An Ingham’s employee, who asked not to be named, told this site the business expected to double the amount of chicken it can produce annually by 2020.
This statement of intent follows Ingham’s announcement to build a “state of the art” feedmill and chicken hatchery in Muchea, western Australia. The new facility is part of a major expansion strategy to move production from its Wanneroo base to a brand new site, creating 400 permanent jobs across the supply chain within the next three years.
The company declined to provide further detail on the type of jobs that could be created, stating only that they would be spread across its supply chain.
1,000 indirect jobs
Ingham’s estimates that its AU$70m ($51m) investment will also create 1,000 indirect roles, with at least a dozen temporary jobs when it enters the construction phase.
A buyer is currently being sought for Ingham’s existing Wanneroo base, but this site understands that the business is not currently involved in talks with interested parties at this early stage.
Throughout the relocation period, Wanneroo will continue to produce chicken and turkey. This work, though, will be gradually slowed down during the next three years.
It is unclear how many staff are employed at Wanneroo, but the company has made it clear it wants to deploy this existing workforce to the new operations in Muchea, which is only a 30-minute car journey away from Wanneroo.
As well as the expansion announcement this week, Ingham’s also appointed Helen Nash as a non-executive director of the business on 16 May.
The business describes itself as the top poultry producer in Australia and New Zealand with over 8,000 staff and 345 facilities farms across the two countries.
Ingham’s also claims to be the second-largest animal feed producer in Australia, operating eight mills that manufacture food for pigs, poultry and horses.