Suntory Oceania's multi-beverage facility gets powered up

Suntory Oceania, the $3bn multi-beverage partnership between Suntory Global Spirits¹ and Suntory Beverage & Food, has commenced work on a 14 km stretch of solar panels at its new Ipswich facility in Queensland.

The delivery of the site’s carbon neutral ambitions is the subject of the Australia Food & Grocery Council’s 2024 Sustaining Australia TV series. The episode provides a behind-the-scenes tour of the manufacturing and distribution facility and showcases its sustainable approach to manufacturing.

“The investment really shows the confidence that Suntory has in the Australian market and its ability to continue to grow and evolve,” said Mark Hill, Managing Director Oceania, Suntory Global Spirits.

The Ipswich facility will play a critical role in unlocking the power of Suntory in the region, delivering innovation and full end-to-end control of its portfolio, including manufacturing, sales and distribution.

Ian Roberts, Chief Supply Chain Officer Suntory Beverage & Food Oceania, said the facility provided extraordinary capabilities to fast-track innovation and disrupt the market.

Ian Roberts.

“This is the largest single FMCG investment in Australia in over a decade,” Roberts said.

“Our carbon neutral ‘smart’ facility — powered by a combination of solar, biomass and green energy — will give Suntory unrivalled ability to innovate, respond to customer demand and deliver beverages that are made locally and sustainably.

“Led by our Growing For Good philosophy, Suntory has taken every opportunity to use leading technology and set new standards for sustainable manufacturing in Australia.”

Three sustainability investments currently underway at the site include:

• 7000 solar panels will power the production of over 20 million cases of beverages a year on commencement.
• A biomass boiler that will use offcuts from the local sawmill as fuel to generate heat for the sites manufacturing heating requirements.
• The fitting of an organic Rankine cycle generator — a technology designed to capture waste heat and turn it into green energy to put back into the grid.

To date, the Ipswich facility has delivered approximately 450 construction and installation jobs, and once operational will support 160 long-term local roles. In addition, the business is now recruiting a further +130 roles to support the new Australian Alcohol Licensed Route to Market function — a new sales team responsible for bringing Suntory’s alcohol portfolio to market from mid-2025.

As well as a close-up look at the Ipswich facility, the Sustaining Australia TV episode discusses the impact the facility will have on the industry and the Ipswich community, and profiles the investments that will power the site sustainably.

The Sustaining Australia episode is online here.

_{1. Formerly Beam Suntory International}

Top image caption: Darren Fullerton, Mayor Teresa Harding and Mark Hill.