Finally, the announcement many workers in Lismore were hoping for – Norco will rebuild its ice cream factory in South Lismore although it will be smaller. The factory was left wrecked and non-operational after the February 28 floods.

The factory rebuild is supported by a $34.7 million grant from the federal and state government Anchor Business Support Program and will be bolstered by an $11 million grant from the 2019 Regional Growth Fund.

Norco’s contribution to the rebuild will be $59 million. Norco chief executive Michael Hampson said the decision to rebuild hasn’t been easy.

“While we’re extremely grateful for the government funding we’ve been allocated, it is known that it fell short of what we needed for a complete rebuild – and this is because of the scale of damage incurred and the total cost of the floods to the co-operative which is still estimated to be well over $100 million with this revised project,” Mr Hampson said.

This means the factory won’t be built back to the same scale as before the floods.

The revised plan will see a different sort of facility being rebuilt within budgetary constraints, he said.

Trent Dobrunz has worked at the Norco ice cream factory for almost 10 years and he has been waiting for the rebuild decision.

“I’ve loved working for Norco and have certainly appreciated all their efforts in fighting for the factory’s future and for our workforce – efforts that saw us continue to be paid for seven months following the floods, despite the factory not operating,” he said.

About 170 workers at the factory have been stood down while the rebuild takes place.

Mr Hampson said that while the announcement to rebuild marks a milestone for Norco and the Lismore community, it’s important not to forget the many other small and medium businesses that remain in need of support.

Norco has been part of the Lismore community for more than 127 years, he said.

This article appeared on indyNR.com on 4 October 2022.