In October 2024, the Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) released its Sustaining Australia 2030 report, responding to challenges rising in the food and beverage manufacturing sector. The industry itself contributes $127 billion annually to the economy, which equates to 32 per cent of total manufacturing output.
According to AFGC, food and groceries are the largest manufacturing sector nationally, with metal manufacturing in second place, having an annual turnover less than half of that number. With the large turnover, it shows that the sector is not just an economic powerhouse, it is an anchor for regional Australia and a safeguard for food security.
However, the success of the sector is not guaranteed, as shown in the past decade with complex forces shaping the industry. While employing close to 300,000 people in 2019 – over 40 per cent of these jobs in regional Australia – the past decade has shown complex forces shaping the sector, surviving different storms of challenges like the COVID pandemic. With new sets of challenges rising such as costs, regulatory complexity, and persistent workforce shortages, a resilient, home-grown manufacturing base, one that can respond quickly to disruptions and ensure Australians have access to food, is vital.
In the report, the AFGC responds with a vision to double the sector’s turnover to $250 billion by 2030. With a focus on policy reforms to unlock investments and boost productivity, the AFGC has called to reinstate the Instant Asset Write-Off. By enabling companies with turnover up to $150 million to deduct investments in productivity-enhancing assets up to $150,000, including accelerated depreciation for larger assets, it encourages investment in new equipment and technologies.
Resilience alone is not enough. For the food and beverage manufacturing sector to remain competitive, investments into new technologies and automations are a must.
Better workforce
Adopting automation and new technologies are examples of recent efforts in the industry to boost operations amidst challenges. Automation doesn’t just fill labour gaps – it enables predictive maintenance, reduces downtime, and delivers real cost savings. However, there is no one-size approach. Automation in the food and beverage industry should be highly customised. With different priorities emerging depending on the plant configuration of the business, an automation process must be implemented with the quality of product in mind.
Understanding this is partners like Burkert, working with manufacturers to address workforce shortages, streamline operations, and boost sustainability. Having a presence in Australia for more than 70 years, Burkert provides tailored automation solutions in measurement and control systems for liquids and gases. Using different approaches to automation with product quality in mind, food manufacturers can remain agile in a rapidly evolving marketplace.
One of the ways automation builds a resilient sector is its ability to boost productivity by allowing operations to run all the time. Take Burkert Type 8652 AirLINE valve island for example. Its HOTSWAP technology can replace individual valves of the valve islands while a plant continues to run. By always being operational, downtime is reduced while relieving operators from inhospitable conditions.
Through safety-related shutdown, Burkert solutions offer modular or channel-based shutdown to prevent injuries among employees and changes to product quality. This is important when addressing workforce infrastructure and attracting new skills within the talent pool. Essentially, protecting operators extends not only to safety but also to ensuring a reliable process whereby a product’s quality is maintained despite malfunctions.
Harmonised processes for food safety
Food recalls are one of the risks that pose a threat to food and beverage manufacturers, air vents being one of the causes. Valves that open unintentionally because of the back pressure caused by malfunctioning air vents will contaminate a product. Burkert’s installation of check valves can avoid rejects in case of malfunctioning while guaranteeing safety for both humans and processes. Having components that are robust, easy to clean and protected against unauthorised access or corrosion also goes a long way in ensuring food safety.
At the same time, producers also want to utilise their plants as efficiently as possible while avoiding downtime. In a processing plant, several hundred process valves need a reliable timer to switch properly at the right time. Trying to ensure correct control of all media at process level for consistency requires an extra step. Burkert offers decentralised automation solutions to set the pace with control heads with digital interfaces. Individual valves are provided with the necessary intelligence to work harmoniously, reliably, and precisely.
To maintain hygiene, manufacturers must flush all pipes and tubes regularly with cleaning agents, removing bacterial, chemical, and biological residue. Preventing the spreading of microorganisms, cutting down manual processes of disassembly, and minimising water consumption must be considered. Clean-in-Place systems have a process that involves jetting or spraying of surfaces or circulation of cleaning solutions through the plant under conditions of increased turbulence, flow velocity, time, and temperature without dismantling or opening the equipment.
Modernising operations, safeguarding the sector
With the right policy settings and a commitment to innovation, Australia’s food and beverage sector can overcome today’s hurdles and thrive well into the future. The AFGC’s roadmap gives clear direction: support investment, champion sustainability, and embrace the digital transformation. It’s a call to action for industry, government, and technology partners alike.
Securing the industry’s future will require not just policy reform and investment, but strong, strategic partnerships. Burkert exemplifies this approach, working together with Australian food and beverage manufacturers to implement automation solutions that address labour shortages, drive sustainability, and unlock new efficiencies.
By collaborating closely with industry leaders, Burkert helps manufacturers turn policy incentives, like the asset write-off, into real-world improvements on the factory floor. Together, these partnerships are laying the groundwork for a resilient and competitive sector that will continue to deliver economic growth, high-quality jobs, and trusted products for all Australians.