News

PETUNA SEAFOOD FACTORY OPENING - DEVONPORT, TASMANIA 23 JANUARY 2012

Mulwarra recently attended Petuna Seafood’s official opening of their newly built processing plant in Devonport Tasmania reflecting Mulwarra’s strong relationship as export marketing agent for Petuna.

The opening, which occurred on Monday the 23rd of January, included the Honourable Bryan Green minister of fisheries and deputy premier who officially opened the facility alongside Petuna’s founders in Mr and Mrs Peter and Una Rockliff, who’s presence showed just how significantly the company has grown and continues to grow since its foundation in the 1950’s.

Among the guests in attendance, which included various members of the Rockliff family, were members of state and federal parliament and a wide range of Petuna supporters whether distributers, processors or end users such as Chef Tetsuya Wakuda from the Tetsuya restaurant fame, who is a long-time supporter of Petuna.

All guests were treated with a tour of the factory, followed by the grand opening, speeches and canapés where guests and supporters could taste themselves the range of products Petuna has to offer and celebrate the opening of the state of the art facility.

SEAC GOLF TOURNAMENT - MANILLA 15-17 January

Mulwarra recently attended the 8th South East Asian Chefs (SEAC) Golf Tournament 2012 in Manilla, Philippines as a major sponsor for this event. The tournament, which was run over 2 days and 3 nights commencing Sunday 15th January and finishing Tuesday 17th January was a overwhelming success enabling a wide range of Chefs and specialist foodservice professional and friends from all over Asia and the world to get together, network and have a laugh in a relaxed environment.

With over 140 participants coming together to celebrate golf and all things food the 8th SEAC Golf tournament was surely a event to remember, with a wide range of Golfing talents coming together to enjoy a very well organised 2 days and 3 evenings. There were special team’s events, individual events, awards for a wide range of tasks, bands, magicians and even your very special guest to putt for you on one hole that made this event enjoyable to all whether golfer or not.

A special mention must be made to Mr. Othmar Frei, Mr. Werner Berger and the organising committee for putting on this event, getting everyone together and managing to make it all run as smoothly as it did.

FOOD & HOTEL THAILAND 2011 - BANGKOK 13 - 16 SEPTEMBER

Mulwarra recently attended and exhibited at Food & Hotel Thailand (FHT) 2011 from the 13^th to the 16^th of September 2011. Food & Hotel Thailand has a strong reputation as the premier international trade event for Thailand and the region's 5 star food and hospitality industries delivering high quality products and buyers, of which 2011 marked the 19^th and biggest Food and Hotel Thailand to date, attracting 26,408 professional visitors from 60 countries.

This year FHT clearly showcased Thailand and the region's growing appetite for premium food and hospitality products with many premium suppliers across the food service industry with 241 exhibitors from over 20 countries present during this year's event. This event presented Mulwarra with an opportunity to showcase a wide range of our products alongside our primary distributer in the market, exhibiting products such as Black Angus & Grain Fed Beef, Wagyu, Salmon, Ocean Trout, Rainbow Trout and Oysters to name a few.

FHT 2011 also presented a great opportunity to catch up with friends and supporters of Mulwarra in Thailand. It was also encouraging to see that since our participation in this event in 2010 that the city of Bangkok has recovered well from the events surrounding the Bangkok riots, with hotels and restaurants once again at capacity and the demand for premium products strong and strengthening.

HOFEX HONG KONG 2011, 11 - 14 MAY

Mulwarra exhibited at HOFEX 2011 from 11^th - 14^th of May. With HOFEX occupying 11 halls in total, Mulwarra exhibitied alongside 1,800 international companies from 48 different countries. This year HOFEX saw a record number of attendees with 30,718 professional visitors, of which 30% were international buyers from 85 different countries and regions. Altogether with numerous conference delegates, contestants and media, the show welcomed a total of 33,409 visitors. Many of whom were managers and executives from the food & beverage, wholesale, import, retail, hotel operation, and theme park & resort sectors.

During the show Mulwarra exhibited and showcased a wide range of products to present and potential customers and end users, while also allowing us to introduce some new items such as our Wagyu and Black Angus Tomahawk steak portions, which were particularly well received. HOFEX also presented an opportunity for Mulwarra to catch up with a wide range of customers and end users in one centralised location, meeting with both importer/distributers and end users from not only Hong Kong but surrounding Asian markets such as China, Thailand, Taiwan, Japan, India, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines along with many other markets. In addition to exhibiting at the show there were opportunities to attend a range of functions and events including the Austrade Networking Reception, the QLD Trade Promotion and Reception and various other activities with our supporters and business partners to further strengthen the Mulwarra network its relationships.

