SPC Ardmona says an election pledge by the Labor government to co-invest $25 million in its food processing and packaging facilities would help it keep its plant in Shepparton, Victoria, in operation.
It said, however, the plan would still mean the closure of two other of the company's plants in the state.
The minister for industry, Senator Kim Carr, today called on the Victorian state government to match a promise by Labor to invest $25 million to modernise SPC Ardmona's production facilities should the party defy opinion polls and retain government following the federal election this coming Saturday.
SPC Ardmona, owned by Coca-Cola Amatil (CCA), currently operates across three sites in Shepparton, Kyabram and Mooroopna in Victoria’s Goulburn Valley and employs around 1500 people.
A restructuring and upgrade plan would involve consolidating these operations in Shepparton. It would also mean upgrading technology and creating new product capacity and packaging options as well as strengthening its supply chain.
“Without a serious upgrade to its operations SPC Ardmona has said it may be forced to close in mid-2014,” Senator Carr said
“This would be an enormous blow to the thousands of workers the company employs and those in the agricultural supply chain and would result in a significant loss in grower activities in the region.
“Federal Labor is not going to stand by and see this happen.
“I am also calling on the Victorian government to acknowledge the importance of this investment and to match our support dollar for dollar.”
According to SPC Ardmona, if both governments commit to the support packages, CCA would also significantly invest in the business and commit to keeping the Shepparton facility open until at least 2020.
SPC Ardmona's managing director, Peter Kelly, said the announcement was a significant step in securing the long-term future of the company, and SPC Ardmona was now waiting for a definitive decision from the Victorian government.
“An investment package of this scale will be game-changing for us. It will see us develop innovative Australian-made products at competitive prices. It will allow us to implement world-class efficiency improvements consolidated into our Shepparton site with new plant and equipment, including state-of-the art packaging machinery and technologies to support our innovation pipeline,” he said.
SPC Ardmona has struggled to compete recently, blaming the combined pressures of intense competition from imports and the high Australian dollar.
Federal Labor has offered $25 million towards modernising SPC Ardmona's Shepparton plant and keep it in operation to 2020.
