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From the paddock to the plate - Circular Head Chronicle

2010-11-24

After a year in the pipeline and months of construction the $2.5 million dollar renovations at Greenham’s Smithton Plant will finally be unveiled this Saturday. Managing director Peter Greenham said the upgrades have been in the works for the last 12 months but construction did not begin until June this year.

Mr Greenham said improvements were made to the boning room, freezer and slaughter floor to increase production numbers. “It became obvious to us that we would have to increase the factory’s processing capacity. We have had a lot of success since branding our product so we have had to reach bigger numbers to cope with the suppliers,” he said. “When we first bought the business in 2001 we were processing 250 cattle a day, in 2009 we did 320 and at the moment we’re reaching numbers of 350-70 a day. We hope by Christmas to process over 400.”

The machinery installed includes equipment from Japan as well as Brisbane-based company GMB Stainless. The Smithton plant processes and exports quality beef to the USA and Japan and buys dairy cows, bulls, heavy beef cows, Jap ox, calves and yearlings.

The company currently employ approximately 200 people but a further 20 to 25 people will be needed in the boning and slicing room. The renovation would not be possible without the funds from a grant from the north west and northern Tasmania innovation and investment fund.

Here is a tour of some of the innovative technology and equipment recently installed at the Smithton Plant as part of their multimillion dollar renovations.


1. While the Greenham plant upgrade has covered a number of areas, the main focus has been on improvements to the boning room. 

The old equipment has been removed and new streamlined system requires the meat to travel along the belt resulting in less manual handling.  There is also an X-ray machine at the plant that can detect contaminants or bone chips in the flesh.

 

2.  New vacuum pumps support an expanded Cryovac packaging system designed to handle the increased output from the enlarged boning room facilities. 

The Japanese packing system has increased efficiency with an output of 50 packs per minute compared to the previous rate of 30 packs per minute. 

 

3.  This large enclosure (pictured during construction) has been built to house the massive new boiler that will provide improved services throughout the plant. 

The 100 mega litre boiler can also burn different solid fuels such as briquettes and other fuels available around Tasmania.  Oil and tallow were previously used to fuel the boiler.