PARTNERS
Foundation Partner & Gala Dinner Sponsor
Visy is one of Australasia’s leading manufacturers of corrugated boxes, packaging and packaging consumables. From cardboard boxes & cartons to banana papers, string, tapes, liners, palletising products & more, Visy is a ‘one stop shop’ for all your packaging needs.
It doesn’t stop there though; Visy offers a full lifecycle of packaging capability. We are actively involved at every stage of the product’s lifespan; from design and innovation, automation & material handling right through to expertise in print and production, we’re helping a growing industry grow even stronger.
Principal R&D Partner
As the grower-owned, not-for-profit research and development corporation for Australia’s horticulture industry, Hort Innovation’s primary function is creating value for horticulture growers and those across the horticulture supply chain.
Each year, we invest more than $100 million in R&D, marketing and trade programs on behalf of industry.
Through these investments, we are working to improve the productivity, farm gate profitability and global competitiveness of specific industries, and Australian horticulture as a whole.
Principal Partners
At Woolworths, we take a lot of pride in providing our customers with top quality Australian fresh food.
With more than 1000 stores and 110,000 team members across the country, our purpose is to bring a little good to everyone everyday and supporting Australian growers is a big part of this.
We're proud of our fresh food credentials with 96% of all our fruit and vegetables sourced right here in Australia and more than two million Woolworths customers pick Cavendish bananas in our stores every week.
We’re also passionate about making healthier choices more affordable for Australian families. In 2015 we launched Free Fruit for Kids to help more Australian kids eat more fruit. In the last year alone, we gave away more than than 26 million pieces of free fruit to kids in store, including millions of Australian bananas.
Major Partner
Celebrating 20 years this year, MacKay’s Banana Marketing (MBM) was established as a separate business entity to manage all banana marketing and sales from a cooperative of large scale farming families.
The rationale was to have a dedicated specialist team to manage the marketing and customer interaction aspects of the businesses. This allowed each family to do what they do best, growing some of Australia’s best bananas whist still maintaining control of distribution to customers nationally.
Today MBM remains true to its grower ownership, focusing on maintaining high quality produce for its customers.
Associate Partners
Costa’s exceptional quality Cavendish and Lady Finger bananas are enjoyed around the country.
Our delicious bananas are grown all year round in the ideal climates of Tully and Walkamin on the Atherton Tablelands, North Queensland. We grow them so you can enjoy them every day of the year.
Costa adopts sustainable farming with a specific emphasis upon protecting the Great Barrier Reef.
We know fallowing, planting, fertilisation and the use of chemicals all affect the health of the soil, the plants and, crucially, the fruit. We stick to best practice regimes to ensure we can continually provide the best-quality eating bananas.
In addition to our strict farming practices, we maintain strict post-harvest procedures including packing, storage, transport, ripening and dispatch. This ensures our bananas remain at optimum condition until the moment they are enjoyed by the
end consumer.
Arcella Banana Company and its growing arm Tropicana Banana are proudly 100% Australian family owned and operated. With over 40 years’ experience, we are passionate about all facets of bananas. We are committed in investing in the future of the Australian banana industry.
We strive to provide growers with the best service and ensure that retailers receive the best quality bananas 52 weeks of the year.
Soils First NQ began providing agronomic advice and farm inputs to Banana growers in both Tully and the Tablelands in 2003. A warehouse facility in Innisfail was opened in 2011 and in 2016 to service the Tablelands we opened a facility in Tolga.
Our key objective is to provide individual fertiliser solutions to Banana growers.
We are the only supplier in the industry to custom blend soluble fertilisers to an individual agronomic requirement.
This process reduces labour costs and is very cost effective compared to one shot blends.
Our long standing relationships with key suppliers ensures reliable supply of quality product and as independent CRT members we have access to the full range of farming inputs at competitive prices.
In 2015, we began manufacturing of Black Urea Granular Blends and are now able to produce blends that cover all the major/minor nutrient requirements of the banana plant.
