The SunRice Group’s CopRice business has finalised its acquisition of Riverbank Stockfeeds’ dairy and beef business, which will serve to complement its existing manufacturing facilities, including at Tongala.
The acquisition includes Riverbank’s feed mill at Leongatha and extensive dairy businesses across Gippsland and south-west Victoria, which will see CopRice continue the expansion of its Victorian dairy nutrition business.
CopRice general manager Peter McKinney said the acquisition was positive news for Tongala.
“The acquisition of Riverbank will further expand our footprint — and now ensures that we have full coverage of all key dairy regions in Victoria,” he said.
“What it means is, it will bring more volume into Tongala to service requirement.
“From a Tongala point of view, it will be a welcome addition to the plant, and cements CopRice’s position in terms of supplying dairy feed into northern Victoria and beyond.
“We’ve been making dairy feed in the Tongala region since the late 1980s and we look forward to being able to bring that expertise into the Gippsland market.”
Mr McKinney said CopRice planned to immediately close the Leongatha plant in order to commence an extensive upgrade project before re-opening in the first half of 2021.
“We will now make a significant investment to improve the quality and standard of the site, but in the interim we will utilise our extensive manufacturing capability in Cobden, Tongala and Coleambally to maintain supply of high-quality products to Riverbank customers,” he said.