Wilmar Employees Back At Work

Most of Wilmar Sugar and Renewables 500 Herbert employees are now back at work, after two weeks of disruption from the major flood event.

General Manager Operations Mike McLeod visited Wilmar’s Victoria and Macknade mills last week to check on employees and get a firsthand briefing on the flood damage. He also met with workers at Wilmar’s Herbert Centralised Workshop in Lannercost Street.

Mr McLeod’s visit took place a day after the bulk of Wilmar’s Herbert workforce was finally able to return to work, following two weeks of localised flooding and road closures.

“It was really good to be able to get up to Ingham, visit all of our sites and check on our people,” Mr McLeod said.

“Last Monday (17 February) was the first day that all of our employees were able to get to work. Prior to that, only a small portion of the workforce was able to travel to their work sites.”

Mr McLeod said crews had now finished the bulk of the clean-up and were working on planned maintenance activities. Major contractors were also back at the sites progressing capital projects.

He said that, in the background, the business was continuing to assess damage and develop repair plans.

“Due to the significant amount of time lost from the flood, we’re re-evaluating our maintenance plan to ensure we complete critical work ahead of the start of crushing in June.”

“Our absolute priority is on getting the maintenance program back on track and being ready for the 2025 season.”

Mr McLeod paid tribute to the Herbert team’s ability to bounce back and get on with the flood recovery work, even though some had been directly impacted by the disaster.

He also thanked the many teams across Wilmar’s broader business for supporting the Herbert flood recovery efforts.