General News
28 December, 2022
Organic plant in swing
SOUTH Australian-based Bio Gro has installed new equipment at the former ScatoPlus site in Newbridge. And a new weighbridge became operational this week as truckloads of organic waste are shipped to the site. The mulch and compost producer, owned by...
SOUTH Australian-based Bio Gro has installed new equipment at the former ScatoPlus site in Newbridge.
And a new weighbridge became operational this week as truckloads of organic waste are shipped to the site.
The mulch and compost producer, owned by the Van Shaik family from Mount Gambier, in September bought the 62-hectare ScatoPlus site after that company went into liquidation three months earlier.
Bio Gro’s marketing co-ordinator Alison Johnson said: “We have started composting at our Bio Gro Newbridge facility and to date we have processed approximately 20,000 tonnes of organics since commencement with over 2000 tonnes in sales to various markets that commenced from late November.
“There are a lot of new business opportunities on the horizon. This has resulted in us increasing staff numbers to 10,” she said.
Bio Gro has received $1,669,500 from the State Government’s circular economy infrastructure fund for the Newbridge organics recovery facility processing kerbside and commercial organic waste.
Some equipment has been transferred from Bio Gro’s Dandenong site with the plant expected to create 40 jobs when fully operational.
Some positions have already been offered to former ScatoPlus employees,
Ms Johnson said a site manager would be appointed at Newbridge early next year.
The company’s Victorian operations manager Sage Hahn, originally from St Arnaud, has been on site as production ramps up. She was recently named the National Women in Industry Awards business development category winner.
And the company has announced the appointment of chief operating officer Leigh Barry as chief executive officer.
“Leigh joined Bio Gro a little over two years ago and in a short time has gained an extensive amount of knowledge within our group and our industry,” it said.
“This knowledge coupled with the knowledge and experience Leigh brings with him working in various positions within other companies prior to joining Bio Gro equips him well to take on the CEO role within our group.
“Leigh’s appointment as our CEO is also another step forward in the continued growth of Van Schaik’s Bio Gro.”
Bio Gro was established more than 45 years ago and now diverts more than 350,000 tonnes of organics from landfill.
The company says its Newbridge expansion was “to meet the demand for additional organic material recovery and improve operating supply chains.”