Golden Circle is a subsidiary of US-based
Kraft Heinz
The Kraft Heinz Company (KHC), commonly known as Kraft Heinz, is an American multinational food company formed by the merger of Kraft Foods and Heinz co-headquartered in Chicago and Pittsburgh. Kraft Heinz is the third-largest food and beverage ...
, based in
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
,
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
. Its main operations are food processing. Golden Circle was inducted into the
Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame
In 2009 State Library of Queensland
The State Library of Queensland is the main reference and research library provided to the people of the State of Queensland, Australia, by the state government. Its legislative basis is provided by the Qu ...
in 2010, for its significant contribution to the economy of Queensland through the processing of food products, notably fruit and vegetables.
Beginnings
Golden Circle began operations in 1947 after construction of the main canning factory at
Northgate was completed. The new facility was opened on 28 October 1947 by the then
Premier of Queensland
The premier of Queensland is the head of government in the Australian state of Queensland.
By convention the premier is the leader of the party with a parliamentary majority in the unicameral Legislative Assembly of Queensland. The premier is ap ...
, the Hon
Edward Hanlon in the presence of 1500 people including 500
Sunshine Coast fruit growers who arrived on a special train. The company was originally called 'Queensland Tropical Fruit Products', with 'Golden Circle' used as their brand name. Golden Circle was initially part of the Committee of Direction of Fruit Marketing in Queensland (COD). In 1964, under the leadership of
Bernard Flewell-Smith and
Percival Savage, the cannery was established as a separate business. It was split off from the COD by an amendment to the Fruit Marketing Organisation Acts.
Initially, the company processed and canned
pineapple
The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been cultivated for many centuri ...
s and produced fruit
jam
Jam is a type of fruit preserve.
Jam or Jammed may also refer to:
Other common meanings
* A firearm malfunction
* Block signals
** Radio jamming
** Radar jamming and deception
** Mobile phone jammer
** Echolocation jamming
Arts and ente ...
s. Over the years, production has expanded to include other canned
fruit
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...
and
vegetables
Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems, ...
, fruit
cordials, juices, carbonated
beverages
A drink or beverage is a liquid intended for human consumption. In addition to their basic function of satisfying thirst, drinks play important roles in human culture. Common types of drinks include plain drinking water, milk, juice, smoothies a ...
and baby food.
As of 2009, Golden Circle (GC) ceased to be an Australian Owned Company. The board and shareholders of GC agreed and sold all of their shares for 313% more than they were trading at prior to the offer from US Corporation, Heinz.
Golden Circle was one of few remaining Australian Food Companies being sold by Australian farmers to International Companies.
Operations
Australian farmers supply more than 180,000
tonnes
The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton ( United States ...
of fruit and vegetables annually to the company for processing. The fruit crops, of which pineapple is the largest, come from the
Sunshine Coast hinterland,
Maryborough,
Woodbury Woodbury may refer to:
Geography
Antarctica
*Woodbury Glacier, a glacier on Graham Land, British Antarctic Territory
Australia
* Woodbury, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
England
* Woodbury, Bournemouth, an area in Dorset
*Woodbury, East Devo ...
, and northern Queensland. Vegetables are largely sourced from the
Lockyer Valley
The Lockyer Valley is an area of rich farmlands that lies to the west of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia and east of Toowoomba. The Lockyer Valley is rated among the top ten most fertile farming areas in the world, and the intensively cultiv ...
west of Brisbane. Crops that are not grown in Queensland are supplied from interstate.
Golden Circle operates an A$20m food hall enabling a move into the development of new products such as baby food and a
Tetra Pak
Tetra Pak is a Swedish–Swiss multinational food packaging and processing company with head offices in Lund, Sweden, and Pully, Switzerland. The company offers packaging, filling machines and processing for dairy, beverages, cheese, ice cream ...
plant that produces more than 42 million litres of fruit juices and drinks annually.
Golden Circle employs a large number of people, which varies seasonally between 700 and 1,700.
In addition to its main processing operation in Brisbane, Golden Circle also owns the Original Juice Co. plant at
Mill Park
Mill Park is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 18 km north-east of Melbourne's Melbourne city centre, central business district, located within the City of Whittlesea Local government areas of Victoria, loca ...
, on
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
's northern outskirts, and a fresh fruit packing operation in
Griffith
Griffith may refer to:
People
* Griffith (name)
* Griffith (surname)
* Griffith (given name)
Places Antarctica
* Mount Griffith, Ross Dependency
* Griffith Peak (Antarctica), Marie Byrd Land
* Griffith Glacier, Marie Byrd Land
* Griffith Rid ...
,
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
.
Products
Golden Circle manufactures more than 800 products including shelf stable fruit and vegetables (in cans and glass jars), fruit juices, cordials, soft drinks, jams, conserves and baby food. Pineapple products now account for only 24% of the company's total product range.
Presence
The main production facility is at Northgate, a northern suburb of
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
.
Sales offices are located in every Australian
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
as well as
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
. Australia is the principal market for Golden Circle products, but they are also exported to New Zealand and other
Pacific
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
countries.
The company has factory outlets in
Capalaba
Capalaba is an urban locality in the City of Redland, Queensland, Australia. In the , Capalaba had a population of 17,333 people.
Geography
The suburb has large shopping and commercial centres with two malls and a major bus station, as well ...
to the east of Brisbane and in
Morayfield
Morayfield is a town and suburb in the Moreton Bay Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the suburb of Morayfield had a population of 21,394 people.
Morayfield is by road north of Brisbane CBD, the state capital.
Geography
Morayfield is a ...
to the north of Brisbane.
Takeover bids
On 26 September 2007,
Coca-Cola Amatil
Coca-Cola Amatil Limited (CCA) was an Australian bottler of non-alcoholic beverages that existed from 1904 to 2021, when it merged with Coca-Cola European Partners to form Coca-Cola Europacific Partners. It was one of the largest bottlers of no ...
announced it was making a conditional takeover bid for 100% of the companies shares.
On 6 October 2008,
Heinz
The H. J. Heinz Company is an American food processing company headquartered at One PPG Place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company was founded by Henry J. Heinz in 1869. Heinz manufactures thousands of food products in plants on six conti ...
launched a Golden Circle takeover bid.
Phillip Cave advised that the take over bid of $1.65 per share ($288 million in total) was "attractive" for all shareholders, particularly given the current difficult economic conditions.
The Heinz takeover bid was finalised successfully on 19 December 2008.
Production changes & job loss
In May 2011 Golden Circle announced it would move beetroot production offshore to New Zealand affecting 160 Golden Circle jobs at the Northgate Plant.
[HEINZ Australia Cut Jobs.]
Article Data 27-MAY-2011 Heinz, HEINZ Australia said it would instead invest more than $20 million at Northgate to upgrade its beverage manufacturing facilities.
See also
*
List of juices
This is a list of juices. Juice is a liquid that is naturally contained in fruit and vegetables. It can also refer to liquids that are flavored with these or other biological food sources such as meat and seafood. It is commonly consumed as a bever ...
References
External links
*
{{Heinz
Food and drink companies of Australia
Manufacturing companies based in Brisbane
Drink companies of Australia
Australian jam and preserved fruit makers
Food and drink companies established in 1946
Heinz brands
Australian companies established in 1946
Juice brands