Wauchope is getting 20 new jobs as Food Machines Australia expands its business. The firm’s expansion is supported by the federal coalition government’s North Coast jobs and investment package.
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Announcing the successful project, Lyne MP Dr David Gillespie congratulated FMA, which manufactures industrial-scale food processing machinery, and refrigeration condensers.
“It has outgrown its current manufacturing activities and now requires additional space to meet increasing demand for the company’s products,” Dr Gillespie said.
FMA will build a new factory on a greenfield site beside their existing one. As well as more than 20 jobs, it will develop a more highly-skilled workforce, and expand high-value manufacturing here.
Rob Eddy from FMA is delighted.
“The help from the government is incredibly positive and very conducive for us to be able to expand,” he said.
“Where we are focussing is export for products – food processing machines - into the United States. We hope that in two or three months’ time, we will be starting that process. We see a very strong demand and a high need for productivity and efficiency. We need a bigger factory,” he said.
The company employs six people and will expand its workforce to 26. FMA intends to bring in-house some of its manufacturing processes that are currently outsourced to other regions, providing further jobs opportunities in the future.
Dr Gillespie said the government had increased its investment in key sectors of the local economy.
“We have already been investing in a number of important initiatives designed to generate more jobs in the region and this is another important layer in this process.
“Our record investment in aged care locally, the expansion of funding into regional infrastructure projects, roads and bridges and the tax cuts and employment assistance measures for small businesses are all important to the work we are doing at the Federal level to get our region’s economy moving.”
Submissions to the North Coast Jobs and Investment package initiative have been highly competitive and the Lyne MP hopes further funding will be made available to support future projects.
“This is a great initiative that is helping to create hundreds of direct and indirect jobs in our electorate, and I’m so pleased our region has done so well in this first round of projects, particularly this project here in Wauchope” he added.
