant manager Judith Mair said in a statement.

"None of the historic memorabilia is available via the auction.

"We've offered to donate all of the memorabilia to local museums and libraries, however they've chosen to accept very few items.

"We're working with the hospital to donate much of the artwork, and are speaking to a number of other charities and organisations to ensure we give local parties every opportunity to retain memorabilia in Dunedin.

"A limited amount of archival material which we need to retain from a corporate records and brand history perspective will be retained in our Australian or UK archives, with a few items of memorabilia to be sent to Cadbury World in Bournville for potential display."

The last confectionary - Pineapple Lumps - rolled off the production line at the Dunedin factory in March.

Before its closure was announced early last year by the international food giant, the factory employed about 350 staff.

The majority of the factory's manufacturing equipment had already been moved to Australia or sold to other manufacturers in New Zealand or overseas, Ms Mair said.

"The online auction is for the last remaining pieces of small scale office and manufacturing equipment."

Cadbury was acquired by Kraft Foods in 2010. The Mondelez rebranding followed in 2012.