Page 38 - Food&Drink Magazine May 2022

REGIONAL FOOD POWERHOUSE
The Arnott’s Group is expanding its New Zealand presence, announcing the construction of a multi-million dollar manufacturing facility in Avondale, West Auckland.
The site will focus on premium savoury entertaining products. CEO George Zoghbi said the group looked forward to re-opening a designated Arnott’s facility.
The group acquired premium cracker company 180degrees in 2021 as its first step in growing its market share in New Zealand and establish itself as a regional powerhouse.
Arnott’s Group New Zealand lead Mike Cullerne said the news was a “significant victory” for the country’s food manufacturing industry, and was a vote of confidence.
“We’re confident the new site, fitted with state-of-the-art machinery, will become a true hub of food innovation and a market leader for new product development,” he says.
Co-founder of 180degrees Nigel Cranston says it is the full realisation of the brand’s ambitions.
“We started 180degrees
21 years ago with a small range of handmade biscuits and a small but loyal following. Today, together with The Arnott’s Group, we’ve been able to grow our consumer base and continue to create products jam packed with the character and flavour that has always epitomised who we are,” Cranston says.
Arnott’s New Zealand factory will be operational in 2023.
PLANT DESIGN & FITOUT
✷ DIGGING OVER THE DITCH
38 | Food&Drink business | May 2022 | www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au
Storing precious cargo
The Arnott’s Group’s new distribution warehouse in Western Sydney has more than doubled capacity while delivering major efficiencies. Kim Berry writes.
IN an industrial estate in Sydney’s outer western suburbs, alongside large allotments baring the logos of well-known companies, you come to a set of gates and are greeted with the smell of baking biscuits.
The Huntingwood factory is one of three bakeries owned by The Arnott’s Group, the other two in Queensland and South Australia. It is a massive site and home to the one kilometre long Tim Tam line. The plant manufactures 29.9 million biscuits a year.
Huntingwood also manages around 65 per cent of the group’s national inventory, with biscuits distributed all over Australia, to New Zealand and other export markets.
The decision to upgrade the warehousing facility site was part of the group’s investment
program in local manufacturing and infrastructure to grow its operations.
Arnott’s Group national logistics manager David Lloyd Jones says it also cements the company’s heritage in, and commitment to, Western Sydney.
“The site was redesigned to created enhanced efficiencies and improve
technological capability, ensuring continuity of supply as the Group continues to expand,” Lloyd Jones says.
The development involved a large-scale expansion and automation of the existing facility so it could manage all inbound and outbound deliveries for New South Wales as well as store almost five times as many pallets as before.
The upgrade also involved a technological overhaul, with the 5000 square metre, 35-metre- tall high bay warehouse now fully automated.
The development comprises a large trussed mezzanine structure, as well as many complex extensions and features such as external hardstands, loading dock facilities and temperature controlled storage areas.
The existing lowbay structure also underwent an upgrade.
The warehouse has the capacity for 28,000 pallets, more than doubling what it could hold previously.
“The project value was more than $50 million. Before commencing the build, we undertook a rigorous tender process to identify the right suppliers and partners,” Lloyd Jones says
Daifuku supplied the ASRS cranes and other equipment, Northrop provided structural engineering services, FDC Construction & Fitout was the builder, Robotic Automation delivered palletisation systems, TMX operated as building consultant and project management, and Auxiem provided project management.
It was a successful team, with the project winning the Master Builders Association of NSW Award for Industrial Buildings ($20m+).
An extra challenge for the build was the requirement for facilities to remain operational during the project. Early on, FDC enlisted engineering firm Northrop to help with staging to ensure the works went smoothly and with minimal interruption to operations.
A SOPHISTICATED AUTOMATION SHOWCASE Lloyd Jones says, “The warehouse is designed with sophisticated, one-touch logistics solutions, leveraging automation and robotics to maximise fleet utilisation.
It delivers a 50 per cent
time saving in terms of efficiencies and significant cost savings per year.