Ingredients supplier Cryer Malt is set to open a major new distribution centre in greater Melbourne to enable it to better serve its customers in the brewing industry.

Cryer Malt is opening the 9,100sqm distribution centre at the start of June. It will be Cryer Malt’s first self-operated distribution centre in the ANZ region, and also its new head office, bringing together marketing and logistics operations functions and staff.

General manager David Cryer said that the location was key to the company’s growth strategies.

“It’s in a really great spot between our maltings at Barret Burston in Geelong and close to the port to allow movements to Brisbane and Sydney as well as allowing better distribution into Melbourne,” he told Brews News.

“By being able to warehouse there we can supply those markets better and export into New Zealand will be easier.

“It was always our plan to put something like this in, to enable us to have more products, service our customers better and access export markets.”

While the plans for a capacity expansion have been in place for some time, the pandemic certainly highlighted the need for strong distribution links.

“COVID did underline that need to get closer to your customers,” Cryer explained.

“The third-party logistics provider did a good job and we continue to use them in other states, but this expansion enables us to do smaller lines.

‘We can extend our range, and extend some extra services, blending and all sorts of things, so it opens up the possibility of being able to offer other services the market requires.”

Cryer is installing its own bespoke chiller and the new location will allow cold and ambient storage on-site as well.

“By having the chiller on-site it means we can put hops malt and yeast on one pallet,” explained Cryer. “We can reduce the cost to the brewer and make the process more efficient.”

Steph Howard, Cryer Malt’s marketing and sales support manager, said that the new site meant the company could offer a “one-stop-shop” for its key ingredients: malt, hops and yeast.

“Our new distribution centre will transform the way we service our customers across Australia and New Zealand,” she said.

“The new warehouse allows us to react more quickly to the needs of our customers through faster dispatch and an expanded range of ingredients.

“We’ve been working towards this for a while now. We’re in strong partnerships with Barrett Burston and Yakima Chief Hops, and that has really pushed this project forward.

“There’s been a lot of hard work going on behind it and we’re really pleased we’re almost at completion.”

Located at 20 Calarco Drive, Derrimut, Victoria, the new distribution centre is on track to be operational from the 1st June 2021.