2022 wrap up and reflection
2022 was another year of continued growth and diversification. With record packaging numbers, countless new products developed, brand new machinery and thousands of pallets dispatched Australia-wide and globally, we were kept very busy in 2022.
New equipment:
In 2022 after many delays, multiple pieces of new equipment arrived on site and were installed by our Maintenance team. We upgraded our cluster pak machinery on our mezzanine deck to operate at faster speeds and package a greater variety of bottle formats. Canning Line #2 had its pack off area upgraded with the installation of a cluster pak machine which wraps a 4, 6 or 10 pack cardboard cluster around cans. The final portion of this upgrade- a carton wrap and stacking machine arrived on site just before Christmas and will be utilised from early 2023. We spent the first full year operating two cross flows after a second was installed at the very end of 2021.
New product development:
Our NPD arm of the business has experienced rapid growth in the last year. Our head of NPD Stephen has worked all year on crafting an array of new products across wine, cider, spirit ready-to-drink and non-alcoholic products for some of Australia’s most well known brands. You might not know it, but some of your favourite RTD products may have been developed and packaged by IDL.
Packaging records:
Our packaging facility broke records all year and was our biggest year yet. We completed 1,072 packaging runs which amounted to 28,460,538 bottles, 19,726,216 cans and 47,197 kegs produced - or 25,841,513 packaged litres. This is an increase of 205 packaging runs, 6,1974,652 bottles, 8,376,228 cans, 34,711 kegs and 7,759,038 litres on 2021 packaging numbers. In the first 6 months of the new financial year, we have already produced more kegs than we did in FY22, have produced 80% of total cans of what was packaged in FY22, and 55% of bottles. All signs point to incredible growth for 2023.
Growing our workforce:
As we have continued to service new global and domestic clients, our workforce has grown too. Our Sales team grew to include Maddison and Dan, our procurement team added three new team members in Chris, Marc and Kylie as Bill headed into retirement. Greg joined us to the new role of General Manager – Supply Chain, Emily and Raffaele joined the team as Winemakers and our Cellar, Lab, Admin, Packaging, and Warehouse teams continued to expand as the business grew. We now proudly boast a workforce of over 170 staff, making us one of Geelong’s largest employers.
Vineyard flood (x 2):
With the heavy rainfall the Geelong region experienced during Spring, the river that surrounds our property flooded twice. Our vines at the base of our property became completely submerged twice as the Moorabool River broke it’s banks and overflowed onto our property. We hadn’t seen floods like this in 10+ years.
Name change:
Our newest update is our new name - IDL - for 2023. This name change is an exciting time for our company as we move forward with our mission to become leaders in the beverage industry. The name change cements our diversification strategy as we position ourselves as more than just a winery. With a growing portfolio of cider, ready-to-drink spirit-based products, non-alcoholic products, increased manufacturing capabilities including kegging, canning, bottling and a new product development team, the Idyll Wine Co name no longer reflected the innovative, forward-thinking and dynamic nature of our daily operations.
We have numerous projects in the works for 2023 and can’t wait to get started on obtaining some incredible goals.