March 9, 2018
Murgon Leather is set to receive a half a million dollar expansion, thanks to assistance from the Federal Government.
Member for Wide Bay Llew O’Brien and Federal Minister for Regional Development John McVeigh announced on Thursday that the Teys Australia’s cattle hide processing plant would receive $267,406 under the Regional Jobs and Investment Package program to put towards a $567,406 expansion plan.
Mr O’Brien said the Murgon site produced high quality Queensland cattle hides for domestic and international customers.
The project would increase production, strengthen resilience in the marketplace and boost jobs, especially during the construction phase, which is expected to take four to six months.
Murgon Leather currently processes an average 20,000 hides per week.
Once completed, the expansion is expected to increase production by between 10 and 20 per cent, creating an additional 12 to 15 full-time jobs at the plant.
The Teys family has been involved in the Australian beef industry since 1946, when four Teys brothers formed a partnership that was involved in wholesaling and retailing meat in south-east Queensland.
Since then, the family has grown its business to become the second largest meat processor and exporter in Australia, operating across a diverse range of agribusinesses.
Teys formed a joint partnership with international food company Cargill Beef Australia in 2011.
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Nolan Meats at Gympie will also receive assistance under the Federal Government program.
It will receive $4.979 million to put towards a $9.959 million project to double its current production capacity at its Gympie abattoir from 550 to 1100 cattle per day.
The expansion will include the construction of carcass chillers to store an extra 550 carcasses, and integration into the existing site facilities.
New technologies will also be introduced increase the percentage of saleable beef from each carcass.
The company’s Wide Bay Feedlot is situated at Cinnabar, between Goomeri and Kilkivan.
