Defence takes new direction
• Federal Member for Bass Bridget Archer with Forager Foods managing director John Ranicar at the Scottsdale DSTO site.
By Taylor Clyne
November 04, 2020
A new partnership between the Scottsdale’s Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) and Northern based business Forager Foods will see freeze dried food knowledge shared to support growth in food innovation and local production.
The move is the first of its kind with a collaboration between government and private sector in a bid to increase employment in both the research hub and manufacturing.
Forager Foods managing director John Ranicar said the Defence site was effectively set up to do science and by releasing the intellectual property (IP) to his company they could get back to solely focusing on that.
“There was no manufacturer when this was first established so they had to build their own manufacturing facility and I guess over time things change and they want to get back to their roots which is science.
“They don’t see the manufacturing of meals as being part of their core business and that is our core business,” he said.
Forager Foods are well versed in all types of dried food choices with an Australia-wide label the Campers Pantry and the ability to freeze dry meals specifically for special forces if required.
“There is no contract that comes with this to say we are supplying Defence but we will get the intellectual property that will allow us to make defence specified meals so that if an order does come in we are ready to go,” Mr Ranicar said.
The company are currently expanding their Deloraine based business by starting a second factory in Launceston and preparing to take over the manufacturing aspect of the Scottsdale Defence Site.
“The key thing for us is transitioning that fifty year plus IP that has been developed here [Scottsdale] building meals specifically for Defence use.
“They’ve got specification around protein, energy and fats – there has been a lot of work done which hopefully will hopefully see us supplying to them in the future.
“That’s the ultimate goal.”
Federal Member for Bass, Bridget Archer said the move ensures the ongoing viability of the Scottsdale facility and some additional jobs going forward.
“The facility is growing as they are taking on some new technology called MATS (Microwave Assisted Thermal Sterilisation) which is the next generation of shelf-stable food; all that research is being done here which has global significance for that platform,” she said.
“This partnership will likely increase Australian domestic capability to produce freeze-dried ration components, while simultaneously supporting the growth and innovation of Tasmanian industry.”
Mr Ranicar explained that his company would complement that technology with the ability to grow further.
“We are entering the MATS business too; essentially we want to take their research and commercialise it.
“There have been many scientists who have worked really hard over the last fifty years to develop these processes and protocols, they really have a complex and unique product here.
“We are just very thankful to them for the work that they’ve done and that we can hopefully take forward to perpetuity,” Mr Raincar concluded.
New Zealand based company Prepack Limited currently has an oversupply of Australian combat rations made at the Scottsdale site which means Forager Foods will use the facility for the foreseeable future for the consumer market.