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SPC celebrates 100th year

SPC 100SPC has officially celebrated its 100th birthday. Australia’s oldest fruit processor has announced its centennial celebration and and recently also voted one of the top 20 brands Australian consumers can’t live without.

Hosting a press conference at the company’s Shepparton manufacturing facility, SPC managing director Reg Weine thanked loyal employees, customers, suppliers and Government stakeholders who have stuck by them during the boom and bust periods of SPC’s colourful history.

“We are proud to be standing here today, celebrating what is a significant milestone for an Australian business and having overcome many challenges over the past 100 years,” Weine said. “As we’ve entered our 100th year, we continue to transform and modernise the SPC business, but some things haven’t changed a bit. We still take the best quality fruit grown in the Goulburn Valley at the peak of the season and preserve it the same way we have for a century. I would personally like to thank everyone here today and all of our loyal consumers who continue to support Australian producers by buying home grown.”

SPC said in a statement joined by the member for Northern Victoria, Mark Gepp, the press conference also recognised the $100M investment from parent company Coca-Cola Amatil ($78M) and the Victorian Government ($22M). Having recently completed the $100M investment program, it also announced it was investing additional capital in 2018 to further upgrade its Shepparton facility and in new processing capability.

“We have always been proud supporters of SPC and the important role it plays in regional Victoria. In addition to preserving some of the best, clean, green and safe produce our State has to offer – SPC continues to develop award winning innovative products and successfully exports them to the world,” said Gepp.

Having started as a co-operative in 1918, The SPC and the Ardmona Fruit Products Co-operative (incorporated in 1921) were established by two separate grower groups to process locally grown fruit from the Goulburn Valley region. In 2002, the two companies merged, pooling their resources and expertise to present a stronger, united Australian defence against the rise of subsidised international competitors and cheap imports. In 2005, SPC was acquired by CCA. In 2018, SPC remains the largest producer of packaged fruit and vegetables in Australia.

“We’ve always believed that knowing where your food is grown is important to consumers and we have some of the best growing conditions in the world right here in the Goulburn Valley. With fifth generation growers, some of whose families have been with us for 100 years and all our horticultural knowledge and experience, we are more than an iconic regional food producer – we are a national treasure,” concluded SPC managing director, Reg Weine.

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