$250,000 Bligh Government grant helps Townsville company go global

Townsville food company Bestlan Bananas has been awarded $250,000 from the State Government’s Business and Industry Transformation Incentives (BITI) scheme to install an innovative quality assurance system that will help open up new export markets.

Minister for Regional Development and Industry Desley Boyle announced the funding at Bestlan Bananas Processing Facility in Bohle and said the family-run business would become the nation’s first food processing company to use the computerised production management system (MES).

“This grant will not only help the business grow but will also secure two new full-time jobs by 2011 and potentially provide further employment opportunities.

“The BITI scheme supports projects that promote the transformation of priority industries and drive Queensland towards an internationally competitive, sustainable and knowledge-intensive future,” she said.

“It encourages regional growth and also fits with our Q2 blueprint for growing our economy - which highlights the importance of diversification.

“This is the first project of its type in the Queensland food processing industry to demonstrate how to meet international quality standards.

“The company is currently ranked 2nd globally in terms of reliable volumes of supply of dried fruit and quality assurance, this project will enable them to reach number one ranking.”

Bestlan Bananas General Manager Keith Moulds said the MES would help the company export its range of products to the Asian market, in particular Japan.

“We produce dried fruits, fibre, pulps and purees for domestic and international markets,” he said.

“Currently, we process 25 tonnes of dried fruit every week and supply to some of the world’s largest food manufacturers.

“The new MES will enable us to meet the strict Quality Assurance criteria required by Asian markets. These include tracing all raw food products back to where they were grown and detailing precise ingredient mixes.

“The computerised system will also help us to better meet international food safety standards by limiting the impact of human error which can occur in the current manual process.”

Mr Moulds said Bestlan Bananas hoped to produce 115 tonnes of dried fruit each week by 2010 in order to meet growing international demand for high quality produce.

“These benefits will flow on to our supply chain of fruit suppliers in the Burdekin, Bowen, Tully, Babinda and Atherton regions, as well as local packing companies and ICT support companies.”

Ms Boyle added that State Government BITI Grants focused on the big picture and the impact of a project on an industry and region as a whole.

“This project transforms the wider industry by demonstrating how the use of new innovative technology can increase productivity and help meet strict international food standards,” she said.

“Bestlan Bananas will share its expertise with other Queensland food processors through workshops and site visits to help lift industry standards by showing how firms can adopt the technology to reach new international markets.”

Small to medium enterprises operating in Queensland’s priority sectors can apply for between $30,000 and $250,000 for projects under the BITI scheme that have the potential to significantly expand their business, their industry and their region.

The next round of BITI closes on 13 March 2009. For more information on BITI, visit www.industry.qld.gov.au/incentives

2 February 2009

Media contact:
3225 1005 or 0419 025 326
3224 2007 or 0437 436 914

Company contact:
Keith Moulds, tel: 4729 8888
Email: keith@bestlan.com.au















Ends

Media contact: Marcus Taylor 3225 1005/0419 025 326 or Zoe Russell 3224 2007/0437 436 914
2009