Thomas Foods snags Angus contract

Kate Brabin, chief executive officer of Certified Angus Group (CAG), announced this morning that Thomas Foods International would become the sole producer of grainfed CAAB and grassfed Angus Pure and Natural Beef in a move aimed at boosting sales of the MSA-graded brands both domestically and overseas.

The agreement will end a 17-year partnership with leading processor, Cargill Australia (which merged its beef processing and feedlot operations with those of Teys Australia in September, 2011, to create Teys Australia – A Cargill Joint Venture).

The two brands are owned by Angus Australia whose CEO, Peter Parnell, thanked Cargill Australia and more recently the Teys Cargill joint venture for helping put CAAB on the world map and helping it become the most awarded Angus beef in Australia.

Thomas Foods has been a processing partner for eight years and Certified Angus Group chairman, Peter Trahar, said he looked forward to building their successful relationship well beyond the five-year term of the initial licensing agreement.

The CAAB product range will fit within Thomas Foods’ Signature brand – its premium offering among its stable of brands.

An upbeat Thomas Foods International CEO, Darren Thomas, said the deal would provide an opportunity to expand sales of Angus beef to a global market hungry for premium meat.

About 150,000 cattle are now processed annually for the premium Angus brands, with 55 per cent of the meat consumed domestically and 45pc exported to 36 countries.

“We see enormous potential to grow markets for Angus beef across Australia, the US, Europe and Asia,” Mr Thomas said.

“We have a long standing and proud association with Angus beef.

Capitalising on our established markets and distribution networks, we can now take it to the next level.

“Under this arrangement with CAG we expect to increase our throughput of premium Angus beef four-fold over the first 12 months alone.

“Thomas Foods International has invested significantly in state-of-the-art processing facilities so we’re well placed to meet the market’s growing appetite for Angus beef.”

This recent investment includes a new $25 million beef boning facility at Murray Bridge and an upgraded feedlot at Tintinara, both in SA.

Thomas Foods is already drawing large numbers of cattle from NSW and Victoria and also both grain and grassfed cattle out of Queensland through a service kill arrangement with Casino abattoir on the NSW North Coast.

The company has processing and packaging facilities in SA and NSW with distribution hubs located at Adelaide, Coffs Harbour, Brisbane, Darwin and the US.

Thomas Foods started operations in 1988 and today has grown into Australia’s largest family-owned meat processor which earns annual revenue of more than $1 billion.

All points of the CAAB quality-assurance supply chain are licensed to guarantee premium-quality, tender and juicy beef.

All cattle are individually identified and tracked throughout the entire production process to ensure product integrity and traceback along the supply chain including at the farm, feedlot, processors, product manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors, retailers and food services outlets.