Thomas Foods International plans $60 million upgrade to Bourke abattoir

Thomas Foods International acquired the mothballed facility in 2021.

It had been briefly operational when it was first constructed before sitting dormant.

Chief executive Anthony Stewart said the initial focus was carrying out upgrades for the plant to be recommissioned.

"There was a bit of work required just to get the facility started and operational," he said.

"The focus after that was just getting the workers."

Mr Stewart said it had been a challenge to build the workforce, but it now comprised of about 200 people of nine nationalities who were all based in the town.

TFI was also actively recruiting for positions from processing to trades, he said.

The facility had gradually built up processing numbers to about 3500 head of goats per day and was pushing to get to 4000.

"It's really been more about the capability than a supply point of view," he said.

"We've got access to markets globally through our network.

"There was never an issue with demand, there was never an issue with supply of livestock - it was all about building the capability and the capacity there."

Currently it was processing goats, both from the local area and further afield, but the plant was also licensed for sheep and lambs.

The capital works program would allow the facility to process up to 6000 head a day, he said.

The planned upgrades include a new 1800 square metre cold store, refrigeration system, electrical transformer and generators as well as a 1200-carcase freezer. A new skin storage and processing facility were also in the pipeline.

"It's completing what's required from a functional point of view to set that up long term as an export capable facility," Mr Stewart said.

"The vast majority of what we process goes to international markets.

"It's important we have a full cold chain and logistics capability on site, which is not the case at the moment."

In the interim, product was immediately trucked to an offsite storage facility and handled through third party infrastructure.

"That's obviously not ideal from a cost and commercial point of view but it's also not ideal in terms of the integrity of the cold chain," he said.

Plans had been drawn up and the company would look to appoint a builder by the end of the year. Mr Stewart said global demand for goatmeat remained strong.

"We see significant further growth potential particularly in markets such as the United States," he said.

"We as an organisation more broadly are continuing to grow our footprint and markets internationally."

The company was also carrying out upgrades to its other processing facilities at Tamworth, Stawell in Victoria, and Lobethal and Murray Bridge in South Australia.

The Bourke investment was supported by a $5 million state government grant.