RIVERLAND SUSTAINABLE FUTURES FUND

The Hon. G.A. KANDELAARS (15:28): Recently I visited the Riverland and took the opportunity to visit three firms that had received grants under the Riverland Sustainable Futures Fund. Given that those opposite seem to like to question and denigrate the government's commitment to this fund, I thought I would give the council a rundown of some of the great outcomes that have come from the Riverland Sustainable Futures Fund grants.

The three iconic firms I visited were JMA Engineering at Berri, Almondco at Renmark and Angove Family Winemakers at Renmark. All three firms provide significant employment in the Riverland and play an important role in the local economy. I visited JMA Engineering's metal fabrication site at Berri and was shown around by Tony Trevorrow. JMA was awarded a $250,000 grant from the Riverland Sustainable Futures Fund in June 2011 for its $500,000 upgrade.

The upgrade of a grit-blasting machine and spray painting booth has double the amount of raw steel that JMA can fabricate, clean and paint. It allowed JMA to secure a major contract with a large multinational almond processing business in Victoria because of their increased capability. The new grit-blasting machine removes surface deposits by applying a fine sand and glass beads at high pressure without damaging the surface. Interestingly, JMA Engineering has won work with both Almondco and Angove's. It specialises in the design, manufacture and supply of steel products for wine and brewery equipment, and industrial and retail buildings.

The next firm I visited was Almondco, on the outskirts of Renmark. I was taken on a tour of Almondco's facility by Tim Jackson, the National Sales and Liaison Manager. The facility is highly mechanised, and the $1.9 million grant from the Riverland Sustainable Futures Fund was used by Almondco in its $4.2 million pasteurisation project. The project sees the business remaining at the forefront of food safety and technology. The new state-of-the-art pasteurisation equipment treats almonds individually to remove any potential micropathogens that may have been on the almond skins. The pasteurisation project mitigates micro food safety risk and is now being demanded by leading supermarkets and retailers.

Almondco is a significant player in the Australian almond industry, as it is supplied by more than 80 per cent of the nation's almond growers and handles nearly 30 per cent of Australia's almond harvest. Almond production in South Australia has almost doubled in the past 10 years, with 12,500 tonnes resulting in $40 million worth of almonds being exported out of South Australia in 2011-12.

Finally, I visited Angove Family Winemakers' Renmark facility, the home of St Agnes Brandy, Stone's Original Green Ginger Wine and many other premium wines. I was shown around Angove's Renmark winery by John Coombe, the company secretary. Angove Family Winemakers have been operating in the Riverland since 1910. It currently exports to 30 countries around the world and, as I understand it, Angove's is one of the few remaining, if not the only, family-owned mid-tier winery in Australia.

After receiving a grant of $250,000 from the Riverland Sustainable Futures Fund, Angove's has been able to significantly increase its production capacity at Renmark. The grant allowed the company to complete a project of over $550,000, installing four new 100-tonne fermenters at their Bookmark Avenue winery just in time for the 2012 harvest. This has expanded its red grape fermenting capacity from 13,000 tonnes to 17,000 tonnes per week, helping to meet an increase in the demand for the company's wines. The expansion is estimated to result in extra payments to growers of more than $1 million for 2013 and beyond and also provide work for other Riverland companies.

It was a pleasure to see some of these projects that have been funded through the $20 million Riverland Sustainable Futures Fund, which was established to assist industries promote and sustain economic and social development in the Riverland.

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