The location for Australia’s first drink canning manufacturing plant to be built in 20 years has been announced.
Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said Visy one of the world’s leading packaging, paper and recycling companies, had chosen Stapylton on the Gold Coast as the site for the new $86M beverage can manufacturing plant.
"The State Government’s Trade and Investment Queensland office and the Gold Coast City Council have convinced Visy that Queensland is the right destination for this world-class facility," she said.
"I met personally with representatives from Visy during the recent investment tour of Melbourne and Sydney and I’m delighted that they have chosen Queensland and the Gold Coast in particular to build this factory.
"Visy’s facility will incorporate global leading-edge technology – it’ll be streets ahead of any other canning facility in the nation.
"This is really positive news for Queensland’s manufacturing industry.
"It’s great news too for the rapidly growing regional area between Logan and the Gold Coast as 44 permanent jobs will be created at the plant and 150 jobs during the 6 month construction phase.
"Once it’s up and running the plant will produce large volumes of export quality beverage cans and will supply customers in Queensland, interstate and overseas."
The food manufacturing industry has taken a beating in recent times, with the high cost of doing business in Australia leading many companies to send their operations offshore.
But with the dollar falling to a 10-month low recently, there is renewed hope the industry could survive.
Bligh said the shell of the plant should be up by January 2012 and cans were expected to start rolling off production lines around July.
"The company had been considering expanding either one of their Sydney or Melbourne canning facilities but it’s a real feather in Queensland’s cap to have the company decide on us instead."
Gold Coast Mayor Ron Clarke said securing the Visy canning operation in the South East was a great outcome for the city and Queensland.
"Council has been working hard through its Investment Attraction Program to bolster investment here on the coast and deliver more local jobs.
“This outcome highlights the importance of local and state governments working together for the benefit of the city."
Visy new plant will be adjacent to their current operation in Stapylton, a state-of-the-art corrugated cardboard box factory which opened with State Government assistance in 2006.
"The company’s expansion has excellent potential to develop a manufacturing and packaging industry cluster around the Stapylton site as this has been the result of Visy expansion elsewhere in Australia," Bligh said.
"By attracting and re-attracting big players like Visy to Queensland, the State Government helps keep industry investment and development on the boil."
Visy’s Chief Operating Officer, Chris Daly said the state-of-the-art beverage canning facility would add to Visy’s extensive operations in Queensland.
"We already employ almost 600 people in Queensland across our various recycling, paper making and packaging activities and the State continues to be major source of growth for us.
"This new canning facility will put a national spotlight on Queensland manufacturing because the plant will be the most modern constructed in Australia using latest available technology.
He said Queensland was chosen as the site for the new facility because of its strong prospects for future growth, proximity to major customers and because expanding on the site of Visy’s existing corrugated box factory at Staplyton made sound commercial sense.
"We also found the Queensland Government, the Gold Coast Council and their representatives very proactive in encouraging our plans for this plant and for our future planned investments in the State," he said.
Daly met with Premier and Minister for Reconstruction Anna Bligh and Treasurer Fraser in Melbourne during their recent Investment Roadshow which provided the opportunity for Bligh and Fraser to seal the investment deal.
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