Lamb Weston acquires Australian potato processor Marvel Packers

Lamb Weston has acquired frozen potato processor Marvel Packers as it aims to grow its operations in Australia.

Melbourne-headquartered Marvel Packers operates a frozen potato processing and storage facility in the Hallam suburb and sells potato chips under the Farmers Best and Marvel Chips brands.

Lamb Weston said the unit adds approximately 50 million pounds of production capacity to its existing global manufacturing network.

Including the Hallam site, Lamb Weston will own and operate 16 processing sites worldwide, and an additional nine facilities in conjunction with its joint venture partners.

Lamb Weston CEO Tom Werner said: “Our purchase of Marvel is part of our strategy to strengthen our global capabilities and continue to drive growth both organically and through acquisitions.

“Marvel not only provides us with an opportunity to increase our position in Australia’s 1.1-billion-pound market with in-country production, it also creates new avenues to serve our customers.”

Towards the end of 2017 Lamb Weston invested a total of $450 million to expand its operations in Oregon and Washington State, boosting its processing capacity for making frozen French fries.