Meat processor MAP WA says the $35 million investment at its Bibra Lake facility has doubled its capacity and enabled the installation of the latest thermoforming tech from Multivac to reduce packaging waste.
The project included $10 million in construction and $25 million for state-of-the-art robotics and equipment, which have increased product lines from six to nine and the facility’s capacity to 400,000 kilograms per week.
MAP WA was established in 2011 as a joint venture between Western Meat Packers Group (WMPG) and Coles Supermarkets. The factory supplies retail-ready, chilled raw meat products to every Coles Supermarket in Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
The upgrade features Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) technology from Multivac, which maintains the visual, textural, and nutritional elements of meat products for about twice as long as traditional packaging.
The Multivac thermoforming packaging machine is the first of its kind in Australia to run a reduced edge trim, which reduces packaging waste.
The benefits for MAP WA include the ability to handle high output quantities, allow a high degree of customised machine design, process quick product and format changes, and have complete line integration.
This upgrade expands the range of products and doubles the number of retail-ready packets of beef, lamb, and pork to 2.1 million packs for Coles a week. The products are packaged in a variety of forms including vacuum skim packs, map packaging, and flexflex.
WMPG CEO Andrew Fuda said the upgrade was completed without impacting existing production.
“We’re incredibly proud to have completed this innovative project in partnership with Coles, without disrupting our current output of one million meat packs each week. We now have one of the country’s most technologically advanced meat processing facilities,” Fuda said.
“The carton picking and robotic lifts have been custom designed and made by Contech on A & A robots,” Fuda said.
Coles chief Operations and Sustainability officer, Matt Swindells, said Coles was fully supportive of the upgrade.
“This site processes exclusively for Coles, so it’s an important one for the supply of meat for our customers across the state. We’ve been working with the team as a partner for more than a decade now and it’s been great to support this expansion,” Swindells said.
State agriculture and food minister Jackie Jarvis said it was a positive development for the Western Australian meat industry.
“This development illustrates how processors and retailers can work together to capture new markets and employment opportunities,” Jarvis said.
