Hopes are high that the jobs of 88 workers at a pet food factory in Dubbo are safe after an Australian-owned and major player in the industry worldwide yesterday announced plans to pour money into “significantly increasing” its manufacturing capacity.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The VIP Petfoods group of companies has entered into an arrangement with PricewaterhouseCoopers to acquire Bush’s International Pet Food and its assets in Australia including BestCare Foods Limited in Dubbo.
After Bush’s went bust in late June, PricewaterhouseCoopers sent receivers to Dubbo where they declared BestCare “viable”and set about finding a buyer.
Yesterday VIP Petfoods, which calls itself the world’s largest producer of fresh chilled pet food, linked its takeover of BestCare operations with its own plans to ramp up its entry into the production of dry pet food products.
Today VIP Petfoods managing directors Tony and Christina Quinn are scheduled to visit Dubbo to meet with BestCare staff and Dubbo City Council officials.
“The current customers of BestCare and the local community in Dubbo can now look to the future with more certainty, and can be comforted by the fact that the new owner is proudly Australian with a strong background in the pet food manufacturing industry,” a statement issued on behalf of VIP Petfoods stated.
“The company has plans to enhance the existing capabilities of the Bestcare factory by implementing a capital injection that will enable the manufacturing site at Dubbo to remain at the forefront of dry pet food innovation and best practice manufacturing, with a mid-term goal of significantly increasing the Dubbo-based plant’s manufacturing capacity and operational effectiveness.”
VIP Petfoods says BestCare will “significantly expand” its capacity in manufacturing high quality dry pet food products.
“The management team at VIP Petfoods has seen the acquisition as having strategic importance to the businesses’ overall plans for future domestic and international growth, and are optimistic about the future potential of the BestCare business unit’s manufacturing capabilities,”the release stated.
“The company has immediately started the process of undertaking an operational review to ensure that all existing clients in both domestic and international markets have a smooth transition and maintain consistency of supply during and beyond the change of ownership.”
VIP Petfoods is privately owned and operated by the Quinn family.
Its website says it is committed to using “only the freshest local Australian meats and ingredients” and identifies a purpose-built factory at Yatala between Brisbane and the Gold Coast along with three other specialist factories in Australia.
