The Hereford breed’s emerging leaders were given an insight into the future of the Australian beef industry with a tour of the purpose-built Kilcoy Global Foods innovation centre, a leader in robotics and world class processing equipment.
A tour of the Kilcoy Innovation Hub on the Sunshine Coast was a highlight of the inaugural Herefords Australia Future Leaders and Breeders Forum held in Brisbane in October.
The tour gave the participants a deeper level of understanding of the beef supply chain, career opportunities and cutting edge innovation in the red meat sector.
Kilcoy has five state of the art Australian facilities and is renowned for premium quality and innovative practices.
The global food company is recognised as one of the most modern in the country, after embarking on a transformative journey over a decade ago focused on improving efficiencies and safety across all its facilities.
From an innovation hub to robotic programs, world class facilities, fifth quarter initiatives and industry leading sustainability practices, Kilcoy is not only reshaping its own operations but also setting new standards for the industry.
KGF Australian President Jiah Falcke said innovation was ingrained in the company’s culture.
“The KGF team is driven by a passion to continuously improve, to relentlessly pursue excellence ad with that passion comes innovative out-of-the-box thinking every day,” Mr Falcke said.
“It’s our technology that really sets us apart. We’re embracing artificial intelligence and all that it can do for our business, and we are excited by the possibilities.”
A first of its kind in Australia, The Hub was developed in partnership with Meat and Livestock Australia, the Australian Meat Processing Corporation (AMPC) and Kilcoy Global Foods.
The Hub features an ultra-modern commercial kitchen, research and development facilities, dry ageing cabinets and an immersive paddock to plate virtual reality experience.
In partnership with AMPC, Kilcoy Global Foods pioneered a first of its kind robotic scribe cutting system designed to improve yield, safety and accuracy – cut after cut.
The robotic scribes use 3D cameras, vision processing, imaging cameras, and AI tasks to find where they need to cut. This step is critical for boning room success – it scribes the cuts, gives boners the right pattern to follow and optimises yields.
“We’ve built our reputation on 70 years of exceptional quality, and this technology pushes that a step further. It gives us the accuracy we need from a yield perspective, product specifications and product consistency,” Mr Falcke said.
“Our customers open their boxes and notice the difference.”
As part of their transformative journey, KGF continues to invest heavily in their Australian facilities to bring them up to the most modern standards. This includes a major overhaul for their primary Kilcoy facility and two newly acquired Victorian plants at Kyneton and Lance Creek.
KGF officially opened the foods solution facility in Bells Creek in late 2023 to deliver multi-protein food solutions across raw and cooked for domestic and export markets.
As part of their 100 per cent carcase utilisation commitment, KGF launched a new brand and product line, Kilcoy Nutrition. Using their premium beef organs which are in high demand for their rich nutritional content, Kilcoy Nutrition uses an innovative spray drying process to transform beef liver, heart and lung into a super-fine powder.
Highly versatile, the powder can be blended with other ingredients to create a unique formulation. Packed full of protein, vitamins and minerals, Kilcoy Nutrition products are a great way for people to enrich their dietary intake and reach their health goals.
The Kilcoy Nutrition range has multiple product applications including capsules and tablets and in pet treats, kibble and toppers.
Together with their suppliers, customers and communities, KGF is pursuing new and improved ways to deliver fresh, natural, healthy and convenient food solutions that have a reduced impact on the environment and precious natural resources.
Innovation is just as important in their approach to the environment as it is with food, and the company leans on the latest technology to minimise their environmental impact.
Key examples of this are the new state-of-the-art Biomass Boiler at the Kilcoy facility, which eliminates their reliance on coal, generating their own electricity, best in class water management, a zero-waste commitment and circular land management practices.
It is this innovative approach to sustainability that has earned the company its Climate Active Carbon Neutral Organisation certification at its Kilcoy and Kyneton facilities, and Birtinya head office.
“For us, improvement is infinite. We strive to deliver the best, time after time, and are willing to push the boundaries and think differently,” Mr Falcke said.
Learn more at kilcoyglobalfoods.com
The world class biomass boiler at Kilcoy Global Foods
The Innovation Hub has an ultra modern commercial kitchen
Beef on display in the chiller cabinet at the Innovation Hub
