Ingham’s claims to be Australia’s leading chicken and turkey business and wants to up its supply of white meat to Western Australia, home to the country’s fourth most populous city, Perth.
A "state of the art" feedmill will be built in Muchea, a town around an hour’s drive north of Perth, according to the company. A chicken hatchery is also under development at the same facility, but plans have not been finalised.
Through the expansion, Ingham’s wants to increase farming, milling and processing volumes over the next three years, although it did not put a figure on any upswing.
Hundreds of local jobs
With more than AU$70m expected to be invested by both Ingham’s and its contracted partners, 400 permanent jobs across the supply chain will be created.
Meanwhile, an additional 1,000 indirect jobs will be made due to the expansion, with at least dozens more temporary jobs created during the construction phase, Ingham’s said in a statement on 15 May.
Ingham will relocate multiple operations to Muchea, which has cast some uncertainty over the workforce at its Wanneroo facility.
Unclear what happens to Wanneroo staff
All operations at the site will be relocated to pave the way for Ingham’s expansion.
A company representative could not confirm how many employees worked at Ingham’s Wanneroo facility, nor whether they would be offered jobs at the new facility.
The spokesperson did confirm it was the intention of Ingham’s to hire staff from Wanneroo and offer them jobs at Muchea, which is only a 30-minute drive away from the old site.
Ingham’s chief commercial officer Quinton Hildebrand said in a statement that the company would begin the sale of its Wanneroo site, where existing hatchery and feedmill operations are based. American-owned commercial real estate agency CBRE has been appointed to find a buyer.
“Leaseback arrangements will be part of the sale conditions to cover the construction period for our new facilities,” said Hildebrand.
“We are pleased to be able to continue to invest in the sustainable growth of our company and, in doing so, create jobs and opportunities in Western Australia,” he added