For more than 40 years, Victorian-based Enmin has been building custom vibratory and material handling solutions for a myriad of applications and environments. The company’s knowledge and expertise in this area has seen their list of customers grow to include most of Australia’s leading food industry manufacturers.
One of Enmin’s long-term customers is leading snack manufacturer Fine Food Holding (FFH) based in Keysborough, Victoria. The company was established around seven years ago by FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) specialist Jim Leckey and his partners. Together they shared a clear vision of developing and producing a range of innovative, high quality, specialty snacking products. To say the company has been successful is something of an understatement. From starting with just six employees, FFH now has around 250 staff with the company supplying both domestic and export markets including the US and Europe.
FFH offers an extensive range of premium snacking crackers that include wafer crackers, seeded crisps and seeded flatbreads. Combining grains, fruit, nuts and herbs, the biscuits are an ideal partner for cheese and other toppings. In keeping with current customer trends, a gluten free range is also available. The company supplies its products to a broad range of outlets including major supermarket chains and specialty deli shops across Australia. The export market accounts for around 20% of total revenue and is likely to increase in the future.
The company’s phenomenal growth is directly related to its significant investments in R&D. ‘Rapid innovation’ is essential in this market to develop new products that cater to an increasingly sophisticated palette of health-focused products that the market demands.
A mechanical engineer by trade, complemented by a number of business qualifications, Leckey has been intimately involved with the FMCG category all his working life. He has worked across a diverse range of food categories that includes soft drinks, dairy, sauces and baking products.
“I’ve had a long association with Enmin spanning 15 years and in particular with General Manager Anthony Gallaher,” he says. “When we started FFH we needed a range of vibratory equipment and other material handling solutions and time was of the essence. My previous dealings with Enmin provided me with the confidence that they could meet our equipment requirements and crucially our time frames. We were not let down.”
Over the last few years Enmin has supplied FFH with an extensive and diverse range of food-handling equipment including biscuit-handling systems, vibratory feeders, cheese-depositing systems, biscuit-breaking equipment, conveyors and operator work platforms.
“As our business has expanded, Enmin has evolved with us and they’ve proven to be a great business partner,” Leckey adds. “One of Enmin’s key strengths is their ability to design and fabricate a customised product that suits our specific production needs. When we’ve needed a piece of equipment to solve a particular issue they’ve always taken on the challenge and ultimately provided us with a high-quality bespoke unit.
“We choose Enmin products due to their superior design, high quality and proven reliability, backed up with excellent customer service. The quality of the finished product is always outstanding and meets all our hygiene standards. Our equipment runs 24 hours, six days a week – we can’t afford anything but the best and Enmin equipment meets that requirement and provides exceptional up-time.”
Increased demand for Enmin’s products and services has necessitated a move recently to a larger factory in Braeside, Victoria. These new premises are three times the size, allowing Enmin to increase production capacity, bring more of the manufacturing process in-house and offer a broader range of support services.