00:00 It's fantastic to have all of our people back at work.
00:04 We're a fairly big family here at Norco.
00:06 It's great to be able to, as a 100% farm run cooperative also,
00:10 to be able to support our farmers more,
00:12 getting this ice cream business up and running
00:14 and to get our customers back the ice cream that they love.
00:17 So that's just fantastic.
00:20 It's been a huge effort here from the team over the last 12 months.
00:23 And I'm honestly just so proud of what they've been able to achieve.
00:26 It's been a huge effort.
00:28 We're seeing here some of the pictures of the flood damage
00:30 that was caused back in those record floods of February 2022.
00:36 What's been involved with the rebuild?
00:39 I understand that some of the major modifications
00:43 include something referred to as a submarine section.
00:46 What's happened there?
00:47 So we've not just rebuilt the factory, we've rebuilt it better.
00:52 There's a significant amount of flood mitigation work
00:54 that's gone into the site.
00:56 A lot of the key expensive and critical electrical equipment
01:00 has been moved up beyond 15 metres,
01:02 which is much higher than the flood that we experienced last year.
01:06 Some areas of the factory have been designed as a dam.
01:10 So inside the factory, there is an area
01:13 with reinforced concrete and steel walls
01:16 with support arms that come down, which are anchored in place as well,
01:20 and a big vault door that actually stops that,
01:23 which is bolted with one-inch thick bolts to keep the water out.
01:28 So not all of the factory could be lifted up to 15 metres,
01:32 but the key items of the factory have been.
01:35 And where we couldn't, we've been able to build these dams
01:39 inside the factory with the help of engineering advice.
01:43 So clearly a commitment then for that factory
01:46 to remain in place there in that location.
01:51 What does that mean then for the community
01:54 to have Norco still there where it's been for such a long time?
02:00 Well, we've been here for 128 years,
02:02 and Norco, you know, Lismore is the heart of Norco.
02:07 It's where we were founded.
02:09 And we're confident in this region,
02:11 and us having 130 jobs now back here,
02:16 and we'll have probably another 20 or 30 that we'll put on
02:18 in the new year, which is great.
02:21 We put about $20 to $25 million directly back into the community
02:25 just from activity from this site every year.
02:28 So that's with wages and contractors and small businesses
02:32 that we use in the area.
02:33 So, you know, we are a vital part of this community,
02:37 both spiritually, but also for economic recovery and activity
02:42 through what happens here at the ice-breaking facility.
02:45 You mentioned there as well that Norco is a cooperative.
02:48 What does that mean for the farming community in particular
02:51 to have this connection to Norco continue?
02:55 Well, yeah, being 100% farmer-owned,
02:58 it gives our farmers confidence, and that's what they need.
03:01 As we saw in the National Farmer Wellbeing Report
03:04 that we brought out in April this year,
03:06 75% of farmers didn't feel that the Australian public
03:10 valued what they did anymore.
03:12 This facility being back online then enables us to help
03:16 and support our farmers more, which is great.
03:19 It gives them confidence to invest in their business,
03:22 to do better things on their farm
03:23 and become more sustainable and resilient themselves.
03:26 So it's a great day for our farmers,
03:28 and they're certainly appreciative with the assistance
03:30 that we've been able to get from government
03:32 to rebuild the factory, as are our people,
03:34 because they're all back happy, smiling back at work today,
03:37 which is fantastic.
03:38 And before we let you go, Michael Hampson,
03:41 what's been the key?
03:42 What's the resilience factor there
03:44 that's helped to keep the company viable
03:46 over the last year and a half to get to this point?
03:50 Well, we've certainly made a number of changes in our business,
03:52 and, you know, which we've had to do
03:55 because we've had to go much harder in other parts,
03:58 but we've had an incredible amount of support from customers,
04:02 and we truly do thank them for that.
04:04 Our people thank our customers for that,
04:06 and also our farmers thank the customers for supporting them.
04:10 So we've been able to make other changes
04:12 and improve other parts of the business,
04:14 and with customers' help,
04:15 we've been able to still, in a very difficult year,
04:18 increase our milk price to farmers by $30 million.
04:22 So... And that's really helped and made sustainable
04:26 and more resilient, you know, the entire northern dairy industry
04:29 in New South Wales and Queensland.
04:32 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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