With over 4,000 metres of warehouse we can accommodate any requirement from Bunch Covers, Banana Twine, Ag Chemical and Fertiliser.
Supporting Partners
Bayer is one of the world’s leading innovative crop science companies in the areas of seeds, crop protection and non-agricultural pest control. The company offers an outstanding range of products including high value seeds and innovative crop protection solutions, as well as an extensive service backup for modern, sustainable agriculture. With a large local and international research and development team, Bayer constantly delivers new and innovative products to the Australian banana industry.
LaManna Premier Group (LPG) is a vertically integrated Australian fresh produce, supply chain company, distributing fruits and vegetables domestically and internationally. With LPG owned farms and strategic grower partners nationwide, we ensure the consistent supply of quality, flavourful, fresh produce.
Our customers, growers, and community are our priority and we support them through integrated business operations from farm, right through to category management. Our business operations are further refined by climate-controlled distribution services, leading edge ripening facilities, and a Central Market Trading presence in every Australian State. LPG’s banana category is our largest category, underpinned by our farms and growers in North Queensland and the Northern Territory. The category is further supported with a dedicated category management team and LPG’s owned packing facility, Australian Banana Company (ABC), located in Innisfail, QLD. ABC supports banana growers in the region by providing access to quality control, packing, and distribution, allowing farmers to remain focused on growing premium products.
We continue to evolve innovative operations and category development to produce consistent, reliable varieties that embody great taste, texture, and shelf life. Our people are our greatest asset and we invest heavily in people development through employee programs and enhanced growth opportunities.
Primary Partners
AGCO AGCO is a global leader in the design, manufacturing and distribution of agricultural solutions, working tirelessly to help make today’s farms more productive and more profitable. Globally recognised brands like Massey Ferguson & Fendt make up part of what makes AGCO so strong. Massey Ferguson Massey Ferguson is one of the world’s leading brands in agricultural machinery innovation, helping to ensure farmers achieve greater efficiencies, productivity and at the same time, make life easier for those striving to produce more from the land they farm and care for. The MF 4700 Series is part of the new Global Series range which is based upon the concept of the utility tractor and has been re-engineered from the ground up to meet the needs of present and future farming. Offering farmers between 74 and 82 horsepower, the MF 4700 Series is ideal for the banana industry. Fendt Fendt offers professional solutions for professional customers. Working harder and driving profits faster, Fendt uses the latest technology to boost farm efficiency and keep cost of ownership down. There’s no better way to stay at the top of the fast-paced, ever-evolving agricultural game than Fendt. The Fendt Vario range of tractors are designed for the agriculture industry and the Fendt 211P is a specialty tractor with wider axels and higher lift capacity that is a perfect option for banana farmers.
Agspec Australia is a manufacturer and distributor of fertilisers, crop protection products, adjuvants, biostimulants, and soil and water conditioners. Agspec Australia delivers high quality, branded and professionally packaged products for Australia farmers. Such branded products includes the well-known RapiSol® range of trace elements, Atlantik® biostimulant formulation, and Flextend® adjuvant for improved pesticide activity and retention.
Agspec Australia was established in 2004, and is present across many countries in South East Asia. As such, Agspec has excellent knowledge and experience in temperate and tropical agriculture.
Our professional, tertiary qualified agronomists and horticulturalists provide the necessary product back up and stewardship to ensure growth and service in each of our markets.
Agspec continually strives to identify new and exciting technologies for Australian farmers, in order to deliver improved yields and profits.
Established in 1988, Blenners Transport is North Queensland’s largest family owned road and rail transport company employing over 400 team members throughout strategically located depots in Brisbane, Rockhampton, Mackay, Townsville, Tully, Innisfail, Mareeba and Cairns.
As North Queensland banana producers, Les and Judy Blennerhassett created Blenners Transport to meet their own needs in moving produce to market. Now, and over 30 years later, they have ensured family ownership and the core values of Blenners Transport will continue into the future with their sons Roger and Ben joining the business in 2006 and 2014 respectively.
