Australian Rural & Regional News asked some further questions of Murray Chatfield, Chair of Lockyer Valley Foods, answered below the release.
Lockyer Valley Foods, Media Release, 10 December 2024
Lockyer Valley Fruit & Vegetable Processing Company Limited (‘Lockyer Valley Foods’), the circular economy fruit and vegetable processing facility, today launched a $50M Series A funding round to begin construction.
Chair Murray Chatfield said the raise follows October’s successful acquisition of 55 hectares of land in Withcott, Queensland, for the facility, and approval of the development application and approval for commencement of operational works to begin early next year.
“This has been in the planning stages for several years and it’s so exciting to finally be ready to break ground,” he said. “We will not only deliver one of Australia’s most sophisticated, lowest emissions facilities, we will also secure the future of the fruit and vegetable Industry in Queensland and reduce Australia’s reliance on a variety of imported produce.”
Lockyer Valley Foods, which is supported by a local co-operative including farmers, is the first new fruit and vegetable processing facility to be built in Australia for decades. It comprises a steel can production and canning facility; freezing, powdering and juicing capabilities; a pallet manufacturing plant that will recycle plastic waste to make pallets; and a bio-methane plant which will use green waste from the plant, and the surrounding communities, to take the entire facility off-grid.
Chatfield said the facility will be built in a staged approach, ensuring construction can proceed as quickly as possible with initial revenue streams feeding back in to fund further development. “within one year of our initial build program we will be creating significant positive revenues,” he said. “Our aim is to have a circular economy both in production, through everything being used and recycled and enabling future funding.”
Founder and CEO Colin Dorber said the Lockyer Valley – known as ‘Australia’s salad bowl’ – is vital to Australia’s food security. “This is one of the most fertile growing regions in the world, and is a major contributor, year round, to Australia’s produce needs, both fresh and processed,” he said. “This facility delivers a secure food future for our country; long term growth and security for our producers, and a major reduction in waste and emissions – it really is win-win-win.”
One in three Queensland farmers are considering quitting the industry this year, according to a survey from AUSVEG. A key driver for this is the inability sell entire crops – almost everything except supermarket-acceptable fresh produce is wasted due to the lack of processing facilities. “We will deliver security and profitability to growers and support investment and job creation in our vital food industry, not just in Lockyer Valley but also Bundaberg, the Scenic Rim, Darling Downs, Fassifern and Somerset,” Dorber said.
The $50M Series A round follows pre-seed and seed investment which funded the land purchase and pre-construction costs including completed design and specifications and pre-feasibility modelling of machinery, equipment and processing techniques; the DA, electrical and site design; processing; storage, and distribution. The facility will recycle 100% of its water.
“Lockyer Valley Foods will really highlight how fruit and vegetable processing can be highly profitable from the seed to the table for Australia, whilst ensuring growers have long-term viable and profitable futures,” Dorber said. “The hard yards have been done, now it’s time to build, build, build.”
Australian Rural & Regional News found out a little more from Murray Chatfield, Chair of Lockyer Valley Foods.
ARR.News: How does this funding round work? For instance, what type and amount of funding is being sought, are there minimums or maximums, from whom and how many, Australian or foreign sources, individuals or corporate, and what can funders expect or hope for in return?
Murray Chatfield, Chair of Lockyer Valley Foods: Our series A is an equity funding round of up to AUD$50 million. The opportunity will be offered to a range of sophisticated and institutional investors from Australia and internationally. Investors will receive shares in the company, which is designed to be revenue positive within the first year.
ARR.News: Are you able to set out more clearly the proposed different stages of development of the facility?
Murray Chatfield, Chair of Lockyer Valley Foods: The first stage is a pallet production plant that will use recycled plastic to make pallets at highly competitive pricing compared to existing products, while helping to cover the shortage we are currently experiencing in Australia, which will only worsen as hardwood forests are closed. This will create our initial revenue which will funnel back into later stages. Simultaneously, we will begin work building a state-of-the-art canning facility for domestically sourced fruit and vegetables. This will be followed by juicing, freezing and powdering capabilities. Finally, we will install the bio-methane plant to close the circular loop and take the facility off grid.
ARR.News: Are there many other fruit and vegetable processing facilities in Queensland? Australia?
Murray Chatfield, Chair of Lockyer Valley Foods: There are four aging facilities, one of which is in Queensland but it only does fruit canning.
ARR.News: Are there any other fruit and vegetable facilities in Australia with all these features? Are there many globally?
Murray Chatfield, Chair of Lockyer Valley Foods: This will be the only facility of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. We know of one in Europe that is similar, but we will have the advantage of installing the latest technology, some of which we have designed ourselves, resulting in reduced manufacturing costs. As far as we know this will be the only fully circular facility in the world.
ARR.News: Has it or do you believe the facility and operating model will attract attention, in Queensland, Australia, globally?
Murray Chatfield, Chair of Lockyer Valley Foods: Absolutely! Lockyer Valley Foods will be Australia’s flagship circular food facility and we hope to inspire others to consider similar projects as we work together in the global agri-food system to bring down emissions, reduce waste and bolster food security.
ARR.News: Do you have the necessary labour lined up to build and then work in the facility?
Murray Chatfield, Chair of Lockyer Valley Foods: Very much so. This will bring excellent job opportunities for the region with the creation of hundreds of skilled jobs both during construction and for decades to come across the entire manufacturing and maintenance program. We have detailed plans for upskilling and retaining local employees over the long term.
