Select Harvests to sell Thomastown factory, including Lucky Nuts and Sunsol brands

Select Harvests has completed a structural review of its operations. Here is what will happen now, including which assets are to be sold.

Select Harvests plans to sell off its Lucky Nuts business, along with the Thomastown factory where they are packed.

SELECT Harvests plans to sell its Thomastown factory, along with the Lucky Nuts nut packaging and Sunsol muesli businesses, to concentrate on its core almond operations in northern Victoria.

Managing director Paul Thompson said, after conducting a strategic review of the growth options and supply chain solutions for the food division, the company wanted to concentrate on value adding almonds at its Carina West base southwest of Robinvale, including installing a new almond paste line in April.

“We want to become more of a business-to-business operation rather than a consumer brand business,” Mr Thompson said.

“So we are selling the consumer goods and non-almond industrial business at Thomastown.

“They will be sold as a going concern.”

The Thomastown operations included the Lucky Nuts cashew, peanut and almond packing business and the Sunsol muesli blending business.

Mr Thompson said some almond businesses at Thomastown would be relocated to Carina West as part of the restructure.

Along with the expansion of the new line producing almond paste as an ingredient for almond milk and butter, Select Harvests has plans for expanding the almond hulling and shelling operations, plus investing in new technology and warehousing.

Some of that investment was already in the long-term plan had been brought forward due to the recent acquisition of the Piangil orchard.

Mr Thompson said new jobs would become available at Carina West.

He said Select Harvests expected most employees at the Thomastown plant to transfer with that plant’s business to a new owner.

He hoped a buyer would be found in three to six months.

Corporate advisory firm Kidder Williams had been appointed to seek expressions of interest in the Thomastown operations.

MORE

PIANGIL ORCHARD UPS THE ANTE

HIGHER WATER COSTS HIT SELECT HARVESTS' PROFIT

HEALTHY 2020 HALF-YEAR PROFIT