Exporting premium NZ lamb for over thirty years

Davmet exports the finest NZ lamb to the world. Whilst seasonal by nature we ship year round by working alongside local farmers to capture the product at its best.

About Davmet

Davmet is a privately owned and operated specialist New Zealand lamb procurement and export marketing company. Based in Hawke’s Bay, we’ve been working alongside local farmers for more than thirty years to supply premium New Zealand lamb to leading food distributors and processors around the world.
Colin Francis & Ian McGarvie

Our History

Davmet was formed in the UK by Colin Francis. Colin started his working life in Dannevirke at a stock & station firm before moving to Wellington to join a meat exporting business. This lead to a relocation to London in the early 1980s and ultimately to meeting Arthur Davis, a well established identity in the UK Meat Trade. Arthur assisted Colin in setting up his own venture. Davmet was an existing, but unused, shelf company owned by Arthur that Colin used to get business under way - with the name remaining to this day. In 1989 the opportunity arose to process up to 50,000 lambs per year at Progressive Meats in Hastings. This lead to the creation of Davmet New Zealand and an office was opened in Taradale by Ian McGarvie who had now joined the company. Colin returned from the UK along with Iain McNicol and Rob Wilson was appointed the Production Manager soon after. The office was relocated to the current site at Station Street, Napier in 1995. Ian retired in 2020 with Chris Pyke taking over his position and a shareholding in the company. At various times Davmet NZ had interests in meat processing facilities in the North and South Islands but today only toll processes at Progressive Meats in Hastings. Virtually all Davmet product is exported.

Our capabilities

Davmet production has grown from 50,000 lambs per year to more than 400,000. We produce a wide range of standard cuts and customised cuts for customers with specific product requirements. We manage all orders, associated documentation and shipping from our Hawke’s Bay office to track orders right through the supply chain to delivery.