Lactalis Australia, the historic 1930s milk factory on Montague Road, also known as Parmalat, is set to close its doors this July.
A French family-owned business, Lactalis is the world’s largest fresh dairy company with over 250 production sites and 80,000 employees across 94 countries, and owns brands such as Pauls Milk, Tamar Valley, Vaalia yoghurt and Lemnos cheese. It achieved this milestone last year, after acquiring Fonterra Cooperative Group for over $3 billion.
What happened?
The company has stated that the reason for the closure is merely structural, as the factory’s current location and infrastructure are not as modern or efficient as would be ideal.
Production is expected to be reallocated to Lactalis Australia’s other facilities in Queensland, such as the Nambour factory in the Sunshine Coast, which will be upgraded to this end. National food supply should suffer no impact from the closure.
Alongside this decision, the company has committed more than $200 million to modernising their manufacturing facilities across Australia throughout this year.
Impact and possible effects
Firstly, a closure will always mean redundancies and, while the company says farmers will not be affected, as milk will be processed in Nambour as per usual, 202 workers will be impacted at the factory, although the company has stressed that the closure is unrelated to performance.
On the other hand, the processing plant’s closure opens up development opportunities in South Brisbane, which are already being eyed for mixed-used purposes.
In fact, a redevelopment of the area would help with plans to transform the precinct for the 2032 Olympics, thanks to the factory’s location opposite the planned Olympic International Broadcast Centre. Additionally, the Queensland government has expressed interest in building high-density housing where the Visy glass recycling facility used to be, hoping for as many as 4,000 homes, entertainment spaces, community spaces, and more.
High-density housing has been promoted in the area ever since the government’s Kurilpa Sustainable Growth Precinct, which paved the way for high-rise buildings and includes some of Lactalis’s facilities.
With over 600 people moving to Brisbane every week on average, it may be time to start thinking vertically. What do you think?