Jamestrong celebrates 30 years in Taree

Precision metal packaging producer and printer Jamestrong celebrated 30 years of making aerosol cans, and a 2.7 billion can production milestone, at its Taree, NSW site, with CEO Alex Commins using the event to champion  manufacturing in regional towns.

The Jamestrong Taree plant, originally known as Containers Packaging, was first commissioned in 1991, and today employs 75 staff, and producing 100 million aerosol cans per year at the site.

At a special event to celebrate the anniversary Jamestrong CEO Alex Commins put some stats behind the company’s significant contribution to regional NSW in his address to guests at the staff and family event held in the Kolondong Industrial Park.

“Since commissioning the plant in March 1991 the operation has processed 75,000 tons of aluminium, produced approximately 2.7 billion cans, paid $248m in wages, spent $208m in local expenses, spent $65m on utilities, and employed 489 people,” Commins said.

Commins related how in March 1991 Containers Packaging (now Jamestrong) spent $10m relocating its aluminium aerosol manufacturing operations from Penrith to Taree to the site where it continues to operate.

Included in that $10m set-up was a $3m investment in a German/Swiss can manufacturing line that is still in operation today.

Jamestrong installed the world’s fastest metal printing press – a $13m KBA MetalStar 3 – at its Milperra plant three years ago. The company is the largest supplier of aerosol cans and food cans in Australasia. Its head office is located in Melbourne and it has four manufacturing facilities around Australia and New Zealand.

Noting that Taree is no longer the manufacturing powerhouse it once was, Commins said, “If there’s any good that’s come out of the pandemic, it is Australia realising just how precious local supply of manufactured goods are.”