New cold storage facilities aid Mildura-based operator’s growth and local employment
Regional Victorian operator Vince Cordoma Transport (VCT) has unveiled a new $1.75 million fruit warehouse and cold storage facility at its Irymple, Mildura depot.
Backed by the Victorian government’s Regional Jobs Fund, the new facilities include a warehouse, loading bays, an office, cool rooms, a cold treatment space and refrigeration, which will enable the business to meet supplier demand for fruit from across Victoria’s northwest.
VCT has experienced an increase in freight demand and in customers as a result of the improved facilities, enabling the addition of 20 full time equivalent and 15 part time and casual jobs for warehousing and transport industry workers, a statement on the new development notes.
The new positions include administration staff, service technicians, general yard staff and truck drivers, with three heavy stream mechanic apprentices also among the roles.
The new facilities will also boost horticulture exports by an estimated $20 million a year and further benefit up to 100 local fruit-growers across the region by allowing them to use the facilities to treat fresh produce before they export it, the statement adds.
The trucking industry has a strong foothold in Mildura
Regional development ministerJaclyn Symes was joined by VCT Refrigerated Transport business representatives and workers to officially open the facility.
“This investment is great news for workers in the Mildura region involved in exporting fresh produce, as well as Australians who will be able to enjoy more fresh produce from regional Victoria,” Symes says.
“The build of a new warehouse and cold storage facilities is another example of how our Regional Jobs Fund is creating local jobs and supporting industries across regional Victoria.”
The Cordoma family enterprise has operated since 1977, starting as Cordoma Brothers Transport (CBT) with two trucks.
Its growth in proceeding generations has seen it branch off into two entities, Leslie Refrigerated Transport (LRT) and Vince Cordoma Transport (VCT), with two depots in north-west Victoria’s Robinvale and Irymple, and a fleet of more than 40 prime movers.