AUSTRALIA—George Weston Foods (GWF), one of Australia’s leading food manufacturers, is investing almost AU$133 million to build a new flour mill in Ballarat, the most sustainable of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere.
This mill latest in a number of investments, relocations and upgrades undertaken by the bakery giant and will be replacing the historic North Melbourne Flour Mill, which, due to its metropolitan location, has limited expansion opportunities.
GWF chief executive Stuart Grainger said the investment will enable the company to continue to serve its customers into the future.
GWF owns several Australian food labels, including the bread and baked-goods brand Tip Top, processed-meat company Don, and Yumi’s, which sells non-dairy and gluten-free dips and vegetarian snacks.
He added that the new mill will enable them to continue growing their brands. “We are excited to be investing in the future of sustainable agriculture and food production in Victoria,” he concluded.
Victoria has the largest and most established food and beverage manufacturing sector in the nation, valued at around AU$38 billion and employing around 72,000 people.
Minister for industry support Martin Pakula said: ‘’We’re supporting investments like this because they help strengthen the local supply chain and Victoria’s position as a leader in food manufacturing.
“A major company like George Weston Foods choosing to expand in Victoria will drive economic growth in our food manufacturing sector and create new jobs across the state.”
It is unknown when construction will commence on the new mill; however, Grain Central understands North Melbourne employees have been told about the new development in order to give them enough time to consider a transfer to the Ballarat site.
More than 1300 Victorian businesses and farmers supply and work with George Weston Foods, while the business employs around 3000 people across eight sites in Victoria.
The investment will create 174 new jobs in Victoria and transfer 46 jobs from an existing flour mill in North Melbourne to Ballarat, with an additional 320 jobs during the mill’s construction.
George Weston Foods’ new investments across Victoria include a new national Tip Top boutique bakery in Bendigo, relocating its Golden Crumpet manufacturing line from Adelaide to Dandenong, upgrading its Don KRC business in Castlemaine to grow exports and expanding its Yumi’s plant in Hallam to increase production.
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