Box Factory Approval Hailed as New Era for Manufacturing

Visy’s plans for a state-of-the-art $150-million cardboard manufacturing facility at Hemmant have won approval as the company expands its operations in Queensland. 

Visy, the privately owned paper, packaging and recycling company, has agreed to wholly lease the industrial building from Dexus Wholesale Management Limited as the industrial developer pads out its $5-billion portfolio. 

Brisbane City Council approved the purpose-built facility to accommodate Visy’s corrugated box manufacturing plant, which was designed to adhere to the revised industrial strategy, due for release later this year. 

“There are currently no industrial facilities of this type in Brisbane and the proposal represents a significant opportunity for economic growth in the Australia TradeCoast,” planning documents said. 

“This tenant aligns with the implementation and action strategies set out in Brisbane Industrial Strategy 2019, as well as Our Productive City: Brisbane’s Industrial Future, draft strategy to maximise industrial land and ensure Brisbane’s industrial precincts evolve to offer a diversity of jobs, services and facilities.”

The creation of the box factory at Hemmant is part of Visy billionaire Anthony Pratt’s $700-million investment in manufacturing in Queensland. 

Visy will relocate its glass re-manufacturing facility at South Brisbane to a $500-million purpose-built facility at Stapylton, which will pave the way for the creation of South Bank 2.0, a key pillar in the 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games infrastructure plan. 

▲ Visy executive chairman Anthony Pratt says his $700-million investment in manufacturing in Queensland will create about 900 construction jobs across south-east Queensland.

Pratt is also spending about $48-million upgrading recovery facilities at Gibson Island in Brisbane. 

The three Visy projects are expected to create 900 construction jobs and 300 “green collar” jobs once the facilities are operational. 

The Hemmant box factory will provide 44,664sq m of gross floor area on the 13.3-hectare site at 141 Anton Road, which is a vacant block owned by Dexus. 

A development application for the Gold Coast glass recycling plant at Stapylton is currently before the Gold Coast City Council, but Visy hopes to have the facility operational by 2025. 

The plant will produce about a billion glass containers a year, which represents a third of the total beverage containers that Queenslanders consume every year.

Visy is among a host of major corporations, including Carlton & United Breweries, Caterpillar and Real Pet Food Company, located in the Yatala Enterprise Area, which comprises 3300 hectares. Its forecast growth is expected to support 20,000 jobs over the next five years.