Integral Infrastructure Investment Cements Shoalhaven Starches Success
If the last 12 months has shown us anything, it is the importance of agility and evolution in business.
That’s why Manildra Group’s strategy of continuous reinvestment has never been more important, particularly at the world’s largest wheat gluten and starch manufacturing site of its kind.
This injection of capital cements Shoalhaven Starches as the global leader in the production of premium products, from vital wheat glutens, modified proteins, wheat starches, and syrups to ethanol and animal stockfeed.
“As a family-owned Australian business, continuous investment is critical for the growth and success of the company,” said Manildra Group Managing Director John Honan.
“It’s fundamental we remain internationally competitive, and part of that strategy is investing in key projects that diversify our product range and increase production of our high-quality Australian-made food and industrial ingredients.
“We’re so proud to be investing hundreds of millions of dollars in regional New South Wales including at Nowra,” said Mr Honan.
At the Shoalhaven Starches site Manildra Group directly employs more than 350 people, in fields ranging from engineering, science, chemistry, sales, maintenance, information technology, cleaning to a range of trades, and additionally thousands of indirect jobs, in countless industries such as agriculture, transport, logistics and more.
“These projects are crucial for local employment, whilst also creating hundreds of jobs during construction on site,” said Mr Honan.
Underpinning this continuous expansion and reinvestment in key infrastructure projects at the Shoalhaven Starches site is Manildra Group’s Australian and global customers and their growing appetite for our 100 per cent Australian-made range of food and industrial products.
Due for completion by the end of 2021, a world-class cationic starch facility will deliver a range of high-performance cationic starches, a crucial wet-end additive in the paper making industry to produce printing paper, brown packaging papers and plasterboard liner.
With our staunch commitment to upholding quality- control systems and value-adding innovation, a range of key infrastructure projects completed in 2021 at our world-class Shoalhaven Starches site includes:
- A cutting-edge distillery control centre, where our expert ethanol team manages the production, quality control, transport and logistics of Manildra Group’s premium sustainable ethanol produced at our state-of-the-art seven column distillery.
- Advanced ethanol storage tanks to boost storage capacity in addition to the newly completed state-of-the-art beverage sensory laboratory, with conditions precisely controlled for detecting the purity of our grain-neutral spirit. This will provide reliable and independent odour sampling and testing services to a range of craft and big brand beverage clients.
- A new Flash Dryer (Product Dryer 9) is multifunctional and provides the site with increased flexibility, with the ability to alternate between drying gluten or starch. The installation enables increased production capacity, enhances efficiencies and being multifaceted is highly advantageous to our integrated production process.
- A state-of-the-art Mechanical Vapor Recompression (MVR) evaporator which supplements the capacity of the advanced water treatment plant on site which already recycles more than six million litres of water per day, and substantially enhances water efficiencies.
- An additional world-class flour mill, which further boosts production of our 100 per cent Australian, GMO-free flour – this value-adds to our integrated production process.
Mr Honan said the Shoalhaven Starches site operates all year round, non-stop to ensure consistency of supply to customers.
“It is paramount we exceed our customers quality and delivery expectations.
“We have to be at the top of our game, and we do this by ensuring we have the latest high-quality equipment and infrastructure and are constantly reinvesting across the site.
“Our management, research, development and project teams are continually evaluating our processes – always striving to do better, for our people, customers and suppliers.
“For nearly seven decades, Manildra Group has established a reputation for exceptional quality, reliability, service and innovation and it is our reinvestment in our manufacturing sites that ensures we continue to deliver to Australia and the world,” said Mr Honan.
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