Manufacturing

Food Processing in Victoria's Food Bowl

Food processing is a high-value manufacturing industry in the Goulburn Murray Irrigation District, enabling local value-adding to the agricultural production from the region.

Dairy processing is one of the largest manufacturing industries in the GMID. A large share of the finished dairy product - such as milk powders, nutritional supplements, and cream cheese - are exported by container through the Port of Melbourne.

Murray Goulburn is the single largest exporter of containerised goods from the Port of Melbourne. The company has dairy-processing facilities including a cheese factory in Leitchville; milk-processing, cheese and nutritional supplements facilities in Cobram and a cheese factory in Rochester. Meiji, located next to Murray Goulburn exports milk powders.

Tatura Milk Industries (BEGA) manufactures a range of products. Snow Brand, located nearby is a major exporter of milk powders to Asia.

Other significant dairy processors include Nestle in Echuca and Heinz Watties in Echuca and Girgarre, Fonterra (Bonlac) in Stanhope and BEGA in Strathmerton.

Fruit and vegetable processing is the other major manufacturing industry, with SPC-Ardmona having processing operations in Shepparton, Mooroopna and Kyabram. Tomato processing is a major industry in Echuca (Cedenco and Simplot), Tatura (Unilever), Shepparton (Campbell's Soups and SPC-Ardmona) and Girgarre (Heinz).

Border Packers in Koondrook handles more than 400,000 cartons of fruit annually and there are large fruit packers in Shepparton, including Geoffrey Thompson, as well as many connected to orchards and coolstores.

Riverland Oilseed located in Numurkah processes oilseed for stock feed and oil production.

Food manufacturing in the Swan Hill region includes: Swan Hill Abattoirs (meat processing), Boundary Bend Estate (olive oil), Nutri Green (health products), Select Harvest (almond processing) and Andrew Peace Wines and Bullers Winery - large wine producers. Other major manufacturers include: Pumpa Engineering, Grizzly Engineering (engineering), Polymaster, Tankworld (tank manufacturers), Larnec Doors (door manufacturer), Murray Industries (pallets), Lowes Windows (window manufacturer).

Stock Feed Processing in the GMID

Many businesses operate in the region to process and distribute stock feed. In addition there are businesses that specialise in exporting containerised hay and other stock feeds.

Stockfeed processors include Ridley Agriproducts in Mooroopna and Cohuna, CopRice in Tongala, Teangi Stockfeeds in Gunbower and Riverland Oilseed in Numurkah.

Other Manufacturing in the GMID

Many manufacturing businesses other than food processing operate in the region.

In Gannawarra Shire: Mawsons Group (quarrying and construction), AWMA (water control infrastructure), Ellwaste (waste management) and Dunstan Farmers Engineering at Cohuna, Macs Biscuits at Kerang, Arbuthnot Sawmill and furniture manufacturers in Koondrook.

In Greater Shepparton: VisyPak (steel cans), Furphy Foundry (cast iron), J Furphy & Sons (pressure vessels, process/storage tanks, galvanising and laser cutting), Telfords (engineered buildings), Rubicon (irrigation control gates), Pental Soaps, SCS Plastics (food containers)and EDP (fruit picking and food packaging equipment).

In Campaspe: Nelson Silos, Humes (engineered concrete products) and JNR Engineering (agricultural equipment).

In Loddon: Pyramid Salt in Pyramid Hill.

In Moira: Foodmach (food packaging equipment) and Yarroweyah Engineering (rotary dairy equipment).

in Swan Hill: coming soon