80 new jobs up for grabs as Gympie’s biggest business grows

The business’ expansion has the potential to double its throughput over the next five years and create hundreds more jobs for Gympie region

Nolan Meats boning room facility is now operational and there are 80 jobs that need to be filled.

Gympie's largest private employer, Nolan Meats, has this week switched on its latest development with the commissioning of a new Marel Streamline boning system.

This latest project has the potential to see Nolan Meats double throughput over the next five years and create hundreds more jobs for the Gympie region.

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In June this year, with COVID taking hold across Australia and people worried about job availability, Nolan Meats provided a bright spot on the local jobs front providing 30 new positions as part its staged ongoing development.

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Now, with the early trialling of the new boning systemunderway, a further 80 positions need to be filled.

"This latest development has boosted overall positions available to 515 people within the company," company director Terry Nolan said yesterday.

Nolan Meats, East Deep Creek, is Gympie’s largest private employer, and is expanding.

"We think that is good for Gympie, as Wide Bay has one of the highest unemployment rates in Queensland."

The project has been three years in the planning and required some of the latest in meat processing equipment to be imported from Iceland.

"While Nolan Meats always have a policy of buy local first, the level of sophistication and automation in this new line required the best equipment in the world, and there are limited manufacturers with the capability to build it," director Tony Nolan said.

"Each station has its own designated terminal which displays cutting instructions for the operator, then records individual weights, yield and productivity. It is going to take several months to bed down before we reach full operational capacity," he said.

80 new jobs are up for grabs at Nolan Meats.

"We are very proud of our project team, led by Rob George, Eric Sprott and Ged Nolan, as this was the first Marel installation of its type in the world, that has been commissioned without the hands-on expertise of the people in Iceland."

"COVID travel restrictions prevented what would be their normal presence at such a project," director Michael Nolan said.

"As with all new automation equipment, people must go through a learning process, hopefully the skills required to effectively operate this line can be developed from within the company," said Terry Nolan.

Michael, Terry and Tony Nolan, directors of Nolan Meats in Gympie.

"We do require a wide variety of people, some higher-level skills like data analysts,

programmers, and electricians. Right now, we also have a lot of vacancies for people who are keen to undertake nationally recognised, Certificate-based, Traineeships in Meat Processing and Apprenticeships in Engineering type fields.

"We welcome interested people to go to www.nolan.com.au to contact our office on [e-mail] for opportunities "

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