Potato product manufacturer, Farm Frites, has selected a site in Dooen in Victoria’s Wimmera district for its first Australian production facility. The company’s Australian business was founded in 2016 and supplies the food service industry and quick service restaurants, including KFC and Hungry Jacks, across the country.
Currently, Farm Frites imports products from its European factories in The Netherlands, Belgium, and Poland.
In a letter to local residents, Farm Frites Australia general manager, Kieran Prestidge, said the project would be a $425 million investment, with a 24-hour production facility.
“It will support Australian farmers with increased demand for Australian-grown potatoes, create 250 jobs for local workers and training and career opportunities for local students,” Prestidge said.
He said that while Dooen was not potato growing country, it was “perfectly located” in between the best growing areas in Victoria, South Australia, and New South Wales with “a proud agricultural history, and excellent connections to road and rail networks”.
The 30-hectare processing plant will be within the Wimmera Intermodal Freight Terminal (WIFT) and the Wimmera Agriculture and Logistics Hub.
The plans include the plant being powered by 100 per cent renewable energy as well as the latest technology to manager waste and protect the local environment.
There will also be unloading and storage areas for potatoes, a closed conveyor for transporting potatoes from storage to the factory, a production line that takes raw, unwashed potatoes and makes the finished, frozen products shipped to our customers, and an internal road network for light and heavy vehicles.
The company is currently seeking planning and environmental approvals from the state government, Horsham Rural City Council and the Environment Protection Authority (EPA). Subject to approvals, Farm Frites expects to start construction later this year or early 2026, with production to start in 2027.
