Thomas Foods International, the Australia-based meat processor, has released plans for a new factory to replace a plant destroyed by fire last year.
The company is to build the facility on a greenfield site, 10km (12 miles) outside Murray Bridge, the town where the factory hit by the blaze in January 2018 was located. The new plant is to be about 8km from the site of the former factory. Thomas Foods said it expects production could start at the site in November 2020.
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“This is the single largest investment by our company in its 30-year history and on a scale not seen in our industry for many years. It’s also our long-term commitment to our community, staff, customers and livestock suppliers throughout South Australia and Australia,” CEO Darren Thomas said.
Beef and lamb will be processed at the new factory, which will be built in stages. Thomas Foods said beef processing will be completed first.
Family-owned Thomas Foods has plants in Lobethal, South Australia, as well as in Tamworth in New South Wales. The company supplies 85 countries and has operations overseas. Since the fire, the group has opened an office in Japan and struck a partnership with Netherlands-based Luiten Food.
Once fully up and running, the new plant at Murray Bridge is expected to create around 2,000 jobs, an estimated 400 of which will be required in the initial stages of production.
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