Australian Abattoirs

Located 200km southwest of Sydney and north of Canberra. Has faced major shortage of animal supply issues in the past due to drought and decreased national sheep herd. Recently increased costs of water affected operations.

Other Names

• Southern Meats.

Current Operation

• Currently in operation.
• Ausmeat Accreditation number #0217⁸

Location   

• Goulburn is located 200km South west of Sydney and 90km north of Canberra
  
• Abbatoir is located 99-241 Mazamet road, Goulburn NSW.

Hema Maps – Australia Truckies atlas.

Owner

• Southern Meats Goulburn¹
  • Also own Harden abattoir (NSW) – closed Harden in 2006.
  • Joined with Western Australian Meat Marketing co-operative Limited (WAMMCO)¹⁰

Operation   

• Export abattoir for sheep and sheep offal.⁸
• Specialist plant of sheep and lamb production⁵
• Draws livestock from Victoria and NSW⁵
• Pupose built boning room for further processing of customers orders⁵
• Skins processed to drum salt stage⁵
• Rendering facility produces bleachable and bleached tallow in addition to bloodmeal and meatmeal⁵
• Production is predominently export-driven including the Middle east and US market⁶
  • SE Asia and Japan⁵
  • simple 6-way packs to more detailed specifications for orders⁶
• Capacity to process 8,000 sheep and lambs a day¹⁰
• Livestock kept in covered yards on arrival at plant¹⁰

History

1957

• Goulburn was a strategically important abattoir at this time²⁷.
  • Operated by local government to boost local employment and establish regional livestock selling centres²⁷.
  • Others at the time were located²⁷
    • Gunnedah #398 NSW (Closed 1980’s)
    • Wagga Wagga #291 NSW
    • Dubbo.1. NSW (Closed 1980’s)

1963

• Operated as an export facility with chilling, freezing an freezing storage capacity by the Goulburn City Council²⁵

1991

• Neville Newton purchases the Goulburn abattoir²⁸

1997

• July. Is Aus-meat registered at this time²⁶.
  • Operated by Southern Meats Pty Ltd²⁶

2001

• Southern Meats Pty Ltd – figures for year ending December 2002⁴,Harden abattoir (NSW) and Goulburn combined.
  • Ranked 10th in Top 25 Australian beef and Sheepmeat processors for 2001⁴
  • Throughput 65,000 ETCW (estimated tonnes carcase weight)⁴
  • Turnover $225M⁴

2002

• Southern Meats Pty Ltd – figures for year ending December 2002⁴, Harden abattoir (NSW) and Goulburn combined.
  • Ranked 12th in Top 25 Australian beef and Sheepmeat processors for 2002⁴
  • Throughput 49,000 ETCW (estimated tonnes carcase weight)⁴
  • Kill share 1.8%⁴
  • Turnover $206M⁴
  • Total staff 700⁴

2003

• Southern Meats Pty Ltd – figures for year ending December 2003⁵, Harden abattoir (NSW) and Goulburn combined.
  • Ranked 14th in Top 25 Australian beef and Sheepmeat processors for 2002⁵
  • Throughput 46,675 ETCW (estimated tonnes carcase weight)⁵
  • Turnover $180M⁵

2004

• Major problem facing the industry was the lack of growth in the Australian sheep flock, combined with skyrocketing cost of lamb in recent years.¹
• July. Major problem was lack of rain¹
  • need water to use to run the plant¹
• Plant is currently operating 4 to 5 days a week.¹
• Plant was closed for a number of months in 2003 due to drought and low availability of stock numbers¹
• livestock supply improved in 2004
  • average carcase weights slightly higher
  • 2nd shift work put into operation

• Southern Meats Pty Ltd – figures for year ending December 2004⁵, Harden abattoir (NSW) and Goulburn combined.
  • Ranked 10th in Top 25 Australian beef and Sheepmeat processors for 2004⁵
  • Throughput 55,000 ETCW (estimated tonnes carcase weight)⁵
  • Kill share 2.6%⁵
  • Turnover $185M⁵
  • Total staff 480⁵
  • Production split 95% export, 5% domestic⁵
  • Species split 75% sheep, 25% lamb⁵
• Harden abattoir (NSW) closed 2004 due to stock shortages.

