Food service distributor Bidfood Australia has received support from the Victorian Government for its expansion plans in Gippsland.
Bidfood is investing $13 million in a state-of-the-art cold storage wholesale food distribution facility at Morwell.
The expansion will create 40 new jobs for a mix of skilled technical, transport and management workers.
“We’re supporting more local businesses and industries in the Latrobe Valley and Gippsland – backing the region’s strengths in the manufacturing and food and fibre sectors,” said Minister for Regional Development Mary-Anne Thomas.
“This means more jobs and opportunities for locals,” she said.
Bidfood expects its revenue to grow between 10 to 20 per cent a year after completion of the new distribution centre, supporting an economy built on Gippsland’s strengths in the food and fibre sector.
This follows the approval of a new Bidfood warehouse for food storage and distribution currently in development for the Bundaberg Industrial Park announced in May.
Bidfood Australia partners with foodservice operators, large and small, to better serve their customer base which now stands at over 30,000.
It sits underneath the Bidcorp umbrella.
Since opening its first branch in Brisbane 30 years ago, Bidfood Australia has achieved significant growth and become a major national player in the food service industry.
Bidfood’s commercial vehicle fleet includes well over 250 mobile assets.
The Bidfood project is part of a $2 billion investment by the Victorian Government in projects and programs to bolster the Latrobe Valley workforce since 2014.
The Morwell Power Station and Briquette Works shut down that same year after operating for nearly 60 years.
In 2017 the sudden closure of the Hazelwood Power Station resulted in a 1000 job losses for the region.
Within the first six months of closure, forward contract base-load wholesale prices in Victoria were doubled with the sudden removal of 1760 MW of baseload power capacity in Victoria – without replacement – representing the equivalent of an extra $1.8 billion a year in costs to Victorian electricity consumers.
Since 2014, the Victorian Government claims to have added 4,000 additional jobs to the LaTrobe Valley.
“These projects are what the Regional Jobs Fund is all about – investing in local people, businesses and jobs to help strengthen Gippsland’s economy,” said Member for Eastern Victoria Harriet Shing.
Outdoor living company LV Shade Sails and Rosedale-based Bambach Cables, Australia’s oldest copper cable manufacturer, a provider of fire-rated and protected cables to the Australian infrastructure, defence, mining and building sectors, were also awarded funds under the scheme.