UNILVER Australia will invest $1.2 million to create a chai latte production line at its Tatura plant, creating 10 jobs.
In a statement, Regional and Rural Development Minister Jacinta Allan said the popular Lipton Chai Latte product would now be produced at Unilever’s Tatura site.
"Unilever Australia will now produce the Lipton Chai Latte product at its Tatura plant with a $1.2 million investment," she said.
"Unilever showed its commitment to regional Victoria and Tatura by choosing to manufacture the product at its Tatura site rather than importing the product from Indonesia.
"This will boost Unilever’s production at the Tatura plant with the goal being to export the product to Japan as well as to sell it domestically."
The statement said works for the project would include:
- Refurbishment of a mixing system;
- A new powder conveying system for transporting product to filler;
- A new stick pack filler for filling pouches at 400 per minute;
- A new unit carton packer; and
- The installation of a series of conveyors to allow manual packing for shipping.
Ms Allan said Unilever was a major employer in the Shepparton region.
"It contributes directly and indirectly to the local economy by employing 300 people and manufacturing over 70,000 tonnes of finished product," she said.
Ms Allan said "strong support" had been provuided by the State Government.
She said funding to Unilever would be provided under the Brumby Government’s Regional Investment Initiative.
