Thursday 14 November, 2019: Hilton Foods Australia has unveiled its $280m state of the art meat production facility in Heathwood, Queensland.

The investment is underpinned by Hilton’s long term national supply partnership with Woolworths and will provide ongoing employment to around 650 Queenslanders.

The Heathwood facility will produce the highest quality finished fresh meat products for more than 450 Woolworths stores spanning from northern New South Wales to Far North Queensland. 

The cutting-edge technology at Heathwood is set to drive a step change in consistency and quality of fresh red meat at Woolworths and improve stock availability across more hours of trade for shoppers.

Hilton Foods Australia CEO Pat McEntee said: “We are proud to be joining the local community in Heathwood and contributing to economic growth with new employment opportunities and service contracts. 

“We value our partnership with Woolworths and look forward to assisting in developing a faster and fresher supply of high quality meat and value added products.

“We also wish to acknowledge and thank both the Brisbane City Council and the Queensland Government for their support in commissioning our Heathwood site.”

Queensland Minister for State Development and Manufacturing Cameron Dick said the plant was one of the most innovative facilities of its kind in the world.

“Our government is pleased to have worked with Hilton Foods Australia to help facilitate the move, and we welcome the jobs that have come with it,” Mr Dick said.

“Brisbane’s central location, excellent transport network and Queensland’s highly trained workforce were all factors in Hilton Foods Australia’s decision to bring their operations to Heathwood.”

Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said the new facility would drive Brisbane’s economic growth.

“This is a world-class facility opening in a thriving industrial area of Brisbane,” Cr Adrian Schrinner said.

"Brisbane City Council has supported this new addition to our manufacturing sector. 

“We have a well-known thriving food and agricultural sector in Queensland and Brisbane is in a position to seize the opportunity to drive even move investment into our city.’’

Woolworths Director of Fresh Food Paul Harker added: “Hilton Foods Australia is a valued supply partner processing high quality fresh meat for our customers across Australia. 

“It’s really pleasing to see our long term supply relationship with Hilton Foods Australia underpin this important new investment and job creation in Queensland.

“We’re fortunate to source our fresh meat from the best Australian producers and it’s important we uphold the quality of their product from paddock to plate.

“The opening of this state of the art facility in Heathwood will help us deliver a consistently great fresh meat offer and improved stock availability for our Queensland customers.”

Heathwood will deliver more than 1,500 tonnes of fresh red meat to Woolworths stores each week - complementing Hilton Foods Australia’s existing meat processing facilities in Melbourne and Perth. 

The Heathwood development features Australia’s second largest rooftop photovoltaic solar installation on the rooftop, which will provide around 50 percent of the site’s energy needs. A sophisticated Energy Management System of valves, controls, and meters, will help save further baseline energy demand.