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History of the Ballantyne Group of Companies
In 1929 in King Street, Melbourne, Keith Lindsay Ballantyne founded the present Ballantyne organisation by establishing his own business, specialising in the sale of dairy produce on a wholesale basis. Preceding this move was some ten years experience in all practical phases of the dairying industry.
In 1936 the firm K. L. Ballantyne Pty. Ltd. was registered, and for the first ten years of its existence dealt in dairy produce on both the local and export markets. The firm's activities embraced the sale and distribution of all forms of dairy produce, butter tinning, the refining and canning of edible fats, and the processing of eggs for sale in Australia and overseas. However, by 1946, so great was the expansion in the Company's export trade that it was found necessary to register the Ballantyne Export Company Pty. Ltd., and from that date onward, this Company has controlled all export business until 1998 when it was renamed Ballantyne Foods.
In the early 1940s so constant had been the expansion of the Companys business that it was apparent the King Street premises could no longer cope with the scope of the increasing volume of trade. Land was secured in South Melbourne, and in 1945 the present administrative building at 39 Ballantyne Street became the headquarters of the Ballantyne organisation.
By 1958 the Companys interests had extended to the milling of Soya Flour for the promotion of Ry-Soy and Nu-Soy bread, though the firm of Addison Ballantyne Pty. Ltd. in Market Street South Melbourne. Also housed in this new building was the firm of Ballantyne Brodrick Pty. Ltd., contract packagers and food processors. Late in 1958, the Companys bid to purchase the old established Melbourne firm of W. A. Blake Pty. Ltd. was accepted, and this Company and its activities were incorporated in the Ballantyne organisation.
Similarly on the export side, further impetus was given to their activities by the outright purchase of one of Melbournes oldest exporting houses, J. G. Thompson Pty. Ltd., marketers of a variety of food products under the 'Red Bird' brand.
In 1977 Ballantyne purchased the Dennis Catering and Hotel Group. This included catering contracts at the famous Melbourne Exhibition Buildings and Flemington racecourse and several Melbourne suburban hotels.
The business evolved over the years to concentrate on four main product areas, food ingredients such as cheese powders etc, canned butter, chilled butter and chocolate confectionery.
Golden Churn was one of the first brands bought by Ballantyne and with over 100 years history is still one of the most popular brands of butter around the world Canned and chilled butter packing commenced in 1945 at the South Melbourne site with 2 Benhill and 2 Kustner machines. On the chilled butter side, mini wraps and retail packs were the main business back then. The canned butter operations were moved to Hamilton New Zealand in 1980 and continue to operate there.
In 1976 in view of the demands of the food service industry a new mini tub machine was purchased and the Ballantyne brand portion butter that is so well known today was born. These operations were moved to a new purpose built factory at a greenfields site in Laverton in 2000.
Ballantyne started revolving air drying in 1961 for snack flavours. This lead to spray drying cheese powders in 1970, moving to South Melbourne in 1972 until 1981.
The blending operations began in South Melbourne in 1961 and moved to Port Melbourne in 1988.
Both spray drying and blending operations have been at the same site in the Melbourne suburbs since 2001 when the new purpose built factory was opened.
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