2005

• Southern Meats Pty Ltd – figures for year ending December 2006⁶, Goulburn only
  • Ranked 10th in Top 25 Australian beef and Sheepmeat processors for 2005⁶
  • Throughput 55,000 ETCW (estimated tonnes carcase weight)⁶
  • Turnover $185M⁶

2006

• Southern Meats Pty Ltd – figures for year ending December 2006⁶, Goulburn only
  • Ranked 14th in Top 25 Australian beef and Sheepmeat processors for 2006⁶
  • Throughput 51,000 ETCW (estimated tonnes carcase weight)⁶
  • Kill share 1.8%⁶
  • Total staff 480⁶
  • Production split 95% export, 5% domestic⁶
  • Species split 75% sheep, 25% lamb⁶
  • Brands Fine Brand, Country Meadow, Southern Cross⁶

2007

• Southern Meats Pty Ltd – figures for year ending December 2006⁷, Goulburn only
  • Ranked 25th in Top 25 Australian beef and Sheepmeat processors for 2007⁷
  • Throughput 28,000 ETCW (estimated tonnes carcase weight)⁷
  • Kill share 0.97%⁷
  • Total staff 480⁷

2009

• Forced to let workers go who worked afternoon shift
• Going through an extremely long dry period
• February. Southern Meats will shut down it’s Goulburn abattoir operations if a new saleyard is approved for building 250m from its own front gate¹¹
  • Saleyard is proposed by Kattle Gear Australia¹¹
    • $9M complex in Mazamet road¹¹
      • Cater to 20,000 sheep and 2,500 cattle¹¹
• Southern Meats Owner and General Manager – Mr Neville Newton¹¹

2010

• February. Goulburn. Currently employs 250 people³
  • Used to have more than 400³
• Central West NSW used to have 11 abattoirs now it just has 4⁴
  • Cowra abattoir (NSW), Dubbo abattoir (NSW), Goulburn and Oberon⁴
  • Meatworks at Forbes, Orange, Harden, Mudgee, Young, Blayney and Condoblin have all closed⁴
• Livestock numbers plummet due to long period of drought⁴
• “It’s disastrous. There are far too many processing abattoirs out there and not enough animals to slaughter” Neville Newton. Goulburn owner / Operator⁴

• Currently 29 licensed red meat abattoirs in NSW⁴
  • down by 30% from a decade ago⁴

