Close×

A $165m greenfield development for DuluxGroup created a blank canvas for the installation of an end-to-end automated plant, supplied by Foodmach, now rated as one of the top five Industry 4.0 factories globally.

After the Brisbane floods in 2011, DuluxGroup decided to relocate the majority of its water-based paint manufacturing from its existing factory at Rocklea in Brisbane to a greenfield site in Mickleham, Victoria. 

Located in Merrifield Business Park in Melbourne’s north, the new $165-million manufacturing facility is 30 kilometres from the CBD and strategically located on the Hume Highway with good connectivity to the Eastern Seaboard.

At 22,600m² in size – about the size of the Melbourne Cricket Ground playing area – it is the largest coatings factory in Australia and New Zealand.

DuluxGroup required end-to-end automation: the latest in world-class paint-making technology.

The group wanted to produce more advanced paint products using evolving technology in resins with even greater levels of quality and consistency, and required a solution that would allow it to step into the next generation of paint technology and innovation.

Read the rest of this article here >>

Food & Drink Business

Our Top 100 2025 edition of Food & Drink Business magazine is more than the annual flagship Top 100 Report. Industry leaders reflect on the year past and the one ahead, we provide our annual news review, M&A wrap-up, and all the executive moves, and a Roman-inspired sports drink, Posca, is our final Rising Star for 2025.

A blend of salt, red wine vinegar, and water – known as Posca – was the ‘original sports drink’, helping to keep the soldiers of the Roman Empire marching up to 30 kilometres per day. Keira Joyce spoke with Posca Hydrate co-founders, Merrick Watts and Ed Stening, about reviving a 2000-year-old functional beverage for the modern healthy lifestyle.

From the big deals to the quiet divestments, Food & Drink Business editor, Kim Berry, recounts the mergers and acquisitions of 2025.