A carbon neutral brewery at Ballarat west’s industrial hub will give Broo beer company the production capability to rival the country’s biggest breweries, founder Kent Grogan said.
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The facility is expected to allow Broo to produce up to 480 million bottles of beer a year – up from between 5 to 10 million annually.
The brewery was announced as the fourth tenant of the Ballarat West Employment Zone on Friday, alongside Athlegen, the country’s largest manufacturer of treatment tables.
Athlegen will merge its current operations at Alfredton site with its Melbourne research facility at the BWEZ site.
Broo brewery will be on the largest site of the first land release with a 14.84 hectare plot.
The $100 million development will be open to the public with plans to host exhibitions and events, and an Australian beer museum, Mr Grogan said.
The start-up operation is expected to create 100 jobs in manufacturing, a number which is expected to triple as its tourism operation grows.
The beer produced in Ballarat will service Broo’s domestic, American, European and South East Asian markets.
“Because we want to make it the greenest facility in the world we want that to be encompassed into the environment of the brewery, we’re talking about landscape gardens that take people through how those water efficiencies are happening,” Mr Grogan said.
“It’s a combination of hospitality but also showcasing the technologies that are involved in achieving the world’s greenest brewery.”
Athlegen’s new showroom, to be built on a 5,400 square metre lot, will be the manufacturer’s largest after its national showroom in Sydney.
“The idea of the factory is we’re gearing ourselves up to be not just a jack of all trades but master of a few – so we’re progressively working our way into some niche markets where we want to develop a significant presence in the world,” chief executive officer Steven Falkiner said.
The Athlegen site will include a production and warehousing facility, a research and development facility and offices.
The state government announced the release of another 55 hectares at BWEZ on Friday.
“Anyone who had any concerns about whether there will be enough demand can relax,” Regional Development Minister Jaala Pulford said.
“The initial land release of 35 hectares is all gone, we know demand is strong and we look forward to seeing continued strong demand.”
The project entered into its second stage in early January.