Councillors and Council staff visited Swickers on Monday

May 30, 2012

The South Burnett Regional Council is forming a “working partnership” with Swickers Kingaroy Bacon Factory to ensure the survival of this important local enterprise.

Councillors met with Swickers staff on Monday for a tour of the plant.

“The value of Swickers to Kingaroy and the South Burnett Region in general cannot and should not be undervalued,” Mayor Wayne Kratzmann said.

“Swickers has approximately 470 full-time employees, an annual payroll of $30 million and an estimated annual benefit to the local community of over $1.2 billion.”

Economic portfolio representative Cr Damien Tessmann, who formerly worked at Swickers, said an average of 18,000 head per week were slaughtered at the Kingaroy facility.

“And with Swickers being the only export registered pig abattoir and boning facility in Queensland it was imperative that the Council formed a working partnership to ensure the survival of this wonderful operation,” Cr Tessmann said,

Swickers CEO Ross Ingram and Mayor Kratzmann have agreed to meet on a quarterly basis to continue to evolve the partnership between Council and Swickers.