A new brand of children’s soft drinks and bubbly offerings for restaurants and hotels
will come off production lines in Campbellfield following a state government contribution of $933,423 towards a $2.33 million upgrade for Sparkling Beverages.
The grant is the latest Melbourne North Industry Innovation Fund [MNIIF] investment in new manufacturing, designed to create jobs suitable for workers being made redundant through the demise of Australia’s automotive industry.
Federal Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane said the grant would allow the company to compete with overseas manufacturers, reducing reliance on imported products.
State Manufacturing Minister David Hodgett said the grant would lead to 27 new jobs by 2016 and a 10-fold increase in production capacity, from 10 million bottles a year to up to 100 million.
“The project will complete the functionality of the company’s new PET plastic bottle line by adding a Carmichael Razorcut labeller – the first of its kind to be installed in Australia – as well as increasing volume and diversifying its product offerings of glass-bottle and canned beverages,” Mr Hodgett said.
“It will enable the company to introduce its new Tuscani range of products for restaurants and hotels, positioning it to increase its market share against imported mineral waters by an estimated five million bottles a year, and establish its children’s soft drinks line.
“[The project] will also enable the business to ramp up production for its major customers by at least an additional seven million bottles a year and allow more product flexibility for low-to-medium volume customers.”
The MNIIF combines contributions from state and federal governments and Ford Australia. It was established in response to Ford’s announcement that it would stop local production in 2016.
Six companies have shared in about $9.5 million allocated so far, building on total investment of $28.2 million.
The successful projects are expected to create more than 350 new, full-time-equivalent jobs.