Specializing in transporting North Queensland’s fresh produce to the southern markets and return, the Blenners Transport fleet has grown in 2020 to 180 prime movers, 260 refrigerated vans, 36 rigid trucks, 20 road trains and 40 rail containers; moving a range of freezer, chiller and dry freight to and from all corners of the country. With a strong focus and commitment to excellence and leading the industry, Blenners Transport now offers temperature controlled dry, chiller and freezer storage solutions across three depot locations; providing their customers with an integrated refrigerated transport and storage solutions across the country.
Our focus on excellence applies not only to our customers, but to our team too; we are proud to have many of the industries best operational planners, logistics administrators and professional drivers amongst our ranks. In our workshop, our focus continues with over 60 skilled in-house mechanics, tyre bay operators and wash bay team in the purpose built fleet maintenance workshops in Tully and Brisbane ensure the vehicles not only look good but are regarded as the best maintained fleet on the road today.
Collectively, the team at Blenners Transport ensures the high standard of accreditations held with TruckSafe, Safe food and QMS HACCP-FSS are upheld for the Safety and Quality of transported food products, and additionally, we are accredited under NHVAS for Basic Fatigue Management, Mass Management and Maintenance Management and are leaders in Fatigue and Chain of Responsibility Compliance.
This year we at Colin Campbell (Chemicals) [CCC] are celebrating its 80th anniversary. Still a wholly-owned and run Australian company, CCC is a leading supplier of innovative, reliable, high-quality and ‘niche’ crop protection products for the pre and post-harvest agricultural sector. It specialises in horticulture and recreational turf.
CCC was founded in 1940, in the early days of World War 2, by Colin Campbell Snr after he recognised a market opportunity for manufacturing chemicals. He established the company in Alexandria, a suburb of Sydney and two decades later passed the company down to his sons, Colin and Neil. It was during the 1960s that the brothers began increasing their presence in agricultural and turf chemicals.
CCC’s growth and product range has been made possible by long term supplier relationships, and by active and ongoing Research and Development (R&D). The result is the supply of innovative, speciality products which fulfil various needs in agriculture, including pre and post-harvest horticulture and turf as well as the introduction of novel products, such as Chlorothalanil Apple Wax and Microencapsulation formulations.
Well known for their reliability and flexibility – CCC can handle anything – small enough to be nimble and responsive, yet big enough to manage any size account. Having its own office and warehouse in Sydney, as well as stock locations in Brisbane and in regional sites across Australia, ensures CCC is able to respond efficiently to any customer request.
Customers remain with CCC for decades because they know the products work well and will be delivered quickly, and they trust the staff’s expertise. This stems from the fact that CCC employees remain with the company for a lifetime with many exceeding over 20 or 30 years during their lifetime.
FMC Australia and New Zealand is not just an agricultural sciences company, it is part of the community, and part of the solution to the challenges of local food security. Advancing farming indirectly by supporting those communities that our farmers rely on.
With our industry leading discovery pipeline and soon to be released blockbuster herbicide, we are passionate about bringing new solutions to growers in ANZ, while looking after our own people by creating opportunity and supporting diversity.
As individuals and as a team of over 100 people across ANZ we are guided by our six-core value which define how we do business. This is what sets us apart and it's the key to our long-term growth and sustainability.
We have a local manufacturing plant located one hour north of Sydney. The Wyong facility has more than thirty years history of quality crop protection manufacture.
Loscam is a trusted name for providing pooling and returnable packaging solutions for use in supply chains. Operating in 12 markets throughout the Asia Pacific, Loscam is focused on delivering high-quality, innovative and environmentally sustainable solutions and fit-for-purpose systems and procedures to the local markets. This dedication has led Loscam to holding a leading market position in various sectors, including manufacturing retail supply chains.
