• Glass for recyling by OI Glass: Visy
    Glass for recyling by OI Glass: Visy
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Visy has offloaded its Penrith factory in a $17.25m sale and leaseback deal that will see the company continue to run a glass sorting and recycling operation from the premises.

The 42,000-square-metre plant has been bought by Sandran Property, with Visy taking a seven-year lease on the 8000-square-metre warehouse, with renewal options. Penrith is one of 120 sites that Visy operates from.

The Visy glass-sorting operation mainly supplies O-I Glass, which is located in the same street. O-I Glass ANZ was up for sale, but that process has been deferred until the Covid-19 crisis diminishes. Visy is believed to be the main potential buyer of the business. A sale is expected in the next few months.

If Visy bought O-I Glass ANZ, it would become the sole local producer of cartons, cans, and bottles, making for a highly leverageable trifecta.

O-I Glass has around 1100 staff in Australia, across five plants, including 250 in Penrith. In the year to March, its local business saw full year profits down by four per cent, operating profit down by 35 per cent, and segment profit margin down to 3.4 per cent from 5.3 per cent.

Food & Drink Business

As the Australian functional beverage market continues to grow, emerging companies are still finding places to slot in. Alcohol recovery drink, Dodge, hit stores in mid-2022, and has taken off across the Asia-Pacific region with its science-backed formula and striking branding. Food & Drink Business spoke with co-founder, Braeden Leahy, about the product and plans for the future.

The former deputy chief of staff to the federal communications minister, Amanda Watson, has been appointed CEO of the Brewers Association of Australia (BAA).  Watson starts in the role on 14 July and replaces John Preston, who had been in the role for five years.

The Victorian government has invested $160,000 to support the sustainability and profitability of the state’s wine industry, matched by $240,000 from Wine Australia. The funds will help Wine Victoria to provide the wine industry with the knowledge, tools and resources needed to improve practices and outcomes.