The NSW Government has offered food processor Simplot a payroll tax rebate for the next three years to save the company's plant at Bathurst in the central west of NSW.
Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional Infrastructure & Services Andrew Stoner and Member for Bathurst Paul Toole said the government was offering assistance to support the factory that made one of Australia’s favourite snacks, the Chiko Roll.
Simplot's Bathurst plant, a former Edgell facility, also processes a range of other canned and frozen products including corn.
The Australian subsidiary of the US based JR Simplot Company is currently undergoing a major review of its operations, including the plant at Bathurst.
Stoner said the Simplot board was due to meet in the coming days to decide on the future of three of its Australian factories which are under review in the face of increasing competitive pressures in the food processing and manufacturing sector.
“To help relieve some pressure on the plant and the staff who work there, Simplot has been approved for assistance in the form of payroll tax rebates for the next three years, through the NSW Regional Industries Investment Fund,” Stoner said.
Toole said NSW Trade & Investment was also working with managers at the Bathurst plant to support their proposals for multi-million dollar efficiency upgrades to underpin the plant’s ongoing competitiveness.
“The upgrades are expected to deliver significant savings and ensure the ongoing viability of the plant when compared to other alternatives.
“Indications are that it is highly likely NSW Government’s assistance will play a vital role in strengthening local management’s case for the board’s decision regarding the future of the Bathurst plant,” Toole said.
In June, Simplot advised its employees that its vegetable processing plants in Bathurst in NSW and Devonport in Tasmania are under threat of closure.
The company said at the time that the problem lay in unsatisfactory financial returns arising from a very competitive food industry environment and unsustainably high costs associated with manufacturing in Australia.
The NSW government is offering assistance to support the Simplot facility in Bathurst that makes the Chiko Roll.
