Re: VIC - UBA to expand on rail, BMM

["Rod [Comtrain]" <freight_man@hotmail.com>]

"Michael" <michael@bitsnpcs.com.au> wrote in message
3a29f353@dnews.tpgi.com.au">news:3a29f353@dnews.tpgi.com.au...
> Uncle Ben's plans $45m upgrade
> 2 December 2000 Border Mail.
>
> UNCLE Ben's Australia yesterday announced it would go ahead with a $45
> million upgrade that could create 60 new jobs.

This is Political Bull shit!
Uncle Bens were planning this regardless. Crapp and his Council are going to
sell prime Railway Land in the middle of Wodonga to their Mates for NOTHING,
apart from the normal kickbacks like shares and God only knows what!
In return Uncle Bens gets a brand new spur line into their plant for no
extra cost. Liberals pissing in each others pockets.

> General manager Mr Bob Kennedy praised the Federal Government for agreeing
> to put $20 million into the rail relocation and new freight depot.

I wonder why, and will he continue to praise them every time the murray
floods, and the line is cut??
after all that is what happens on a flood plain...what you say, they will
build it up on an embankment?
Come on now!! A New Railway accross the Flood plains. A new Rail Yard At
west Wodonga 500 meters wide and 1.5 ks long! A new two track spur into
Uncle Bens to hold 20 vehicles with concrete hardstands etc
A new bridge accross the Freeway to access the siding [This siding will be
the nail in the coffin for Wodonga]
A New Sg Terminal Station serving Interstate and Intra State Pass
trains...all for $57 million. They are going to cut out the 40 kph curve ast
Wodonga! but look at your maps, what happens at the Wodonga Creek, where the
Freeway turns towards Albury. They have lifted the High Tension wires to
allow a new overpass, and I cannot see how the curve to connect to the
Railway Line over the Murray Bridge will even be as fast as 40kph! And they
will use tyhe old Bridge because $57 millions will not stretch to a new
Murray River Crossing!
>
> Uncle Ben's will extend its buildings over the present rail line and
> redevelop a substantial part of its petfood factory, which employs 800
> people.

A bit more payback, perhaps. Wonder whether it will be a 99 year lease for a
dollar


>
> The work should take three years, providing a boost to the Albury-Wodonga
> building industry.

Most heavy construction will go outside. Local companies are not big enough.
>
> As well as increasing production, Uncle Ben's plans a massive shift of its
> freight output from road to rail.

Bull shit, they are the slackest company I have ever seen, you would not
believe the number of times containers are returned or meat is contaminated,
etc etc
>
> Mr Kennedy told Mr John Anderson that the present line into Uncle Ben's
was
> uneconomic because it allowed only four wagons to be loaded at one time,
and
> these had to be shunted in and out on to the main rail line.

True but crap! We have placed the same louvers in the plant and removed them
as many as 10 times, removed them empty!
Bens are disorganised, and must have a highly profitable product, to do the
things I have seen this last 3 years.
in the last 6 months, Bens would not have loaded 15 louvers, and lucky to
load 25 container wagons.
Whilst Milos 25 meters away, get as many as 4 shunts a day and produce about
12 flats a day, and could easily increase that to 24 if we ran the Pilot 24
hours a day.
>
> As a result, the factory sent out only 19,000 tonnes of petfood a year by
> rail, but the plan was to increase this to 180,000 tonnes a year.
> Blah blah blah!
> "We can now take that spur line out of the centre of the plant and
renovate
> the entire front end," Mr Kennedy said.
>
> "We will be able to invest about $45 million in new plant and equipment
that
> will further position our brands of Pal and Whiskas for a tremendous
future.
>
> "We will now be able to employ probably another 60 associates
(employees)."
>
> Mr Kennedy said the enlarged Uncle Ben's would be able to raise its
exports
> to more than $200 million, up $35 million.
>
> "It means this site probably has a life of another 25 to 30 years.
>
> "As far as we are concerned, the future looks tremendous."
>
> Investment Albury-Wodonga chiefs and other business leaders welcomed
> yesterday's news of the rail relocation and Uncle Ben's expansion.
>
> Mr Gary Zauner, of Zauner Construction, said it would be a big boost for
> economic development.
>
>
>
>
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