Signs of progress have emerged regarding the possibility of the former Teys Brothers abbatoir at Innisfail being reopened in the future with the Cassowary Coast Regional Council agreeing in principle to provide its support for the recommissioning of the site.
The meatworks which has been shuttered since Teys decided to cease operations following Cyclone Larry in 2006, has had a recommissioning draft plan drawn up by local engineering firm, Maddocks and Associates in cooperation with the owner of the site on Dodds Road, Stoters Hill.
Investors are being sought to finance the venture, which involves reconfiguring the plant to handle 300-400 head of cattle per day to produce beef quarters for export as a chilled product to a destination that is not known at this point in time.
While most of the assets at the plant were sold off since the meatworks was decommissioned the basic infrastructure remains providing solid footing for the reopening of the plant if a suitable investor can be sourced.
Maddocks and Associates’ Andrew Maddocks said the job has a long way to go and requires a lot of things to go in its favour but that the initial purchase cost should prove attractive to investors.
“The site is for sale for $1.25m to any prospective developer of a meatworks, which is a bargain price,” Mr Maddocks said.
Cassowary Coast Regional Council Mayor Cr John Kremastos said the recommissioning proposal was first mooted about a month ago and that council is actively progressing the project and seeking investors in conjunction with the property owner.
“Council has thrown our full support behind the proposal and we’re currently sending out letters of support to help attract investors,” Mr Kremastos said.
He said a big advantage of the proposal is that it would only cost $27m to upgrade the current site compared to the close to $60m required for a greenfield project.
“The draft plan suggests the meat processing facility could employ a workforce of 140-150 people which I like to think would be employed locally and would inject millions of dollars annually into the regions economy,” he said.
“I hope it sells as that level of investment and opportunity for the region would be very exciting.
“Their are lots of dairy farms on Tablelands which are acting as cattle fattening properties which would make our location ideal as they would have easy access from the highway.”
The decommissioning of the plant in 2005 included the removal of chain drives, meat processing equipment and mechanical plant associated with the rendering, ammonia compression and handling and material handling plant, LPG storage tanks, boilers and waste water mechanical equipment. The high voltage transformers and switch gear remains on site. The panel component of the last freezers constructed on the site in 2004 has also been removed. The insulated concrete floor and foundation for the structure remain.
The Environmental Protection Authority has advised the Environmental License which regulated discharge of waste water from various parts of the plant and airborne material emitted from the boilers was surrendered by the previous owner of the site. A new license will need to be obtained.
It is proposed to re-configure the plant to handle 300-400 head per day. The aim will be to produce beef quarters and export these as a chilled product from the plant. This will be done by expanding and upgrading the kill floor into the present chillers and boning room and re-modelling the present freezers as chiller units. There will be a reduced need for rendering capacity.
The work required would include the demolition of the present rendering sheds and re-construction of a new plant from the foundation up; the construction of a new cattle unloading structure; reconfiguration of the access road through the plant; reconstruction of the holding yards and ramp to the kill floor and reconstruction of the kill floor slabs and drainage, offal and hides handling and processing areas.
It would also involve the removal of part of the existing EPS panel and replacement with new fire resistant PIR panel; redesign and reconstruction the process chain and chain support and drives; new platforms and work stations throughout the premises; a new ammonia and plant room; new chilling and freezer equipment; recommissioning of the existing freezers as chillers including the provision of new mechanical equipment.
And redesign and re-construction of the offal and hides processing areas; construction of a new gas fired boiler house and boilers; provision of chilled areas for movement of product from the chillers to the shipping containers; reconstruction of new chillers on the 2004 constructed freezer foundations; desludging and recommissioning of the waste water treatment ponds and installation of new aeration equipment; recommissioning of the existing wastewater outlet lines to the North Johnstone River and construction of a new container loading bay.
It is likely the meatworks for the purpose of approvals will be classified as a new plant but will be exempt from the requirements of site approval.
Delivery of cattle from the Tablelands and beyond will be by road train to the tableland then by B Double to the Innisfail plant. The Palmerston highway is a designated B Double route.
The linkage between the Road Trains and the B Doubles will depend on the origin of the cattle and the transport operator involved.
The Innisfail plant has previously supplied ground meat to the American market. The product was shipped by truck to Brisbane and then by sea to the USA.
Many of the dairy properties on the tablelands in the period 2005-2016 have been converted to fattening operations with the number of cattle in the Shires of Tablelands, Etheridge and Cook totalling 700,000 head in 2009 of which approximately 50,000 are taken for slaughter each year.
This compares with a planned capacity for the re-opened Innisfail plant of approximately 70,000 head.