2011

• March. Southern meats had forced full production shutdown for 16 weeks – March to June.⁹
  • Abattoir closed March 21 for six weeks due to livestock shortages¹²
    • Low sheep numbers¹⁴
      • Sever drought that has caused this and another lengthy closure this year¹⁵
    • High Australian dollar on the export markets¹⁴
  • May 2 re-start is subject to stock availability¹²
  • 180 employees were laid off.
• April. Local town employers are encouraged to employ the meat workers on a seasonal basis  to prevent the loss of their expertise and skills from the area¹²
  • Some workers are using long service leave and annual leave to survive the downturn¹²
  • Important to retain as many of the people locally to minimise the impact on the local economy¹²
  • Workers age range from 16 to 66 with 40% female¹²
    • some had gone to Canberra in the building trade and others had began work at the Tahmoor poultry plant¹²
• Industry and Investment NSW and Southern Meats have developed a scheme to train abattoir workers in other fields¹³
  • Aim is to keep the workers in Goulburn during the plant’s shut down periods¹³
• May 28. Plant announces it will not restart until July 4¹⁴.
  • Second time the re-opening has been delayed¹⁴
  • AMIEU claim the abattoir is about to be sold¹⁴.
    • AMIEU organiser Mark Perkins¹⁴
    • Current employment agreement covers short-term closures and stand-downs but not the sale of the facility¹⁴
    • Union were not informed of extension of closure until 27/05/2011¹⁴
  • Management of the plant decline to comment on the facilities future¹⁴
• June. Abattoir is sold to the Western Australian Meat Marketing Co-operative (WAMMCO) for an undisclosed sum¹⁵
  • WAMMCO have another plant in Katanning¹⁵
  • Sale includes business, land and buildings¹⁵
    • Sale had been in negotiation for 3 months
    • WAMMCO will take on all former workers¹⁵
    • had been aware Goulburn was experiencing difficulties¹⁵
    • Plant to reopen July 1¹⁵
• Competition had been very difficult with 2 major lamb processors pushing up livestock prices¹⁵
• The abattoirs premier export product was a strong attraction to the buyer¹⁵
• WAMMCO wanted to branch into eastern states¹⁵.
  • 1.3M head of sheep had left WA in 9 months to eastern states¹⁵.
  • Risk management strategy¹⁵.
• AMIEU is confident most workers will return to the abattoir when it re-opens July 4¹⁶.
  • all entitlements of employees who would return would be paid¹⁶
  • Union have a good relationship with WAMMCO in the west¹⁶
• July 5. Plant reopens¹⁷
  • Approximately half of the workforce have returned¹⁷
    • Just over 100 people returned¹⁷
  • Reopen under Southern Meats name¹⁷
    • Chief Executive Coll MacRury¹⁷
  • Plant would restart at 60-70% capacity to build to full production¹⁷
  • Southern Meats want to double capacity and employ 400 people¹⁷
  • Livestock would be sourced from saleyards and direct from the paddock¹⁷
    • Direct from the paddock was more efficient and used in the west¹⁷
  • Plant would continue will supply to halal markets¹⁷
    • Animals were stunned with an electric stunner pre slaughter¹⁷
  • Previously plant had focused on mutton export¹⁷
    • WAMMCO would pursue more lamb products¹⁷
      • 20% going to the domestic market¹⁸
      • May take 18 months to build domestic opportunities¹⁸
      • Australian dollar was so strong against most countries’ currency¹⁸
  • Most stock would be secured from producers within 2-3 hours of the facility¹⁸
  • WAMMCO Western Australia is run at 90% direct from producers supply¹⁸
  • Plan to get Goulburn supplied 75-80% direct¹⁸
    • then adopt some principles of the NSW co-operative¹⁸
      • performance based payments¹⁸
      • work with producers to lift genetic pool¹⁸
      • produce the type of lamb market wants¹⁸
  • Immediate aim is to get the plant to profitability¹⁸
    • Will need to see numbers improve¹⁸
      • Better margins back to the business¹⁸
      • Wants plant back to capacity on one shift¹⁸
        • Processing 4,200 – 4,500 sheep and lambs per day¹⁸
    • Will take a couple of years¹⁸
    • Prices paid in the last 10-12 months are not sustainable¹⁸
      • market can’t support that type of buying¹⁸

2012

• August. owner expressed concerns about its viability and job security when its annual water charges skyrocketed by up to $70,000²
  • Council introduced a new policy – water is calculated on amount used.²
  • Council agreed to reduce charges and do a watching brief of water use.²
    • aware of need to assit meat industry, export and internally in tough times.²
• Plant is already facing significant cost increases due to carbon tax and exchange rates.²
• Abattoir is unable to pass costs on the extra costs¹⁹.
  • people just don’t get employed to offset costs¹⁹

