Sydney-based contract packer Multipack officially opened its food manufacturing and packing plant in Ingleburn last week, showcasing the purpose-built plant to over 100 guests.
Multipack's new 3400sqm facility represents a significant investment in the Sydney contract packing sector, and judging by comments from suppliers and customers alike attending the opening, who described it as an “impressive food site”, and a “factory that's a credit to the [Multipack team]”, it will have a positive impact on the market it services.
The purpose-built plant, designed specifically for Multipack Food's co-packing operations, currently houses six clean rooms, cold storage facilities with 80 pallet spaces and pallet racking for 1000+ pallets.
The site is fully accredited and has a suite of equipment that offers customers access to an extensive range of blending, mixing, packaging, and filling lines for wet and dry product (powders, granules, solids, liquids, pastes, gels).
Packaging format options include pouches, spouted pouches, sachets, stick packs, bags, pillow packs, bag-in-box, buckets, cans and bottles.
PKN spoke to Multipack's sales and marketing director Brad Devine about how the new facility will serve to differentiate the company.
“In the Sydney market, this level of investment in a food contract packing facility is significant and is truly raising the bar,” he says, noting that the decision to invest was not entered into lightly, but rather off the back of strong partnerships Multipack has with its customers.
“Our business has been built on strong relationships with a number of multinational and local brand owners in the food and FMCG sector, and our willingness to invest was spurred on by their support of our strategic plans,” Devine says.
Most importantly, the facility is designed to accommodate significant growth.
“We see tremendous opportunity for growth, driven by dynamics in the prevailing retail environment – notably the brand-owners’ need to innovate and diversify, to provide value beyond price in order to stay relevant on shelf and compete successfully against private label products,” Devine says.
“A key benefit we offer is supply chain optimisation, and it's one of the strongest cases for using the services of a contract packer.
“Other advantages we offer are flexibility and speed to market that our plug-and-play manufacturing and packing platform lends itself to so well.
“And when it comes to seasonality, we can handle the peaks and troughs in demand with access to a flexible labour force,” he says.
Devine says contract packing is a growing sector globally, and Australia is following this trend. And with companies like Multipack investing in the sector, Sydney-based FMCG and food brand owners can feel confident that there is a solution for filling and packing on their doorstep.
