SPC Ardmona assistance

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Thread starter #1
So, SPC Ardmona is asking for government assistance to upgrade manufacturing lines.

Asking for:
- $25 mil from Fed government
- Says $25 mil matched by state government
- $90 mil from parent company CCA (Coca Cola)

Government says no. Get CCA to pay it all.

Reports saying 1000 jobs in Shepparton on the line.

What does the GD board think? Should CCA pay for it all? Should the government chip in (i.e tax payers).

We will have this same situation in the coming months with Toyota.
 

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Tayl0r

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Who cares about food security in this country, eh?
If you can keep your losses localised in smaller companies you own and have them bailed out by the local governments to maintain viability, all the better. CCA were running at a half billion dollar profit per year for the last five.
 
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Thread starter #9
If CCA doesn't think it's a good idea to invest that money, why should the government?
Agree. As someone said earlier, CCA have made huge profits for the last 5 years, surely they can take a hit for a while. Why do the taxpayers need to prop them up.

Toyota, Ford, Holden. Same situation but on a much larger scale. However much more people involved that could lose their jobs. Should that be taken into account?
 

JD11

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#11
Like CCA couldn't fork out 25-30 mil if they thought it was a good investment.

Obviously they think it's doomed anyway and don't want to waste their own money.
 

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CLUBMEDhurst

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#13
If you can keep your losses localised in smaller companies you own and have them bailed out by the local governments to maintain viability, all the better. CCA were running at a half billion dollar profit per year for the last five.
Like the Coles-Woolworths duopoly, whose importation of dumped foreign grown cheap fruits has undercut the prices. Yeah sure
 

CLUBMEDhurst

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#15
Agree. As someone said earlier, CCA have made huge profits for the last 5 years, surely they can take a hit for a while. Why do the taxpayers need to prop them up.

Toyota, Ford, Holden. Same situation but on a much larger scale. However much more people involved that could lose their jobs. Should that be taken into account?
Food security for starters. The government has refused to introduce tariffs that'd limit the dumping of cheap foreign imports into the market. The bid for government assistance is for one off assistance, no intention of remaining on the government's teat. The company has already been pursuing innovation and diversification strategies in order to find profitable markets. Last but far from least is the impact it will have on the already struggling area of the Goulburn Valley. The cost will be far greater than the measly $25mil the company requested.

Then again I suppose the unemployed workers could re-enter the workforce as part of the only growing market in the area.

These guys can provide the retraining



For people to work in their new envioronments



Enjoy your contaminated Chinese fruit
 

Scotland

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#16
CCA will post a yearly after-tax profit in the vicinity of $500m.

Granted SPC Ardmona isn't the most profitable arm of the business, but CCA bought it and CCA run it - and CCA can afford to upgrade the plant facilities if they want to.

There's more to the story than 'our plant is old and we need new technology'. That's Holden/Ford spin from way back. SPC-A was profitable when they bought it in 2005, and now it isn't. The reality is they're either selling less fruit than they used to, earning less income from selling fruit than they used to, or both.

Back in 2005 the exchange rate hovered around 1AUD to 75-80c. It climbed until 2008 then crashed to around 60c, then spent the next few years hovering in the 90s and above. It's now hovering in the 80s. This would have had an effect on their export volumes. Additionally, imported fruit has cut into their local sales volumes.

What is the solution? A sugar hit under the guise of 'plant upgrades' isn't it.
 

kickazz

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#17
Similar to automotive, the problem I have here is that it is a half-arsed approach to letting free market forces apply, and once again, Australia is getting the bad half of the arse.

We open up our markets to cheap imports, which is good for the cosumer, but we are hopeless at negotiating trade agreements where we can sell to foreign markets.

I think the approach of Abbott/Hockey is an ideolgical "do nothing" approach, and let the market sort it out. The problem is, other countries anren't playing it that way. We live in a real world, and if you want to go the free trade approach that's fine, but it behooves the government to consider the pragmatics of the situation and to work to make free trade happen. They need to work to open up the barriers Australia faces and gain access to foreign markets. I'm not sure they have the desire or skill to do this.

As for government subsidy of bussiness - I think that if it is looked at from the point of view of strategic investment, it can be a good idea. If the private company has majority foreign ownership, then I think you need to be really careful not to be taken for a ride. If you are going to use public money it is almost better to nationalise the business and have it work as a joint venture with a foreign company if there is a benefit to that. It would be harder for such company to just take the piss then.
 