In summary HOFEX in 2011 was a great success overall for both Mulwarra and our business partners helping to re-enforce the wide range of quality products that Mulwarra offers to its end user base, as well as opening up several new business opportunities with suppliers, distributors and end users throughout the world. Special thanks must be given the staff at Delicia for their assistance during the show, their help and co-operation contributed a great deal to making the show run as smoothly and successfully as it did for us.

MONGOLIA - ANOTHER FIRST FOR MULWARRA, MAY 2011

May 2011 saw another milestone for Mulwarra with the first consignment of Tasmanian Smoked Salmon and Lightly Smoked Ocean Trout to Mongolia. The product was airfreighted with a meat consignment into Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia after working closely with AQIS on the issue of obtaining a Health Certificate for this new destination for Tasmanian Salmon. Mulwarra Export and Petuna Seafoods have worked in partnership for 14 years in developing overseas markets for seriously fine Tasmanian seafood. Tim Hess General Manager Sales and Marketing for Petuna Seafoods Pty Ltd said "Entry to this new market for Tasmanian Salmon and Ocean Trout is typical of the groundbreaking work that Mulwarra does in developing export markets for us and other suppliers of quality Australian product”.

The product was well received by a high end catering operation looking after international mining company executives and a high end hotel in Ulaanbaatar. Another first for Mulwarra that will lead to increased ongoing business in developing market.

FOOD & HOTEL INDONESIA 2011, 6 - 9 APRIL

Mulwarra exhibited at Food and Hotel Indonesia from 6 - 9 April on the 120 square metre stand of our importer distributor PT Indoguna Utama. With Indonesia now the fourth largest importer of Australian Beef this market is continuing to grow and presents continued opportunities for growth in the expanding Foodservice market.

The show was well attended by end user customers from Jakarta and other major regional centres including Bali, Jog Jakarta, Bandung and Surabaya. Mulwarra exhibited a full range of Black Angus and Grain Fed Beef, Lamb,Veal and Wagyu as well as seafood from Tasmania in conjunction with salmon grower Huon Aquaculture. The show, while primarily Indonesian focussed, provided us with the opportunity to catch up with customer from Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand and uncover opportunies with some potential customers throughout the region.

AUSTRALIAN FLAVOURS, GRAND HYATT DUBAI, 25 FEBRUARY - 4 MARCH 2011

Mulwarra's Corporate Chef Mike Tafe ran a promotion at the Grand Hyatt Dubai from 25 February to the 4th of March at the large Market Cafe. The Market Cafe is a 200 seat all day restaurant with four open kitchens well suited to serving rustic home style dishes. The promotion was attended and officially opened by Mr Kym Hewett, Australia's Consul General and Senior Trade Commissioner in the United Arab Emirates.

The menus throughout the promotion were themed to focus on Mulwarra Beef, Lamb and Veal highlighting the versatility of the products as well as Tasmanian Salmon, Ocean Trout, Mussels and Blue Eye Cod. The grill and rotisserie section of the restaurant focussed on whole cuts and joints of prime and secondary cuts of Mulwarra Black Angus and Grain Fed Beef, Lamb and Veal.

During the course of the promotion a successful chefs table was held in the form of a garden barbeque around the pool. The event was was well attended by chefs from properties in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi with the casual setting allowing for a great networking opportunity with chefs able to sample a large range of products through special tasting plates prepared by Mike.

Meat and Livestock Australia hosted a networking function for Australian exporters and customer throughout the region at the Grand Hyatt prior to start of Gulfood. Mike Tafe created special menus for this well attended and successful event and later in week conducted a live cooking demonstration on Dubai One TV featuring Mulwarra product.

GULFOOD DUBAI 2011, 27 FEBRUARY - 2 MARCH

Mulwarra exhibited at GULFOOD 2001 from 27 February to 2 March. The show attracted over 62,000 visitors from some 142 countries. Mulwarra was one of some 3,800 exhibiting companies from 80 countries.

Mulwarra exhibited a full range of our Black Angus and Grain Fed Beef, Veal, Lamb and Wagyu together with Mandagery Creek Venison, AIr Dried Beef, Merdith dairy cheese and Tasmanian Salmon and Ocean Trout. The use of a Hugentobler Hold a Mat oven allowed us to prepare and hold expertly cooked Mulwarra meats for sampling by existing and potential customers in a timely manner.

The show was well attended by Mulwarra existing importer/distributors and end users throughout the region and provided the valuable opportunity to catch up with these customers in a central location. Significant business was done at the show both with existing customers and some new ones. Our importer/distributor partner in Dubia, Food Source International, was a tremendous help in assisting in the organisation of the show and also reported increased buisiness as a result of participating with us.