Mill sees advantages in regional production

TO operate regionally made sense for a major food manufacturer that has invested in a Ballarat facility.

On Tuesday 21 April, George Weston Foods (GWF) opened up its Mauri flour mill in the Ballarat West Employment Zone (BWEZ) to provide state government ministers an insight into the $250 million project.

The government shared support for a further $92 million investment by GWF, including the expansion of the mill with a new warehouse and production facility, as well as future upgrades across the company’s network in Victoria, including its Tip Top bakery operations.

It’s hoped the facility’s first flour will be produced in late August.

The project had up to 240 workers on site, with just under 50 jobs set to be created when the facility was finished.

Mauri managing director for Australia and New Zealand Cameron Miners said while access to rail was critical to the mill’s operation, the site offered the company other advantages.

GWF has production sites in Melbourne, Bendigo and Castlemaine.

“There’s a lot of truck movements, although we’ll take a whole heap off with rail in, we’ll still be trucking flour out,” he said.

Miners said conducting such an operation in a metro area was “very restrictive”.

“We in conjunction with the state government had a look at other areas such as Geelong,” he said.

“Ballarat just suited us when we looked at what we call our net freight equation, that’s freight in, freight out, and how we service our customers.”

Industry minister Colin Brooks, regional development minister Michaela Settle and Ripon MP Martha Haylett toured the mill.

Brooks said the government was pleased to be supporting the facility.

He said the company employed 3000 Victorians, half of whom lived regionally.

“Times are tough at the moment with the war in the Middle East and cost of living pressures on families,” he said.

“It’s so important that people have a pay packet so that they’re able to put food on the table, do all of the things that families need to do.”

Settle, who is also the Eureka MP, said the mill was an example of why the government was backing BWEZ.

“It’s about bringing in local jobs and creating a really strong economy in the regions,” she said.

“We’re going to see wheat coming from north west Victoria, coming here and being processed and spread throughout our great state.”