mmg.com.au

Tongala meat processing company H W Greenham and Sons has created 52 new jobs with the launch of an afternoon shift.

The jobs include a range of permanent roles spread across the site’s meat production process.

Most of the new workers have been recruited locally during the past three months and the new shift began work last month.

Many have previous experience in the meat processing industry but the company also runs extensive training programs to enable its staff to increase their skills and competencies.

H W Greenham executive chairman Peter Greenham said the plant was now back up to around three quarters of its maximum capacity.

‘‘The drought had a major effect on us,’’ he said.

‘‘When it was at its worst we couldn’t keep up with demand as farmers de-stocked, and then when rainfall returned to normal we really struggled for cattle because farmers were hanging on to everything they could to rebuild their herds.

‘‘It’s great to see the dairy industry regaining its former strength. Our farmers really are a very resilient lot.’’

The Tongala plant processes mainly cull dairy cows with most of its production exported to the USA as hamburger meat.

The news has provided a welcome boost to local employment figures and comes as the company prepares to celebrate 20 years since the abattoir was established on a green field site west of Tongala.

‘‘We chose Tongala because of its location in the heart of the northern Victorian dairying region and processed the first cattle on January 29, 1993,’’ Mr Greenham said.

‘‘It was the first hot boning plant in Australia. I had looked at hot boning in New Zealand and thought it was much better to have a small abattoir close to the source of the cattle than the traditional very large operation in a capital city.

‘‘I’m very pleased to say the theory has proved correct and despite our 20 years covering a ten-year period of drought, we are still here going strong and very optimistic about the future.’’