Murray Goulburn announced earlier this year it would close three factories — including the Edith Creek UHT plant near Smithon — by the end of the year.
More than 120 workers were employed at the Tasmanian site, with about 80 remaining as the site winds down.
The dairy giant announced this morning that it has sold its Edith Creek facility to Dutch Mill (Australia), a subsidiary of Dutch Mill group of Thailand, a private processor and
marketer of milk and milk products throughout Asia.
The Thai company has already been buying dairy farms in Circular Head and Mayor Daryl Quilliam said the move into processing was a “watershed moment” for the region.
The sale includes the Edith Creek land and all assets associated with the site.
“The transaction will not alter MG’s previously announced closure of the site on November 30 which will still proceed. Completion of the sale transaction is expected in early 2018,” MG’s chief executive officer Ari Mervis said.
How many Edith Creek’s current workforce will be re-employed under the new ownership is not clear at this stage but it is understood the factory will be operating again by the second quarter of 2018.
