July 10, 2015
A multi-million dollar upgrade at Swickers’ Kingaroy pig abattoir will have the potential to lift production at the plant to 30,000 head per week.
The upgrade, announced on Thursday, includes a new slaughter floor, a greater chiller capacity and an expansion of the distribution area.
It will increase plant capacity by 50 per cent, allowing Swickers to meet expected rises in demand for pork both in Australia and overseas.
Swickers is the only pork export facility in Queensland and the largest individual pork export facility in Australia.
CEO Ross Ingram said the substantial investment was critical to the local community as well as the Queensland pig farming industry.
“Swickers is one of the major employers in the region, with employees demonstrating a diverse range of skills,” he said.
Swickers is owned by the CHM Alliance, a farmer-owned group which has invested a significant amount in the Kingaroy plant over recent years to upgrade facilities.
“As demand for Australian pork continues to grow we feel this investment will see us ready to meet the expected increased volume demands,” Mr Ingram said.
The latest expansion is also linked to the $2.2 million upgrade of the nearby Kingaroy-Barkers Creek Road and Clark and Swendson Road intersection detailed by the South Burnett Regional Council in its recent Budget.
In January, Member for Nanango Deb Frecklington announced the State Government would be providing $1.5 million towards the project under the “Royalties for Regions” program. This has since been confirmed by the new ALP State Government.
The roadworks are designed to improve traffic flow around the Swickers site, and handle increased traffic volume.
Currently 65 trucks and 400 employee vehicles enter and leave Swickers every day.
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