GWF WA manager Greg Friedrichs, WA Member for Kwinana Roger Cook, Federal Member for Brand Madeleine King and Kwinana mayor Carol Adams on site at Kwinana to look over plans for the new GWF stockfeed mill. Photo: GWF

GEORGE Weston Foods (GWF) is boosting its capacity in Western Australia’s stockfeed sector with a new pellet-manufacturing mill to be built at Kwinana.

In a statement, GWF divisional managing director Paul Foster said the mill was expected to process more than 300,000 tonnes of Western Australian grain by 2030.

“The new mill will be one of the largest in Australia and will bring together the latest in automation, design and industry standards to create a facility that will deliver a sustainable long-term investment in Western Australian agriculture,” Mr Foster said.

Construction at the Armstrong Road site will begin in the current quarter, with commissioning and completion expected in the second half of 2022.

Along with Manildra Group and Allied Pinnacle, GWF is one of Australia’s big three flour millers, and it owns and operates six sites in WA.

They include the Wesfeeds mill in the Perth suburb of Bentley.

The Wesfeeds Bentley plant had a WA Government approved production/design capacity of 200,000 tonnes per annum. It was amended to 320,000t in 2017, along with a name change to GWF.

It produces feed for poultry and pigs, as does GWF’s only other feedmill in Australia which is located at Enfield in Sydney.

An artist’s impression of the GWF pellet-manufacturing plant to be built at Kwinana. Image: GWF

Rising pellet demand

The New South Wales drought brought WA pellets, primarily for sheep feed, east by rail and road in great volume in 2018 and 2019.

Their ability to price into the NSW market proved the affordability and consistent quality of feed made from WA inputs, primarily lupins, oats and hay.

GWF has declined to comment on target markets for the pellets to be produced at its Kwinana plant, but Grain Central understands they will include domestic and offshore ruminant markets.

GWF is already a significant value-adder of WA grain and lupins, and plans to continue sourcing inputs from farms across all regions of WA.