|
|
Plum & Almond Light 'n' Tasty
 |
Apple Pie Custard
 |
Mango Custard
 |
Asteriods
 |
Sanitarium Up & Go Drink
Banana & Honey |
|
 |
|
|
Banana Bread
Made with Real Banana
Perfect warmed with your favourite topping. |
|
 |
|
Sanitarium Light 'n'
Tasty Cereal
Mango & Passionfruit
 |
Little Banana Bites |
|
Top Taste™ Little Bites™ are
perfect for that little moment of indulgence. |
|
 |
|
Grand Opening
Press Release
Premier and Minister for Trade
The Honourable Peter Beattie
16/08/2007
SMART STATE COMPANY SET TO GO GLOBAL WITH BANANAS: PREMIER
TOWNSVILLE:
Premier Peter Beattie today opened one of the world's "smartest"
food processing plants which is taking the food market by storm.
The Bestlan Group is one of only four known companies producing
structured fruits (or processed dried fruits) and its new $5
million state-of-the-art facility in north Queensland will give
it a major competitive edge - capacity to process 80 tonne of
dried fruit a week.
In Townsville to open the new facility and celebrate the
company's 21st birthday, Mr Beattie praised the family-run
business and its staff for their vision and hard work.
"Cyclone Larry hit hard last year, hurting banana growers as
well as food processors and suppliers, but that didn't dampen
Bestlan's drive to become the best," Mr Beattie said
"With banana crops wiped out and market prices skyrocketing,
Bestlan was unable to fulfil many of its export commitments but
it stuck in there and now it's back on its feet and moving ahead
in leaps and bounds," he said.
"As well as diversifying its export lines, including processing
other countries' fruits such as cranberries from the USA,
Bestlan is getting ready to launch its very own product line -
the world's first processed edible banana fibre for the food
industry.
"This is Smart State business in action - taking adversity on
the chin, designing state-of-art technology and facilities,
developing creative solutions and realising your goals."
Mr Beattie said Bestlan, which employs 40 staff, has contracts
in Europe, Israel, New Zealand and Malaysia, and its supply list
includes Nestlé, Kelloggs, Sanitarium, Heinz, Cadbury, Danone
and PepsiCo.
"Next time someone in another part of the world bites into a
muesli bar, sits down to bowl of cereal or enjoys a cake,
chances are they're eating a Bestlan product grown and
manufactured right here in Queensland," said the Premier.
"From its early days developing the banana cube that took on the
banana chip and also won the Heart Foundation's tick of
approval, anything is possible when the Bestlan team puts its
expertise to the task.
"Congratulations to this award-winning Smart State company on
coming of age and developing the smart banana fibre product that
promises to be a rich source of nutrition in developing
countries and for the food industry."
The Bestlan Group owners are Keith Moulds, Nadia Moulds and
Walter Rigoni.
The company won the Queensland Agribusiness Exporter of the Year
Award in 2002, 2003 and 2004 when it also won the Regional
Exporter of the Year Award.
Today Bestlan manufactures and supplies a wide range of
processed dried fruits, including tropical fruits (such as
banana, mango and papaya), berries (strawberry, blueberry and
raspberry), citrus (orange, lime, lemon and pink grapefruit),
deciduous (apple, cherry, pear), and other orchard fruits
(apricot, nectarine, peach).
Many of Bestlan's new modern facilities have been custom-made
and designed in house. The new Townsville facility features a
purpose-built production line, a sophisticated optical sorter
and a massive spiral-drying system which includes 900 metres of
vertical conveyer belt.
The bright and airy complex also features the decorated
blueberry, lime and mango rooms.
Media Contact: Premier's Office - 3224 4500
 |
|