Established in 1942, Loscam operates in Australia, Hong Kong SAR, Indonesia, Mainland China, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Netafim is the leading global provider of end-to-end smart irrigation solutions. We pioneered drip irrigation in 1965. A solution that made us the largest irrigation company in the world. With over 50 years of ground-breaking innovations, irrigation know-how, and project management expertise, we help design, develop and implement your agricultural vision. We ensure you achieve success and profitability through a fully sustainable, precision operation – no matter your crop, location, climate or conditions. Whether you’re starting a new agriculture project or expanding an existing one, it’s all about maximizing efficiency and driving profitability through the precise application of water and nutrients to increase yields and reduce inputs.
The people at Omnia Specialities Australia are passionate about soil and plant health. They are leaders in the development and manufacture of specialty fertilisers and biostimulants including Humates, Fulvates and Kelp products. Omnia Specialities has been manufacturing humate soil conditioners and fertilisers in Australia since 1990. Only the best quality leonardite is used in the specialised process, yielding the most concentrated humic acids in the world.
Our team of ten Specialist Agronomists help growers, both here in Australia and around the world improve yield, quality, efficiency and sustainability of fruit and vegetable crops.
QMAC Machinery is the leading supplier of Kubota into Far North Queensland since 1997 with branches in Cairns, Innisfail and Tully. We specialise in Kubota Tractors, Mowers, RTV’s and Implements. Our salespeople are well trained and versed on what we offer, and have the expertise to find the right product for your application. We not only sell the products, we offer all warranty work , parts and service on every item that we sell. We have fully trained mobile technicians that aim to fix the problem “on time the first time”. Our Parts Departments have many years of experience and are here to support your business. Your success is our success….
The Banana Industry is an integral part of our business and one that we have been very active in supporting. We look forward to a great event and catching up with existing and new customers.
For over 50 years, Signet has been a leading Australian manufacturer and supplier of packaging and industrial supplies. With over 5500 products from brands you know and trust, Signet is your local supplier of choice. Whether you need safety, warehousing, labelling, marking, PPE or packaging supplies, we’ve got you covered.
Stoller products are based on a deep knowledge in Plant Physiology and its practical applications to increase quality and yield in a variety of crops.
Stoller in Australia are based in Adelaide, South Australia with representatives and distributors throughout the country. We are committed to manufacturing high quality liquid fertilizers and specialty nutrient products that assist crops to reach their full potential. Stoller products are distributed through a network of dealers nationwide.
Our detailed knowledge of Plant Physiology and advanced understanding of how crops respond to the environment allows us to constantly innovate and develop our products. Our Australian team undertake trials and demonstrations throughout the country to deeply understand the way our products impact plant potential in a variety of conditions. Stoller employ skilled representatives that work nationwide with growers, agronomists and distributors. We share our detailed knowledge to assist growers maximise yield potential.
In combination with proper nutrition and good farming practices, the result is enhanced marketable yield, significant return-on-investment and improved stress tolerance.
Trade Night Sponsors
Pakall Pty Ltd was established 47 years ago and is a family owned and operated company who has been supplying the Banana industry for over 30 years. Our considerable knowledge and understanding of the Banana industry together with our expertise in plastics and packaging means there is no better company then Pakall to service your plastic and packaging requirements.
Innovation Zone Sponsors
Tie Up Farming offers the only cloud-based end-toend operations platform for the horticulture industry (fruit and vegetables), translating open-field farming into an accurate, yield-driven operation.
Our focus is on the field user in the labour-intensive medium to large agribusinesses. We create one point of data capturing during the farming process enabling the data to be streamlined in the agribusiness. Other than the control and command modules we
utilise QR barcodes and integration to sensors on the farm to capture more data.
– Cost per block/hectare
– Streamlined workflow
– Control and Commend multiple farms
– Complete traceability
– Reduced costs
– Improved yield
– Freshcare, Harps and Global Gap
Exhibitors
