Broader range of high-quality modified wheat starches to be produced on new equipment

Grain Products Australia has announced it will invest up to $8m to further develop the range of wheat starches produced at its Marius Street, Tamworth, plant over the coming 12 months.

Henry Segerius, General Manager Operations, Grain Products Australia, said:  “We will be spending up to $8 million on new equipment to help us deliver innovative modified wheat starches to our customers in Australia and overseas, including the lucrative Japanese market.

“The large Japanese trading company, Itochu Corporation, is already a major customer for our gluten and an investor in our company.

“For our employees in Tamworth, the new equipment will mean the plant can return to seven-day, 24-hour operation and drive the plant’s long-term success,” Henry commented.

The plant’s location close to the heart of Australia’s high protein wheat growing area helps ensure the quality for which Tamworth gluten is famous.

According to Henry, while the Marius Street plant has been in operation since 1935 at its landmark site in Tamworth’s city centre, very few locals know what the plant makes or how its products are used.

Grain Products Australia sources wheat from the Northern NSW wheat belt which is then milled by a local flour mill.  The company separates the flour into its two main components - gluten and carbohydrate.  Gluten is the wheat protein which is used in bakery products, breakfast cereals and noodles.  The carbohydrate is starch, which has a huge range of uses throughout the world.

The natural starches produced in Tamworth are mostly used in food manufacture.  Modified wheat starches are used as a thickener in sauces; to make pastries and noodles; to make jelly confectionery; and as a source of dietary fibre.  Some wheat starches are converted to caramel for use by breweries and in breakfast spreads and gravies while others are converted to glucose syrups for confectionery and ice cream.

Industrial uses for Tamworth starches also include making bricks and helping in the separation of minerals in hard rock mining.