Western Meat Processors general manager Jamie Warburton and group chief executive Andrew Fuda at the company’s Cowaramup facility

Western Australia’s Western Meat Packers Group has welcomed last week’s WA Government grant which will help deliver further processing of offals and other products at the company’s Cowaramup abattoir operation, as part of a $10 million expansion of operations.

Chief executive officer Andrew Fuda said that investing in this new manufacturing capability would help fully maximise yields from each beef animal and open up new markets, resulting in at least 50 full time new jobs and a host of indirect opportunities for the company and the local community.

“We’ve identified strong demand from our existing customers in Thailand, Korea, Hong Kong and Japan, plus we’re optimistic we’ll receive export license approval for China, a key target in our marketing strategy,” he said.

He thanked the WA State Government and agriculture and food minister Alannah MacTiernan for their $300,000 in grant support for the project, and recognition of regional businesses.

WMPG’s Cowaramup operation has built its operational capacity over the past 15 years to 70,000 cattle per year, with most selected from south-western WA beef producers and distributed domestically and internationally under the Margaret River Fresh brand.

Family-owned WMPG has transformed from modest beginnings in 1983 as a small boning room. Employing almost 500 people, WMPG now has a weekly processing capacity of 2000 cattle and 1000 lambs that are supplied to domestic and international markets.