$66m industrial bakery facility to be developed in WA

ARYZTA will be constructing a bakery facility in Perth, Western Australia. The new development will expand on the Swiss-owned company’s global bakery network, currently comprising 19 bakeries across Europe and a further seven operations in countries across Asia–Pacific.

The $66m facility will be strategically located 60 km south of the Perth CBD at the Peel Business Park —  Nambeelup Kaadadjan — in Stake Hill, WA.

Once construction starts, the facility is expected to take approximately two years to complete and will adopt the latest industrial bakery technology, including advanced Al-driven quality assurance, robotics, storage and monitoring systems for ingredient quality and biosecurity.

ARYZTA AG Chair and Interim CEO Urs Jordi said, “Australia is an attractive growth market for bakery products and this expansion in Perth will allow ARYZTA to produce fresh and frozen products as opposed to shipping frozen only over long distances from our plants in eastern Australia.”

The development is expected to lower the company’s carbon footprint by over 700 tonnes of CO₂ annually by removing around 1.7 million food miles that are currently involved in transporting bakery items to WA customers from ARYZTA’s existing two facilities in New South Wales and Victoria. The availability of high-quality local raw materials for bakery such as flour, dairy and sugar in Australia will also minimise food miles and further enhance sustainability.

The facility will also be powered by a local renewable microgrid which sources its energy from a solar and battery storage system.

The WA Government has been actively developing the agribusiness and food and beverage manufacturing sector in the Peel region, through its $49 million Transform Peel project and Food Innovation Precinct WA. The Swiss-owned company will be a foundation agrifood tenant in the Park.

“It is exciting to see the Transform Peel vision come to life, particularly with a significant international agribusiness choosing to establish its first Western Australian presence in the Peel region,” said WA Regional Development Minister Don Punch.

“Operationally, the bakery development will improve WA’s domestic food processing capability, enabling local production of baked goods that would otherwise be imported into WA.

“The creation of new jobs and training opportunities with the arrival of this new facility is a positive outcome for the region.”

Image caption: iStock.com/Valerii Apetroaiei