Multivac relocates to larger packaging production facility in Australia as demand surges

05 Sep 2022 --- Multivac is expanding its sales and logistics capacity in Queensland, Australia, with a new location that offers three times as much space as the previous complex. The company is hereby reacting to the constantly rising demand in the region. Multivac aims at achieving greater market penetration, faster reaction times to the changing needs in the packaging sector and rapid supplies to customers on the ground.

The storage capacity has been increased from 93 to 520 pallet places, which Multivac says provides sufficient space for spare parts for packaging machines and other line modules and stock a wide variety of films and other packaging materials. 

“A real benefit for us,” says Andrew Hutchison managing director at Multivac Australia, “since we can now offer our customers a complete selection of materials and also provide comprehensive advice on pack design.” 

The new facility 
Multivac has been present in the company for 14 years, and its headquarters are located in Melbourne with subsidiaries in Western Australia, Queensland, South Australia and New South Wales. However, its subsidiary in Queensland recently reached the limits of its capacity for the fourth time.

The newly leased building complex, the Yatala Building, is well situated – two kilometers from the previous location and close to the M1 motorway, which connects the Gold Coast to Brisbane.

“Here we are in the heartland of Australian cattle farming and beef processing. That means a quick route to our most important customers,” says Hutchison.

To remain flexible and have the new premises available as quickly as possible, the decision was made to lease a building rather than to build a new one. Multivac aims to meet growing consumer demand for paperboard packaging.

Meeting national criteria 
The sales and logistics activity has been running since February this year. The physical area of operation for the subsidiary in Queensland is very widespread: “We service a big area with a total length of around 2,000 km. In addition, we also serve customers in the Northern Territory, a fairly sparsely populated region of the country,” says Hutchison.

“But it doesn’t matter where our machines are installed and used. All our customers can rely at all times on our professional service and delivery reliability.” 

Furthermore, the growing requirement in particular for [environmentally] sustainable packaging solutions in the Australian market also has to be met. Christian Traumann, group president at Multivac, adds: “The target set by the Australian Government means that by 2025, 100% of all packs in the country must be reusable, compostable or recyclable.”

Rising paper demand 
Moreover, the increasing consumer awareness of material-efficient and recyclable packaging concepts, and the demand for solutions from renewable resources such as cardboard and other paper fiber-based materials, are fuelling growth on the continent, says Hutchison.

Multivac is well placed to meet this demand with its comprehensive range of paper board materials. The company asserts that the paper fiber-based packaging concepts are in tune with current requirements, and they can be run without problems on Multivac’s thermoforming packaging machines and tray sealers.

Hutchison sees another growth market in the area of sausage processing since there are many small butcher’s businesses in the coastal region of Queensland that process 500 kg of sausages or more per week. 

“Here, we are well able to serve the demand in the market for efficient and cost-effective automation solutions – especially, for example, with our sausage centrifuge and other handling modules for these products.”

Finally, there is also further potential in the chamber machine sector for packing fresh meat and convenience products such as meatballs or burgers.

Edited

By Natalie Schwertheim