2013

• March. Abattoir has thrown down gauntlet in regards to Goulburn’s water pricing²⁰
  • Council suggested a 25% discount on water charges to the business²⁰
    • Southern Meats say this will add $150,000 annually or 69% to their bill²⁰
• “In the current business environment this is not sustainable for Southern Meats and if this is adopted it would have a severe impact on our ability to operate successfully in Goulburn” Southern Meats CEO Coll MacRury²⁰
• Abattoir would be unable to provide further employment if the water charges are implemented²⁰
• Council has also risen residential water charges by 33%²⁰
  • ‘Full cost recovery’ for council’s water business unit²⁰
  • in line with state government directive²⁰
  • Price of water was cheap in the first place²⁰
  • Prices had not risen for a long time²⁰
• Council have allowed 42% reduction to the abattoir – $125,000 annually²⁰
  • Phased in over 5 years²⁰
    • Abattoir say the charges are still not acceptable²⁰
  • Abattoir uses 210 Megalitres annually (2011/2012)²⁰
    • 10% of entire Goulburn water use²⁰
    • currently pays 97c/kilolitre = $205,000 annual water bill²⁰
      • If it paid the same as other businesses it would pay $570,000 pa²⁰
      • Initial offer $365,000 reduction in fee = $36 cross subsidy by every Goulburn property²⁰
      • Latest offer abattoir would pay $1.57/kl cross subsidy of $43 per property²⁰
• Abattoirs are facing high costs²⁰
  • Livestock costs are high²⁰
  • high Australian dollar²⁰
  • higher business and labour costs relative to other countries²⁰.
    • Any competitive advantage was critical²⁰
  • Says other competitors are paying less for their water²⁰
• Other businesses lost in the region included Oral B, Supertex, The Goulburn Wool Scour and Kermac²⁰
• Southern Meats employs 270 people²⁰
  • Slaughters 3,600 sheep and lambs daily²⁰

2014

• August. Agreement is made with Japanese city businessman signs a deal worth $340,000²¹
  • Goulburn sister city to Japanese city Shibetsu²¹
  • Mr Imai – CEO of Shizou Farm Corporation²¹
    • Own
      • several restaurants²¹
      • motel²¹
      • runs 600 Suffolk sheep on his farm²¹
      • grows 143 acres of sugar beet²¹
    • One of the largest operations in Japan²¹
      • 43 greenhouses²¹
      • a meat processing works to slaughter own stock and imported²¹ animals²¹
      • catering firm contracts to Nippon Airways²¹
      • Transport business²¹
  • Goulburn abattoir agreement will see 17 tonnes of lamb exported by air and ship²¹
    • Initially the contract had been with a Melbourne site²¹
  • Goulburn exports 800 tonnes of high quality lamb to Japan annually²¹
    • Overall exports 500 – 600 tonne every week²¹
• Russia has imposed sanctions against Australian products including beef and pork²¹
  • Unsure if lamb will be affected at this date²

2015

• June. work will soon begin on a state-of-the-art renewable energy project²²
  • Goulburn abattoir will be able to harness power of own methane²²
  • Australian first²²
  • Biogas will be used to generate electricity that offsets grid supplied electricity²²
    • Biogas is currently used as a fuel at a number of processing works²²
  • Quantum Power, Gold coast based bioenergy company will construct the equipment²²
    • generate up to 1MW or renewable energy²²
      • sufficient to offset power of 400 homes²²
      • Offset 40% of grid supplied electricity to the abattoir²²
      • take 6-9 months to construct, beginning in 3 months²²
        • Once built it will convert waste stream to biogas comprising of 60% methane²²
• November. Unique Australian technology is taking the injuries out of bandsaw work in abattoirs²³
  • Goulburn abattoir is one of several installing ‘bladestop’ technology²³
    • operator becomes part of electronic circuit connected to the saw²³
      • If person touches it, stops within 15 milliseconds²³
      • Operator wears a belt that has an electronic circuit breaker²³
  • 70 units sold in Australia in the last 18 months²³
    • Technology has been around for 7 years²³
      • Latest model available for the last 2 years²³
  • Research has been going for 11 years through MLA²³
    • Goulburn was involved in the research projects²³
  • gives employees a greater sense of confidence to use the machines²³
  • 4 major incidents at Goulburn in the last 5 years involving bandsaws has resulted in 827 hours of lost time and $100,000 workers compensation claims²³
  • 2012/2013 Safe Work Australia statistics showed that there were 95 accepted workers compensation claims and $400,000 paid in compensation due to powered saws in the Australian Meat Industry²³
• Southern Meats is currently processing 3,000 – 5,000 lambs per day²³
  • Employs 320 staff depending on the season²³
  • Majority of meat is exported to European union and Muslim countries²³
  • Domestically processed lamb is for Cosco Australia²³

