A groundbreaking ceremony was recently held in the Shire of Murray for the first major bakery investment in WA in 20 years.
The sod-turning ceremony marked the beginning of the development stage for a $66 million bakery facility by global agribusiness ARYZTA at Peel Business Park.
The bakery is anticipated to create between 110 and 130 local jobs once it's fully operational in 2026.
The development is part of the State government's $49 million Transform Peel project and Food Innovation Precinct WA, designed to help develop and strengthen the State's food and beverage manufacturing sector.
Regional Development Minister Don Punch said the facility would improve the State's domestic food processing capability, enabling local production of baked goods that would otherwise be imported into WA.
"ARYZTA is really excited about the future growth of the bakery due to the abundance of grains that we have here in Western Australia," Mr Punch said.
"This is a great opportunity to further see those grains incorporated and processed locally, rather than the bulk shipments that we seek from overseas."
During the first phase of its development, the facility is expected to employ between 60 and 80 people, and a further 50 in phase two, with South Metropolitan TAFE expected to collaborate with the facility when it is fully operational.
"The creation of new jobs and training opportunities with the arrival of this new facility is a positive outcome for the region," Mr Punch said.
ARYZTA's existing network of bakeries includes 19 bakeries across Europe, operations in another seven countries in the Asia-Pacific region and two facilities in New South Wales and Victoria.
With the company's east coast operations currently transporting its bakery items to WA customers, the new facility is expected to reduce an estimated 1.7 million food miles.
The Swiss-owned company is expected to capitalise on the Peel bakery's location by exporting its products to Asian markets, potentially attracting further investment for WA's food and beverage manufacturing industry.
Known for its industrial bakery technology, ARYZTA will utilise its AI driven quality assurance, robotics, storage and ingredient quality and biosecurity monitoring systems at the WA facility.
ARYZTA chief executive Urs Jordi said the company had a big focus on "local sourcing and local knowledge".
"This is what drives our bakeries around the world," Mr Jordi said.
Lands Minister John Carey, who also attended the groundbreaking ceremony, said the Peel Business Park was a place where business, industry, training, research and development arms could come together to help diversify WA's economy.
