WOOLWORTHS officially opened its $31 million expanded Bunbury Meat Centre last week.
With support from Agriculture and Food Minister Terry Redman, former WAFarmers president Mike Norton and V & V Walsh chief executive Peter Walsh, Woolworths general manager of fresh food Pat McEntee said the investment was all about meeting the growing demand of WA customers for beef and lamb cuts.
The expansion will mean a further 70 people will be employed by Woolworths, taking the site, together with V & V Walsh, to 650 local employees," Mr McEntee said
"The Bunbury Meat Centre is attached to a beef and lamb abattoir owned and operated by V&V Walsh.
"Having a meat processing facility together with a dual-species abattoir makes the Bunbury Meat Centre a unique facility in Australia.
"The extension has added over 4000m2 to the current facility and includes new staff amenities and offices, a cold storage warehouse that can hold over 2000 pallets of chilled meat and a new meat production facility that consolidates Woolworths' meat processing under one roof."
Former WAFarmers president Mike Norton said the facility had a huge amount of potential to open up new potential to drive throughput for WA beef.
"It will put high quality product into the North West in all those towns which don't have butchers," Mr Norton said.
"We have had a really good working relationship with Woolworths for a very long time.
"We have been supportive of not only Woolworths but any company who wants to make this kind of investment.
"To Woolworths' credit they are the first company that has really stepped up to the plate to make a big investment which hasn't been made in the beef industry in this State for decades."
Mr Redman said it was fantastic to see such a major investment.
"It gives confidence to producers to make their investments," Mr Redman said.
"Now we need to build up some stock numbers in WA, they are at a bit of a low point and I am hoping that these sort of investments give producers confidence so we can move the industry forward in WA."
Mr Walsh said the investment provided confidence for the entire industry to grow.
"It is like anything you can have confidence in growing your business knowing that you have got that support," Mr Walsh said.
"We will be moving forward and looking forward to a long-term relationship with Woolworths.
"We have been in the industry for 50 plus years and now we can look at it for another 20-25 years.
"And of course this also helps the farmer because we are all in this together from the paddock to the plate."