2016.

• September. At this point in time the facility is managed by Craig Newton. Son of Neville Newton who had owned the facility from 1991 – 2011²⁸

2017

• April. JBS Australia announce they will temporarily close two of its southern lamb processing plant due to current livestock supply and price conditions²⁴.
  • Cobram #397 Vic.
  • Longford #195 Tas.
• Other facilities that have also stopped production or reduced throughput recently are²⁴
  • Deniliquin #2123 NSW
  • Esperance #1459 WA
  • Gunbower #    Vic
  • Tamworth 1. #394 NSW
• Some plants are currently operating on loss-making skeleton 3 day weekly kills²⁴
• Recent spate of abattoir closures raises questions in regards to over capacity of the processing sector with oversupply of stock due to drought²⁴
• Has been high levels of foreign investment interest in investments directed into processing²⁴

Sources  – Goulburn #217 NSW

1. ‘Harden abattoir closes; Goulburn’s future uncertain’ Goulburn Post 11.07.2004
2. ‘Financial reprieve for abattoir’s bills’ ABC News 23.08.12
3. ‘Abattoir industry in disastorous state’ ABC rural 16.02.2010
4. Feedback. Top 25 red meat processors 2002
5. Feedback. Top 25 red meat processors 2004
6. Feedback’s Top 25 red meat processors 2006
7. Feedback’s Top red meat processors 2007
8. Ausmeat Accreditation listing as at 20.05.2014
9. NSW EPA Annual Return. June 2011 – May 2012
10. http://www.southernmeats.com.au. accessed 21.05.14
11. ‘The knives are out: Meat works will close if yards built’ Goulburn Post 03.09.2009
12. ‘Bid to keep ab workers here’ Goulburn Post 05.04.2011
13. ‘One door shuts…’ Goulburn Post 12.04.2011
14. ‘Abattoir sheepish’ Goulburn Post 28.05.2011
15. ‘Abattoir sells up’ Goulburn Post 06.06.2011
16. ‘Meat works sale buoys union’ Goulburn Post 07.06.2011
17. ‘New Beginning’ Goulburn Post 05.07.2011
18. ‘Southern Meats eyes domestic lamb share’ www.farmonline.com.au 08.07.2011
19. ‘Abattoir appeals for reprieve from soaring water bills’ ABC News. 20.08.2012
20. ‘Increase will chop into abattoir’s edge’ Goulburn Post 22.03.2013
21. ‘Goulburn lamb cuts mustard’ Goulburn Post 11.08.2014
22. ‘Goulburn abattoirs harnesses methane’ Goulburn Post 12.06.2015
23. ‘Bandsaw safety technology cuts meat processing injuries’ Sheep Central 04.11.2015
24. ‘Indefinite closures for JBS lamb plants, as supply challenge reaches critical point’ Beef Central 20.04.2017
25. ‘World on a plate’ Stephen Martyn. 2011
26. Aus-Meat Accreditation List. July 1997
27. ‘A giant in the life of Gunnedah – 100 years since O’Keefe bon’ Naomi Valley 23.10.2012
28. ‘Neville Newton, a man of great substance’ Goulburn Post 20.09.2016
29. ‘Goulburn, Southern meats winds back lamb and mutton production’ Sheep Central 17.02.2017