Golden Circle (company) facts for kids
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| Unlisted public company | |
| Industry | Food and beverage |
| Founded | 1946 |
| Headquarters | Northgate, Queensland, Australia |
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Area served
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Multinational |
| Products | Over 500 |
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Number of employees
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1800+ |
| Parent | Kraft Heinz |
| Subsidiaries | Original Juice Co. |
Golden Circle is a well-known Australian company that makes lots of different food and drink products. It's part of a bigger company called Kraft Heinz, which is based in the USA. Golden Circle's main job is to process fruits and vegetables into yummy things like juices, jams, and canned foods. In 2010, Golden Circle was recognized for its important role in Queensland's economy because of all the food products it processes.
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How Golden Circle Started
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Golden Circle started making products in 1947. This was after its main factory in Northgate was finished. The new factory officially opened on October 28, 1947. The person who opened it was the Premier of Queensland at the time, Edward Hanlon. About 1500 people came to the opening, including 500 fruit farmers from the Sunshine Coast. They even arrived on a special train!
The company was first called 'Queensland Tropical Fruit Products'. 'Golden Circle' was just the brand name they used for their products. At first, Golden Circle was part of a group called the Committee of Direction of Fruit Marketing in Queensland (COD). Later, in 1964, the factory became its own separate business. This happened thanks to the leadership of Bernard Flewell-Smith and Percival Savage.
What They Made First
When Golden Circle first started, they mostly processed and canned pineapples. They also made fruit jams. Over the years, they began to make many more things. This included other canned fruit and vegetables, fruit cordials, juices, fizzy beverages, and even baby food.
In 2009, Golden Circle was bought by a big US company called Heinz. Before this, Golden Circle was one of the few Australian food companies still owned by Australian farmers.
How Golden Circle Works
Australian farmers provide Golden Circle with over 180,000 tonnes of fruit and vegetables every year. The biggest crop they use is pineapple. These pineapples come from areas like the Sunshine Coast hinterland, Maryborough, Woodbury, and northern Queensland. Most of the vegetables come from the Lockyer Valley, which is west of Brisbane. If a crop isn't grown in Queensland, it's brought in from other Australian states.
Golden Circle has a special food hall that cost A$20 million to build. This helps them create new products like baby food. They also have a special factory that makes over 42 million litres of fruit juices and drinks each year.
Golden Circle employs many people. The number of workers changes depending on the season, from about 700 to 1,700 people.
Besides its main factory in Brisbane, Golden Circle also owns another factory called Original Juice Co. This factory is in Mill Park, near Melbourne. They also have a place in Griffith, New South Wales, where they pack fresh fruit.
Golden Circle Products
Golden Circle makes more than 800 different products. These include fruits and vegetables in cans and glass jars, fruit juices, cordials, soft drinks, jams, and baby food. Even though they started with pineapples, pineapple products now make up only about 24% of all the products they sell.
Where Golden Circle Is Found
The main factory where products are made is in Northgate, which is a northern suburb of Brisbane.
Golden Circle also has sales offices in every Australian state and in New Zealand. Australia is the main place where Golden Circle products are sold. However, they also export their products to New Zealand and other Pacific countries.
You can also find Golden Circle factory outlets in Capalaba (east of Brisbane) and in Morayfield (north of Brisbane).
Changes and Job Impacts
In May 2011, Golden Circle announced that they would move their beetroot production to New Zealand. This decision affected about 160 jobs at the Northgate factory. However, HEINZ Australia said they would invest more than $20 million to improve the drink-making facilities at the Northgate plant.
See also
