Current Operation
- Currently Accredited AUS-MEAT 14.01.132
- Establishment Number 0686
Location
- 170km S Perth
Source – Hema Australia Map. 9th edition
Owner
- V & V Walsh Meat processor & Exporters4
- Vern & Jean Walsh established 1957, business now currently operated by Sons Peter & Greg Walsh7
Operation
- Cattle,Sheep and lamb3
- Export accredited
- Medium sized1 – says is a multi species ab???
- Is a preferred supplier to Woolworths1
- Is a fully integrated plant but has limitations1
- Considered as best alternative to assist to increase capacity for export if ‘Harvey’ fell over, has much smaller capacity than Harvey1
- Can process 400 hd a day4. Doesn’t stipulate if means sheep or cattle.
- Beef & sheep products distributed throughout Australia, retail through Woolworths, speciality stores and restaurants7
- V & V Walsh supply markets to other countries, including China, Have an office in Bejing7
- Branded products – Amelia Park Lamb & Beef, distributed with partner company Trim & Tasty meats.7
- All beef and lamb slaughter is done so by accredited Muslim slaughtermen using Halal kill techinques7
- Abattoir itself employs 420 people, Woolworths expansion in 2011 employed further 70 staff, total Staff employed 650 people9
- Can slaughter 3500 head lamb/mutton a day, half is boned and packed on site7
- Have a shedded feedlot for lamb to guarantee supply7
- Can slaughter 400 head cattle a day, ability to bone and process 300 carcasses a day7
- Offal is trimmed and packed to customer specifications. Time from leaving the kill floor to freeze the offal to -10C, less than 48 hours.7
Source – http://www.insightps.com.au
Bunbury abattoir – Western Australia
History
1957
- established by Vern & Jean Walsh7
2009-2011
- underwent significant expansion in abattoir processing area and ‘cold chain’ connections between the abattoir and the production and warehouse facilities5
- Expansion cost $31M – The Bunbury meat centre9
- Deboning room expansion included
- construction of new export standard beef/sheep chiller facilities6
- load out facility extensions6
- new amenities for staff6
Source – http://www.insightsps.com.au.
Boning room facilities inside Bunbury abattoir
- Cold storage included
- 32,000 carton capacity cold storage6
- 2000 pellets of chilled meat9
Source – http://www.insightsps.com.au.
Chiller facilities inside Bunbury abattoir
2012
- Bunbury employer – CEO Peter Walsh. blames Bunbury’s staggering unemployment rate of 6.3%, (above WA state average of 3.8%, and Australia’s 5.1%) on widespread ‘slack’ attitude of local workers8
- Abattoir employs temporary foreign workers because locals are “not up to the task”8
- Foreign workers are not cheap but more reliable than Australians8
- One third of employee’s come from overseas using 457 visa, allow eligible workers to be employed for up to 4 years or a working holiday visa8
- Employing foreign workers involved constant retraining and rehiring of new staff8
- Continually advertised for new staff in last 5 years.
2014
- Signed a $1B deal with Chinese company Grand Farm10
- Grand Farm are the largest red meat importer in China.10
- Currently supply 1% of Chinese market10
- Want to increase to 3%10
- If average lamb consumption is increased in China by 1 kg require extra 65M lambs10
- If average beef consumption is increased in China by 1kg require extra 6.5M cattle10
- Grand Farm are the largest red meat importer in China.10
- Bunbury (Harvey Beef) is the only accredited exporter of WA beef to China11
- Currently 75% of Bunbury production is sold domestically11
- Expansion, within 5 years will double exports to about 50%11
- Bunbury will process extra 500,000 lambs and 30,000 cattle to begin to supply Grand Farm10
- Possible many grain producers will shift to livestock production.10
- V & V Walsh are assisting in setting up Cattle feedlot in inner Mongolia10
Sources
- Parliament Hansard P. Omodei 17.08.05
- AUS-MEAT Accreditation list 14.01.13
- WAMIA Meat Processors 2013
- ‘Northern Australian Beef Industry – Assessment of risks and opportunities’ ABARE 2012
- www.insights.com.au, sourced 23.06.13
- www.capitalhouse.com.au, sourced 23.06.13
- www.halalexporter.com, sourced 23.06.13
- ‘Bleak jobless outlook for Bunbury workforce’ Bunbury Mail. 11.06.12
- ‘Bunbury meat centre extension opening’ www.woolworthslimited.com.au. 21.03.12
- Billion dollar meat deal with Chinese importer. Beef Central. 17.06.2014
- ‘We’ll have meat with that’ Nth QLD Register. 19.06.2014
Tagged: 457 visas, 457 work visas in meat industry, Abattoir history, abattoirs currently operating, Abattoirs in Australia, abattoirs operating timelines, australian abattoir history, Australian meat processing, Bunbury abattoir, halal slaughter abattoir, Walsh abattoir, Western Australian abattoirs, Western Australian meat industry, Woolworths supply abattoir
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