A $50 million investment on the HW Greenham and Sons beef processing plant at Tongala will secure its future and create more than 200 jobs.
The company, which started at Tongala in 1993, will build a state-of-the-art facility to enable the processing of premium beef and hopes to be exporting to more than 20 countries when the plant is fully operational in mid-2022.
“It is the biggest investment in the company's history, it is an exciting day for the company and our employees,” managing director Peter Greenham said.
At the start of the year 65 workers were let go at the plant as a reduction on the national cattle herd forced a slowdown. The company has been susceptible to ups and downs in the dairy industry, especially at Tongala, which is only equipped to process lean dairy cattle.
Mr Greenham said the downturn was instrumental in the decision to invest and diversify, so the plant can process a greater variety of animals and produce premium export beef.
“The Goulburn Valley has a special place in our history, it is where we started and now we are back here making this investment for the future,” he said.
“Dairy in this area has slowed down over the past 10 to 15 years, and what we are seeing is a shift to higher quality cattle, grain-fed and higher quality grass-fed.”
Construction will start in August and will take a year to complete. When fully operational another 230 employees will be needed and daily output will quadruple to 200 tonnes.
Victorian Regional Development Minister Mary-Anne Thomas was coy about the state government’s contribution through the Regional Jobs Fund but happy to talk about the impact of the investment.
“We look to partner with businesses across rural and regional Victoria where we see the private sector is making significant investments; we work with those businesses that have bold ambition and want to employ more Victorians with a range of support,” she said.
“Every job created in regional Victoria means more economic activity and it has flow-on impacts to businesses right across the community.”
For Mr Greenham, the only downside was that his father, Peter Sr, who died last year, wasn’t there for the announcement.
“Dad and I discussed what we are doing here today eight or nine years ago, and we always knew this facility would need to adapt to the changes in the area. I’m quite sad that he wasn’t here today to see what we are doing,” he said.
“This is an investment in the future, I’m the sixth generation of the family in the meat business and I want my son to be the seventh generation.”
The company will continue to operate the Tongala plant during construction.