New companies commit to invest at BWEZ

Development Victoria welcomes the investment announcement by George Weston Foods in the Ballarat West Employment Zone (BWEZ).

The company will build a new flour mill at BWEZ with the $132.9 million investment creating 220 jobs in Ballarat – and another 320 jobs during construction of the facility.

George Weston Foods employs 3,000 staff across eight sites in Victoria - with half of its workforce employed in regional Victoria.

This expansion at BWEZ will also support more than 1,300 Victorian businesses and farmers who supply and work with George Weston Foods.

George Weston Foods will join many other successful regional food manufacturing businesses in BWEZ, including Luv-a-duck.

This follows the recent announcement that BWEZ will become home to the new Ballarat Foodbank Hub.

The Ballarat Foodbank Hub will be located on part of a 4.7-hectare site that Development Victoria recently sold to Troon Group.

It’s the last parcel of land to be sold in BWEZ’s Stage 1B - and we are excited to see it developed along with two other businesses.

Foodbank is expected to be operational by the end of 2022.

Foodbank will partner with local charities to provide essential food relief to Central Goldfields, Golden Plains, Hepburn, Mount Alexander, Ballarat, Grampians and Pyrenees Local Government Areas.

The new hub will provide fresh and nutritious meals, prepared in an onsite commercial kitchen, with community-based food programs including Farms to Families pop-up markets and training programs to improve food literacy, also operating from the hub.

BWEZ is a $30 million joint initiative between the Victorian Government and the City of Ballarat to support the region’s economic growth over the next 20 years.

We are delivering the BWEZ project in collaboration with Regional Development Victoria and the City of Ballarat.