Golden North opening gets closer: ‘We’re at the pointy end now’
Murray Bridge’s new ice cream and cheese factory should be up and running in the near future, managing director Dimi Kyriazis says.
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Murray Bridge’s new dairy factory will hopefully be up and running within weeks, its owner says.
Golden North managing director Dimi Kyriazis gave an update on his company’s progress on Friday, three months after beginning the process of moving its base of operations from Laura.
The project was running about four weeks later than he might have liked, he said, but the plant was likely to be fully commissioned in October.
The cheese production lines which belonged to former tenant Beston Pure Foods were ready to go, and the first two of Golden North’s six ice cream lines were “95 per cent complete”.
The remaining lines would not take too much work, either.
“It’s coming along,” Mr Kyriazis said.
“We’re at the pointy end now.
“It’s all about to get very exciting.”
Around 80-90 mostly full-time staff will be employed at the factory by the time it becomes operational.
Among them will be 18 former job seekers who graduated from a training program on Friday.
Much like the Bridgeport Hotel five years ago, Golden North opted to train up a group of local workers who had been unemployed for some time, rather than relying exclusively on staff from outside the region.
The Launch Into Work program gave each candidate training in manual handling, communication and general workplace skills through the Australian Food Training Centre, with support from the federal Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) and a range of local organisations.
Nicole Wheatland will start at Golden North in the coming weeks after having left employment at a Kanmantoo fertiliser production facility 12 months ago.
“Even though I haven’t started on the factory floor yet, being selected for this role means a lot to me because it shows the company is willing to invest in my potential and train me properly from day one,” she said.
“I see this role as a fantastic gateway to building a stable, long-term career in the Australian food industry.”
The training she had received had built up her confidence in food safety and compliance, she said, and in knowing how to help prevent safety issues before even stepping into the factory.
“I feel fully prepared to enter the production environment safely … and contribute effectively to the team from day one,” she said.
“In a dairy and ice cream facility, maintaining absolute cleanliness is critical to preventing contamination.
“Applying (my training) … means I can protect the quality of the product, keep consumers safe and uphold the trusted reputation of the brand.”
Investing in local job seekers like Ms Wheatland had been an easy decision, Mr Kyriazis suggested.
“You’ve got a group of people out in job land that want to get back into work, and … we also need workers, and it was a bit of a perfect marriage,” he said.
“They were in the job market, but the skills didn’t match where the job market is at the moment – Murray Bridge is becoming a manufacturing-type city.
“A program like this really helps them bridge that gap into the new job market in the region.”
DEWR job coordinator Christine Willersdorf congratulated the cohort on completing their training and entering, or re-entering, the workforce.
“I am blown away by all of you, by your commitment to yourselves,” she said.
“I’m super, super, super, super proud of you all.”
