The new site will combine food production with enhanced supply chain capabilities for the state’s freight sector
South Australian premier Peter Malinauskas has officially opened a new high-tech custom built 12,000 square metre CHEP Service Centre at Direk in the City of Salisbury, Adelaide.
The 5.6-hectare site combines two existing CHEP sites into one; further supporting farmers, producers, fishers, food manufacturers and winemakers in the southern Australian region and provides businesses with CHEP’s full suite of reusable supply chain platforms including timber and plastic pallets, reusable plastic containers and produce bins.
Located off the Northern Expressway and North South Motorway, the multiple platform-site was purpose built for CHEP by national property developer Gibb Group and represents the latest significant investment in the fast-growing Direk business and industrial precinct.
According to the City of Salisbury, more than 4,000 individuals are employed within the industrial area of Direk and Burton and these precincts contributed over half a billion dollars to the South Australian economy during the 2020/21 period.
“The investment by CHEP and Gibb Group in South Australia is testament to the opportunity for growth that businesses have identified in our state driving job creation and economic growth in the region,” Malinauskas says.
“The new CHEP Service Centre is strategically located in the Direk industrial precinct. Direk is fast becoming a regional logistics hub, well-connected to intermodal transport routes, delivering efficiencies and enhancing South Australia’s supply chain and logistics capabilities.”
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The Direk CHEP Service Centre is the second project that national property developer Gibb Group has been involved in delivering for CHEP (the first being the 10,000 square metre CHEP Service Centre in Kenwick WA completed in 2020) and incorporates cutting-edge repair and automation technology, nail rollers and digital quality checkers with the capacity to repair approximately four million pallets and wash six million Bins and Containers annually.
It also features best-practice sustainability measures and technology including a 250kW rooftop solar system, LED and motion sensor lighting, rainwater harvesting and reticulation system.
CHEP Australia General Manager Renee Holbrooksays the new facility has been designed to create a seamless service for CHEP customers:
“We’re incredibly proud to open CHEP’s newest facility, the Direk Service Centre. The design is centred around creating an outstanding experience for our customers through advancements in product quality, faster service speeds and availability of CHEP’s full suite of platforms all delivered in the one convenient location,” Holbrook says.
“The site will also improve our team’s experience by creating more career opportunities, an outstanding work environment, as well as generating 20 new jobs for the local Salisbury community.
“CHEP is committed to investing in its pallet and container capacity to best serve our customers and optimise local supply chains. With the Direk facility’s advanced repair and quality assurance processes our customer will receive a consistent high-quality supply, which is the foundation of the CHEP circular, share and reuse model.”