GrainCorp is expanding its processing facility in West Footscray, Victoria, to add capability in retail spreads, bakery fats, and shortenings.
The project, which is due to be completed in September. is part of a wider initiative by GrainCorp Oils to integrate its edible oils and spreads manufacturing operations.
This will, according to the company, increase its overall competitiveness and reduce carbon emissions by around 25,000 tonnes per year.
This wider initiative will involve relocating GrainCorp Foods’ processing and packing operation in Murrarie, Queensland, to its existing operation in West Footscray, Victoria, as well as GrainCorp Oilseeds’ existing operation in Numurkah, Victoria. In turn, these operations will be expanded and upgraded to accommodate the additional capacity.
“The project delivers a logical and more efficient focal point for the sourcing, crushing, refining, and distribution of GrainCorp’s locally-produced edible oils and food ingredients,” GrainCorp Oils group general manager Sam Tainsh said.
“Consumers will benefit significantly from the integration of all our operations, as the increase in efficiency will ensure we are able to continue producing Australian-grown canola and other oilseeds, and therefore continue supplying associated retail products, which are increasing in demand.”
The move will also ensure greater integration of GrainCorp's processing and packing operations from Queensland, to Victoria and New South Wales, where oilseed is already largely grown and crushed. It will also reduce the trucking distance of the final product by 550,000 kilometres per year to customers mostly based in Melbourne and Sydney.
Facility design and construction company Wiley has won the upgrade contract, and the company's managing director Tom Wiley said the West Footscray upgrade was a vital piece of the wider integration project, as it would significantly reduce operational costs and boost the competitiveness of locally-produced food and food ingredients against imported products.
Wiley Business Operations Director Simon Spittle said: “A major outcome of the project will be improving environmental performance by reducing carbon emissions by around 25,000 tonnes per year, thanks to the disuse of coal-fired equipment currently used to generate steam at the Murrarie plant.
“GrainCorp’s investment in its West Footscray and Numurkah sites will eliminate the need for the coal-fired equipment, providing GrainCorp with the opportunity to invest in more efficient and environmentally-sustainable technology."
