Toowoomba’s Weis factory shuts as production shifts to New South Wales

Eighteen months on from the announcement of the shock closure of Toowoomba’s Weis factory, employees say the ice cream will still remain a garden city icon as production ends.

Weis factory director Keith Head. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Employees of the Toowoomba Weis factory say the brand will remain a Toowoomba icon, as ice cream production shifts to New South Wales.

Today the final Weis bar will roll off the manufacturing lines, marking the end of more than 60 years of production in the Garden City.

Sixty-two positions will be lost when the factory shuts its doors later today.

Weis was founded in 1957 by Les Weis, who sold his first Fruito ice creams at Pop’s corner store across from the Empire Theatre.

Those Fruito bars were made from pineapple, banana and passionfruit.

The brand grew its product line and grew in stature and was ultimately bought by corporate giant Unilever back in 2017.

Two years later the company announced the shock closure of the Toowoomba ice cream facility, despite confidence the iced confectionary would continue production in the city.

Weis family member Julie Weis The Chronicle back in 2019 the decision to shutter the factory was “disappointing and wrong”.

“We would not have sold had we known this was going to be the outcome,” she said.

As Unilever moves production of Weis bars to New South Wales, factory director Keith Head said, from a brand point of view, it would still be the same Weis bar sold.

“Queensland will also remain a very important part of the Weis brand because we continue to support business and farmers throughout the state.”

R and D manager Stewart Eddie said Toowoomba would always remain the home of Weis.

“We put in place steps to make sure the Minto team and the wider business don’t forget that,” Mr Eddie said.

“We’re very passionate about our heritage and making sure that the legacy lives on.”