$60 million upgrade for Bourke abattoir
Thomas Foods International has begun a $60 million upgrade of its small stock abattoir just north of Bourke.
The Adelaide-based company bought the abattoir in 2021 after it was mothballed and has been carrying out progressive improvements since then.
However, this new $60 million injection of capital will allow the facility to process up to 6,000 goats per day.
The planned upgrade includes a new 1800 square metre cold store facility, a new refrigeration system, electrical transformer and generators as well as a 1200-carcase freezer. A new skin storage and processing facility is also on the plans.
Thomas Foods Chief Executive Anthony Stewart said the company is completing the works needed for the abattoir to be set up as a long-term export facility.
Mr Stewart said that most of the goats processed at the works go to international markets, and that it is important that Thomas Foods has a full cold storage and logistics facility on site, which is not the case yet.
“For now, our products are trucked directly to an offsite storage facility and handled through third party infrastructure,” Mr Stewart said.
“Commercially, that’s not ideal, but it’s also not ideal for the integrity of the cold chain.” […]
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