You may know Safcol for their extensive fresh, packaged and frozen seafood range. However, their business is so much more than that. On an average day at Safcol you will see soups, stocks, custards and baby food packaged into a variety of consumer friendly pouches.
Safcol plays an important role in Australia’s food industry providing food packaging services to local businesses as well as nationally, to brands such as Healthy Heart Produce, Maggie Beer, Rosella, Bellamy’s Organic and Boston Bay Mussels.
Robert Jones, General Manager - Operations at Safcol in their Elizabeth South warehouse.
For almost 25 years Safcol has resided in Elizabeth South and last year they expanded their premises, relocating their interstate warehouses to Playford.
According to Robert Jones, General Manager – Operations, the two major benefits of running a business in Playford are the close proximity to local fruit and vegetable growers from the Northern Adelaide Plains, as well as the support provided by Council through the Stretton Centre.
"Until recently we had never received funding from an external body, we were completely self-funded."
“Then, thanks to the Stretton Centre, we were made aware of the Green Industries SA Trade Waste Initiative grant which we were successful recipients of in late 2018.”
Money secured through the Trade Waste Initiative funded new machinery to reduce waste from production, such as water, and increase efficiencies.
Safcol now have two machines that run in tandem thus doubling their spouted pouches production capacity.
Over the last five to six years Safcol has significantly invested in technology to increase efficiency, reduce operating costs and to ensure a safe, highly quality product is delivered to consumers. This has been part of a project to ‘future proof’ their company, securing jobs, enabling Safcol to compete internationally.
“Our investment in technology keeps the business moving forward, it secures the jobs we have and creates new skilled engineering jobs to support the operation of machinery.”
Safcol’s strategy is to continue investment in new technologies to provide an environment for further innovation and growth well into the future.