Lockyer Valley Fruit & Vegetable Processing Company Limited ('Lockyer Valley Foods') has launched a $50M Series A funding round to begin construction.
Chair Murray Chatfield said the raise follows October's successful acquisition of 55 hectares of land in Withcott, Queensland, for the facility, and approval of the development application and approval for commencement of operational works to begin early next year.
"This has been in the planning stages for several years and it's so exciting to finally be ready to break ground," he said. "We will not only deliver one of Australia's most sophisticated, lowest emissions facilities, we will also secure the future of the fruit and vegetable Industry in Queensland and reduce Australia's reliance on a variety of imported produce."
Lockyer Valley Foods, which is supported by a local co-operative including farmers, is the first new fruit and vegetable processing facility to be built in Australia for decades. It comprises a steel can production and canning facility; freezing, powdering, and juicing capabilities; a pallet manufacturing plant that will recycle plastic waste to make pallets; and a bio-methane plant that will use green waste from the plant, and the surrounding communities, to take the entire facility off-grid.
Chatfield said the facility will be built in a staged approach, ensuring construction can proceed as quickly as possible with initial revenue streams feeding back in to fund further development. "within one year of our initial build program we will be creating significant positive revenues," he said. "Our aim is to have a circular economy both in production, through everything being used and recycled and enabling future funding."
The $50M Series A round follows pre-seed and seed investment which funded the land purchase and pre-construction costs including completed design and specifications and pre-feasibility modeling of machinery, equipment, and processing techniques; the DA, electrical and site design; processing; storage, and distribution. The facility will recycle 100% of its water.
For more information:
Lockyer Valley Foods
https://lockyervalleyfoods.com.au/