A new investment by Australian poultry company Baiada aims to triple the firm’s poultry processing capacity at its plant near Tamworth, New South Wales.
At a total cost of AU$203 million (US$140 million), Baiada plans to increase processing capacity at its Oakburn plant from 1 million birds per week to 3 million, and product output from 160 metric tons (mt) to 240 mt.
According to Northern Daily Leader, the new operation will create 682 permanent jobs, while Baiada will close its facility in West Tamworth. The plan has been released for public comment.
Plans for the expansion of its Tamworth site were announced by Baiada last year, and followed a project to increase feed production at the firm’s feed mill in Beresford, New South Wales, from around 250,000 metric tons (mt) to 410,000 mt annually.
The earlier plan for expansion at Tamworth, reported by Northern Daily Leader in November of 2018, was to increase the number of broilers hatched by one million from the then 1.3 million per week.
In support of the planning application, Baiada included in its plan an Advanced Water Treatment Plant to treat all the water used, and deliver around 75% of its requirement, which were set to rise by 6 million liters (1.6 million US gallons) per day. The proposed plant was “unlikely to have any adverse odor impacts under normal conditions,” according to the company’s submission, and the additional 500,000 mt grain required would add AU$136 million to the local economy.
Baiada was founded in 1916 by Celestino Baiada. Through its Lilydale Free Range and Steggles brands, the firm has grown, and now claims to have 35% of the Australian broiler market, according to the WATTAgNet Top Poultry Companies database. Baiada also has a property development business named after its founder, Celestino, which offers commercial, residential and industrial premises.
