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Vol 2 No 33 THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2022 ISSN 2653-1550
SOUTH AUSTRALIAN COMPANY BUYS SCATO, EPA LICENCE
ORGANICS HUB
A SOUTH Australian company will open an organics recovery facility at Newbridge within weeks.
Mount Gambier’s Bio Gro has bought the 162-hectare Scato Plus site after that company went into liquidation in June. Bio Gro was formed by the Van Schaik family at Mt Gambier in 1975 and now has sites in South Australia and Victoria. Bulk and packaged products from organics will come out of the Newbridge site - mulches and composts for the agriculture, horticulture and viticultural industries. Des Lamprell, who worked at Scato Plus for 18 years, has been recruited as the Newbridge site co-ordinator. The company says it expects to recruit six permanent roles this year and further positions in the first half of 2023 Managing director Stephen Van Schaik said: “We’re extremely excited by this acquisition and the opportunity for Bio Gro to assist Victoria in meeting their objectives of creating additional organics recovery infrastructure, and equally for Bio Gro creating additional manufacturing capacity to meet our customer demand. “Our range of products are a key component in sustainably improving soil and plant health and we’re looking forward to the Newbridge operation being another new chapter in our growth story. “We are committed and looking forward to the investment in the region in terms of job creation, support services and local businesses as we look to continue our growth in the coming years,” he said,
Bio Gro’s chief operating officer Leigh Barry at the Newbridge site and (inset) former Scato Plus employee Des Lamprell. LH PHOTOS Chief operating officer Leigh Barry said: “The Newbridge site appealed to “our business for a few reasons but the main attractions were a site that was already EPA licenced, proximity to some of our customers (and) existing infrastructure to enable us to get operating quickly.” Scato Plus traded for more than two decades, becoming a leading producer of compost for wholesale mushroom growers across Australia.
Waste diverted from landfill BIO GRO wants to replicate its Wandilo South Australia facility, diverting 380,000 tonnes of home and business organic from landfiull in regional Victoria. Newbridge sits between existing Bio Gro facilities in South Australia and Dandenong. A
brochure from the company after its announcement last week said: “Bio Gro acknowledges that organisc material recovery is much needed in Victoria”. “(It) will provide critical infrastructure in Victoria to manage organic material, by diverting it from landfill.
“The material will be processed and refined into a range of quality manufactured products which will improve the health and sustainability of soils and plant life.” Bio Gro has also purchased Scato Plus equipment and infrastructure.
‘WELTON PARK’ 156 Tragowel Road Tragowel, Kerang, Northern Victoria Highly productive Fodder/Cropping Enterprise “WELTON PARK” - Same family ownership since 1910 358.154 Ha – 885 Ac Est. fodder/cropping irrigation farm 17 Paddocks, all lasered. Fertile Tragowel cracking loam soil, great fertiliser history, 2 reuse dams, backbone channel connection, Zone 7 2 homes. 1st home – 5 bedroom cement brick, modern décor, refurbished kitchen (walk-in pantry) dining, living, bathroom. Est gardens & fruit trees. 2nd home 3 bedroom cement brick, comfortable, kitchen has walk-in pantry, large family room. Est garden. Shedding INCL – 24m x 12m MACHY shed with WRKSHP & 2 car GAR, & old shearing shed. Cattle yards. 3.01 delivery shares, 5ml water INCL $2,200,000.00
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