Dubbo's Ben Furney Flour Mills has secured a $1 million grant to embark on a modernisation project that will allow it to ramp up capacity and break into new markets.
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Parkes MP Mark Coulton announced the funding on Friday at the family-owned business, flanked by its leaders Sarah Furney and Tim Furney.
The project would lead to employment creation, Mr Coulton said.
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He said the grant came at a vital time, with some local industries feeling the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Furney's is an iconic family-owned and operated business in Dubbo, which sources its wheat locally within the Macquarie Valley," he said.
"This $1 million grant from the federal government's Manufacturing Modernisation Fund (MMF) will open up new opportunities for the business and create up to 11 new full-time jobs.
"It will also provide a great confidence boost for the Dubbo region as we face these unprecedented times.
"The current pandemic gives us the opportunity as a nation to reassess and commit to the values of Australian-made goods, such as those produced by Furney's right here in Dubbo."
Furney's chief executive officer Sarah Furney said the grant will be a game changer for the business.
"With the assistance of this grant, we will purchase and install a state-of-the-art automated processing line to manufacture Textured Vegetable Proteins (TVP), plant-based proteins and bread crumb products," Ms Furney said.
"We will be able to produce a whole new range of products, increasing our capacity and allowing us to supply new markets both here in Australia and overseas, with a focus on the expanding plant-based proteins market.
"Our increased capacity resulting from this grant will help to secure the future of food production not just in Dubbo - but across Australia.
"We feel strongly about producing our own food products and using local ingredients and suppliers.
"This grant will help us to strengthen supply chains and reduce reliance on overseas imports. "We thank our federal member and the government for this important boost."
More to come.