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Gundagai Meat Processors (GMP) has begun a $30 million expansion project that will boost its annual production capacity by 40 per cent.

The project, delivered by Wiley, is also expected to create 76 new full-time jobs over the next five years. GMP currently processes more than 625,000 lambs annually, making it one of the largest employers in the region.

The company started out initially processing around 100 lambs per week, but it now has major supply contracts, including a 35-year supplier relationship with Coles Supermarkets.

GMP and Wiley collaborated on the master planning to ensure the project metproduction objectives and ensured compliance with ongoing requirements of its export customers and for its key client Coles.

The expansion project touches almost every area of the meat processing facility: the lairage, slaughter floor, offal areas, chillers, loadout, administration and amenities.

GMP CEO, Will Barton said “This project marks another incredibly important milestone for our business, our family, our hardworking employees and for the community of Gundagai.

“The investment will create 76 new jobs, boost local spending by an estimated $3 million during the construction phase alone and generate ongoing stimulus to the local economy, estimated to be in excess of $150 million per year.”

According to Wiley, the upgrade will put GMP at the cutting edge of lamb processing and enable it to exceed the ever-increasing compliance demands of the industry. Wiley managing director Tom Wiley said GMP was implementing technology which will take the company well into the future.

“The facility will have full traceability of the lamb carcass, executed and tracked with RFID tags. Provisions too have been made for future x-ray (DEXA) capacity in the facility which will enable GMP to understand the supply chain even further with yield insights.”

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