Site may have been selected for Australian-first food and beverage precinct

A development application has been submitted to Sunshine Coast Council for the Turbine Precinct food and beverage precinct, according to a report on a local news website.

According to Turbine’s website, the completed site will be “Australia’s first purpose built, end-to-end food and beverage manufacturing and education precinct” and is “expected to be operational March 2025”. Its work will include assisting SMEs to scale up through shared facilities, contract manufacturing, and an industry-led R&D centre.

The Report in Sunshine Coast News states that the application concerns a site at Caloundra’s Corbould Park, which is owned by the state government, and that a pre-lodgement meeting with council officers in August saw the proposal supported in principle.

Turbine’s website states that negotiations are underway for a high impact industrial zoned site in Caloundra, with “an announcement with regard to the location… expected by September 2023.”

Turbine – which announced the appointment of Andrew Eves-Brown as CEO in June – was awarded two grants by the former federal government’s Modern Manufacturing Initiative. These were worth $36.74 million under the initiative’s collaboration stream and $8.23 million under its translation stream.

According to the company’s website, Phase 1 of the precinct will include a contract beverage facility, manufacturing companies co-located, a collaborative R & D centre, and an expertise and training hub.

Picture: credit Ted O’Brien MP

Further reading

Federal government awards Turbine Precinct $33.4 million grant

@AuManufacturing Conversations episode 7 – Shay Chalmers from Strategic Engineering