Plant Initiated Projects in 2020

Plant Initiated Projects are fantastic opportunity for on-plant innovation and adoption in direct partnership and co-investment with processors. Since 1 July 2019, 35% of a processor’s levy is now quarantined for their own private R&D use. 

To maximise the opportunity for the sector, AMPC has commenced investing additional resources to work one-on-one with processors, in their business, to identify areas of that could be considered an innovation or R&D activity that is in alignment with AMPC’s Federal Government Statutory Funding Agreement, and is for the betterment of the industry at large.

This PIP member re-engagement commenced in late October 2019 and has resulted in more than 50 processing plant visits by AMPC staff, prior to the COVID lockdown in April. This process has resulted in more than 200 project ideas, of which more than 100 have been submitted. These submissions have been from 45 companies who have beef processing chains, and 33 companies who have smallstock processing chains. The result has been formal approval of submissions with a total value of over $45 million, with a current financial year expenditure value of more than $26 million.

One processor, who is not a top five processor by capacity, has made ten submissions, with nine approved. Another medium throughput processor has identified nine project innovations and formally submitted seven of these. Seventeen smaller category throughput processors have also each submitted at least one PIP.

Ninety-three of the 100+ submissions have been approved with an accumulative value of $41.5 million. Note: The AMPC PIP approval process is a confidential process. No processor directors of the AMPC Board review PIP projects; only the two independent directors review PIP submissions.

The projects identified and submitted have been spread across AMPC’s strategic themes and the industry self-developed Top 10 industry issues:

Theme 1: Advanced Manufacturing

• Loadout systems innovation
• Whole of supply chain traceability and feedback
• Assisted lamb and beef boning innovations
• New automated chiller design
• Time in Motion efficiency studies (for processing efficiency improvements)
• Industry 4.0

Theme 2: Environmental Sustainability

• Services management, insights and optimisation
• Sterilisation alternatives and/or water reductions
• New approaches to wastewater desludging
• Innovative paunch handling solutions
• Innovations Managers (Environmental Sustainability)
• IoT Energy reduction innovations
• Steam wastage reduction innovations
• ISO50001 processor evaluation

Theme 3: Workforce (People and Culture)

• WHS (including mental health) insights and strategic action plan
• The true cost of absenteeism (underpinned by Time in Motion studies)
• Innovation Managers (Culture Innovation and WHS))
• Innovation Managers (Whole of Company Innovation)

Theme 4: Technical Market Access and Markets

• Scientific validation of latest cattle stunning technology
• Shelf life extension through new technology innovations
• New international supply chain product presentation

Theme 5: Product and Process Integrity

• Value adding to lower value cuts and or new markets
• Innovation Managers (Value adding and new markets)
• Objective measurement and supply chain data
• Producer feedback innovation

AMPC has recently appointed four Co-innovation Managers to further engage our membership to specifically focus on PIP opportunities.

For more information please email admin@ampc.com.au.