MORE than 100 jobs and the home of the Chiko Roll have been secured in Bathurst.
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The beloved Australian product has been produced in Bathurst since the late 1980s at Simplot, but in 2013 the manufacturing plant was facing the prospect of closure in a very competitive marketplace.
However, the company was able to save 75 jobs and create 48 roles thanks to significant payroll tax support from the NSW Government.
Over the last five years, Simplot has invested $12 million into the Bathurst plant to keep it competitive in the tough food sector, meeting the criteria along the way to make it eligible for payroll tax rebates.
On Monday, Deputy Premier John Barilaro and member for Bathurst Paul Toole joined Simplot staff for a tour of the plant.
Following the tour, Mr Barilaro said being able to both protect the jobs at the plant and support Australian food manufacturing was “a success story for the NSW Government” and its Central West Jobs Action Plan.
“These guys produce a range of other products [aside from the Chiko Roll]. There are not many food producers or manufacturers in Australia anymore, they are one of the last, and it’s good to be here to give some support,” he said.
“Jobs are so important in regional NSW, be it 10 jobs, 50 jobs, 100 jobs, and for us the idea of losing another manufacturer, another large employer in the region, was something that we weren’t going to cop.”
Mr Toole said it was a good outcome for the Bathurst community that these jobs had been saved.
“A few years ago we know that Simplot was facing a closure and there were concerns about job losses here in the community, but the NSW Government came to the party and actually supported the party through its payroll tax,” he said.
“Now this has secured the jobs here in the area. It’s not about the 75 jobs [that were saved], it’s about almost 150 jobs being employed here, and when you have a look at employment in the local area, it is industries like Simplot that are leading the way.
“When you’ve got a number of large employers here in the region, that is so important to the local economy ... and what we’re seeing now is a company that is investing strongly back into the site.”
Mr Toole added that the large investment from Simplot means the plant has been “set up for decades” to continue its operations and also shows the confidence the company has in Bathurst and the region.
As an indication of how much Simplot contributes to the Australian food industry, production manager James Karbowiak said the Bathurst plant processes around 40,000 tonnes of corn annually.
When the plant isn’t processing corn, it’s processing Chiko Rolls, producing around 18 million per year.
“That is garanteeing jobs locally, up to about 130 and up to about 150 at this time of year, and that has a multiplier effect right through the local economy,” Mr Karbowiak said.
He said he was very proud to secure local jobs with the help of the NSW Government and indicated there would be a future partnership.
“And we’ll reach out again to the government as we try to set ourselves up for the future for food manufacturing here in Bathurst for decades to come,” he said.