Iconic Weis factory in Toowoomba to close

Multinational food giant Unilever says it will close Toowoomba’s iconic Weis icecream factory and move it to NSW at the end of next year with the loss of more than 90 jobs.

MULTINATIONAL food giant Unilever says it will close Toowoomba’s iconic Weis icecream factory at the end of next year with the loss of more than 90 jobs.

In a statement Unilever said that following an extensive review of its Australia and New Zealand ice cream business, it had made the “difficult decision” to transfer the manufacture of its Weis line of ice creams from Toowoomba to New South Wales.

The closure breaks a promise made to the founding Weis family who sold the business to Unliver in 2017 that manufacturing would remain in the Garden City where the company was founded more than 60 year ago. The Weis family is understood to be “deeply disappointed” by the decision to close the factory.

Unilever, which also makes Ben & Jerry’s, Bushells and Paddlepop, purchased the company famous for its iconic range ice cream bars for an undisclosed sum vowing to make it an international brand.

Unilever Australia and New Zealand chief executive Clive Stiff said the company did not anticipate the closure when it acquired Weis from the founding Weis family two years ago.

“That is why we have made major investments in the site over the past two and a half years,” said Mr Stiff. “We have also made significant investments in building the brand through marketing, research & development.”

A early Weis ice cream delivery van

Toowoomba Region Mayor Paul Antonio said Unilever’s announcement was a “bitter blow to the city.“ “My first thoughts are with the 93 workers whose jobs are on the line,” Mayor Antonio said. “The impending loss of a family firm that was built up in the city and grew to establish a nationally, even internationally, recognisable ice cream brand is a bitter blow for our region. It is disappointing that Unilever has made this decision and I trust that the workers are able to find a role with the firm or elsewhere in our region.”

Mr Stiff said the ice cream market – in terms of costs, competition and distribution channels – had changed very quickly and pressure on the business had significantly increased.

“After an extensive review, it’s become clear that consolidating our Australian ice cream manufacturing operations at Minto (in NSW) is necessary to achieve the benefits of scale and ensure continued strong on-shore manufacturing.”

He said the company had spoken to the Weis family and “we appreciate their deep disappointment, and we understand this is not something they would have foreseen when they sold the business to Unilever.”

At the time of the purchase of Weis, Unilever said it would continue to make ice cream from its Toowoomba factory and retain its 85 staff. The factory now employs 93 full-time, part-time and casual roles at Toowoomba.

Unilever now says opportunities will be available should employees wish to transfer to other parts of the Unilever business, including its operations in Sydney.

Weis joins a long list of iconic Australian brands now in foreign hands including Arnotts, Golden Circle and Bushells.

At the time of the sale, Weis’ then managing director Julie Weis, the daugher of founder Les Weis,. said “crucial to the deal was the guarantee Unilever would keep manufacturing in Toowoomba and keep local jobs.” She was confident Unilever could make the company founded by her father Les in 1957 a global brand.

Les Weis in the early 1990s.

Ms Weis said in 2017 that the company had in recent years invested in new equipment to double capacity, opened up export markets “but it was hard work for a small company and the issue is how to take it to the next level,”

“There is no reason why Weis cannot become a global brand under Unilever much like Paddlepop, which also was invented in Australia,” she said at the time.

The company had humble origins with the Weis bar starting out as a home-grown recipe of Ms Weis’ grandfather, using fruit salad and cream.

Les Weis, who owned a shop opposite the Empire Theatre in Neil St, Toowoomba, began selling the bars before branching out into home delivery and retail distribution.

The Weis deal followed a string of recent foreign acquisitions of Australian food brands.

Snack Brands Australia, which makes Thins, Kettle, Cheezels and Samboy, was sold to Philippines multinational Universal Robina for $600 million in 2016.

Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington has called on the State Government to try and get the decision to close the factory reversed. “Queensland already has Australia’s highest unemployment rate and this is a massive blow for the local community,” said Ms Frecklington. “I am determined to protect local jobs, so I implore the Palaszczuk Labor Government to pull every lever it can to get this decision reversed.”

Local Toowoomba kids line up for Weis ice cream