Wiley awarded contract for GrainCorp Foods' upgrade

Wiley will upgrade GrainCorp Foods’ oils and spreads plant in West Footscray, Victoria, to deliver extra capability, including retail spreads, bakery fats and shortenings.

The project is part of a wider initiative by GrainCorp Oils to integrate its edible oils and spreads manufacturing operations, as it seeks to increase overall competitiveness and reduce carbon emissions by around 25,000 tonnes per year.

GrainCorp Foods will relocate both its processing and packing operation from Murrarie, Queensland, and also GrainCorp Oilseeds’ operations in Numurkah, Victoria, to the Footscray site. These operations will also be expanded and upgraded to accommodate the additional capacity.

The move will ensure greater integration of processing and packing operations from Queensland, to Victoria and New South Wales, where oilseed is already largely grown and crushed.

It will also reduce the trucking distance of the final product by 550,000 km/year to customers mostly based in Melbourne and Sydney.

“GrainCorp’s West Footscray upgrade is a vital piece of the wider integration project, which will significantly reduce operational costs and boost the competitiveness of locally produced food and food ingredients against imported products,” said Wiley Managing Director Tom Wiley.

“A major outcome of the project will be improving environmental performance by reducing carbon emissions by around 25,000 tonnes per year, thanks to the disuse of coal-fired equipment currently used to generate steam at the Murrarie plant,” added Wiley Business Operations Director Simon Spittle.

“GrainCorp’s investment in its West Footscray and Numurkah sites will eliminate the need for the coal-fired equipment, providing GrainCorp with the opportunity to invest in more efficient and environmentally sustainable technology.”