Two of New South Wales’ largest co-packing companies, LJM NSW and Multipack, have merged to become a pure play co-packer. The combined entity is now named Multipack LJM.

Multipack LJM will service blue-chip manufacturers, multinational FMCG companies, local manufacturers and brand custodians.

It now handles all types of FMCG products such as canned food, confectionary, alcohol, tea and coffee, dairy and frozen foods, personal care products, sauces and condiments and bottled water.

The markets serviced include Australia, New Zealand, Japan, China, South East Asia, Middle East, USA, UK and Europe.

LJM founder and director Lance Miles said combined with LJM NSW’s Victorian-based parent company LJM, the new entity will be “a formidable force” in Australia’s co-packing market.

The businesses, employing over 500 people, have a shared warehouse footprint of 50,000 sqm across seven sites in New South Wales and Victoria and move approximately 5,000 pallets of packed goods per day for Australia’s largest FMCG, food, beverages, spirits and pharmaceuticals companies.

“Co-packing is an industry where scale brings scale which was the driver behind the merger. It is estimated that the co-packing industry in Australia is worth approximately $300 million. With turnover of approximately $75 million, the consolidated entity captures approximately 25 per cent of the market share,” Miles said.

“By combining our operations, we have already won two large tenders, which is attributed to the scale of the new entity. The merger has opened up market share. LJM NSW was geared towards food whereas Multipack had a strong FMCG and pharmaceutical focus.

“Through the merger, we have become the largest secondary co-packer in New South Wales, with a similar market share to that held by our parent company LJM in Victoria.”

According to Multipack director Adam Rawson, the company’s technical focus and technologically advanced IT processes will greatly benefit the merged entity.

“Co-packing is a growing sector and forms an integral part of the supply chain for our clients,” he said.

“In the past co-packing was often viewed as an ad-hoc service; however today many of Australia’s leading FMCG manufacturers and importers that stock the shelves of Coles, Woolworths, Aldi, Costco or independent retail chains use co-packing providers to handle entire product ranges.

“The co-packing industry is moving from strength to strength. The industry is highly regulated with accreditations and quality management systems to ensure high standards are maintained. Only bigger players will have the man power to keep up with the growing list of requirements.”