Nestle Australia has lifted the lid on a major project to expand the capabilities of its NSW Milo facility to produce its Nescafe Cafe Menu.
The factory has been operating at Smithtown on the NSW mid north coast since 1921 and is the birthplace of Milo, and it also manufactures Nesquik and Malted Milk.
The recently constructed facilities house state-of-the-art technology, which Nestle has described as the first of its kind in Australia.
Around $53 million has been invested into the factory since 2011, according to Nestle, with a large majority of the funds allocated to bring production of Nescafé Café Menu, a range of coffee sachets, permanently to Smithtown following an outbreak of foot and mouth disease in South Korea in 2010.
“The decision to create this substantial investment and a long term vision for our business in Smithtown is a tribute to the region, its residents and the local economy,” Nestlé Australia’s business executive manager - Beverages, Evan Gongolidis, said.
“Smithtown has proved to be a wonderful home for us to produce iconic products such as Milo that have been enjoyed in the homes of generations of Australians.”
State Member for Oxley, Andrew Stoner, said Nestlé had continued to show confidence in the Macleay Valley and the NSW mid north coast with its ongoing investment at the Smithtown factory.
“Nestlé is not only one of the biggest employers in the area but has also been in Smithtown for more than 90 years - with many more to come,” he said.
“This region will continue to be prosperous and we welcome and thank Nestlé’s continued support to our local economy.”
Nestlé has been operating at Smithtown factory since 1921. Milo was first produced at Smithtown following its invention by Sydney man, Thomas Mayne in 1934, and the product is now sold in Asia, South America and Africa.
The company produces nearly 300,000 tonnes of product in Australia each year including Uncle Tobys, Kit Kat, Nescafé and Maggi and sources around 70 per cent of raw materials locally.
Nestlé Australia has relocated the manufacture of its Butter-Menthol and Soothers Liquid Centre products from the Czech Republic to its manufacturing facility in Blacktown in Western Sydney.
Since 2011, Nestlé says, it has invested $1.1 million in capital expenditure at the Blacktown factory with a view to relocating the manufacturing of these products.
Nestle has invested $40m in state-of-the-art technology to create the Nescafe Cafe Menu range.
