Golden North's ice cream factory starts production at new site
Where cheese was once piled high, ice cream now swirls as production begins at Golden North's new processing plant in Murray Bridge, South Australia.
The South Australian ice cream company bought the former Beston Global Food Company plant after administrators failed to find a buyer when it was liquidated in 2025.
Golden North managing director and co-owner Dimi Kyriazis said the move to Murray Bridge would bring the company closer to SA's central milk-producing region.
Golden North's ice cream is sold across Australia and overseas. (ABC North and West: Viki Ntafilis)
It would also allow the company to increase its ice cream production and expand into other products such as cheese.
"We're kicking things off with ice cream," Mr Kyriazis said.
"Ice cream is the most important thing; that's what's going to pay the bills in the beginning of this story of Golden North here in Murray Bridge.
"Cheese will be equally as important in time."
Mr Kyriazis said the ice cream would be produced using the same recipe and equipment brought over from the plant in Laura, but it could be frozen much quicker in Murray Bridge.
The new Golden North factory at Murray Bridge. (ABC Rural: Cassie Hough)
Golden North will source milk from another company for the first year, with Mr Kyriazis saying he wanted to gauge its needs before signing direct contracts with farmers.
Only about one-third of what Golden North made stayed in SA and the rest was sold interstate and overseas.
With the larger facility, Mr Kyriazis said he hoped to expand the products and amount they produced.
"There are opportunities everywhere … we just could never take advantage of them before. Murray Bridge allows us to do it,"
he said.
Big move
The move to Murray Bridge meant leaving Golden North's home of 103 years in the Mid North town of Laura.
Golden North gave priority to Laura workers to move to Murray Bridge, but only three staff took the opportunity.
The new factory will need about 20 more people than the Laura plant, taking overall employment to about 100.
Golden North has left its home of 103 years. (ABC North and West: Viki Ntafilis)
Former Beston staff are among those employed by Golden North, including head of operations Paul Connelly.
He has seen the factory change hands several times and was excited to see ice cream being produced.
Mr Connelly was also involved in cheese production at the site over the years.
"The recipes stay with the factory. They don't usually get sold off to someone else," Mr Connelly said.
"Sometimes they do get sold with the brand, but all the recipes here are from probably 20 or 30 years ago, even more.
"We did a lot of work on faster maturing parmesan recipes, which are all new cultures and new enzymes that have only just come out in the last 10 years."
Golden North was Laura's largest employer and will leave a big hole in the town even with $1 million in government assistance to support it during the company's transition.
However, Laura's loss is Murray Bridge's gain, and after riding the highs and lows of dairy processing in Murray Bridge, Mr Connelly said the move would boost the town.
"As I walk around the community, people are always asking me, 'How's Golden North going? How's the project going?'" he said.
"So, there is a level of engagement and excitement that I can feel as I'm walking around the town."
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