FRUIT production is a major contributor to the Shepparton economy and the success of it can be seen in the means of getting it to market.
Gone are the days of hundreds of people working side by side, manually sorting and packing fruit into boxes. Globally, the process has developed over the years taking full advantage of technology to store and orientate the fruit in a pack to ensure it presents in the most positive light.
Major growing and packing company, Geoffrey Thompson Fruit Packing is presently rebuilding their packing shed in a new facility at the former SPC buildings in Mooroopna.
Chief among the works will be the substantial investment in state-of-the-art packing line technology that brings their facility in line with some of the best in the world. While the number of workers will remain the same, the emphasis will be on improved materials handling and storage.
Peter Thompson, director for Geoffrey Thompson scoured the world for the best options available understanding that Australia has much to compete with for global markets.
The three stacks at the plant are quite visible for some distance yet the new facility will include a refrigerated cool storage shed that will store bulk fruit bins 45 high, reaching almost as high as these stacks.
The new mechanical handling system will move the produce from the cool room to the packing line and back to the cool rooms in an on-demand process with minimal exposure to the higher atmospheric temperature of the packing room.
Managing the $55M project is national company, FDC Building with over 500 staff across Victoria, Queenland, New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory, South Australia and Western Australia. Site manager, Kyran Hughan, in showing work progress, explained how part of the concrete panel walls on the south-east corner of the complex will be realigned into a new position to provide additional space for the production line inside.
The new facility is due to be completed and ready for operation by the end of this year.