Bunk Moreland

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#18
Not protecting jobs is ok...

... if you have a plan and strategy to transform the economy and replace those jobs with something else.

Employment is essential.

I'd like to hear about the real future of the Australian economy from either side of politics.

Not holding my breath.
 
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#19
Business is run badly and loses money.
Half hearted attempt to ask the government for money.
Then guilt trip employees into giving up things and making savings there.

Is this some business tactic these days? Seems very common.
 

Total_Juddshanks

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#20
Yeah **** em.

When i was a nightfiller their cans never stacked to be properly interlocking. Anything they get is their own fault.

Quoted for truth. The Ardmona chopped tomatoes were interlocking and used to go up a treat, SPCs were a bitch. They must lose a shitload in transit and packing through what is a very obvious design flaw.

At the end of the day, why should it be the government's responsibility to bail out private enterprise? For unions, workers and bosses, this should be a very simple wake up call- don't sign agreements which will make a company uncompetitive, and then go whining to the government because it won't pick up the shortfall. And fix your goddamn can design.

Disagree with a lot of things Abbott has said, strongly agree with him about this.
 

grouse mate

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#22
Back in the day (80's and earlier) you had to be a shareholder to take your fruit to an SPC factory to sell it to them to turn into jam or whatever, now shareholders just exist to make a profit and as a result you get no spending on upgrades and automation to continue to make the business profitable in the future. The impact of superannuation on the share market will be make interesting reading in the future.

Disclaimer: Grandfather was a fruit orchardist/farmer.
 

Gasometer

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#23
So you think its about the SPC Factory?

Yeh close it.

Then close the orchards.

Send off the pickers and packers.

Close the massive cool rooms.

Close the transport trucking companies.

Close the small businesses in the GV that provide maintenance, repairs and specialisation for the machines.

Close the computer technical companies that build and support the computer operated machines.

Then you can start to close more of the Shops as the population drifts off because there is no work.

Then you can start on the Schools, the Hospitals and Public Transport.

Better still, with $700K P.A in rates lost from SPC the Council can close down the Child Care Centres, the Library, and stop having to fuss about roads, parks and gardens.

And then when that's done, who wants to move to the GV. So your house your built and own is worth 30% less than it was when you built it.

Awesome, cheap housing...we can move the dysfunctional out of Melbourne up to the GV because we can house them out of sight and they can stay on the dole...but they have to work for it...and when they are sick of that they can drink, take some drugs and if they need to get by they can always break into the cars and houses of the Professionals that help organise their lives.

And then when Shepparton is shafted, we can then move onto Kyabram, Tatura, Benalla and Seymour because they too could do with more people on welfare.

Yep, f * c k the $25 million and let them all rot in hell....CCA should put it up for sale, cut their loses and the GV can only hope some company will turn up and buy what's left.

Send the Robber Barons to hell...

 

Big Cox 88

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#25
So you think its about the SPC Factory?

Yeh close it.

Then close the orchards.

Send off the pickers and packers.

Close the massive cool rooms.

Close the transport trucking companies.

Close the small businesses in the GV that provide maintenance, repairs and specialisation for the machines.

Close the computer technical companies that build and support the computer operated machines.

Then you can start to close more of the Shops as the population drifts off because there is no work.

Then you can start on the Schools, the Hospitals and Public Transport.

Better still, with $700K P.A in rates lost from SPC the Council can close down the Child Care Centres, the Library, and stop having to fuss about roads, parks and gardens.

And then when that's done, who wants to move to the GV. So your house your built and own is worth 30% less than it was when you built it.

Awesome, cheap housing...we can move the dysfunctional out of Melbourne up to the GV because we can house them out of sight and they can stay on the dole...but they have to work for it...and when they are sick of that they can drink, take some drugs and if they need to get by they can always break into the cars and houses of the Professionals that help organise their lives.

And then when Shepparton is shafted, we can then move onto Kyabram, Tatura, Benalla and Seymour because they too could do with more people on welfare.

Yep, f * c k the $25 million and let them all rot in hell....CCA should put it up for sale, cut their loses and the GV can only hope some company will turn up and buy what's left.

Send the Robber Barons to hell...

tl/dr
 
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