Page 66 - Food & Drink Business Nov-Dec 2019

YEAR IN REVIEW
BROUGHT TO YOU BY
Made By Cow’s patented process uses cold high pressure. “The milk is bottled straight from the farm and then immediately put through the high pressure process,” CEO Wade Porter said.
The fact that the milk is not exposed after that process, combined with careful herd management and more hygienic milking practices, means the milk is “safe, unaltered, and deliciously creamy”.
The pressure destroys harmful pathogens but has no impact on smaller molecules like vitamins and enzymes.
CSIRO’S GLUTEN
‘GRAND SLAM’
CSIRO scientists developed new
technology to detect gluten in any food and
show which grain it comes from, helping to track any contamination
in the raw ingredient supply chain, as well as accuracy in pack labelling around gluten- free claims.
Current commercial tests can tell if gluten in present in a food, as well as how much, but not the grain it is from.
CSIRO was the first to detect specific glutens in three gluten grains – wheat in 2015, barley in 2016, and oats in 2018 – and can now detect gluten in rye. CSIRO said it had completed the ‘Grand Slam’ of gluten-containing grains.
JAMESTRONG OPENS $15M NZ CAN PLANT Global metal packaging manufacturer Jamestrong opened a new $15 million, future-proofed, can making facility in Auckland, catering to the burgeoning infant formula market.
Infant formula has been dubbed the white gold of the ANZ region, and the attendant rush seems to be showing no signs of abating with China driving demand and growth.
At the opening of the company’s Wiri, Auckland facility, its third plant in the region and the second in New Zealand in under two years, ANZ CEO Alex Commins said, “It’s quite incredible to
be part of an industry where there is an insatiable appetite for our local product.”
SMC CELEBRATES
60 YEARS
Global automation and pneumatics powerhouse SMC celebrated 60 years in business, having grown from humble origins making sintered metal elements for air filters in the home of founder Yoshiyuki Takada in 1959.
CEO Wayne Driver said: “Despite his advanced years, Mr Takada remains active in the company as chairman, continuing to impart his invaluable experience and wisdom to the global leadership team,” Driver said.
SMC attributed its longevity to its people-focused and customer- centric business model.
OCTOBER
ON THE COVER: BROWNES DAIRY
BROWNES LEADS THE HERD
In an Australian first, Brownes Dairy Company moved to a fully renewable and recyclable milk carton. Brownes switched 25 products – more than 17.8 million milk cartons per year – to the new fully renewable packaging format.
The renewable and recyclable Tetra Rex Bio-Based cartons will be integrated across its entire milk carton range. The packaging is a world-first, made entirely from plant-based, renewable materials and offers a more sustainable alternative to
standard milk cartons. It also reduces the reliance on fossil-based polyethylene plastic in the lining.
SCRUTINY ON BELLAMY’S TAKEOVER
Bellamy’s Australia entered a Scheme Implementation
Deed, which will see China’s Mengniu Dairy Company acquire 100 per cent of Bellamy’s issued shares.
The cash amount values Bellamy’s equity at approximately $1.5 billion. It represents an enterprise value
30 times reported normalised FY19 EBITDA.
Bellamy’s FY19 was a “challenging period” due to regulatory changes, a lower birth rate and increased competition for Chinese demand, the company said when it announced its results for the 2019 financial year.
The challenges saw Bellamy’s full-year profit almost halve to $21.7 million in FY19, down from $42.8 million in FY18. Net revenue was $266 million and normalised EBITDA was $47 million (17.6 per cent).
ACCC OPPOSES READY MEALS DEAL
The ACCC rejected the proposed acquisition of Jewel Fine Foods (Jewel) by B&J City Kitchen. Jewel went into administration in April.
The company manufactures private-label
and branded chilled, frozen, and ambient ready meals,
as well as soups, breads and fried snacks from its Banksmeadow plant in western Sydney.
B&J City Kitchen is 77 per cent owned by Beak and Johnston Holdings and 23
per cent by Woolworths Group.
B&J City Kitchen supplies grocery retailers
including Woolworths, Coles, Metcash and Harris Farm around the country.
The ACCC said the two companies are the largest manufacturers of chilled ready meals in Australia.
ACCC chair Rod Sims said:
“We believe that the proposed acquisition is likely to substantially lessen competition for the supply of chilled ready meals.”
BRANCOURTS DAIRY ENTERS ADMINISTRATION Dairy company Brancourts
went into administration due to challenges being faced
through a combination of high milk prices and the company’s inability to
reflect these increased costs in its end
products, administrator PKF
Australia said. In a statement to
Food & Drink Business, the administrators said: “The business continues to trade with customers as the Administrators assess formal restructuring options to place the business back on a sustainable footing.
“We have also received a number of enquiries from interested parties looking to buy the business as a going concern and are advancing those discussions.”
The dairy business employed more than 100 people, with processing plants in Hexham, NSW, and Traralgon, Victoria and a head office in Sydney.
D’ORSOGNA OPENS NEW $66M FACILITY
A new $66 million facility in Melbourne will “secure the future” of smallgoods manufacturer D’Orsogna, MD Greig Smith said at its opening.
The new 11,000 square metre facility replaced its “modest footprint” in Mt Waverley, which was established ten years ago. Smith said the company had taken “a measured approach to such a substantial investment” but D’Orsogna was now “firmly established on the east coast”.
The site will fulfill the company’s east coast cooking, smoking, cooling, storing, slicing, and packaging needs.
The company will now employ 160 workers, up from 55 at Glen Waverley.
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66 | Food&Drink business | November-December 2019 | www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au